The holidays are upon us, and Marvel fans have been suffering a drought of superhero content. Sure, Eternals was released earlier this month, which helped to quell the pain of a lack of heroics, but that was almost three weeks ago!
Luckily, the wait is over for the newest Marvel series on Disney+. The first two episodes of Hawkeye premiered on the streaming app earlier today, and I managed to find time to sit down and watch the first one. But how does the series hold up to the other Marvel shows we’ve gotten this year?
The episode, titled “Never Meet Your Heroes,” opens in 2012 with an introduction to Kate Bishop. She’s about ten years old, and she overhears her parents arguing. Her father tries to calm her fears of their divorce and promises to always protect her. However, the Attack on New York, as witnessed in The Avengers destroys their penthouse and kills her father. Kate is almost killed too, but an arrow from Hawkeye’s bow saves her life. She watches Hawkeye in action fighting against the Chitauri, and her hero-worship is born. At her father’s funeral, she tells her mother she needs to keep them safe and to do that she needs a bow and arrow.
This hero worship makes a certain amount of sense. After all, the last thing that Kate’s father said to her was that he’d protect her, and it turned out to be Hawkeye who truly saved the girl. It would make sense that Kate would have some sort of transference and see Clint as a surrogate father figure.
Growing up, she put a lot of energy into bettering herself, learning archery, gymnastics, martial arts. She gets good, all of which is illustrated in the animated title sequence.
That doesn’t mean that Kate is well adjusted. Just the opposite. When we first meet her in “present-day” (which means 2025, as this series takes place two years after Avengers Endgame) she is in the middle of a school prank that involves ringing the campus bell in the middle of the night. She uses a tennis ball on an arrow and fires it from a nearby building. However, the arrow causes the bell to crack, and eventually the tower falls in on itself. But Kate doesn’t escape unscathed; she is discovered by security.
Clint, on the other hand, is struggling with regular life. On a trip to Manhattan with his kids, he watches Rogers: The Musical on Broadway, which dramatizes the events of the Attack on New York. Here we learn that he is suffering from hearing loss and uses a hearing aid, an important element of the character from the comic books.
He’s also still reeling from the loss of Black Widow. Having watched her die in Avengers Endgame left an indelible mark on him, and he watches the actress playing Black Widow in the musical wistfully.
On top of all of that, Clint is trying to reconnect with his kids, who disappeared for five years during the Blip. His goal is to give them a memorable Christmas in New York City and deepen their bond. But as all of this is happening, he’s treated like a celebrity; he gets asked for a picture in a men’s room and has his dinner in a Chinese restaurant comped. His treatment makes him uncomfortable as he doesn’t see himself as a hero.
From the title of the show and much of the promotion, it was assumed that Hawkeye would be about…well, Hawkeye. The Hawkeye we’ve known since he popped up in 2011’s Thor. But this is Kate’s story. Her rise as a hero and the trouble that she gets into. And I like that.
We’ve gotten a glimpse into Clint Barton’s life and know pretty well what kind of hero he is. We’ve seen him at his best as well as his worst. We don’t need to rehash any of that. So to see Kate get the limelight and come up in this series is sure to be a breath of fresh air.
That’s not to say I don’t want some character development for Clint. I do, and it certainly seems like we’ll get that. With the Ronin identity coming back to the forefront, Clint will be forced to deal with the red in his ledger during the Blip. He’ll be forced to confront those demons and atone for them. And hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if Clint doesn’t make it to the other side of the series, and that his “atonement” includes sacrificing himself in some way. It would be a shame to see that given how he’s trying to bond with his family, but he clearly carries a lot of self-hatred.
Plus, most of the other original Avengers are retiring in some way, so I can see Renner choosing to step aside too.
Jeremy Renner has always portrayed Clint Barton well, but the weight the character carries really shines here. Renner wears a lot of Clint’s past on his face, and his eyes convey much of the character’s pain. We can see what he’s going through without Renner ever having to say a word. This is the best I’ve seen Clint in years, and I really enjoy it.
Beside Renner is Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop. Steinfeld brings a funness to the character and does so with aplomb. Her movements are so fluid and natural that Steinfeld really sells the character’s athletic grace perfectly. She and Renner don’t get a lot of screen time together in the first episode, though, so I’m eager to see how they play off each other in future episodes.
The other big-name star in the premiere is Vera Farmiga, who plays Kate’s mother, Eleanor. Farmiga is inimitable in her talent, and though she doesn’t have as meaty a role as Renner and Steinfeld, he handles the character well. Though there is something about Eleanor’s connection to Armand Duquesne (Simon Callow) that hints at something deeper.
The series works in a lot of elements from the Matt Fraction/David Aja Hawkeye series and does it well. The inclusion of Lucky the Pizza Dog is sure to please many viewers and also brings fans this much closer to getting a Pet Avengers series. (No, I doubt it will ever happen, but a guy can dream, can’t he?)
The track-suited Russian mobsters are also a ton of fun. They add a quirky vibe to the show and intimate that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. All of which is courtesy of Matt Fraction’s incredible writing on the series and creating a squad of goons that are actually funny.
Unfortunately, the series doesn’t bother to give credit to the other architect of that series: David Aja. Aja’s art has inspired most of the show’s visuals, and I’m using “inspired” in an entirely loose way since much of it looks like it was lifted right off Aja’s drawing table. To see something so visually similar without credit to the original artist is truly disheartening, and Disney should be ashamed of themselves for such an oversight. (It’s also more disheartening that a new feature of the Disney+ app limits viewers’ exposure to the credits, disregarding all of the people who put in their hard work on the show.)
For all its faults, Hawkeye is an enjoyable show. The cast delivers excellent performances, and there’s plenty of story left to unravel over the next five episodes. I’m excited to learn more about Kate Bishop as well as see some of the other things we know will pop up in the show (Maya Lopez! The return of Yelena Belova! Maybe Kingpin…?) Hawkeye is shaping up to be a fun ride.
Now on to Episode Two!
