The Knightly News

Kiran Thomman
Staff Writer

Clint Barton (aka Hawkeye) was the Scrooge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Still, it seems like he has found his Christmas spirit in the highly beloved Hawkeye series.

The new series will feature Clint Barton, played by Jeremy Renner in Hawkeye’s first stand-alone MCU feature content. The series is directed by Rhys Thomas, who is most notable for his work on Saturday Night Live. Hawkeye will also introduce a new character to the MCU, Kate Bishop. She is played by acclaimed singer and actress Hailee Steinfeld. Kate, the daughter of an extremely wealthy family, is rumored to take up the mantle of Clint Barton’s Hawkeye, finally allowing Barton a proper retirement. 

The MCU will also be introducing the first indigenous superhero in the show, Echo, who is played by upcoming actress Alqua Cox. In the comics, Echo is the adoptive daughter of crime lord Kingpin. Echo, otherwise known as Maya Lopez, can replicate every attack against her in equal force. Additionally, the MCU has announced plans for Echo to have her own stand-alone series on Disney set after the events of Hawkeye. 

The first two episodes of the six-part series were dropped on November 24th. New episodes were dropped every Wednesday for the following six weeks. 

Avengers: Infinity War left us with many questions, but one that haunted all of us was: Where in the world was Hawkeye? Thankfully his disappearance did not last long with his triumphant return in Avengers: Endgame. Sporting a fresh new mohawk, Barton was very much giving a punk rock “no one understands me” vibe the last fans saw him. You could even say Barton was going through a midlife crisis of sorts, especially considering the loss he underwent with his family. Although, in the Hawkeye series, it seems like Barton’s heart grew three times its size. 

At first, I believed that this was a missed opportunity. Hawkeye’s character throughout the Avengers saga was equivalent to eating a bland fruit cake. The only valuable role he played throughout the Avengers films was providing the team with the most Instagram-worthy, rustic B&B/Hideout in Avengers: Age of Ultron. 

 It was refreshing to see Hawkeye take on a rebellious side in Endgame, even if it was for a mere eighteen minutes of the film. In Hawkeye, he seems like the complete opposite. This compelling, alternate character that we had previously seen seems like a distant memory. However, this doesn’t seem like the case. A flashback of emo-Hawkeye overlapped with the voiceover narration of Clint Barton, where he stated darkly, “the past has caught up with me,” may indicate that many of the foes Barton clashed with during his vigilante days pre-Endgame may return for a final showdown. Echo’s presence may also hint at the possibility that the forefront villain of the show may be the king of mob bosses himself, Kingpin. 

Hawkeye’s twist that has made it stand apart from other MCU Disney shows was the holiday theme it will be following. This came to many viewers, and myself, as much of a surprise. The action-packed trailer was dubbed with the jolly melody of “What a Wonderful Life” by Andy Williams. Eerie gunshots matched the jolly rhythm of the Christmas classic as Clint Barton and Kate Bishop can be seen at infamous New York holiday hotspots. In true Disney fashion, cheesy holiday one-liners such as “I’ll be home for Christmas” and “This is some Christmas” were dropped in the trailer from Clint Barton himself. Aside from these cringe-worthy lines, I’m ecstatic to add Hawkeye to the Holiday Movie Marathon list.

Photo Source: Marvel.com