If you’ve seen the new blockbuster “Eternals,” you would know that the Marvel movie empire has made a step in the right direction with representation. The movie featured a racially and culturally diverse cast, as well as LGBTQ+ characters. One character that stood out the most to me was Makkari, played by Lauren Ridloff. Makkari, like the actress who plays her, is Deaf, using American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with the rest of the heroic team. As someone who is currently learning ASL, seeing her character made me very excited. This inclusion was beautiful and has brought attention to ASL and the Deaf community. But many people forget that before Makkari, there was another Deaf superhero that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) chose to erase: Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye. Clint’s deafness has been stigmatized, erased and attacked in both the Marvel comics and films.
One version of the character’s backstory appears in a comic miniseries in which Clint loses his hearing in an explosion caused by supersonic arrows. Although his character has existed for nearly 60 years, he was canonically Deaf from 1983 to 1998. Clint’s deafness was explored multiple times within the original 15-year story arc. In the original story, Clint is Deaf, but does not necessarily connect with Deaf culture. Deaf culture is used to describe the unique experiences shared among Deaf and hard of hearing people. Those who participate in this culture typically use sign language and accept their deafness as a part of them, taking offense to the concept of being “cured.” In this series, instead of learning ASL or accepting his hearing loss, Barton is given superpowered invisible hearing aids created by Tony Stark. Obviously, this would be seen as terrible and offensive representation for the community, since it’s extremely ableist. Hawkeye didn’t need to be fixed. This offensive “cure” of deafness is often compared to DC Comics’ technological repair of Barbara Gordon’s, or Batgirl’s, paralysis, which was an event that is often critiqued by the wheelchair community.
The worst part of Hawkeye’s story was that the entire series ended up being retconned, or removed, from canon once Marvel decided it was no longer interesting or useful to the character. In other words, once his deafness was no longer intriguing to the writers, it was just thrown away. His character recently appeared as Deaf again in 2012, when comic author Matt Fraction took the helm of the “Hawkeye” series. Finally, fans received a solid story about Clint where he learns to embrace his deafness. While at first he does struggle with acceptance, he eventually learns sign language and becomes much more active in Deaf culture. In other words, he finally offers the presentation that the Deaf community deserves. One Deaf blogger claimed that the volume was not only “tightly plotted and emotional, but there’s also a portrayal of deafness so close to mine that I cried while reading it.” In other words, Hawkeye’s deafness was not just realistic and empowering — it was also a truly amazing story that furthered the character and resonated with the community.
In 2011, Hawkeye was introduced to the MCU in the first Thor movie. His previous deafness was never mentioned, and his history was changed completely. It seemed like the hopes of having a Deaf superhero were gone. And suddenly, Marvel figured it all out. In his recent Disney+ television debut, the writers have finally included his canonical deafness. Although he isn’t fully active in the Deaf community so far in the series, we see him using a little ASL as well as talking about his deafness with other characters. Of course, it wasn’t magic — it was the result of thousands of angry fans demanding Marvel stop erasing this important aspect of his character. Deaf representation is so important. Obviously, Makkaris from “Eternals” is a great presentation, but having one of the original Avengers becoming Deaf and accepting it as a part of them is empowering for the Deaf community. So, next time you watch a Marvel movie and relate to Captain America or Black Widow, remember that somewhere out there, there’s a Deaf child who has waited years to see themselves on the big screen. And now they finally have that.
Nicolette Cavallaro is a junior majoring in integrative neuroscience.