Rohan/Ronnie

The Background: The story behind this whole mess

You need to check out my previous meta to fully get it what happened to Barney before Trickshot mess, especially the last one. But I'm still going to summarize everything in writer wise.

Barney died in the very same issue he first appeared in and then resurfaced a few times later—mainly as a plot device to highlight Clint’s traumatic childhood and deepen his backstory. Despite his flaws, Barney was portrayed as someone who genuinely tried to do the right thing. He worked for the FBI, acted as a undercover agent within the mob, and ultimately sacrificed himself to help his brother and to save the Earth. In fact, the last time we saw him was in Hawkeye (2003), where he was portrayed as a caring, proud older brother who genuinely loved and worried about Clint. He wasn’t perfect, but the love was unmistakably real.

Remember this folks, because Blindspot completely ruined it.

Everything went to trash in 2011, when Marvel decided Clint apparently didn’t have enough problems, so they ruined his life more by bringing Barney back from the dead. His once good martyr brother was suddenly turned into a villain, and Clint had to deal with that mess for two years.

(Yes, two years. Barney's first appearance as Trickshot was on 16 February 2011. By 10 July 2013, he had already reappeared in Hawkeye vol. 4 as a reformed ex-villain. So really, Barney's career as a villain was very short.)

Okay, so what's really going on? In Blindspot, Clint’s old mentor, Buck Chilsom aka Trickshot was killed. This happens shortly after Clint forgave Buck, who had his own redemption arc, yada yada yada, but that’s beside the point. What really matters is that the murder was meant as a warning. Zemo and Barney planned to kill Clint, so they were doing a "cat bringing a dead mouse" thingy and brought dying Buck to Clint. It was timed perfectly, because Clint was also struggling with his worsening eyesight at the time. So, needless to say, it completely fucked up his day.

Our archer is investigating the mystery behind Buck’s death when he’s suddenly attacked by his brother—setting our case in motion.

Evidence #1: Barney’s condition before Zemo found him strongly suggests he was experimented on and later Zemo took advantage of it

I saw that some people in fandom thinks that Barney faked his death on his own, when in reality, it didn't really happened. So, what happened? Well, after Elihas Starr (Egghead) killed Barney by his death ray, appereantly, he took Barney's body and put it in accelerated chamber. When Egghead was eventually killed at some point, the chamber was left forgotten. Of course, he did come back eventually, but that was long after Blindspot had already taken place.

Why he put Barney, the dude that destroyed his machine, in chamber? We don't get the answer from the series. Blindspot just made this shit up, so we would have a reason why Barney was alive. It also means that Clint put empty casket in grave, which is weird that this happened. Maybe Egghead swapped Barney's body with someone else. Maybe his crazy scientist ass had some little copying-people-inator in his pocket and made Barney copy in one (1) second.

This whole situation is cacky, but if we look closer at Egghead as a character and at his actions after Barney's death, we can find an explanation:

He may have experimented on Barney to study memory manipulation.

Let's look at Elihas' steps after his death ray got destroyed.

In Marvel Features (1971) #5, he had kidnapped his niece Patricia Starr to use on her his device that can steal intelligence. After she was saved by Hank Pym, in Giant-Size Defenders (1975), it was revealed that Elihas later tried to kill her by planting a bomb in her car, which cost her an arm in the explosion. In Avengers (1963) #217, he built a bionic arm for her.

The arm wasn’t a gift due to his remorse, of course. Egghead created this to control her. Literally, with this device, he could control her movements and speech. He did all this to get revenge on Hank for ruining his earlier plans (and because Hank was his favourite guy to hate). So he lied to Hank that he made the arm for Patricia because he felt bad about what he'd done to her. But since she didn't want anything to do with him, he asked Hank to bring the arm to her on his behalf.

And of course, when Patricia put the arm on, she immediately was forced to fight Hank. But none of that matters much to us right now. What we do need to know is that at the end of the issue, it turns out the arm also allowed Elihas to altered and erase her memories of him. This led her to confess to the police that Hank was the one who had built the arm and controlled her. Because she remembered that Hank was the one who gave her this arm.

Before Barney's "death," Elihas never shown that he had any access to the devices that could control or alter memories. Patricia's storyline is the first time we see him possessing such a thing.

So, two key points stand out here:

Considering that Elihas previously kidnapped his niece for experiments, it shows that he has no problem performing experiments on humans.

Before the events with Patricia, he developed (or acquired) a memory-altering device.

So, in my opinion, Barney may have been one of Egghead’s lab rat to test out altering memories—which would explain why he ended up in his lab in the first place. This would also account for the memory issues he displays throughout the Blindspot and why Zemo was able to manipulate and control him so easily.

The evidence for this will come later, right now you have the basics. Now we need to shift focus to Zemo for a moment.

It’s pretty obvious from the comic that Zemo was acting out of his own motives and didn’t give a shit about Barney at all—but unfortunately, we still need to talk about it. His motivation on doing all of this is one of the key pieces to understand what was going on with Barney during this whole mess. So, why was Zemo there anyway? To answer that, we need to look at a few other comics once again.

In Avengers/Thunderbolts Vol 1, Clint given Zemo leadership of the Thunderbolt team under the belief that Zemo genuinely wanted to reform and become a hero. But then it turned out that Zemo's actual goal is ruling the world, which is not suprising. His plan centered on "The Liberator," a device designed to drain abnormal energy worldwide to, I quote, "reduce superhuman terorism and stabilize global order stabilize the world's status quo". The Thunderbolts launched it but were confronted by the Avengers. Karla Sofen aka Moonstone absorbed the Liberator’s power, and her unstable emotional state combined with near-cosmic energy threatened the planet (basically, ripping Earth's magnetic field). The Thunderbolts and Avengers joined forces to stop her.

Zemo was furious. His plan got to the trash, his beloved (Karla) was put in coma. And it also turned out that Clint had a thing with her.

So, Clint wrecked Zemo’s big plan, “stole” his woman, then nearly killed her and left her in a coma. That’s really all you need to know.

While seeking revenge on Clint, he stumbled upon Egghead's old hideout. And he checked it out, because Karla had previously told him Egghead had some valuable goods.

And one of these valuable goods was, of course, Barney.

This is what it looked like when Zemo found him:

Barney had been kept naked in a tube for who knows how long—maybe even years. When he woke up, he was disoriented, afraid, and clearly had no idea where he was. Considering what we know about Egghead, it’s safe to assume his time there definitely wasn’t nice.

Zemo had to use the Moonstones to wake Barney, which suggests that Barney was either in a deep sleep, unconscious, or too drained of energy to move. The Moonstones are fragments of the Kree Lifestone, an artifact once used to empower the Guardians of the Galaxy centuries ago. So, Zemo was using them like a cosmic power-up defibrillator to get Barney back to awareness. That doesn’t necessarily mean Barney was completely beyond waking up on his own—Zemo may have simply been too impatient to wait. Still, this fact is still worth noting.

Zemo didn’t expect to find Barney. His shock shown in previous panels (him saying “Mein Gott…” at the sight of chamber) makes that obvious. But once he realized who he had, he quickly took advantage of the situation. You can see it in his expression: the way he smiled while looking down at a frightened Barney.

“What’s the last thing you remember? Tell me everything.”

It feels like Zemo wanted to hear Barney’s version of events first before twisting the narrative to suit his goals.

He called Barney a “gift from destiny”, knowing full well that Clint would hesitate to hurt his own brother. Hell, he literally said "I knew you couldn't kill him".

Why was Zemo so sure Clint wouldn't hurt his brother? Well, you could call it a basic logic. But I think it's because he knew about the whole Egghead situation and how Clint was hell-bent on capturing him after Barney's death. Zemo even mentions in previous panels that Egghead was one of "victims of Hawkeye." Why was he a victim? Well, Clint accidentally killed him.

As readers we know the impact Barney's death had on Clint due to his monologues and memories. It was supposed to be the turning point that completely reshaped his agenda and made him rethink everything in his life.

However, it was visible to others as well. He turned his grief into immense rage. The rest of his team soon feared he would become blinded by his thirst for revenge.

Clint: We’re called the Avengers, ain't we? Well, I’m not restin' until I live up to that name! Hank: Don't, big man! Don't let a thirst for revenge eat away at you!

He was literally unstable and reckless. Of course, Clint was always reckless, but his behaviour got a lot worse.

You can see it in the next issue after Barney's death. Jacques easily manipulated Clint, stoking his anger toward the other Avengers, simply because they tried to stop his rampage and prevent him from hurting Jacques without hearing him out first. He was so angry, he was ready to fight anyone at this point.

Catching Elish was supposed to be his redemption for Barney's death and turning his back on him years earlier.

He even said, "(...) I've got the guy who caused my brother's death! And maybe whenever Barney is--- I've made up givin' up on him... Maybe... Just a little!"

In fact, when Clint accidentally killed Egghead in The Avengers #229 to save Hank Pym, he admitted that while he never wanted to take anyone's life, he didn't feel sorry for him — that Elihas deserved it + he'd do the same thing again if he had to.

That's how Zemo knew Clint would have a hard time harming his brother. After Barney’s death, he was full of anger and helplessness, wishing he could’ve done more for his brother. And one of his biggest regrets was turning his back on him.

Zemo's whole plan was about hurting Clint in the worst way possible. So when he found Barney, it was like hitting the jackpot.

The way Barney’s memories seem off after his “death” will be explored more with other evidence, but for now, we already have a pretty clear picture:

Zemo wanted revenge on Clint. He finds Barney trapped in a lab chamber, completely exposed, left probably for months or years. When Barney wakes up confused and disoriented, Zemo pops up with a grin: “Hellooo, tell me everything that happened so I can manipulate you 🥰”

Evidence #2: Barney doesn't seems to have his own agenda

Barney's stated motivation for trying to kill his brother is that Clint left him for dead and abandoned him. It seems simple, right? Yet despite this clear motivation, it feels forced. I'm not saying it's because this motivation doesn't make any sense, but the way it's presented doesn't seem like something he came up with alone.

Let’s start with his first appearance in Blindspot.

And there are already weird things going on.

Barney calls Clint a "Hawkeye": At first, it might seem meaningless, since he supposedly hates Clint. You could interpret this as Barney distancing himself emotionally, no longer seeing Clint as his family. Still, it feels off, because this is supposed to be a fight between brothers: Barney is confronting Clint for “abandoning” him, so logically he should use his real name. This fight is supposed to have persona significance after all. Zemo addresses Clint this way too, which could suggest that Barney picked it up from him.

Zemo gives clear orders to Barney: The command “Do not deviate too far” sounds more like something you’d say to a dog than your equal partner in crime. Yet Barney obeys faithfully, even remarking that he wouldn’t "bite the hand that feeds him". This is surprising because, in earlier comics, Barney was shown as someone who resented authority. Sure, he joined the FBI and may have mellowed somewhat, but he was still an asshole doing his own thing—like when he joined the fight against Egghead despite being told to stand down. For him to follow Zemo so eagerly feels completely out of character, which becomes even clearer in later panels.

Zemo talks only about himself, and Barney doesn’t assert himself at all: The last panel makes it clear: “Ultimately, he will fall at the feet of Zemo and beg to die!” Meanwhile, Barney stands behind him with a smile, like a puppy. There’s no hint of, “Don’t forget about me too,” or any snarky comment about Clint also falling at his feet. Nothing. It comes across as if Barney is simply a tool for Zemo’s plan—which, in this case, he literally is.

Whenever the three of them were in the room together, Barney rarely spoke for himself—unless he was fighting his brother. Most of the time, Zemo spoke for him. In the previous panel I showed you, this is captured perfectly with Clint exclaiming "You turned my brother into this!?". He doesn’t speak to or address Barney directly at all. You can get the feeling that this whole fight is all about Zemo and Clint, and only them. Meanwhile, Barney is merely Zemo's chosen weapon for this fight.

Also, when Barney lost, Zemo wasn’t disappointed—he was amused, delighted even, by Clint’s despair. And Barney? He didn’t react at all.

Let's get back to what I mentioned before. When Barney finally speaks, it sounds more like something Zemo or Buck would say than his own words.

He claims his reason for wanting to kill Clint was being abandoned—that he wanted to be a hero, which is why he wanted to help with Egghead. But instead of fighting alongside Clint and the Avengers, all he got was nearly being blown up and left for dead. Then he admits that once Zemo found him, he realized “being bad is more fun.”

Finally, we can address the memory issues I wanted to discuss. If you’ve read my previous metas, you know that Barney didn’t die by accident—he sacrificed himself intentionally. He literally ran into the death ray, fully aware it would kill him.

His whole thing was wanting a “clean start”, and in that moment, lying in Clint’s massive hand, he expressed that he wanted what Clint had: recognition, applause, and had a glimmer of hope that he earned it by sacrificing himself.

In Hawkeye (2003), it’s revealed that he was actually an FBI agent working undercover in the mob. So it makes no sense for him to suddenly want to become a villain in tight clothes. It wouldn’t also make any sense for Barney to want to kill his brother, especially since he literally sacrificed himself to help him.

This is completely idiotic. The real reason is that Marvel just wanted a dramatic new villain for Clint to traumatize him even more. But since we’re doing a meta here, I’m going to treat it as it is and explain it this way: Barney has memory issues, which Zemo exploited to his advantage. Since it's likely Elihas used him to test memory erasure, it would make a lot of sense that the memories of the death ray and fight were the ones that suffered the most. Of course, these weren't the only memories; Barney must have lost more, since his personality and behavior are different than usual.

Evidence #3: It doesn't make any sense why Barney would want to use a bow to get a revenge

Barney never showed any interest in archery before his death. Even Clint pointed out that his thing were guns.

If Barney truly wanted revenge on his own, he wouldn’t waste time learning archery just to fight Clint "fairly". Realistically, he would’ve just shot him, or handled it in the style of mob, since, you know, he was in the mob. And if his goal was to prove that being a bad guy was better, it would’ve made way more sense for him to do it in his style. Barney is usually described as the type of guy who relies on brutal force. He was a racketeer that controled half the racket in town, which means he had to be intimidating enough to clear out the competition. Sure, he couldn’t actually kill anyone since he was undercover for the feds, but being that deep in, he definitely had to use his strength and play the part.

I mean, this is the same dude who literally went at robots with his fists before.

He didn’t need to waste his damn time learning archery, especially knowing Clint was a master at it and beating him at his own game was basically impossible. And Barney knew that. In Hawkeye (2003), he outright acknowledged Clint’s skill and how good he is. That’s why he went to him and the Avengers during the Egghead mess in Avengers (1963)—because he trusted Clint was good enough to handle it.

If you told me Barney was furious about what happened, because he regretted sacrificing himself and saw it as a dumbass move that only got him stuck in a lab as a test rat—I could buy that. But only if he did it in another way that fits his character. You know, maybe kidnapping Clint, making a spectacle that he’s alive, and killing him in the style of lupara bianca (in a way the body’s never found). Or even the opposite: dumping Clint’s body in the street as a power move for other Avengers.

That’s why I just can’t picture him as someone who’d suddenly pick up a bow. It’s such a bizarre choice. Sure, you could argue Barney picked up archery just to mock his brother, but c’mon, he had plenty of other ways to do that, which would be more easy for him. Learning archery from the basics isn’t easy, especially after spending so long in a chamber (probably) without ability to move.

Mobsters don’t just kill, they torture. Like, look for example at Sam DeStefano from Chicago Outfit. The guy was known for his brutality and his ability to humiliate his victims during torture. He even had a personal torture chamber in the basement of his home, where he lived with his wife and children (source: William F. Roemer, The enforcer, New York 1994, p. 19).

Barney could literally do anything that suited him better than taking up archery. This is the most random decision ever.

That’s why it’s pretty clear this was Zemo’s plan from the start. Like I said before, the whole thing was about making Clint suffer. First, they killed Buck as a warning. Then, as earlier panels show, Zemo admitted he’d been sending other villains after Clint just to test his limits. All of that was just prep work: to “train” Barney into the perfect weapon against him.

Zemo was the one who chose the terms, and even the weapon.

It's meant to be a performance for him, to make it more dramatic. This was never about Barney winning, because he never had a chance to win against Clint.

I’m guessing it was also meant as another way to mock Clint. At the time of Barney’s death, Clint wasn’t a Hawkeye, but a Goliath. During the fight, Elihas used a paralysis ray that froze all of the Avengers—except Barney, making him the only one able to stop the death ray. We don’t know exactly how the paralysis ray worked, but it’s possible that if Clint had still been using his bow and hadn’t relied on Hank’s growing serum, he might not have been paralyzed. In that case, he could’ve prevented Barney from making that sacrifice.

So, because Clint didn’t have his bow to save his brother, he’s now forced to use it to fight him. That’s the tragic irony.

Since we’re on the subject of archery, let's take a closer look at Buck—and more importantly, how Barney talks about him.

"Chilson made you who are you today, "Hawkeye". And you turned your back on him.

This scene is simply absurd.

Barney in past didn’t want Clint running with Buck in the first place, because he didn’t want his little brother dragged into crime or associated with Buck at all.

Also, Barney, like I mentioned in my other metas, said he didn’t want for Clint to limit himself to just being an archer, that he could do anything he wants and build a future beyond that. The idea that Barney would claim that Clint is who he is because of Chilsom doesn't make sense. After all, to him, Clint was more than just archery.

It also doesn’t make sense for Barney to suddenly put Trickshot in pedestal, since he’s never considered him important in his life before. To Barney, the circus was merely a temporary place where he and Clint had to stay until they could find something better. He never formed any real attachment to it, as I discussed in my previous meta about his departure from the circus.

I’m also fully convinced Barney always saw Buck as someone who used Clint. In Solo Avengers #2, he outright says that Jacques was only using Clint for his own power trip. And considering that same series doubled as Buck’s debut—where he’s portrayed as an unhinged guy on a murder spree to kill Clint—it’s not a stretch to read Barney’s words as applying to Buck as well.

Maybe Barney brought up leaving Buck behind just to hurt Clint, since Buck was dead.

Anyway, the another question is: why would he want to take up the mantle of Trickshot, someone he disliked? It's important to remember that Barney wanted to carve his own path out of his brother’s shadow—that’s what he said before his ‘death.’ Why would he willingly step into Buck’s shadow and become the next Trickshot? He was after his own ‘glory,’ and he wouldn’t find it by taking someone else’s mantle or wearing someone else’s costume.

Let's also not forget: Buck was the one who wanted to leave Barney to die after Clint accidentally shot him years earlier while he was undercover.

In fact, Buck literally says the same thing Barney uses to taunt Clint: "You owe me, kid! Owe me big for all the knowledge I've given you!"

It’s clear Barney is leaning on Buck’s words here. I fully believe Buck actually said this during his training with Barney, and Barney just parroted it.

Barney wears a modified a dead man's costume, to mock Clint. Zemo literally took Clint’s brother, manipulated him, killed the former mentor, dressed him in the clothes of that deceased mentor, and sent him into a battle he had no chance of winning. All of this to hurt Clint.

Evidence #4: Barney hates their father's guts

Oh, this scene. You probably know which one.

Barney wore their father’s ring to beat Clint the same way their dad used to. Sure, it works for angst, but when it comes to Barney’s actual characterization? It makes zero sense.

I covered this more in my Barney childhood meta, but as a kid, Barney despised his father. I can’t really go into all the details right now because of photo limits, but for example, he said he wanted to be as strong as Harold someday, so he could “show him”—which basically means he wanted to beat his ass for all the abuse.

We know he was their father’s #1 anti-fan. He wouldn’t wear dad’s ring on his own, not even to torment Clint.

I’ve repeated this several times already, but I’ll say it again: this fight was supposed to mess up Clint. I wouldn’t be surprised if this ring didn’t even belong to their father—unless Zemo literally robbed his grave.

Evidence #5: Barney seems to try to hold back for some reason

After Barney attacked Clint wearing their father’s ring, Clint at one point quips that it feels like “the old times.” When Barney asks if these are supposed to be his last words, Clint replies, “Dad would be so proud.”

After their exchange, Barney didn’t punch or hurt him. In fact, his hand was shaking, as if he didn’t want to continue but felt he had to. It seems Clint knew this moment would unsettle Barney just enough to give himself the perfect chance to defend himself.

It's also worth to mention that throughout the entire fight with Clint, Barney never took a clean shot or did anything that could seriously kill him. Even Clint noticed it.

"Barney's gone out of his way to try and kill me, but every time he's had the clean shot. He hasn't taken it."

One could argue that Barney didn’t want to kill Clint immediately, since a quick fight wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of full revenge. Yet he had plenty of opportunities to immobilize Clint. Instead, he wasted time shooting aimlessly and talking, rather than actually doing what he was supposed to do.

While we’re already on this panel, pay attention to Clint’s next words, since they connect to another piece of evidence:

"Why? Hoping that means there's really something in him that..."

Evidence #6: Clint's thought that Barney is being manipulated/brainwashed

You might think it’s nothing, since it’s just Clint’s opinion. But these are still his thoughts, and they matter—after all, we're in Clint's world, and he’s a very perceptive guy.

Throughout the entire fight, he keeps emphasizing that this was Zemo’s plan and it's all his fault.

"No, he just had to stumble upon my brother's near-dead body, bring him back to life, and train him to kill me when the time was right".

The focus is entirely on Zemo manipulating Barney, which strips him of accountability—as if Barney had no autonomy at all. At no point did Clint place the blame on him or claim it was solely his doing—it was always ‘Zemo this, Zemo that.’

Clint even tells Zemo: “(Barney) had a chance, until you came along and screwed him up.”

As if that wasn't enough, he keeps trying to get Barney to stop fighting.

"This isn’t you. It's not how I've remembered you. You were a hero—my hero. That’s how I’ll always see you. Nothing Zemo can do will change that.”

So far, the picture seems straightforward: according to Clint, everything Barney did was because of Zemo. If Zemo hadn’t found him, Barney would never have chosen to fight him.

One could argue that Clint simply holds Barney in too high regard and placing him on a pedestal. Which makes sense; to Clint, Barney was the brother who cared for him in childhood, and a martyr who sacrificed himself. So it would be hard for him to accept that Barney wants to hurt him.

However, when we take into account the rest of the evidences and especially the final piece I’ll present: it becomes difficult to deny that Zemo played a major role in everything. Both perspectives can coexist: Clint's blind love full of grief and Zemo's manipulation. They aren’t mutually exclusive.

Evidence #7: Barney saved Clint's eyesight after he was taken from Zemo

This is the clearest evidence, because, well, Barney literally saved Clint’s eyesight by stem cell transplant—something he did immediately after being taken by the Avengers. At first, Clint thought they forced Barney to do it, but that’s not the case.

Clint: What did you do to my brother!? Donald: It's what he did for you.

This scene is somewhat symbolic, considering everything I've discussed before. Clint assumed it was another thing forced onto his brother against his will. Instead, it turned out to be Barney’s own choice—his first real decision made entirely on his own. And that first decision was to help Clint.

Later, when Barney wakes up and Clint finally talks to him without all the cringy fighting, he first asks if he consented to the transplant. Barney responds, “Does it matter?” You could read a lot into this, but it also seems tied to the Zemo situation—like, does it even matter whether he consented to the transplant? Or to any of what happened to him?

Even though he claimed he did it so Clint could see his arrow before dying, it all comes across as just talk.

Why do I think it’s just talk? Because after that, Barney never once tried to kill Clint. During his time in Dark Avengers, he never even mentioned wanting to actually kill him.

Sure, he bragged about being better than Clint and talked about beating him, but there’s no scene showing a real intent to kill. His words were likely just him expressing what he believed to be true, not reality.

Clint, for his part, said he'll never give up on him and didn’t even flinch when Barney said one of them would die—he just knew it wouldn’t happen.

The connclusion:

This isn’t even everything I had in mind. I had to cut the post because of the photo limit. I’ll cover Dark Avengers and Thunderbolts in another post. For now, let’s wrap up this part with a conclusion.

Was he brainwashed? I believe, yes. According to the Oxford Learner's Dictionaries, brainwash means to "pressurize someone into adopting radically different beliefs by using systematic and often forcible means." Meanwhile, brainwashing means "the activity of forcing somebody to accept your ideas or beliefs, for example by repeating the same thing many times or by preventing the person from thinking clearly". The Cambridge Dictionary defines brainwash as “making someone believe something by repeatedly telling them it’s true and preventing other information from reaching them.” All of the descriptions fit what may have happened to Barney.

We don't know how it actually happened. We don’t know exactly how Zemo manipulated him, what he said, or what the training entailed. Considering Barney had no prior experience with archery, matching his brother’s skill would have required extremely intense training. It’s clear he was taken advantage of and probably forced to endure it. We also don’t know exactly what Elihas did to him before Blindspot—whether he simply erased memories or went further and altered them. And if he did, then the questions remain: to what extent?

We'll never know; we can only guess. But judging by how Barney was behaving, some kind of brainwashing occurred.

The next should be up soon, since I already have half of it written after splitting this one.