REVIEW: ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 1 – “Never Meet Your Heroes”

2021 has been a stellar year for Marvel in a year that’s otherwise been filled with a lot of uncertainties. Fandom though has been kept more than content with eight properties being dropped this year, I mean lovers of comic book stories are eating good in the neighborhood. The fun doesn’t stop though, as we roll into the holiday period with the next installment in the MCU, Hawkeye.

The series is directed by Rhys Thomas, Bert, and Bertie, as Marvel takes the time to dive into one of the founding Avengers. Starring Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton, Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop, Vera Farmiga as Eleanor Bishop, Tony Dalton as Jack Duquesne.

It’s the holidays in NY city and Clint is spending some quality time with his kids as they attempt to make up for lost time during the blip. A now-retired member of the Avengers, Clint is ready to leave that life behind, but life may not be done with him. When Kate Bishop quite literally stumbles upon the Ronin outfit, she takes it upon herself to don the outfit in an attempt to stop a robbery from the nefarious criminal enterprise called the tracksuit mafia. But Kate is far from a polished pro, and gets caught on camera, alerting Clint to the emergence of his old alter ego and realizing how many criminals want to see Ronin dead. Now it’s a race against time to get that suit off the streets and protect the wearer.

As a giant fan of the comic that inspired this show, the Matt Fraction and David Aja run, I was highly anticipating this series to be a big fan favorite, and oh boy it does not disappoint. Episode 1 perfectly sets the foundation for what to expect during the show and gives us the exposition needed in order to understand each of the characters’ motives. This really is really pertinent for Kate Bishop as her story is adapted, but in a way that draws from prior events of the MCU that leverages a major film in the past to lay the groundwork for the current events.

Steinfeld, I mean she smashes her performances and is enigmatic, and likable on screen. If you’ve see any of her previous work this won’t come as a surprise, but seeing her in a role as big as this has me utterly giddy for all of the stories she could potentially be involved with. She truly does embody the persona of Kate, and much like Florence Pugh’s version of Yelena Belova (Black Widow) that was an instant hit with fans, Marvel is bulking up it’s superstar female cast.

Renner is surprisingly good, and I really mean it. I’ve not always been a fan of his work, and especially in the guise of Hawkeye, but damn, the new direction he’s taking this character really falls in line with what I loved about the Fraction comic. Hawkeye is in essence an agent of SHIELD, with training in espionage, but the series captures the man behind it all and the actual personality of the character. In no other iterations of Hawkeye have we gotten to spend any time with him other than as a vessel for others call to action, most notably seen in Age of Ultron.

If you liked what you saw in the trailers, then Hawkeye Episode 1 will absolutely be for you. It does exactly what it says on the tin, and a little bit more. It captures the tones of a movie like Die Hard, and really nicely adapts a highly successful comic series smashing it all together and bringing together something that is highly, highly, entertaining. Just in time for the holidays, Hawkeye is is an absolute gift of a show, and episode 1 will leave you wanting to press play on the next episode.

Hawkeye Episode 1 “Never Meet Your Heroes” is available exclusively on Disney+ tomorrow.