Hawkeye is known in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as the outcast, the guy with the bow and arrow, or sometimes just a supporting character. Jeremy Renner has acted as the side character since the release of Marvel’s Avengers in 2012, but the Disney Plus exclusive Hawkeye gives MCU fanatics a deep dive into the life of a hero who is struggling with his past and just wants to be a good father. 

Marvel has released four shows on Disney Plus before Hawkeye, and disappointment is an understatement considering the expectations are so high for Marvel. Starting from the beginning, WandaVision had a solid plot but was just plain old sloppy with missing crucial details to the story and not grasping the true nature of the characters. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier didn’t have the “it factor” expected by the audience. It didn’t draw the attention expected considering it was the biggest change of characters in MCU history. 

Now What If…? can go either way. On one hand, it has no plot, no significance to the MCU, and is just filled with unnecessary and boring hypotheticals. On the other hand, the idea of the MCU changing by the smallest occurrences can make you wonder, what if? The one outlier in the new TV adventure of Marvel is Loki. Loki has everything you want in a TV show: incredible character development, a great story that has twists and turns that you wouldn’t see from miles away, and a beloved character by everyone who has watched the MCU grow.

Now we get to where we are today, Hawkeye. SPOILERS AHEAD. 

The show begins with the backstory of the newly introduced character Katherine Bishop. The opening scene is a flashback to the 2012 attacks on New York where Hawkeye saved her life. Then in typical Marvel fashion, a decade goes by and we are introduced to the present-day rebellious teenager Katy. Marvel did a sloppy job introducing what is assumed to be the main character. Then, present-day Clint Barton, better known as Hawkeye, gets introduced with his now grown-up family, which he previously lost in Marvel’s Infinity War and got back in Endgame. 

The plot is centered around the history of Hawkeye in the years between Infinity War and Endgame, or at least that is what we thought. Marvel, again, simply glazed over an entire five years where Hawkeye was alone and skipped to the present day. The irony is that the entire plot is introduced when Kate stumbles upon Clint’s old costume. In these five years Clint became a vigilante, which is such a cool topic to gloss over. Now he is just a normal guy trying to protect himself and Kate from his previous life. 

Marvel fans would much rather see the evolution of Hawkeye’s character throughout the year without his family, but that’s just a lifelong Marvel fan speaking. If Marvel keeps putting out these effortless shows, will there be any more to come?