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The revelations hardly sweep us viewer:ins off our feet: yes, Eleanor is behind Armand's murder. Yes, Jack has to take the fall for the money-laundering company Sloan Limited. And yes, the Black Widow was hired to kill Hawkeye, not Kate. But now that she's suddenly dragged into the story, Eleanor wants out. The Kingpin doesn't like that.
Even less, however, that his foster daughter Maya is turning her back on him - foster daughter, as in the comics. Because in both the comics and the series, the Kingpin is behind the murder of Maya's father. Only Maya didn't know about it her whole childhood.
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So far. True, she doesn't voice her distrust. But the Kingpin isn't stupid. Even in Netflix's "Daredevil," he always saw through his enemies' intentions. And even more so those of his supposed allies. That's also what made him so cunning. So invincible. After all, he would walk over dead bodies to get what he coveted. In this case, for the people to remember who owned the city again.
Him.
People: I love Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin. Always scared me with the actor's whispery yet simultaneously rumbling voice alone. Because still waters run deep. This is more true with D'Onorfio's Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin than anyone else. It's never clear if he's in control or on the verge of ripping someone's head off - that also happened in "Daredevil." D'Onorfio's Kingpin in "Hawkeye" is not a bit different.
The Siege
After all, Clint obviously wants to help Eleanor rather than get revenge on her. Why Eleanor is in Kingpin's service in the first place? Because of the debt Kate's father owed to the Kingpin. When he died, the debt passed to Eleanor. She paid off the debt long ago, but never left the mob business. Too lucrative. Yeah. Bad Eleanor.
Help comes in the form of trick arrows. Plenty of them. I like seeing Hawkeye not just making his arrows out of air and love for once, but actually having to painstakingly construct them. Plus Stark and Pym technologies. Cool.
Shots ring out at the following Christmas banquet at the Rockefeller Building. The target is Clint and Eleanor. But Kazi, good with a sniper rifle as in the comics, misses. In the series, Kazi misses his clown makeup, but not the duel with Clint. That, of course, goes in the archer's favor. Elsewhere in the building, Kate and Black Widow Yelena fight their way to Clint. Delightful. If these two weren't friends, they could be pretty much best friends.
Finally, the fight shifts to the outside. Yelena and Kate rappel down the skyscraper in superhero fashion, and no passersby care. Well, we live in a world where purple aliens chase coloured stones. But my respect goes to the stuntman who, as Hawkeye, does Jackie Chan and throws himself head over heels out of a window. From what feels like 50 metres, straight into the Rockefeller Christmas tree.
Meanwhile, Clint and Kate's LARPer allies get ready to defend the building. Another comic book reference. In Matt Fraction and David Aja's 2012 Hawkeye comics - also known as Fraction Run - it's actually Clint taking on the Tracksuit Mafia because they're terrorizing the apartment he lives in. When the Tracksuits try to take back the building, Hawkeye fights back - and gets help from all the apartment dwellers, including one named Grills.
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<!-- image:53774351 "The weak fight back. "Marvel Comics>
Jack Duquesne, meanwhile, finally gives the Swordsman he's been giving in the comics. Likeable, but not quite as imposing as his drawn original. As a reminder, there Jack is better known as Swordsman, the best swordsman on the planet. It is also he who teaches archery to Clint Barton there, then still a circus boy. Later, the two become bitter enemies. Whether that will happen in the MCU, I doubt.
The Duel
Great are the next scenes. First, Kate crashes the giant Rockefeller Christmas tree to the ground, along with Clint inside. Wow, I didn't know the tree was that big. Then the battle with the trick arrows begins. Delightful, just delightful to see Clint and his protégée in action.
But the time for duels, it comes now.
First Maya vs Kazi and Clint vs Yelena. Kazi is the first to go down - and die. Also getting serious is Clint and Yelena, who still wants revenge for the death of her sister Natasha Romanoff. It seems a bit contrived to me: Even when Clint tells her that Natasha sacrificed herself for the good of humanity, she refuses to believe him. Why not? It's not like her. Anyway, eventually she comes to her senses. A simple "you know Natasha" from Clint will do. Okay.
But the duel of duels is set somewhere else entirely: Kate Bishop versus the Kingpin. Kate doesn't stand a chance. Good thing. Although the Kingpin may not have superpowers, even in the comics he often appears superhumanly strong. It's no different here. And without the "too dangerous" blast, Kate ultimately wouldn't have won the duel either. Kingpin escapes anyway, but only until he runs into Maya. The encounter plays out just like in the comics, with Kingpin trying to save his skin. But Maya points a gun at his head - and pulls the trigger.
<!-- image:53774353 "Voilà: Maya confronts the Kingpin and seeks revenge."
Marvel Studios.
Was that it for the Kingpin already? If the comics are anything to go by, it's not. The shot merely wounds Wilson Fisk there and blinds him for a while. His empire crumbles. Fisk retreats to Sweden, where he goes into hiding for a long time. When he regains his sight after experimental surgery, he re-emerges on the scene, leaving a bloody trail of vengeance in his wake until he reclaims his empire once again as Kingpin.
His death is not explicitly shown in the series. No wonder: Marvel probably wants to keep it open whether he survived the confrontation with Maya or whether he might return. Who knows, maybe as an antagonist in the upcoming Maya "Echo" Lopez series.
The finale
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Clint did it. Together with child, cone and Kate he celebrates the Christmas morning. The gift for his wife Laura: the Rolex, with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the back. And a number: 19.
In the comics, Agent 19 is none other than Mockingbird. Her real name: Barbara "Bobbi" Morse. There, she was initially trained by S.H.I.E.L.D. as a secret agent. One day, she began investigating the evil Carl Dalandan. In the process, she met her future husband: the then-head of security at Cross Technological Enterprises, Clint Barton.
<!-- image:53387818 "Mockingbird and Hawkeye are a well-rehearsed duo in the comics. "Marvel Comics>
The problem: Morse had already made her first appearance in the ABC-produced TV series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." So the name Barbara Morse and her alias Mockingbird would actually already be taken. The solution: Laura remains Laura, but at the same time has been Agent 19 and, at least in the series, is not officially called Mockingbird or Barbara Morse. Clever. And kind of absurd.
Finally, the passing of the torch. After Clint and Kate destroy the Ronin costume once and for all, Kate wonders what her alias might be. Clint makes the suggestion to her, which is 1:1 from the comics: Kate should become the new Hawkeye.
How did you guys like the episode? Post it in the comments.
