Disney+’s Hawkeye recently revisited Marvel’s archer Avenger and his dark past with his persona Ronin. Hawkeye took on the persona during the events of The Blip and made criminals pay the “ultimate price” with behavior very unbecoming of what a hero stands for. Marvel characters may not have gone to such extremes as Hawkeye did with Ronin, but he’s far from the first hero to adopt an alternate identity in Marvel comics.
Sometimes a hero just needs a break from the obligations of their mantle. Other times, being a hero is precisely what could get them killed, so they create a new persona to go undercover. Oh, and of course, we can’t forget the times a hero took over the mantle of another, for one reason or another. Let’s get into it and remember, with alternate identities comes different responsibilities? That’s not quite as catchy.
Hawkeye - Ronin
As previously mentioned, Hawkeye took on the identity of Ronin in order to brutally harm and even kill criminals during The Blip. In Marvel Comics, multiple heroes took on the identity of Ronin over the years, including Echo. The main point of Ronin is to give heroes an alternate way of operating without being tied to their hero persona. Hawkeye more or less did that in the MCU, though his actions ultimately came back to haunt him and prove changing a costume doesn’t always prevent consequences. We’ll see if Hawkeye sees any further punishment for his time as Ronin in Upcoming Marvel Movies.
Wolverine - Patch
Wolverine typically isn’t one to worry about concealing his identity for his own well-being, it’s an advantage of being more-or-less immortal. However, the hero’s been known to adopt personalities when discretion and secrecy are of utmost importance, with Patch being a popular one. Wolverine used Patch for things such as invading a crime auction in Madripoor, among other things. Mutants typically don’t have real-life personas disconnected from their mutant selves, so it’s kind of funny to see someone like Wolverine being anyone other than himself.
Captain America - Nomad
Captain America took up his name during one of the biggest wars of human history and delivered hope to many with his message. Decades later, Captain America found himself disillusioned with the nation after a discovery that a terrorist organization had ties back to a high-ranking United States official. Cap changed his costume and went by the name of Nomad, though there were some shortcomings of the change. For example, he never really got used to the cape and tripped over it on at least one occasion. The good news is that Steve Rogers eventually had his faith restored and returned to Captain America, though the Nomad persona lived on through other characters.
Hulk - Mr. Fixit
When it comes to multiple personas, few do it better than Bruce Banner. After all, The Hulk is an entirely different entity on his own and only just one of many personas and alternate identities Banner took on over the years. When The Hulk developed his Gray Hulk persona, he also took on a role as a Las Vegas enforcer that wore gangster clothes and went by the name Joe Fixit or Mr. Fixit. It’s certainly a strange persona, especially considering The Hulk often has trouble keeping his clothes on without ripping. There’s not a ton of notable things to say about Mr. Fixit, though in the Marvel Noire world, it is worth mentioning he’s the primary Hulk. Apparently, Marvel’s Noire world is the gift that keeps on giving.
Black Panther - Black Leopard
Black Panther did once go by the name Black Leopard, though not in the same circumstances as any other character in this list. Black Panther actually made his Marvel debut before the political organization of the same name, but once the Black Panthers were a prominent name in America, the character briefly changed his name to disassociate any connection. Ultimately, T’Challa had a change of heart, as he later went back to his name, and when characters at the time questioned the change, he went through the long-winded explanation of wanting to affiliate himself with the Black Panthers, though he had no real opinion on them one way or another. Given that, it might’ve just been better had he not changed his name at all? I guess we all make mistakes, though.
The Falcon - Captain America
The MCU adapted Sam Wilson’s transformation into Captain America, which also happened in Marvel comics. Falcon donned the mantle of Captain America when Steve Rogers had his powers sapped and was no longer capable of wielding the shield. Honestly, it’s not all that different than why Steve gave the shield to Sam in Avengers: Endgame, in the sense that Steve’s time as a hero was up. Sam then became a different Captain America, in more ways than one. It’ll be interesting to see how the MCU moves forward in its transformation and what the plan is for Steve Rogers should he ever return.
Reed Richards - The Maker
To this point, we’ve covered heroes who took on other personas that were still largely heroic. The Reed Richards of another world once took on a persona as The Maker, and in doing so, became one of the greatest supervillains out there. Not only is The Maker as brilliant as Reed Richards, but he’s also elastic, immortal, capable of existing in every multiverse at once, and once bonded with an artificial symbiote. Suffice to say, he’s a real pain in the ass for any hero to overcome if they can overcome him. He’s a little over-powered, in my opinion, though that seems to run in the family.
The Punisher - Cosmic Ghost Rider
The Punisher of another universe is killed by Thanos, and in a desperate plea for revenge, agrees to receive the Hellfire from Mephisto and become Ghost Rider. Things then quickly spiral out of control, and over the course of decades, Frank Castle also gains the power Cosmic from Galactus, as well as the Phoenix Force. These combined powers, all on top of his natural abilities as The Punisher, make him the most powerful being in existence, though he had little to show for it. His universe is practically empty by the time he’s at the height of his power, though fans do get to see him cause a bit of chaos and destruction.
Danny Rand - Daredevil
It’s not something that happens often, but occasionally, another hero is forced to step up and operate as another. In this case, Danny Rand had to step away from his usual operations as Iron Fist in order to try and convince the rest of the world that Matt Murdock wasn’t the real Daredevil. Ok, the story is a bit more complicated than that, and Rand was actually manipulated into thinking he was doing a friend a solid, but the point still stands. Iron Fist was Daredevil at one point.
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