Not just anyone can be a super-hero.
It’s not easy to be born a god, the victim of a spider bite, or a guy from Brooklyn who became a Super Soldier. Heroes have to be someone special to handle these powers. Just ask Shang-Chi.
What if some fan thought that being a super-hero can’t be that tough, but finds out it is…and can do it anyway.
This is the story of a girl who meets her hero, and thinks she can help out. Her hero doesn’t…at first.
The first two episodes of Hawkeye (based on the 2005 Marvel Comics series) aired just before Thanksgiving on Disney Plus.

The series isn’t about something that could threaten the world for a change. It’s about a hero’s journey, led by an aging warrior. That’s also entertaining, mainly thanks to Hailee Steinfeld and Jeremy Renner. They are a fantastic duo. Clint doesn’t want the help, mainly because he’s still haunted by losing Natasha Romanoff. Eventually, he does. It seems she hopes Kate can be a little bit and a little bit Natasha. Imagine that kind of combination.

SPOILERS BELOW

Even though Clint Barton is Hawkeye, the first episode is really all about Kate Bishop. That’s why it starts with how her family suffered thanks to the Chitauri in the Battle of New York. one of them almost kills ten year old Kate until an arrive blows it up. She even sees the heroic archer in the distance fighting off a few aliens.
However, it also means her dad is dead, and the experience will inspire her to protect her mom and everyone else.

After the opening credits show Kate developing skills as an archer, martial artist and gymnast, the story advances to December 2024. Kate uses those skills to win a bet over what causes a bell to ring. Using arrows that are almost like what Clint uses, she wins the bet….and wrecks a bell tower. We also learn her mom Eleanor (Vera Farmiga) has to pay for that since she is rich, and has a new fiance named Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton). She also tells Kate that just because she’s young and rich doesn’t mean she’s invulnerable. She’s going to be hurt, and that is Foreshadowing 101.

Clint is in New York with his kids, seeing a Broadway musical based on The Battle of New York. It’s sort of like a cross between Rent and that Spider-Man musical. It’s also slightly inaccurate, but the song “I Could Do this All Day” is catchy. He’s trying to enjoy it, but seeing a dancer who looks like Natasha makes it a bit difficult. It’s also revealed that he’s deaf after a long career of being a super hero.

Kate attends a party hosted by her mom, but also sees some strange stuff. She sees mom argue with a prominent man named Armaund  who is Jack’s uncle. she wonders what they’re talking about but a lot of threats are made.
Kate also wanders into a black market auction attended by both Duquesne. They both bid on Clint’s old Ronin costume, but the auction’s interrupted by an explosion. Kate grabs the suit, although the gate crashers are looking for a watch the Avengers used to own.

Kate holds off the bad guys and escapes. She even saves a dog from traffic. He’ll be called Lucky, because he has one good eye. She also heads to Armaund’s place. He’s dead, stabbed in the back with a sword. She leaves before the maid finds the body.

Eventually Clint will hear about this on the news, and that a group called the Tracksuit Mafia (TM) is after her.
So, he goes into Ronin mode and holds them off. Then he and Kate meet for the first time. He’s not happy about this, but she is.

The second episode is mainly both Clint and Kate bantering and trying to escape the TM. He’s fairly impressed with her skill, but is sure she’s way over her head. He does mend her wounds so well he could work at the same hospital as Claire Temple. Kate has confidence and skills connected with her mom’s security company. She also thinks he shuld rebrand himself, but he doesn’t want to do more than be an action figure.

The Tracksuit Mafia try to get the suit back thanks to Molotov cocktails, but Clint and Kate fight them off at the cost of her apartment. She winds up hiding at her aunt’s apartment.

The show reminds fans that it’s not about the fate of everything. It’s all about crime and a bit of espionage. Clint wants his suit back, and has to enter a LARP event to get it from a firefighter who took it the night before. He’s amused a bit about being in fake fighting rather than the real thing. However, it’s just a prelude to the rest of the story.
It’s also revealed Tony Stark sold the Avengers Tower years ago. That doesn’t mean it won’t be seen again, maybe.
Clint calls his wife Laura (Linda Cardinelli) that he has to handle some unfinished business. She understands quickly, but insists he must be home for Christmas. It’s the perfect Endgame for this story

Kate, meanwhile, wonders why Jack is into swords, especially the retractable one he tried to buy the night before. They get into a fencing match, where he underplays his skills for a bit. Kate really knows Jack is up to something while mom is swept away (or is she?). Actually, in the comics, he knows Clint very well, but this will be a different situation.

Clint surrenders (sort of) to the TM only to meet their boss. Kate also decides to find him. Thanks to a fancy app, she does…but also gets captured.
The episode ends with the boss ready to meet them. She’s a very intense brunette, who is also deaf. Her name is Echo (Alaqua Cox).

If she, too, has a boss, any bets that it’s Jack?

Just as the MCU movies have taken a different turn lately, Hawkeye is also different. Instead of the world being in danger, it’s a story about an aging spy forced to mentor an eager successor. It’s a dash of The Professional and a hint of I’ll Be Home For Christmas (the movie, not the song).
It’s also rumored a very familiar face is coming very soon, and with a mission of her own.
She won’t be the only one

Future episodes will air every Wednesday through December 22nd on Disney Plus.