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Christopher Thomas
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Hawkeye TV Series Episodes 1 & 2
Hawkeye has always been one of Marvel’s most understated heroes, so it is nice to see him get some love from the MCU. And it is doubly good to see this six-episode run is based on the Matt Fraction and David Aja comic run of the same name. As with Loki and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Marvel released the first two episodes at once when the show appeared on Disney+.
The rest of the series will be released on a weekly basis.
The premise of the show is Clint Barton gets involved with Kate Bishop and some street-level crime while trying to get home for Christmas.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
The Good
Disney+ audiences and fans of the Hawkeye comics got a lot of things that they wanted to see in the new series. Hailee Steinfeld has done a great job as Kate Bishop so far. She is convincing as someone who idealizes Hawkeye but is headstrong enough to defy him. She also dresses in a purple tracksuit when she is being a “superhero” in the closest approximation to the comic book costume so far.
Fans also got Lucky the Pizza Dog. This fan-favorite pooch made his MCU debut in the first episode of Hawkeye. He was saved by Kate Bishop instead of Clint Barton like he was in the comic. Rhys Thomas, the director for episode 1, mercifully skipped the sad vet visit lucky takes in the comic, but his eye is still wounded. When Kate gets him back to her apartment, she feeds him a slice of pizza -- fully completing the arc of the pizza dog.
So far, the main antagonists of the show are the Tracksuit Mafia. A group of Eastern European-sounding guys that have so far performed petty crime on the street level of New York City. They are known in the comic series for calling everyone they speak to “Bro,” and in the first episode not many “Bros” were heard. When Clint gets captured in the second episode, the “Bros” appear in force.
The Bad
So far, reviews for Hawkeye are generally positive, especially when compared to the recent reviews and release of Marvel’s Eternals. Some complain that Kate Bishop is the main protagonist instead of Clint Burton. The way the series gets Clint, Kate, and Lucky together is convoluted.
Other complaints about the series concern the pacing of the show with some fans saying that it feels like the Netflix formula for Marvel shows like Daredevil or Luke Cage. Sometimes that story structure has points where the story slows to a crawl which can sometimes work, but only time will tell with Hawkeye.
Everything Else
While still too early to appreciate any impact, Alaqua Cox makes an appearance in the second episode of Hawkeye as Echo. Originally appearing as an adversary for Daredevil in the comic books, Echo has been the adoptive daughter of the Marvel villain Kingpin. She is known for copying or “echoing” the movements and abilities of her enemies much in the way that Taskmaster does.
Her scene in Hawkeye shows her in a room with blasting speakers. When one of the tracksuit mafia walks in and dramatically mouths something to her, we see that she is deaf like she is in the comics. As the series goes on, her role will become increasingly important since her own spinoff series was already announced to be coming to Disney+ back in March.
Swordsman is also likely to appear in this series. While not explicitly stated yet, Jack Duquesne, played by Tony Dalton, is known as the alter ego to Swordsman in the comic. So far, fans have seen Jack obsess about swords, going so far as to steal the Ronin sword from the black market auction in the first episode. He even has a fencing match in which Kate Bishop accuses him of letting her win. This proves to be true when Kate attacks him when he appears to not be ready, but he effortlessly turns the strike aside.
In the comics, Swordsman is one of Clint Barton’s teachers, but the two have yet to cross paths in this MCU adaptation. The MCU is known to make changes to the original works their series are based on so they may never say explicitly that Jack Duquesne is Swordsman.
What Comes Next
The next episode of Hawkeye streams Wednesday, Dec. 1 on Disney+. That will mark the halfway point of the limited series. Due to the short run of episodes, fans should expect each episode to be jam-packed with heroes, villains, and action.
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Christopher Thomas is a contributing writer here at thepyrrhic.com. He enjoys movies, television, and other forms of nerdery.
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