It’s Hawkeye Season!

By Lauren D’Ambra

 Marvel Studios has a fantastic track record in both the movie and TV show departments, and it looks like that record will continue with the Hawkeye series releasing on November 24th. The series will follow Clint Barton aka Hawkeye as he works to stop a criminal organization from his past. Along the way, he joins forces with another talented archer/big fan of Hawkeye, Kate Bishop. As anticipation for the new show builds, we figured it’s best to take stock of what we know about Marvel’s spectacular new show.

It takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame

Okay, this one might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s actually pretty significant! After Endgame means the world is still recovering from the blip that wiped out half of the universe. This also means that the series takes place in a world with no Tony Stark and no Natasha Romanoff (two people Clint Barton was very close to). Post-Endgame also means that the series takes place around the same time as the events in WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, Shang-Chi, and Eternals. So, will we get references to other Marvel projects, serious effects on future events, and/or a Natasha Romanoff tribute? Who knows!

We’re finally getting a Clint Barton/Kate Bishop team up!

Is anyone else ridiculously excited about this because I certainly am! Marvel fans have been expecting Kate Bishop to make her MCU appearance since the 2015 Age-of-Ultron-era and they can’t wait to see the Hawkeye and Hawkeye duo in action! Clint and Kate have been a duo in the comics for a long time and Marvel Studios seems pretty confident that they can bring their relationship to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If the trailers are any indication, it looks like Clint and Kate will be just as sarcastic and witty in the show as they are in the comics. Their Jedi/Padawan style relationship is sure to be a big hit!

The series has been heavily influenced by Matt Fractions iconic Hawkeye run

If you’re a big fan of the Marvel comics, you’ve probably noticed that the Hawkeye series looks like it was pulled directly out of the pages of Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon comic run. This comic book run is a hallmark Hawkeye series (and it’s a great first comic book series to read if you’re looking to start!). Everything from the layout of the posters and the purple color scheme to the villainous track-suit mafia and the shot of Kate hanging out the window of a 1970 Dodge Challenger seems to be directly influenced by Fraction’s work. Fraction’s series is considered to be one of the best among Hawkeye fans, and the fact that a beloved comic book series is making its way into the MCU has made fans super excited for the series!

Broadway and Marvel are about to join forces!

The first trailer for the series showed Clint and his family standing outside a Broadway theatre with Hamilton-esq posters displaying an advertisement for Rogers: The Musical. A later trailer then revealed the plot of the series starts with Clint taking his family to New York to see a show. Well, Marvel Studios announced on Wednesday of last week that Rogers: The Musical will in fact be a major plot point for the show and it will have musical numbers! Marvel Studios hired singer-songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (you may recognize them from their work on Mary Poppins Returns and Catch Me If You Can) to write a musical number for the show. While there’s no word yet on what the musical number will sound like, we know that it’s most likely centered around the battle of New York from the first Avengers movie (as this is what appears to be onstage during the quick clips from the trailer). We also know that Kevin Fiege, the head of Marvel Studios, was the person to reach out to Shaiman and Wittman to create the musical piece. With such a talented songwriting team and the general success of the MCU, the musical, however brief its appearance may be, is sure to be great. (And for those who are wondering if Marvel can even safely pull off a musical, let’s not forget that WandaVision featured seven different musical-esq songs and rocked each and every one).

Lucky the Pizza Dog will make an appearance!

Clint and Kate’s adorable, one-eyed golden retriever has been spotted in set pictures and in quick clips in trailers. In the comics, Clint adopted Lucky after rescuing him from some abusive villains and Lucky has been a consistent character in all subsequent Hawkeye series. Lucky tends to accompany Clint and Kate on their less dangerous adventures and it looks like the series will have him tagging along as Hawkeye and Hawkeye transverse the streets of New York City. It’s currently unclear if Lucky will have a greater role than just adorable animal sidekick, but either way, Marvel fans are happy to see him!

It’s filled to the brim with Christmas cheer

The trailers for the series make two things very evident: 1) the series will be wacky and fun and 2) chaos, Christmas, and Clint Barton definitely go hand in hand. It’s somehow very fitting that Clint Barton’s first solo outing takes place right at Chritsmas time. No one is entirely sure why the series takes place at Christmas time, but Matt Fraction’s comic book series did feature a Chrstmas inspired issue. It’s also possible that pairing the chaos associated with Hawkeye and Hawkeye over the exciting background of New York City at Christmas time will be flat out hilarious. Either way, the name Hawkeye will now forever be synonymous with New York City’s spectacular Christmas season, and Marvel fans can’t wait to see what Christmas shenanigans Clint and Kate get themselves into!

The first two episodes of Hawkeye will premiere on Disney Plus on November 24th.