When Is Hawkeye Coming to Disney Plus

Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye has famously been the most ill-used of the many characters to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The super-skilled archer first seen in 2011's Thor has appeared in five MCU movies as part of a superhero ensemble, mainly in the shadows of Thor, Ironman and Captain America.

In Avengers, he was forced to do Loki's dirty work whilst under mind control. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, we found out he had a family when the team were forced to crash at his farm. He then got caught in the crossfire during the battle of Sokovia, resulting in the death of Pietro Maximoff, who died protecting him.

His family's disappearance during Thanos' snap set Hawkeye on a path of revenge, during which he became the vigilante Ronin, taking his grief out on the criminal underworld. During Endgame, he was reunited with Natasha Romanoff, only to end up watching her heartbreaking death, sacrificing herself for him in exchange for the soul stone. The bitter-sweet trade, of course, contributed to the return of everyone snapped away, including Clint's family.

It is probably his family which have defined Hawkeye's character in the MCU, something that almost didn't make it into the final cut of Age of Ultron. It did, of course, and led us to one of the best opening scenes in the Marvel Universe, where we see Clint teaching his daughter to shoot arrows on the family farm. "Good job Hawkeye," he says as he goes to retrieve the arrow, and as he turns around, his entire family have been dusted by the snap. The scene sets up the mood of Endgame, reminding us of precisely what is at stake.

So, after all he's been through, it's nice to hear that Barton and Renner, who has played the character for the past ten years, has finally been given a title role, in the form of a six-episode series on Disney+ But Hawkeye, which premieres with two episodes on Wednesday 24th November, has not one but two Hawkeyes. As fans of Matt Fraction's comic know, this story is centred around the new Hawkeye, namely Kate Bishop, played by Hailee Steinfeld.

After an intense and goose-bump inducing introduction to Kate Bishop, episode one moves its timeline to after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Clint Barton is trying his best to reconnect with his children during a trip to New York City to watch Rogers The Musical – based on The Avengers. The show all seems too much for Barton, who appears to be suffering from PTSD, and as he struggles to put aside his life as an Avenger in favour of giving his kids a Christmas to remember, the re-emergence of something from his past drags him away from his yuletide plans.

Clint's path soon crosses with that of Kate Bishop, who is back in New York for the holidays, and unexpectedly caught up in some drama of her own. The series shows an exciting intersection between the two ace-archers, with Clint towards the end of his hero arc, as Kate Bishop is only just getting started. Kate is a young, self-taught archer and martial arts expert, working in the shade of her hero Hawkeye. She accidentally becomes part of a more sinister plot as she takes on the role of clumsy vigilante. Her mistakes need to be addressed along the way, and that's where Clint comes in, as the mentor he never really wanted to be.

Although Jeremy Renner finally has a show dedicated to his character, it feels like Hawkeye is a Kate Bishop origin story. This isn't a bad thing, as both Hailee Steinfeld's performance and the character arc written for Clint are strong enough for the show to work in that way. Solid performances from Vera Farmiga as Kate's mother Eleanor and Tony Dalton as soon to be step-dad Jack Duquesne help show us the world that Kate has grown up into, as her family life drags her into the New York underworld.

The first two episodes that I was able to watch very much set the groundwork for the characters, laying the foundations of the series. The two 40ish minute episodes feel very much like the first act of a movie. Kate Bishop's fighting style is rough around the edges, and she has excellent comedic timing, with Clint there to show her the ropes, all be it reluctantly. There is a fair amount of action, as you'd expect from a Marvel show, but still enough room for the emotional beats as well. The show's pace and tone are pretty lighthearted, helped by the fact that it is set at Christmas. The relationship that starts to build between the two Hawkeyes is fun, and still, things are intense enough when the need arises.

The show is very much a more grounded MCU outing; think of a toned-down Spider-Man: Homecoming, with low-level real-world villains one might cross paths within any major city in the world if crimefighting was your thing. I'm conscious of not giving too much away due to spoilers, but if you've read the Hawkeye comic mentioned earlier, you're in for a real treat. Episodes one and two are packed full of references, and of all the MCU shows so far, and this one felt most like it was lifted right off the book's pages.

Hawkeye finds its stride during the latter half of episode two, and its villain is revealed right at the end. Of everything that happens, the best part of the first third of the series is the chemistry between Renner and Steinfeld. It's engaging and promises a lot for the future. Kate Bishop is going to be your new favourite character in the MCU. Well, perhaps the second favourite as you'll more than likely be in love with the endearing Pizza Dog just as much.

All in all, an excellent start, and if the first two episodes are anything to go by, Hawkeye is sure to be one of the biggest hits of 2021 and the perfect way to round off a year where we've had more Marvel content than ever before.

Hawkeye debuts exclusively on Disney+ Wednesday 24th November with a two episode premiere. New episodes will then drop weekly.

When Is Hawkeye Coming to Disney Plus

Source: https://www.disneyplusinformer.com/hawkeye-review-hailee-steinfeld-bursts-into-the-mcu-in-tale-of-two-hawkeyes/

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