Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Starring Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton / Hawkeye), Hailee Steinfeld (Kate Bishop), Tony Dalton (Jack Duquesne), Vera Farmiga (Eleanor Bishop), Linda Cardellini (Laura Barton), Fra Free (Kazi), and Alaqua Cox (Maya Lopez), with Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova and Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpin
HAWKEYE
Directed by Rhys Thomas plus Bert & Bertie
Produced by Kevin Feige, Victoria Alonso, Louis D’Esposito, Trinh Tran, Brad Winderbaum, Rhys Thomas, and Jonathan Igla
Music by Christophe Beck and Michael Paraskevas
Distributed by Disney Platform Distribution
Number of Episodes: 6
Initial Streaming: November 24, 2021 – December 22, 2021
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Fun Hawkeye Facts
In the Spring of 2019, rumors emerged suggesting that Marvel Studios was in the early stages of development on a Hawkeye Streaming Series that would star Jeremy Renner and introduce Marvel character Kate Bishop.
On July 20, 2019, at San Diego Comic Con, Jeremy Renner joined Kevin Feige on-stage to officially announce Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye series for Disney+.
On November 12, 2019, the Disney+ Streaming Service launched in the United States. Disney+ drew a reported 10-million customers on its first day.
On December 10, 2020, as part of Disney’s “Investor’s Day”, Kevin Feige confirmed that Hailee Steinfeld would be portraying Kate Bishop in Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye and that deaf actress Alaqua Cox had been cast in the role of deaf superhero Maya Lopez. Hawkeye was furthermore confirmed for a late-2021 release.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Hawkeye commenced filming during the month of December-2020 and wrapped production on April 21, 2021.
During the Summer of 2021, rumors began to surface suggesting that the Marvel character Kingpin would appear in Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye series with Vincent D’Onofrio cast in the role. D’Onofrio had portrayed Wilson Fisk / Kingpin in three seasons of Marvel Television’s Daredevil on Netflix from 2015-2018, to critical acclaim. D’Onofrio did indeed appear as Kingpin in the Series Finale of Hawkeye. Debates within the fan community as to whether or not the Netflix streaming shows were canon to the Marvel Cinematic Universe or not began to rage upon the release of Hawkeye, with no one from the Marvel Studios team stepping up to settle the issue. On March 16, 2022, the entire Defenders Saga arrived on Disney+, further fueling the debate. Four months later on July 23, 2022, Marvel CCO Kevin Fegie announced that Vincent D’Onofrio would star in an upcoming Disney+ series produced by Marvel Studios titled Daredevil: Born Again. The canonicity of The Defenders Saga remained an open debate. The 2023 book Marvel Studios – The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline seemed to confirm that The Defenders Saga was not canon, as there was no mention of Kingpin’s history as seen in the now former Netflix shows upon the Sacred Timeline. However, on January 3, 2023, Marvel Studios Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation: Brad Winderbaum confirmed during an interview with Screen Rant that the Wilson Fisk that appeared for Marvel Television from 2015-2018 and the Kingpin currently appearing for Marvel Studios were in fact the same person and that the events that took place during his appearances for Marvel Television did in fact happen upon the Sacred Timeline. This was further confirmed some 24-hours later when the final trailer for Marvel Studios’ Echo series featuring D’Onofrio as Kingpin, prominently featured video and audio from The Defenders Saga.
The 2023 book Marvel Studios – The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline confirmed that Hawkeye takes place in December 2024 upon the MCU (Sacred) Timeline, after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and before the main story of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
On July 29, 2021, Marvel Studios announced a November 24, 2021, release date for Hawkeye on Disney+.
On September 13, 2024, the first trailer for Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye was released.
Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye series was largely inspired by the critically acclaimed Hawkeye comic book series that launched in 2012, written by Matt Fraction and illustrated by David Aja. I highly recommend this series!
Hawkeye introduces Kate Bishop into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a skilled archer and Hawkeye’s biggest fan. Kate first appeared in 2005’s Young Avengers # 1, created by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung. She has been a prominent member of The Young Avengers, was a featured part of Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye series, and even took on the mantle of Hawkeye from Clint Barton.
Hawkeye introduces Jack Duquesne as Kate Bishop’s stepfather to-be. In the Marvel comics, Duquesne is known as Swordsman; a character that trained Clint Barton to become Hawkeye and who had ambition to become an Avenger despite his rather checkered past. Swordsman did eventually join The Avengers and in fact died a hero, sacrificing his life to save Mantis during a showdown against Kang the Conqueror. Swordsman was created by Stan Lee and Don Heck in 1965.
Hawkeye introduces Maya Lopez into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Maya debuted in 1999’s Daredevil # 9 and was created by David Mack and Joe Quesada. In the comics, Maya was raised by Wilson Fisk and is traditionally known as Echo, but she has also worn the Ronin costume that is most associated in the MCU with Clint Barton. Maya was a featured part of Brian Michael Bendis’ New Avengers story.
On January 1, 2023, actor Jeremy Renner was hospitalized after suffering blunt chest trauma and 30 broken bones when he was hit and ran over by a snowplow that weighed 14,000 pounds. Renner’s injuries were debilitating and life threatening, and he spent two-and-a-half weeks in the hospital before being released on January 17 and beginning what would be a long and strenuous recovery.
On June 30, 2023, Rogers: The Musical (seen in Hawkeye) became a featured attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. The stories of Maya Lopez and Wilson Fisk can continue to be followed in the 2024 Marvel Studios Disney+ series Echo.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
My Hawkeye Review
Episode # 1: Never Meet Your Heroes – Directed by Rhys Thomas. Written by Jonathan Igla. Released November 24, 2021.
The first episode of Hawkeye takes viewers back to the Battle of New York where we see the incident through the eyes of a young Kate Bishop. The Chitauri invasion ends up costing Kate’s beloved father his life, which of course, leaves a huge mark on Kate moving forward, but the exploits of the Avenging Archer Hawkeye did as well, as she witnesses the heroic actions of Clint Barton, who not only unknowingly saves young Kate’s life, but does so with style! Kate is taken aback by the efforts of this ordinary man in this otherworldly battle, and Hawkeye emerges as Kate’s hero; someone that she wants to be just like when she grows up. The loss of her father drives Kate to be all that she can be in the area of archery, and by the year 2024, at the age of 22, Kate has become one of the most capable archers on the planet, claiming numerous awards in the field.
Meanwhile, Clint Barton had experienced quite the journey since that inaugural assembling of The Avengers. Hawkeye had fought aliens, robots, and even his friends and teammates during the superhero Civil War, before losing the entirety of his family following Thanos’ Snap, after which he embarked upon a murderous killing spree that targeted the criminal underworld. Five-years after the Snap, Barton reunited with what was left of The Avengers, venturing back through time in search of the ancient relic known as the Soul Stone. There, upon the Planet Vormir, Hawkeye horrifically lost his best friend and fellow Avenger: Natasha Romanoff. Back in 2023 with the Soul Stone, a mourning Barton witnessed another Snap; this one performed by Smart Hulk, and one which returned those who had been Snapped-away, including his wife, their three children, and the family dog. Hawkeye catches up with Barton during the Holiday season of 2024, as he and his family prepare for Christmas.
Barton soon learns however that moving on from one’s past can be a quite complex affair. For one, Clint is now experiencing major hearing loss, as all of his explosive battles before and after being an Avenger are catching up to him. Clint now wears a hearing aid and has been working hard on learning sign language. Beyond that, Clint is still in deep mourning over the loss of Natasha. He feels guilt, remorse, and frustration over her loss, and everything seems to remind him of her, which makes his venture to New York to watch Rogers: The Musical with his children a not-so-wise move on his part. Beyond that, despite his true identity being largely unknown, Barton’s murderous days as the Ronin have come back to haunt him in a major way after he witnesses the suit being worn by someone else, which is a huge deal, as whoever it is that is following in his footsteps, will surely be targeted for the things that he did while wearing that suit. Barton cannot not allow this, so he decides that getting to the bottom of this mystery is a primary objective. As it turns out, it is young Kate Bishop that has donned the Ronin outfit.
This is no tribute to her idol, as Kate has no idea that Hawkeye and Ronin are one in the same. Kate comes to don the suit after attending a Charity Auction Gala where she learns that her mother has gotten engaged to a man named Jack Duquesne. This news is startling for Kate, who from there discovers a Black-Market auction that is taking place underneath the Gala where select items from The Avengers Compound are being sold to the highest bidder. Jack is taking part in this shady series of events alongside his Uncle Armand, but everything goes south following an invasion from a local crime syndicate known as The Tracksuit Mafia. There were three items of note that were to be auctioned off: a sword that had been wielded by Ronin, the Ronin costume itself, and a mysterious watch. With chaos erupting around them, Jack steals the Ronin sword and flees, while Kate confiscates the Ronin costume and puts it on and then takes the fight to The Tracksuit Mafia. Kate does well for herself, and even saves a stray dog along the way, whom she bonds with over their shared love for pizza. Kate would ultimately name the dog Lucky.
Wanting to learn more about Jack and his uncle, Kate ventures to Armand’s home, where she discovers to her horror that Armand has been killed! There, Kate encounters members of The Tracksuit Mafia once more, and the group chases Kate through the streets of New York City, which is the point in time that Kate and Clint’s paths cross as Hawkeye arrives to save Kate from what would have in all likelihood been a deadly confrontation. Clint is shocked to see that the Ronin costume is being worn by a “kid”, while Kate, despite the trauma of the evening is thrilled to meet her hero: Hawkeye!
The first episode of Hawkeye was one that I thoroughly enjoyed! The Christmas setting was wonderful, and I loved seeing where Clint Barton was at this stage of his life following the events of Avengers: Endgame. I really enjoyed Jeremy Renner’s attention to detail in his performance during this episode. The look on his face as he watches an actress portraying Natasha dancing around on-stage was touching, and the little winces and grimaces of pain and sadness on his face throughout the episode were windows into where Clint was at mentally and physically. Meanwhile, Hailee Steinfeld was perfect as Kate Bishop. Her story was told in both a visually and emotionally solid way, and she was easy for me to cheer for throughout this episode as she got-in quickly over her head in her efforts to be a hero.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Episode # 2: Hide and Seek – Directed by Rhys Thomas. Written by Elisa Climent. Released November 24, 2021.
The second episode of Hawkeye opens with Clint Barton venturing to Kate Bishop’s apartment amidst hopes of repossessing the Ronin suit. There, he quickly discovers that Kate has not done a good job at all in terms of keeping her identity secret as members of The Tracksuit Mafia soon arrive exclaiming her name and setting her apartment on fire. This showdown with the Tracksuit Mafia highlights some of both Barton and Bishop’s skills and results in Kate and Clint having to flee the burning building, leaving the Ronin suit behind. With things quickly escalating, Barton decides against returning home with his children, but promises to be home for Christmas. Barton then tracks down the Ronin suit at a LARP (live-action role playing) event in the custody of a local firefighter known as Grills. Clint is coerced by Grills to take part in the LARP festivities and to make Grills look good in the process. Despite being resistant to the idea, Hawkeye ends up having some much-needed fun, while in the process repossessing the Ronin suit.
In the meantime, Kate confronts her mother with news of Armand’s death and her suspicions of Jack. Eleanor will hear none of it, while Jack tries to psychologically analyze Kate. This leadd to Kate challenging Jack to a fencing duel, as she believes there is much more to the man than what he is letting on. This was a really fun scene as Kate tries to expose Jack’s talents while accusing him of holding back all the while. She eventually accomplishes her mission before angrily leaving and reaching out to Hawkeye, unaware that he has allowed himself to be captured by The Tracksuit Mafia in an effort to interrogate them. Kate tracks Barton’s location however, and interrupts Hawkeye’s interrogation, crashing through the roof and getting herself captured as well. With both of the archers in Tracksuit custody, the gang contacts their boss: Maya Lopez.
The second episode of Hawkeye was another solid effort by all involved. The fencing scene between Kate and Jack was wonderful and Jack in fact stole the episode for me as Tony Dalton was amazing in the role. He was somehow both shady and likable, and that allowed a lot of mystery to surround the character in terms of his true intentions and whether or not he was a hero or a villain. I also enjoyed the chemistry between Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld throughout the episode, and both the action and the laughs were great here from start to finish!
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Episode # 3: Echoes – Directed by Bert & Bertie. Written by Katie Mathewson and Tanner Bean. Released December 1, 2021.
The third episode of Hawkeye starts strong with Maya Lopez interrogating the captured Clint Barton and Kate Bishop. Lopez has been on a relentless campaign to discover who the person behind the Ronin mask is due to the murder of her father and Ronin’s part in it. Barton uses his skills to break free from his bondage and takes the fight to The Tracksuit Mafia, but his hearing aid is damaged during the brawl. After freeing Kate, Barton and Bishop rush outside and steal a getaway car which leads to an exciting action sequence as The Tracksuit Mafia give chase. While Clint drives, Kate fires a series of trick arrows at their pursuers and seeing how these various arrows worked was really awesome, not only for the visuals but for how exciting it was for Kate as a character to be wielding these weapons! Barton and Bishop go on to make a thrilling escape, after which the villainous Kazi of The Tracksuit Mafia warns Maya of the consequences of disappointing her uncle, whom he did not name.
After repairing Clint’s hearing aid, Kate convinces Hawkeye to break into her mother’s penthouse and use her company account to access Bishop Security’s criminal database in an effort to learn more about Jack Duquesne as well as The Tracksuit Mafia. There, Barton is confronted by none other than Jack, armed with a sword, bringing the episode to a close.
The third episode of Hawkeye featured what was probably the show’s best overall action sequence. That car chase was just bonkers, and everyone involved brought their A-game to it! I also thoroughly enjoyed the performance of Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez!
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Episode # 4: Partners, Am I Right? – Directed by Bert & Bertie. Written by Erin Cancino and Heather Quinn. Released December 8, 2021.
Picking up right where the previous episode left off, Clint Barton is spared the wrath of Jack Duquesne and Eleanor Bishop after they recognize him as an Avenger and realize that he is working in cahoots with Kate. Eleanor pleads for Hawkeye to keep Kate out of his ongoing investigation in fear for her safety, and Clint relates to her concern. From there, Barton reaches out to his wife Laura for assistance, and she helps him deduce that Jack Duquesne was the CEO of Sloan Limited; a company that laundered money for The Tracksuit Mafia, confirming at least some of Kate’s suspicions that Jack was in some way involved with the situation she’d gotten herself into. From there, Barton confronts Maya’s associate Kazi and orders Kazi to talk Maya down from her vendetta against him.
In the meantime, Kate devises a proper Christmastime celebration for her hero, complete with pizza and a variety of Christmas movies. Appreciating the effort, this ends up being a major bonding evening for Clint and Kate where Barton comes clean with Kate and admits to being Ronin. Not only is this a therapeutic conversation, but it leads to Clint sharing some of the tricks of his trade with Kate, which she thoroughly enjoys.
After Kate enlists the services of some of the LARPers that Clint had met previously, Laura informs Clint that the mysterious watch that was stolen by The Tracksuit Mafia was emitting a tracking signal. Barton and Bishop set out to retrieve the watch together, which turns out to be at Maya Lopez’s apartment. Kate enters the premises where she finds not only the watch, but a notepad with the names of Barton, his wife, and his children written on it. A panicked Barton, realizing that Kate is in imminent danger, orders her to flee at once and rushes to her aid. Inside, Kate encounters Maya and a fight between the two ensues. As Clint rushes to her, he encounters a masked assailant that he presumes is Lopez, only to discover that Kate is fighting Lopez. The fight between Kate and Maya spills outside where Kate finds herself stranded on a getaway zip-line provided by Barton. Clint assists her in a very emotional save after which Maya is injured and the masked assailant is unmasked, revealing the assailant to be … Yelena Belova, on a mission to kill the man Yelena believes to be her sister Narasha’s murderer.
The mere sight of Yelena and Clint’s realization that she is a Black Widow raises the stakes of the situation to a level where Clint is no longer willing to include Kate in the mission, calling off their partnership.
The fourth episode of Hawkeye was the most emotional, and the most satisfying yet! Kate and Clint’s Christmas celebration was so beautiful and really moving, and the outstanding chemistry between Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld continued to define this show as its greatest strength! I also loved the callback to Endgame with Kate hanging in midair and Clint’s haunting memories of Natasha in a similar situation, but the greatest callback was Clint’s answer to Kate’s question of what his best shot was, to which he replied, “The one I didn’t take”, alluding to Natasha. This was a really beautiful exchange. Though this show ended with Clint calling-off his partnership with Kate, that declaration was reflective of how so very much he’d grown to care for Kate. He didn’t order the end of their partnership for Eleanor or anyone else. He did it for her, for he didn’t want to see her get hurt any further. On top of all of that, Yelena Belova was back, and with her being the highlight of Marvel Studios’ Black Widow for me, I was thrilled to be getting more of her here!
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Episode # 5: Ronin – Directed by Bert & Bertie. Written by Jenna Noel Frazier. Released December 15, 2021.
The fifth episode of Hawkeye begins with a flashback to the year 2018 which reveals that after two years of working to deprogram other Black Widow’s, Yelena Belova was a victim of Thanos’ Snap and was erased from existence for 5-years.
In the present, Kate Bishop goes to her mother Eleanor with the information she’s obtained on Jack Duquesne and Eleanor vows to have Jack arrested for his apparent involvement with The Tracksuit Mafia. From there, Kate returns to her aunt’s apartment where she encounters an unmasked Yelena, who reveals her past as well as her mission to Kate, warning Bishop to stay out of her way.
In the meantime, Clint once again dons the Ronin suit and sets out to confront Maya Lopez. Their ensuing altercation is fierce until Barton unmasks and reveals his identity to Maya. Hawkeye then pleads with Maya to leave him and his family alone and to drop her vendetta against him, reasoning that it was an informant who worked for her boss that ordered the hit on her father’s life, hoping that this info would redirect Maya’s anger. That didn’t happen however, and as Maya goes for a killing blow, Clint’s life is saved by an arrow shot from Kate. Bishop goes on to reveal that the Black Widow targeting Barton was Natasha’s sister and Clint welcomes Kate back with open arms, realizing that perhaps they both need one another, regardless of the consequences.
Meanwhile, Clint’s words to Maya begin to sink-in, leading her to grow suspicious of Kazi, who was uncharacteristically absent the night that her father died.
The following day, Yelena reaches out to Kate, revealing that she was hired to kill Barton by Eleanor and furthermore reveals that Eleanor is working for Maya’s uncle, who Barton identifies as the Kingpin of Crime.
Coming out of episode five, the big thing on my mind was of course, the Kingpin reveal. Rumors had teased this development for months, and I was one of countless fans who hoped Marvel Studios would bring back Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, and I was thrilled to see that they had, as I was a huge fan of his performance throughout Marvel Television’s Daredevil on Netflix. Everything with Yelena and Maya was also great, as this show was loaded with compelling characters and exceptional performances by its cast!
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Episode # 6: So, This is Christmas? – Directed by Rhys Thomas. Written by Jonathan Igla and Elisa Climent. Released December 22, 2021.
The sixth and final episode of Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye was a thrilling end to a very, very good Disney+ series as everything came to a head between all of the characters that were prominently featured. Clint and Kate learn that Kate’s mother Eleanor had murdered Armand and framed Jack Duquesne, which comes as a shocking revelation to Kate. On top of that, Kingpin has targeted Eleanor for termination. Bishop rushes out to her mother’s Christmas party to confront her over the reveals, learning that her father owed Kingpin money at the time of his death which opened a door through which Eleanor walked to begin working with Fisk. Fisk has ordered Kazi to take out Eleanor, but Kazi instead targets Barton. This leads to all sorts of chaos, beginning with Barton and Bishop receiving help from the LARPers to evacuate the party and to Clint once again being confronted by Yelena. Just as he had during his solo clash with Maya, Barton decides to fight the battle with honesty, revealing to Yelena the truth about Natasha’s heroic death and the fact that he knew all about her due to stories that his late best friend had shared with him. Yelena eventually pulls back from her attack and even helps Barton to his feet before fleeing the premises.
Meanwhile, Kingpin catches up with Eleanor and prepares to take matters into his own hands, but he is confronted by Kate. Bishop’s arrow shots have no effect on the Kingpin of Crime however, and as he advances upon Kate, Eleanor crashes her car into the mammoth man. Eleanor has saved her daughter’s life, but Kate nonetheless has her arrested for the murder of Armand. No one is happier about this than poor Jack Duquesne who aligns with Kate and Clint in their final showdown with The Tracksuit Mafia.
Coinciding with all of this is Maya’s realization that Kingpin and Kazi both had played a part in the death of her father. This provokes Maya to meet with Fisk and apologize for allowing her quest for vengeance to consume her and then asking for some time off, which Fisk grants. As soon as she leaves however, Fisk orders Kazi to take Maya down. From there, Maya confronts Kazi in private, beckoning him to leave behind the life they had lived in servitude to Kingpin, but Kazi assures Maya that Fisk would never let that be and persists to provoke her into an altercation. Their fight ends with Maya killing Kazi, which she never wanted to do, leaving just one person left on her new list: Wilson Fisk.
Maya tracks Kingpin down after he’d been run over by Eleanor Bishop. Maya pulls a gun on Fisk, who tries to reason with her to no avail, as Maya pulls the trigger.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
With everything resolved, Barton returns home for Christmas, anxious to reunite with his wife and children and he takes Kate and Lucky with him. Clint also burns the Ronin suit, finally putting that part of his past behind him, and also gives the confiscated mysterious watch to Laura, to whom it belonged as it turned out; a link to Laura’s own mysterious past when she worked as an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. code-named Agent 19 (aka Mockingbird)!
The Mockingbird reveal was just one of my favorite moments from the Hawkeye finale. Most of the others pertained to Wilson Fisk and the solid, familiar performance of Vincent D’Onofrio. It was really cool to see Kingpin get a featured role in a Marvel Studios production and though Maya’s actions near the end of the episode suggested that this appearance by D’Onofrio was a one-off, I did expect to see him return to the MCU at some point, as the character has survived similar things throughout his history in the Marvel comics.
Other than my lack of affection for The Tracksuit Mafia (whose members came off as goofy and bumbling, and were used primarily for comedic relief), and an underwhelming credits scene, I have nothing negative to say about Hawkeye. I figure watching this series will become a Christmastime tradition for me and mine, and this was a solid effort from Marvel Studios, and all involved.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Highlights of Hawkeye
Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Ronin / Hawkeye
Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez
Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova
Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpin
Tony Dalton as Jack Duquesne
Trick Arrows!
Lucky the Pizza Dog
Christmas Setting
Emotional Callbacks to Natasha Romanoff
Chemistry between Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld
Battle of New York Flashback
Yelena’s Blip
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Notable MCU Concepts and Characters Introduced:
Kate Bishop. Eleanor Bishop. Jack Duquesne. The Tracksuit Mafia. Kazi. Maya Lopez. Lucky the Pizza Dog. Bishop Security. Sloan Limited. Marvel Television’s Kingpin of Crime (as produced by Marvel Studios).
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