Marvel fans were given quite the surprise on September 13, when the first trailer for
"Hawkeye" dropped. The new MCU series marks the fourth live-action show from Disney+,
following "WandaVision," "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," and "Loki." Clint Barton
is the only original Avenger to be given their own spin-off series, likely meaning a solo
flick for the character won't be coming.
The new trailer hints that "Hawkeye" will be a fun, action-packed watch set during Christmas
time in New York City. We get to see what Clint has been up to since the events of "Avengers:
Endgame," and it looks like things haven't slowed down for him one bit.
Alongside Jeremy Renner as Barton, Hailee Steinfeld is at the trailer's center, portraying
Kate Bishop from the comics. Vera Farmiga is also briefly featured, playing Kate's mother.
As with every Marvel trailer, there are some small details that can be easily missed. Here's
a quick rundown.
The first part of the trailer shows Clint enjoying a festive meal with his children.
Then, we hear a voiceover of Clint saying, "I'm making up for some lost time." It's a
pretty generic turn-of-phrase — bordering on cliché — but in this context it takes
on added meaning as an obvious allusion to the Blip.
In the opening scene of "Avengers: Endgame," we see a Barton family afternoon disrupted
by Thanos to heartbreaking results: Clint discovers his entire family dusted by the
Snap. This is a huge turning point for the character, and as we've seen, it will inform
the events of this series. In the wake of the Snap, Hawkeye goes on a vengeful murder
spree until Natasha Romanoff brings him back to the Avengers.
Clint's double life as a SHIELD agent and family man sets him apart from the rest of
the Avengers. We're excited to see the tension between the two in this upcoming series.
"I'll be home for Christmas. I promise."
As the trailer opens, fans get a glimpse of New York's famous Broadway theaters, although
in this universe, a new musical is making waves — "Rogers: The Musical." Advertised
with a photo of Steve Rogers himself and staged at what appears to be the real-life Lunt-Fontanne
theater on 46th Street in Manhattan, "Rogers: The Musical" shows that Cap's legacy remains
strong no matter who's currently donning the suit, and that nostalgia for Steve Rogers
is apparently at an all-time high.
Beyond that, the brief look at the musical itself looks pretty familiar to anyone who
loved one of Disney+'s biggest 2020 releases — "Hamilton," Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony
Award-winning musical about one of America's founding fathers. Much like "Hamilton," this
fictional musical seems to employ a relatively sparse stage and features every supporting
character in Steve's life on stage at the same time for a seemingly epic number … including
Clint, who can be seen on the second level of the stage wielding his signature bow and
arrow.
Whether or not "Hawkeye" features a longer look at "Rogers: The Musical" remains to be
seen, but "Hamilton" fans might get an extra kick out of this potential subplot, which
also brings to mind "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," the pricey real-life Broadway flop
that wasn't nearly as well-received as the fictional "Rogers: The Musical" appears to
be.
Although Hawkeye's main arc in the show revolves around the archer teaching Kate Bishop the
ropes, the duo will also have their own street-level threat to deal with over the holidays. Fans
familiar with Matt Fraction's "Hawkeye" comics series will probably recognize the red tracksuit-wearing
gangsters in the first trailer. They're clearly the Tracksuit Draculas, the thugs that Clint
goes up against when he forcefully buys the apartment building from one of its members,
Ivan Banionis. Suggestive name aside, they're not vampires.
"Tracksuit Draculas" is actually a pejorative derived by Clint and bestowed upon the goon
squad. They're just regular thugs, but they have ties to bigger figures in the Marvel
underworld like Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin. It looks like Banionis is also in the trailer,
as we see a large man with a mustache in a black tracksuit jacket pointing a gun at Clint
while he's tied to a chair.
Because the Tracksuit Draculas fail to defeat Clint in Fraction's run, Ivan Banionis hires
an assassin called the Clown to take out the Avenger. Irish star Fra Fee took to Twitter
in December 2020 to confirm that he's playing the Clown in the series, although he doesn't
show up in the first trailer.
Since Marvel Studios and Disney+ are clearly leaning on the Matt Fraction "Hawkeye" comics
series, it's no surprise that the trailer shows off one of the most important characters
from that run: Lucky the Pizza Dog. That's right true believers, Hawkeye's getting a
canine sidekick. In Fraction's series, Lucky belongs to the Tracksuit Mafia. In a particularly
brutal scene, the gangsters beat Lucky after he helps Hawkeye in a fight. Thankfully, Hawkeye
rushes him to a vet and the lovable pooch survives, albeit without his left eye. You
just can't put a good dog down.
Anyway, the trailer only provides a brief look at Lucky to assure fans that he's in
the Disney+ series, but this glimpse confirms that he only has the one eye. It'll be interesting
to see whether "Hawkeye" gives Lucky his comics-accurate backstory, or if it'll adapt it slightly to
fit within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Hopefully the writers really take inspiration from Fraction's run where Lucky's concerned,
and give him his own mini-adventure in one of the episodes. "Hawkeye #11" follows Lucky
as he tries to solve a murder. Yes that's right, he's a detective — and a perfectly
capable one. The issue doesn't feature captions or word balloons; instead, it shows how dogs
perceive things via smell. It's an inventive comic book to say the least, and it'd be great
if the show honors it in some way.
And finally, in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, a threatening face appears in the
trailer covered in red light. This appears to be Alaqua Cox's character Maya Lopez, also
known as Echo in the Marvel comics. First appearing in "Daredevil" Vol. 2 #9, Echo is
a deaf Native American from the Cheyenne Nation. She has an arsenal of abilities, including
photogenic reflexes, acrobatics, and is a master of martial arts.
Something important to know here is that Echo also has ties to Kingpin. Her father once
worked for the mobster, who Vincent D'Onofrio plays in the "Daredevil" Netflix series. For
some time, rumors suggested the actor would be reprising his role as the mob leader, and
without a real villain present in the trailer, it looks like this might prove true.
Echo also appears in the "Moon Knight" and "Secret Invasion" comic book storylines, meaning
it's also possible the character could appear in those Disney+ series as well.
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