Well, my head canon is that after the collapse of SHIELD, Maria becomes sort of a collection/contact point for all the loyal agents drifting around, and channels them towards Stark Industries which is surreptitiously taking on the task of global protection. Which then of course seems to go wrong a wee bit via Ultron.

Before the fall, she and Clint developed a grudging respect, but she always hated his ways of going off protocol whenever it suited him, while he thinks she's a bit of a tightass. But there is always that respect for someone who does the job loyally and well, and is fundamentally a Good Person.

Edited 2014-10-30 12:19 pm (UTC)

Yep, that makes perfect sense. She's a known entity to so many, she has to be, and I guess the type of person who worked for SHIELD in the first place won't just shrug and get a janitor's job instead. Actual SHIELD has gone underground and is getting a bad rep, so going where Maria went has to look like a good alternative in that case.

Which then of course seems to go wrong a wee bit via Ultron. -- Tiny little bit. XD

And yep. Not exactly best friends or likely to, like, go grab a beer together, but they did/do respect each other's competence.