Hawkeye debuted on Disney+ today, and the first two episodes had plenty of talking points. It feels a lot like the best is yet to come, though the groundwork is laid here for some big reveals and twists that could have major consequences for this series and beyond.
As much as we enjoyed spending time with Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), there were other characters who grabbed our attention over the course of that 90 minutes or so. In fact, it's those supporting players we think could lead to the introduction of a certain Kingpin of Crime!
That and more is tackled here as we dive into the show's biggest moments and what they could mean for both the next four episodes and the wider MCU as a whole.
As you might expect, a lot of major spoilers for Hawkeye will be found from this point on!
5. There's Something Shady About Eleanor Bishop
Eleanor Bishop might seem like a great mom on the surface, but these opening episodes offer plenty of hints that all might not be as it appears.
After arguing with her husband over the family's finances in that 2012 flashback, Eleanor is gone for a little too long before finding Kate. During that period, Derek dies off screen. Our guess? Eleanor took the opportunity to murder him so that she could be rid of the anchor pulling the Bishop family down, and was able to disguise that murder through their apartment's destruction.
This and her bizarre meeting with Armand Duquesne point to Kate's mother hiding something, and we're putting all our money on it being Bishop Security's link to organized crime.
We'll get to what this is potentially leading to a little later in this piece.
4. Armand Duquesne's Powerful Friend
Armand Duquesne is another shady character, and ends up meeting his maker by the time all is said and done. He and Jack both look uncomfortable at the mention of Ronin at the black market auction they seem all too happy to be part of, but it's Armand the third's exchange with Eleanor that's left us with the biggest questions.
While they're squabbling, listen carefully, and you'll hear him say, "I've got powerful friends too. The kind you don't want to mess with."
It sounds a lot like he's caught up in something, and we'd hazard a guess that she may have threatened him in some way. As for his powerful friends, that could be Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. the Kingpin of Crime, or someone Armand believes is just as noteworthy (Eleanor appears unfazed).
We definitely anticipate this conversation being elaborated on in the coming weeks, anyway.
3. Jack's Penchant For Swords
Jack Duquesne is a reimagined take on Jacques Duquesne, a character comic book fans will know best as Swordsman. Hawkeye's mentor when he was a boy, the villain later battled The Avengers and found redemption after making the ultimate sacrifice to protect Mantis from Kang the Conqueror.
It feels like Hawkeye could be an origin story for the character, but he definitely has a vested interest in swords if these opening episodes are any indication.
Not only does he collect swords, but Jack makes a point of stealing Ronin's retractable blade as soon as the opportunity presents itself (you'd best believe he'll be using that down the line). Later, when he fences with Kate, her future stepdad pulls out the moves on an expert swordsman.
So, yeah, he'll be suiting up at some point in the MCU's future.
2. Clint Barton's Past Comes Back To Haunt Him
There may be no sign of Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova in the first two episodes of Hawkeye, but we know she's coming. For now, though, Clint's tenure as Ronin is haunting him in a big way.
No one knows it was him in the suit, and Kate is currently in the frame. With that in mind, Clint's secret could be revealed imminently, and he'll then have a lot of bad guys taking aim at him (including a vengeful Maya Lopez). It sounds like Ronin decimated New York City's criminal underworld, including the Tracksuit Mafia.
Interestingly, Clint has told his wife about his time as Ronin, and she's clearly accepted that the trauma of losing his entire family is what pushed the Avenger down a dark path.
Before anyone else comes gunning for Hawkeye, though, he'll have to deal with Echo...
1. Meet Echo
In the closing few moments of Hawkeye's second episode, we're introduced to Maya Lopez.
Known as Echo in the comic books, she'll soon receive her own spinoff series and is likely to go from villain to hero over the course of this show. For now, she wants to get her hands on Ronin, and that's almost certainly down to her believing the vigilante is responsible for the death of her father (a gangster known as Willie "Crazy Horse" Lincoln).
On the page, Wilson Fisk raised Maya as his own, training her to be a formidable fighter he eventually sent after Daredevil. Fooled into believing the Man Without Fear killed her dad, Echo did eventually see the error of her ways and became a New Avenger.
You can imagine how this could be adapted for the MCU, and we're hoping it confirms plans for Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin to have a recurring presence in this world.