The following article contains spoilers for Hawkeye.
Hawkeye marks a new chapter for Marvel’s series on Disney Plus because, unlike the prior three shows that only had the task of expanding the stories and background of supporting characters in the MCU, Clint Barton’s solo adventure also has to make time for viewers to fall for his new protégé.
Of course, with a character as charming as Kate Bishop, that’s really not too hard to accomplish and Hawkeye is proving to be the perfect playing ground for her, perhaps even at the expense of Clint’s own protagonism. After all, "Archer" always has been the butt of all Avengers jokes due to the unimpressive fictional bio and lack of superpowers Jeremy Renner’s character was burdened by in the Avengers.
The Lesser Avengers
This is not a new or unique problem in the MCU, since Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow also suffered from being overtly sexualized (by MCU standards) in Iron Man 2, though at least she had the benefit of being the sole female Avenger for quite a while. The same goes for The Hulk, who also took a backseat due to having an origin film that’s barely recognized as part of the MCU and even a new actor playing Bruce Banner.
The result is that while Tony Stark and Steve Rogers were always Marvel’s leading men, and to a lesser degree Thor, the rest of the team’s character arcs were sprinkled as smaller moments within bigger films. However, Hawkeye possibly suffered the most with his biggest moments coming when his family shows up in Age of Ultron and once he’s forced out of retirement in Endgame only to lose his best friend.
It was never hard to see that the Avengers with their names on movie titles were the ones entitled to prime-time attention, nevertheless, Phase Four is definitely showing the consequences of that approach, especially with a Black Widow movie that felt like too little too late for Natasha Romanoff.
A Perfect Avengers Onboarding
Overall, Kate Bishop is gearing up to be all that Clint Barton could have been from her very first day with Hawkeye already establishing her early life, her place in the world as a gifted college athlete, and now as Clint’s surrogate daughter brought into his life due to circumstances. To put it in simpler terms, the show is a stark reminder of just how little audiences knew about Clint and how easy it is for Kate to catch up with him in terms of familiarity.
That is not to say Hawkeye isn’t doing great things for its titular character, the series explores Clint’s more emotional side to great extent by giving his family more screen time than they’ve ever had before, despite it still feeling insufficient considering the show’s holiday vibes (expect that to be fixed for the finale). Instead, it’s Kate’s slightly less traditional family who gets the spotlight, with Eleanor Bishop and her fiancé Jack Duquesne being prime suspects to be Hawkeye’s real villains.
Not only that, by giving Kate a personal attachment to Hawkeye from the very start of the show it makes a compelling case for Clint to actually be some kid’s favorite superhero, and watching her be completely starstruck by him is quite a treat. In that regard, upcoming shows like She-Hulk could learn a lot from Hawkeye to establish a good rapport between Jennifer Walter and Bruce Banner.
Why Kate Bishop Is A Better Hawkeye For The Future
Quite simply, the setting into which Kate Bishop is stepping in is more welcoming than it ever was for Clint Barton, and though this is largely in part because the first generation Avengers are making way for fresh new faces, it also helps that her character is brimming with a more youthful vibe. In Hawkeye, Kate acts as the show’s comic relief due to how relatable she is for younger generations and this is obvious from the type of humor she uses to pick on Clint or learn her way past Hawkeye's trick arrows.
Since Kate is closer to being contemporary with Shang-Chi, she's also struggling to find her place in the world after college because the show depicts her as someone who feels constrained by the path laid out for her by a protective (and possibly mischievous) mother. Just like Katy and Shang-Chi, Kate Bishop is an overachiever who suddenly finds herself in a world where she can put her talents to good use.
Naturally, Kate’s character and personality must evolve further before Clint can pass the mantle on to her, and Hawkeye’s final two episodes will have to deal with that by bringing the two even closer as Clint learns to connect with a new close friend on the field; whereas Kate fully learns and accepts the sacrifices her hero had to make to save the world, a fate that could also follow Tom Holland's Spider-Man.
Hawkeye is a series that puts Kate Bishop on the same starting ground as the standouts from the first wave of Avengers, and whether she goes on take a spot in that lineup or in the Young Avengers, her current role means 10 years down the line there won’t be half the questions to answer about her past as there are for Hawkeye nor any need to make up for lost ground. That it all comes bundled as a parting gift for Clint is just a double bullseye for Marvel.