There are no rules for which Marvel Studios’ Disney+ series will get a second season or not. As the big Hawkeye finale draws closer, it’s beginning to feel like there may be too many loose strings left to tie in only a single episode. A startling cliffhanger in this week’s penultimate adventure opened yet another door for the series to explore. Kate Bishop’s mother Eleanor was revealed as a confidant for the infamous Wilson Fisk and the latest employer of Florence Pugh‘s Black Widow. With this new information in mind, it seems more likely than ever that the show could be headed towards a surprise renewal in the same vein as fellow MCU series, Loki. If that happens, it looks like the seeds could have already been planted for the plot to end up resembling a continuation of the My Life as a Weapon comics, as it already borrows much of its story from.
In the comic continuation, Clint and Kate’s New York City exploits are followed by a period in which Bishop switches coasts for a dalliance with her own independence. The younger Hawkeye moves to Los Angeles after a falling out with Clint, where she’s cut off from her family’s wealth and begins living a brand-new lifestyle as a “half-superhero, half-private eye”. While living on the West Coast, Kate comes into contact with the villainous Madame Masque, who is attempting to expose the sins of Barton’s past via possession of a scandalous videotape. Now, it may currently seem like a stretch for Hawkeye to set this entire plotline up in only a single remaining episode, but one could argue it’s already done most of the leg work throughout its first season.
Last year, we got hints that Hawkeye would feature Madame Masque in some capacity. At this point in time, the scoop seems to have proven false. However, it would only take one revelatory scene in the finale to surprise fans and divulge that the comic villain has actually been in the series all along. Eleanor Bishop checks a lot of the boxes when it comes to Masque’s background in the comics. Much like Whitney Frost, Vera Farmiga plays an intelligent, attractive socialite who becomes engaged to a charming and well-liked man of high regard. Also, like Frost, Eleanor is apparently the secret brains behind a criminal conspiracy that wants Clint Barton dead. A simple accident or fight-gone-wrong would take only a moment of the show’s time, and could quickly give Farmiga‘s character the facial scarring and identifying golden mask that the Madame is so well known for.
If her mother were to go full-on supervillain, it would only be logical for Kate to cut things off and leave the city with her dog to take some distance from her mother’s activity. There, without her family’s wealth or influence, she could be forced to make do with the two talents we’ve seen her use the most throughout the first season of Hawkeye: her skill with a bow and her knack for private investigation. The hypothetical second season of the series could then follow a similar story as the comics. Kate is running across the country to Los Angeles with a chip on her shoulder and the goal of bringing down Madame Masque. With the way the current episodes are trending, the videotape from the pages of Fraction and Aja‘s comics could even come into play. Perhaps Eleanor comes into possession of footage that proves Clint’s history as Ronin, giving both Kate and Clint extra reason to take her down.
Moving Kate to L.A. would also bring her closer to Cassie Lang, her comic book friend and Young Avengers teammate based in San Francisco. Recent rumors have claimed Bishop might even be in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and this potential development might give her a reason to be in the neighborhood. Clint’s identity as Ronin being exposed and any additional threats to his family could also be a reason for him to uproot and head towards the West Coast, enabling him to appear in the second season and possibly set up a fan-favorite Avengers plotline that Jeremy Renner himself has expressed interest in adapting. All will be revealed when the final episode of Hawkeye drops on December 22nd.
Source: The DisInsider
