Hawkeye: The MCU's Best Disney+ Series

It also works as a Christmas show.

Since I’ve picked on She-Hulk (twice) and Wakanda Forever, it’s only fair that I praise one of the bright spots of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Four.

Among the Disney+ series, my favorites are WandaVision and Hawkeye. As for which is better, it’s a close call. WandaVision stumbled a bit in the finale, allowing Hawkeye to catch up and win the photo finish. Hawkeye isn’t perfect (which is kind of fitting), but it succeeds in delivering great fun and heart throughout its six-episode run.

I’ll try to keep the Hawkeye spoilers minimal, but I will have to spoil some of Avengers: Endgame.

1.) The Essential Hawkeye

The series understands the appeal of Hawkeye, as it demonstrates right from the start.

The opening scene introduces Kate Bishop as a child during the events of the first Avengers movie (and boy, does that make me feel old, but I can’t blame the show for that). Aliens are swarming New York City and raining down destruction right outside her home—and they soon hit her home as well. There’s nothing one little girl can do against all this chaos, and that terrifies her.

But then, out the window, Kate sees one man fighting these aliens—one man armed with only a bow, arrows, and his own courage and skill.

Hawkeye’s example inspires Kate to not only learn archery but excel at it, and same with martial arts and fencing. If Hawkeye can fight alien invaders without any super-powers, then she’s got no excuse.

It’s easy to misunderstand Hawkeye. Yeah, he’s just a guy with an old-fashioned weapon and no powers. But that’s the point. (I’ll leave you to decide whether I intended a pun there.)

He has no special gifts that he didn’t earn himself. He’s not even wealthy. No one would have thought less of him for opting out of the superhero life. He can’t come close to matching the power of Thor, Iron Man, or the Hulk.

But he holds his own among them, and he still contributes.

The MCU Hawkeye and comic book Hawkeye are different characters in many ways. First and foremost, it’s hard to picture comic book Hawkeye as a mature family man with three children. But both are strong-willed underdogs who step up and do their part to protect others.

That’s what young Kate sees in that opening scene—a voluntary, self-made superhero whose talents are attainable to anyone who’s willing to put the work in.

2.) Wounds & Flaws Omnibus

Hawkeye shouldn’t be perfect. In this show, neither Hawkeye is.

Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) has accumulated plenty of damage throughout his career, which is symbolized by the hearing aid he now wears. His biggest wounds, however, stem from the events of Avengers: Endgame.

When Thanos snapped his fingers and dusted half the universe’s population, Clint lost his entire family at once, and his grief drove him down a dark, deadly path.

His best friend—Natasha Romanov, the Black Widow—pulled him back from the brink, but then she sacrificed herself to help restore the universe. And Clint had to watch her die. Worse, he was trying to sacrifice himself instead, but she defeated him to save his life, then took the plunge herself. So he not only lost his closest friend but also has to live with the knowledge that he failed to save her.

He regained his family, though, and is now trying to move forward and leave his Ronin days in the past. Ronin was a mistake, so of course that mistake comes back to haunt him and threatens to keep him from the family he’s already lost so much time with.

As for Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), the series depicts her privilege as a double-edged sword, and that’s a smart approach. Her family’s wealth affords her every opportunity to develop herself, but it also makes her cocky and leaves her with a poorly developed sense of her own limitations. She makes mistakes, and she does so with tremendous confidence.

And the series never pretends that Kate is on Clint’s level. She has the potential, but she’s too young and inexperienced to possibly be there yet, and that adds some plausibility to a series that admittedly gets a bit cartoony at times.

3.) Giant-Size Fun

While Hawkeye occasionally tips over into campiness, it often strikes a healthy balance of taking the story and main characters seriously while having a lot of fun along the way.

We get amusing world-building in the form of a cheesy Avengers Broadway musical, but it’s not only world-building—we see how uncomfortable Clint is with being portrayed as any kind of hero.

Trick arrows are a staple of comic book archers, and they come into play here, adding visual flair and variety to the action. In a way, they also represent Clint’s transition from shadowy SHIELD agent to public Avenger.

Most important, Clint and Kate make a great complementary team, and they gradually develop a solid mentor/protégé dynamic. Clint is the old pro who just wants to get home to his family. But with Kate, there’s such a newness about all this. Getting to work with her favorite Avenger is a dream come true, and her enthusiasm is infectious without ever becoming annoying (a tough feat to pull off, but Steinfeld nails it).

4.) Ultimate Heartstrings

A fun superhero show can be plenty entertaining, but a fun superhero show with heart is gold.

The best scene occurs in the middle of the series, and it has nothing to do with the main plot and involves no superhero action.

Clint gets a phone call from his youngest son, but his hearing aid was destroyed in the previous fight. He can’t hear a word the boy is saying but doesn’t want to scare him. Kate steps in with a notepad and transcribes the gist of the child’s words, allowing Clint to communicate with his son.

The scene shows us Clint’s love for his children and how much it pains him that he can’t hear his son’s voice, and it underscores the separation he feels from his family. And it also shows us that Kate is more than just a wisecracking sidekick.

Sometimes, a story needs to take a pause so the characters can breathe and be human. The writers, led by Jonathan Igla, wisely remember this.

5.) Hawkeye Holiday Special

Iron Man 3 kind of/sort of tried to be a Christmas movie, but take out the holiday elements and you’ve got basically the same story.

Christmas is woven into the fabric of Hawkeye. It’s a way for the story to lean into Clint’s role as a family man, and it provides a ticking clock, as Clint needs to get home in time for Christmas. It’s not the most original story element, but it’s a solid, reliable one.

While Hawkeye isn’t as utterly devoted to spreading holiday joy as the recent Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special, the Christmas elements do make the show very re-watchable this time of year.

6.) Music Masterworks

I’ve always appreciated a strong title sequence, and Hawkeye has one. The score by Christophe Beck and Michael Paraskevas sounds great. It’s even better when played over credits that resemble the art style of the 2012 Hawkeye comic book series by Matt Fraction and David Aja, which is my favorite Marvel series of the 2010s.

The comics deserve their own post next time I reread them, but for now I’ll just say:

Read those comics. And watch this show.