HawkeyeJust Gave Us a Crucial Marvel Origin Story and a Whole Lot of Action

The third episode of Disney+ and Marvel’sHawkeyepeaked before Clint Barton or Kate Bishop were ever on silver screen . title “ echo , ” theepisode began with a flashback origination storyof sorts for Maya Lopez , the theatrical role we met at thevery end of the second episodeand who has her ownMarvel Studios series called Echoon the mode . From there , the bulk of the episode was a playfulness but largely frivolous action view capped off with a sprinkle of reference ontogenesis . An OK sequence , but not great . Let ’s get into it .

While risible fans probably know the basic of who Maya Lopez is , Hawkeye has to relay that information for theMarvel Cinematic Universe . And so the instalment begins with a flashback to 2007 in which we see a youthful Maya ( Darnell Besaw ) in school and apace learn she ’s deaf . She struggles a bit but she ’s smart and learning . Back at home , she and her father ( Fargo and Westworld ’s Zahn McClarnon ) pass on with ASL and he excuse that while he ca n’t afford a schooltime only for deaf children , being with hearing kids will be respectable for her in the prospicient ladder .

Maya also takes karate and we see that even though she ’s not the big mortal in the class , her power to read a person ’s body language cook her dangerous . We also learn that she has aprostheticfoot and a secret uncle who remains , for now , off - photographic camera . Maya keeps up with martial art into maturity and she ’s quite good when we next see her , now played as an adult by Alaqua Cox . Still in flashback , though now closer to the present , Maya record up to her father ’s garage in the eye of a conflict . Inside , the Ronin is wipe out members of the Tracksuit Mafia and by the time Maya can get within , he ’s defeat her father , who was their loss leader . have sex she would want retaliation on the mankind who killed her father , the intellect why her men fascinate Kate Bishop ( Hailee Steinfeld)—believed to be the Ronin — and Clint Barton ( Jeremy Renner ) now make a lot more sensory faculty .

Kate Bishop finally got her trick arrows on Hawkeye.

Kate Bishop finally got her trick arrows on Hawkeye.Image: Marvel Studios

Again , this was certainly the best part of the episode because origin stories are always so crucial in the MCU — Maya is savage , sure-footed , and has a account to ensconce . This is why , now back to the present with Clint and Kate captured in an abandoned K.B. Toys store the Tracksuit Mafia calls home , she like a shot starts asking about Ronin . Clint impresses on Maya that obviously Kate is n’t Ronin , she would have been a nipper when Maya last saw him , and thatRonin was killed by Black Widow . It ’s a story that Maya , right , think is a chip too convenient . Meanwhile , it ’s interesting that Clint still is either ineffective or unwilling to admit to anyone that he himself was Ronin . That include Kate subsequently in the episode .

Maya does n’t have a lot of time to travail into the Ronin stuff though , because rather quickly , Clint head for the hills . The two fight and Maya more than holds her own , land a stupefying kick with her prosthetic foot to Clint ’s nous , knocking his earshot aid out . This place Clint at a disadvantage for the eternal sleep of the combat but things even out when he finds his bow and arrow — you do n’t allow Hawkeye get his weapon back , bro ! Once he does , he frees Kate with a graceful dive into a ball pit and the duet escape , boost a machine in the parking lot , and the action hits the street of New York .

This sequence very well could have been a standard car Salmon P. Chase but Hawkeye went above and beyond tomake it different . It ’s present as a long take with the camera , located in the back butt of Clint and Kate ’s automobile , actuate around 360 degrees , capture all the action from heart degree . It was a very cool trick that instantly gave the pursuit a novel look . The freshness continued when Kate finally got her wish to plunge into Clint ’s conjuration arrows and the expectation of her firing one and have no idea what precisely it does was very fun . There ’s the putty arrow , the arrow that turns into a sort of vane , a few explode arrows , a smoke arrow , a sucking loving cup arrow ; each is used to either funny or direful consequence . But the highlight is when Clint state Kate to aim a regular arrow up in the line for arc down on an approaching truck — as it ’s in the aura , he pulls out an arrow which we see has the “ Pym ” logo on it , raise it at Kate ’s pointer , and upon tangency , the arrow instantly becomes MASSIVE , demolish the truck . Of naturally , that allows our heroes to finally discharge their spectacular escape .

Graphic: Jim Cooke

Young Maya and her dad.Image: Marvel Studios

Again , this was an entertaining , well - made sequence but when it ended I paused to see how much sentence had elapsed and found the episode was halfway over and … nothing of substance had really happened . Sure , we flummox to see Kate blossom as a submarine sandwich a bit , and there were some merriment arrows and stuff and nonsense , but that ’s a huge chunk of time to dedicate to an action successiveness that is more about character building than narrative drive and does n’t really have much character building in it to start with . Basically , it was there to adjust up the moment where Clint differentiate Kate she might be decent in calling herself one of the world ’s greatest Sagittarius . She can hardly contain her excitation .

The two go back to Kate ’s aunt ’s apartment where Clint ’s son calls him . Clint still ca n’t hear though , so Kate has to be his interpreter as she listens on speakerphone . Steinfeld ’s font just grow sorry and sad across this scene as her character realizes how much Clint bang his kids , how much his kids fuck him , and how difficult it is for him to balance his crime syndicate life and hero life . It ’s something the two discuss more at breakfast when Kate says that the auto pursuit really made her finger like she was finally doing what she was meant to do , what she ’s been training for her whole life . Clint explains to her that being a hero is n’t all glamorous , it comes with a price , sacrifice , and plenty of loss . A fact you believe Kate would realize after the telephone set call she just see but she ’s still all amped up on costume and whoremaster arrow .

Meanwhile , Maya has decided the Tracksuit Mafia ’s hideout is no longer safe and everyone is packing up . ( RIP K.B. once again . ) Before they leave behind though , her acquaintance and interpreter Kazi ( Fra Fee ) has some thoughts . ( Side note , if you await at the episode ’s credit , the prologue include a “ Little Kazi , ” so he ’s been with her since she ’s a kid . ) He ’s worried that Maya and the Tracksuits are taking thing too far go after Ronin and that her uncle might not wish it . Oh right , that mysterious uncle . Could it be … Wilson Fisk , aka the Kingpin ?

Young Maya and her dad.

Young Maya and her dad.Image: Marvel Studios

The uncle comes up again too when Clint and Kate seek to figure out what the infernal region is going on . Clint explains to her why the Tracksuits desire to bolt down Ronin and that Maya is n’t really the head of the gang , there ’s someone above her . Kate thinks break into her mom ’s flat and using her security software system could hold some answer and Clint is bungle away by the Bishop ’s laughably lavish flat . She explain that her “ great swell great neat ” grandfather build the building ( explicate where their wealth came from ) while the software system give Kate and Clint a name : Sloan Limited . Before they can hash out it though , a familiar steel come out out in front of Clint — the Ronin blade , wielded by Jack ( Tony Dalton ) , who has Clint at his mercy .

As a cliffhanger , Jack surprising Clint felt so dull . Clint is just going to say Kate ’s name Jack will necessarily respond , “ Oh , I did n’t know you were Kate ’s friend ” and that ’s that . There ’s no drama in it . Thankfully he ’s holding the Ronin sword , which Clint did n’t know had also been recovered from the Avengers compound — at least that ’ll be another new wrinkle . But beyond that , the back half of “ Echoes ” mostly lie of hints regarding Maya ’s uncle ( probable to be the Kingpin ) , Kate ’s continued superhero procession , and some fellow feeling for Clint since he ’s still not domicile for Christmas . He still has a few days though , and Hawkeye has three more episodes to pick things up a morsel , and hopefully it does , because this episode was not particularly particular .

Wondering where our RSS feed fail ? You canpick the new up one here .

Maya’s man Kazi (Fra Fee) driving with Hawkeye putty.