When Disney+ first launched in 2019, one of the major draws was the announcement of upcoming original Marvel television series featuring major MCU characters, including Hawkeye, Loki, and Wandavision. While the latter two have since dropped big trailers, Hawkeye is currently still in production. Filming started in late 2020 in Brooklyn, after being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with star Jeremy Renner posting about training before being spotted on set.
Hawkeye is thought to be heavily inspired by the 2012-2015 comics run of the character by Matt Fraction and David Aja. The popular series focused on Hawkeye mentoring Young Avenger Kate Bishop, along with balancing life and crime-fighting. With production underway, fans can look to set photos and casting announcements to try and figure out what characters and plotlines the series may be adapting. This information taken alongside the comics can give people an idea of what to expect from the Hawkeye series.
Kate Bishop is first introduced in the Young Avengers comics before becoming Clint’s protégé in Fraction’s Hawkeye series. Kate is a rich girl who learns combat skills after being mugged and ends up becoming a strong fighter and hero. She becomes the first woman to take up the Hawkeye mantle. In the Disney+ series, Kate Bishop is played by actress Hailee Steinfeld, who has been photographed on the set, both in and out of superhero uniform, training and fighting alongside Clint Barton. The uniform she wears appears to be semi-faithful to the one she wears in the comics. It is clear that she and her teacher/student relationship with Clint will be important to the series.
It is also known that Kate’s mother will be making an appearance in the series, with actress Vera Farmiga cast in the role. In the comics, Eleanor Bishop was revealed to be the mastermind in charge of the schemes of Madame Masque, who was Kate’s nemesis. Madame Masque casting has not been announced so it’s unknown whether that storyline will be brought to the screen, but Madame Masque, or a version of her, has made an appearance in the MCU before.
Madame Masque is the alias of Whitney Frost, who was introduced in the Marvel series Agent Carter as an actress and scientist who absorbed the substance Zero Matter and gained the ability to absorb others. She ended the series locked in an asylum in the 1940s, so it’s unclear for now how that version of the character could possibly make an appearance in Hawkeye, but stranger things have happened in the MCU.
In most versions of the character, Clint Barton is portrayed as deaf or hard of hearing. While that has yet to be incorporated into Jeremy Renner’s version of the character, set pictures seem to show Clint wearing a hearing aid. In Fraction’s comics, Clint becomes hard of hearing after his eardrums are ruptured in a battle with the villain Clown.
Clown, or Kazimierz Kazimierczak, has been cast in the series (Les Miserables actor Fra Fee), so it is possible that this is how this version of Hawkeye will lose his hearing as well. Additionally, actress Alaqua Cox has been cast as Maya Lopez or “Echo,” a deaf Indigenous superhero who is most often associated with Daredevil in the comics. Introducing a deaf superhero for Clint to interact with as he becomes hard of hearing could be a source of some meaningful scenes.
Fans of the comics will recognize several familiar names in the casting announcements for Hawkeye. Zahn McClarnon has been cast as William Lopez, father of Maya Lopez. In the comics, her biological father is known as Willie “Crazy Horse” Lincoln, and is a henchman for one of Daredevil’s main villains, Kingpin. With Maya being included in Hawkeye it’s possible his role will be altered or that Daredevil’s Kingpin will make an appearance. Actor Tony Dalton was announced as Jack Duquesne, presumed to be a version of comic character Jacques Duquesne, alias “Swordsman.” This character alternates between hero and villain in the comics, having been the one to train Clint before turning to a life of crime. In the series, whether he is more morally grey or if this version of the character does not turn to villainy, he can act as a foil to Clint’s relationship to his own trainee, Kate.
While casting for this character was not announced, set pics show Clint facing off with an actor dressed similarly to Ivan Banionis, a street-level villain who is a member of a gang in the comics that Clint calls the Tracksuit Draculas. Along with the actor’s clothes, set pics confirm Lucky the Pizza Dog, a dog that used to belong to the Tracksuit Draculas and was saved by Clint after a fight, will be a part of the series, further suggesting their inclusion in Hawkeye. Whether Ivan and the Tracksuit Draculas are recurring characters or a one-time villain remains to be seen.
In the comics the TV series is inspired by, Clint does not have a family. However, Avengers: Age of Ultron revealed that this version of Clint Barton has a wife and kids. Clint’s children are confirmed to be appearing in the Hawkeye series, while his wife, and even the state of his marriage, remain a mystery. Since they don’t appear in the comics, it will be interesting to see how the series integrates Clint’s family into the storyline.
Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova from Black Widow will also be appearing in Hawkeye. In the comics she appears in, Yelena takes up the mantle of Black Widow. The release of the film has been delayed due to COVID-19, but her appearance in Hawkeye could suggest that she will take up this role in the MCU as well.
Hawkeye is set to be released on Disney+ in late 2021.
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