people often conflate comedic with unintelligent when it comes to certain characters ( that or “sassy”) so I can only imagine clint likely gets flanderized to hell by fandom and made into a complete idiot when he’s not. idk much about clint but that’s my guess anyway.
send an assumption about my muse and I’ll tell you if it’s right or wrong !
AW MAN , DON’T GET ME STARTED. or actually, do get me started cos that’s the point of the meme isn’t it.
there definitely is a wide-spread assumption that Clint is . . . not stupid, necessarily, but too chaotic to function properly. that he’s just 100% a mess. the reason for that, I think, doesn’t come from his comedic nature ( lbr, a lot of folks aren’t even aware that he’s funny af ). if there is one comic run that somehow most people have either read or seen panels of, it’s Fraction.
Fraction is wonderful on one hand cos it utterly humanizes Clint in a world full of perfect superheroes. he drinks coffee straight from the pot, uses shoelaces for a belt, cuts every last wire on his PlayStation cos he’s too lazy to untangle them, starts beef with the “tracksuit mafia” and ends up needing to be saved by every last one of his ex-girlfriends while also being demeaned and slapped by them but that’s okay cos Clint is obviously an idiot ( listen, I was trying not to let my dislike for Fraction show but obv I can’t hide it ). the fandom at large finds that so relatable, it’s become established that Clint is a messy dumbass.
thing with that run that people seem to forget : Clint was severely depressed at the time to the point where he’d started to neglect himself completely.
if one was to pick up pretty much any other comic run with him, one would come across one of the most hard-working and capable people, especially considering that Clint is 100% human without any form of powers. sure, he’s very nonchalant about pretty much anything. he’s sarcastic, he quips a lot, doesn’t take most things too seriously, and comes with a generally very casual attitude. but he’s way, way more than that.
he creates his own trick arrows. he’s successfully lead various avenger teams and a thunderbolt team. his greatest fear is not being good enough. he has an unbelievable temper and will start a fight with literally anyone. he is the most loyal friend anyone could ask for. he will always sacrifice himself for the right thing even if it means being alienated from and hated by everyone he knows ( if I had a cent for every time that happens in the comics, I’d have two cents. which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice ).
and here’s the fun part: Clint strives on being underestimated. he aims for that. constantly. if he comes across as stupid, it’s because that’s what he wants others to believe. Clint is basically the guy who invented weaponized incompetence and uses it when he sees fit - only to then turn around and pull a thoroughly complicated, well-planned and selfless act.
he’s a bit chaotic. absolutely. and he’s a little too casual and doesn’t take a lot of things seriously. but he’s definitely not stupid.
