In Defense of Hawkeye (2021)

        It’s been just about three years since Marvel released their Hawkeye show, exclusive to Disney+. It didn’t release with much fanfare; it was largely overshadowed by the hype for Spiderman: No Way Home, which released five days before Hawkeye’s finale episode, and many IMBd reviews call it cliche, predictable, or otherwise unremarkable. But I’m here to tell you that these reviews are incorrect: Hawkeye is a fun, well-paced show that accomplishes its goals well, brings in new and entertaining characters, and manages to completely avoid the power creep problem that has infected so much Marvel content. Spoilers below!

        Now, I have to admit, I’ve always had a soft spot for Hawkeye, so I might be biased. He gets a lot of flak in the MCU for being just a regular dude standing toe-to-toe with the likes of Cap, Iron Man, and Thor, but that’s one of the reasons I like him so much, and one of the reasons the show itself stood out to me. Clint is a regular guy– he’s got long term damage to his sense of hearing from the fights he’s been in (a deviation from the comics, where he is consistently anywhere from partially to fully deaf), he’s got a family he’s trying to get safely home to, and most relatably– he’s so, so over it all. He’s over being a superhero, after it cost him his closest friends. He’s over fighting bad guys, annoyed that they won’t leave him the hell alone. And he’s over having to “babysit” Kate Bishop, after she accidentally steals an old suit and his assassin-identity and gets targeted by the Tracksuit Mafia. Big mood, Barton. Big mood.

        Kate Bishop is a young, college-aged woman who’s been a super-fan of Hawkeye ever since she caught a glimpse of him during the Chitauri Invasion of New York City during the first Avengers movie. In out-of-movie terms, she’s shaping up to be Hawkeye’s successor character in whatever the next team-up movie will be. Marvel often receives criticism for its “quippy” writing, but in Kate’s case I think it makes sense. She’s a young 20-something from a rich family in New York– of course she feels a sense of invincibility. Her archery skills and gymnastic prowess don’t come out of nowhere either– because of her family’s wealth, she was able to take lessons in all sorts of things her whole life– the show highlights fencing, archery, and gymnastics specifically, and its established that she excels in all of them. Her attitude and skill make sense in-universe, and her impulsiveness, brashness, and lack of experience act as a foil to the wary, suspicious, and serious Clint Barton (as well as Yelena Belova, the successor to Black Widow. As a sidenote, I absolutely adore their dynamic). Kate's introduction into the wider Marvel universe felt very natural, and I’m excited to see where they take her character next.

        Hawkeye dodges the entire issue of power creep– the stakes are low enough that our heroes can conceivably fail, which finally adds an element of tension Marvel has been sorely lacking since the Infinity Saga days. Maya Lopez is a formidable villain– her character juxtaposed Clint’s as far as how they handled their disabilities, but I didn’t find her to be particularly memorable otherwise. I was fascinated by her background with Wilson Fisk, and I do wish they’d explored that more in the show.

        Speaking of Fisk, he is my biggest disappointment when it comes to this show– especially as someone who’s seen Netflix's Daredevil. This man had a barely-there cameo in episode 3 (I didn’t know it was him until double-checking for this article), popped in out of absolutely nowhere as the Big Bad in episode 5, and was defeated (presumably for good, or at least a while) in the finale. In Daredevil, his presence was menacing– he was a psychopathic man-child with an impossibly massive network of criminal underlings, but wouldn’t hesitate to throw himself into the fray, fighting against the heroes in a ruthless frenzy. He was imposing– when you saw him on the screen, you were immediately on the edge of your seat. But here? There was no build-up, no lead-in, nothing to hint to those who hadn’t seen Daredevil that Fisk was anything more than another mid-level mob-boss baddie-of-the week. I found this surprising, especially given the now-canon nature of the Daredevil show (it used to be up for debate, along with Netflix’s other TV-MA-rated Marvel shows like Jessica Jones, The Punisher, and Luke Cage), and Marvel’s promise that Daredevil: Born Again would be a continuation of Netflix’s Daredevil.

        If you have access to Disney+ and you somehow haven’t seen Hawkeye, this is your sign to put it on your watch-list. The show is phenomenal, the heroes are endearing, and it’s both a great show and a great Marvel project overall.