The focus is as much on Clint Barton as it is on Kate Bishop in the newest Marvel Studios series, Hawkeye, airing on Disney+.

I want to apologize for not having this review up sooner. While I did watch both episodes on November 19, I wanted to wait until I could watch without a watermark. When I watched the first two episodes, the watermark–my email address–stretched in the center from one end of the screen to the other. It’s hardly the best location for a watermark and as such, I wanted to rewatch the episodes without my email being a distraction. But I digress…let’s get on with the action.

All Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) wants to do is get home to his family for Xmas. Seems so simple, right? Everything changes when the Ronin suit turns up and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) comes into his life. This brings in a threat from Clint’s past. Throw in archer and Hawkeye fangirl Kate Bishop’s life now being threatened into the mix and Clint isn’t leaving New York City anytime soon. This is the gist of the series. Outside of one particular aspect, I won’t dive into spoiler territory.

There are only four episodes left. When it comes to these six-hour series, they play better in one continuous watch than by themselves. It’s because of this that I really want to watch the remaining four episodes before I render my verdict. There’s enough here to keep my attention but I really want to see how things play out. Rhys Thomas directs the first two episodes and the sixth episode. Bert & Bertie direct the other three episodes. I love how Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld play off of each other. Renner plays it straight while Steinfeld goes for comedy. I’ll be curious to see how the different directing styles mesh with each other as this is the first live-action series where there are multiple directors involved.

Even though Clint was in Thor and The Avengers, we didn’t really get to know him until Avengers: Age of Ultron. Further films have only helped build upon his character and gets us to where we are now. Clint doesn’t have any super powers so he must depend on his natural skills. This is what sets him apart from his other colleagues save for Natasha Romanoff. During the five-year blip, Clint turned to his dark side and became the Ronin. How do you resolve this once everyone returns? This is something that we expect the series to answer. Starting out in these first two episodes, there’s certainly a mystery surrounding his past.

Whatever happens beyond the second episode, Rogers: The Musical is going to be one of the biggest highlights of the MCU! What surprises me, however, is the inclusion of Ant-Man in the 2012 Battle of New York. But the other thing is that Clint Barton lived it. There’s also his memories of Natasha. It’s some time after Avengers: Endgame and there’s no doubt that he is still hurting from her loss. But anyway, Clint doesn’t necessarily need to see the show. He’s invited but I think it’s a case of how can Marvel take advantage of the Hamilton popularity. I mean, look at the show’s logo! I’ll go a bit further in that the Lunt-Fontaine Theatre is just steps away from Hamilton‘s longtime home at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.

Hawkeye, like WandaVision last season, gives us another Emmy contender. In this case, it’s longtime collaborators March Shaiman and Scott Wittman behind Broadway parody tune, “Save the City.” I don’t know about you but I keep finding myself singing “I can do this all day!”

If this series inspires you to read some more comics, please note that Matt Fraction’s 2012-15 run is what inspires the Disney+ series.

Clint Barton and Kate Bishop make a fine team together and one can’t wait to see what happens next in Hawkeye.

CREATED FOR TELEVISION BY: Jonathan Igla
DIRECTORS: Rhys Thomas, Bert & Bertie
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Trinh Tran, Brad Winderbaum, Rhys Thomas and Jonathan Igla
CAST: Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Tony Dalton, Fra Fee, Alaqua Cox, Zahn McClarnon, and Vera Farmiga

Disney+ launched Hawkeye on November 24, 2021.

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