Well, here we are again – diving into yet another MCU Disney+ series; this time, dealing with the oft forgotten original Avenger, Hawkeye. I have to admit, much like with Wanda, I was never a huge Hawkeye fan – no offense to Jeremy Renner, but the bow and arrow toting superhero was never prominent enough throughout his run in the MCU to really require much focus. Up until this point in his cinematic story, his most compelling sequence involved him watching Natasha sacrifice herself so that Clint could see his family again*, which, frankly, isn’t the best resume line. But now Clint Barnes finally has himself a solo project, and we’ll get six episodes to see just what Hawkeye has to offer when he’s not hanging out with his super friends. So far, the results are pretty darn promising.
*The sacrifice of Nat has already been brought up in the series, with Clint having a difficult time watching her portrayed in the smash Captain America musical that opened the series. As was hinted in the post-credit scene from Black Widow – and has been spoiled through many an article, along with open discussions by the cast and crew – Yelena will be making an appearance in the series, as she is aware that Clint was present when Nat died, although she thinks Clint was responsible for her death. Making sure we see Clint’s continued anguish over losing his best friend is crucial for the reveal to come, and I’m glad the series started laying the groundwork for that early so it will feel earned.
Instead of providing us a story centered solely around Clint, we’re given a buddy story of sorts with the introduction of Kate Bishop (the great Hailee Steinfeld, who is crushing it thus far). The comic incarnation of Kate takes up the mantle of Hawkeye when Clint “dies” (and when he returns, he becomes Ronin), and the duo tend to work together when they appear in the comics. Here, we are introduced to Kate as a young girl, as she loses her father during Loki’s attack on New York (Brian d’Arcy James plays her dad in his brief appearance – a heck of a get for the series if that ends up being his only scene in the show), and then dedicates her life to learning how to protect herself and her mother from the dangers of the world. A hero born from trauma isn’t exactly an original story, but it works well here, with Kate’s wealthy upbringing allowing her the means and the access to truly become exceptional in her chosen field – while also allowing her to have some of the devil may care attitude (a la a Tony Stark) that will consistently get her into tough scrapes that she’ll have to work her way out of (or have Clint come in and extricate her from for maximum comedy and action gold).
What makes Kate work so well thus far is the one-two punch of excellent casting (as I said, Steinfeld is great in the role) and her impeccable chemistry with Renner. Setting up this relationship as a father-daughter one was a smart move (sometimes in the comics there’s a sexual tension between the two that would absolutely not work here, both due to the massive age difference in the actors, but also due to the years-long set-up of Linda Cardellini’s Laura as a wife who genuinely understands Clint’s role in the world and offers him complete support). And making it an slightly antagonistic one, with lots of sniping and sarcastic comedy? Perfection. Renner and Steinfeld sing in their scenes together and you feel the Die Hard Christmas movie energy between the pair. Even if the story turns out to be a dud (which I doubt, considering the brief introduction of the series main antagonist – at least until Yelena rolls in – at the end of the second episode), the buddy comedy chemistry between our two Hawkeyes is enough to get me to tune in for the remaining four episodes of the series.
Outside of Kate and Clint, we’re introduced to some of the nefarious underground criminals that Clint wasn’t able to clear out when he was masquerading as Ronin (presumably because these folks disappeared in the Blip, as he was pretty lights out with the killing back during those days). First up, there’s Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton, most recently of Better Call Saul), a shady man set to marry Kate’s mother, Eleanor (the great Vera Farmiga, a casting choice that makes it clear there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to her character as well). Then there’s the Tracksuit Mafia (with their aforementioned, as yet unnamed – although you can Google it and find out all about her – boss), who wanted to snag a watch that was recovered from Avengers Tower, origin unknown. This is the first real foray of the MCU into the dark underworld of New York City outside of the Netflix shows that are technically part of the MCU, but still remain the red-headed stepchildren of the universe (disappointing, as getting Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, or Daredevil into a show like Hawkeye would be pretty cool and not super out of place in the grand scheme of things).
It’s also the first Disney+ series that is more focused on a story that doesn’t have universe-impacting reach. Sure, elements of what we see and learn here will reverberate into the MCU, but this isn’t Wanda growing her powers to world destroying potential. Or Loki splitting the multiverse. Or even Sam taking on the mantle of Captain America – which is a HUGE move in the MCU. Rather, it’s Clint Barton training a protégé (even if he’s doing it begrudgingly) and him taking down a crime syndicate. It’s refreshing to see the MCU play some small ball and deal with some easy-to-understand threats to our world, while also throwing in some humor and fun. I think this will be a nice ride, and I can’t wait to see where it takes us from here.
Hawkeye Theories/Easter Eggs
— I’m not super versed in the world of Hawkeye, and I suspect there won’t be a TON of crazy theories we need to work out for this show (aside from whether or not a certain NYC underworld kingpin makes an appearance – which is very possible), so I don’t know how much speculation I’ll need to throw in here (like, I’m pretty sure Mephisto isn’t behind any of this). But I’m keeping the section for some fun things I see or want to discuss moving forward.
— Young Avengers: So, thus far in the MCU, we’ve been introduced to Elijah Bradley (known as Patriot, and seen in Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Billy and Tommy (Wiccan and Speed, Vision and Wanda’s twins from WandaVision), and Kid Loki (in, naturally, Loki), all of whom are members of the Young Avengers team. Oh, and there’s also Cassandra Lang – Scott’s daughter, who was recast and will be playing a larger role in the third Ant-Man film. We’re set to meet America Chavez (Miss America) in the upcoming Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (which will also feature Wanda as the villain, trying to find her twins once more). And here, we’re introduced to Kate Bishop. So, while Marvel won’t explicitly say it, I think it’s super clear we’re going to be getting a Young Avengers . . . something . . . at some point in the near future. The pieces are all in place. Just got to get the team together.
— If I have one worry for the series it is that it might find itself a bit overstuffed with story for its six-episode length. This is something that plagued TFATWS, which had a similarly short run-time and a large cast of characters to serve. Here, it helps that Kate and Clint’s arcs are completely intertwined (and that the scope of the story appears to be much smaller). But we have the Tracksuit Mafia, Jack’s plan, Eleanor’s dealings, and Yelena waiting in the wings in terms of actual and potential adversaries – that’s a lot to handle in the next four hours. (It also makes me think that Yelena won’t truly be a factor in the series, but will only appear at the end of things as a tease of what is to come in Clint’s story moving forward.)
— Loved the opening credit sequence that provided us the backstory of Kate’s training without making us sit through a legit training montage. We know what she excels at and we know how long it took her to get there. More shows should go this route.
-
Acting
-
Writing
-
Direction
