It’s been a busy week for Vincent D’Onforio, as he was interviewed by one outlet after another about that Hawkeye finale. He offered some insight into how it connected to the original Netflix Daredevil series and his future with the franchise. Well, ComicBook.com’s Adam Barnhardt asked the true hard-hitting question about his new wardrobe.
While we get a brief shot of the classic white-black suit he wore in Daredevil‘s third season, the rest of the episode features a very different take on the iconic NYC Kingpin. He is wearing a red-white Hawaiian shirt ripped straight out of the Spider-Man: Family Business storyline. It seems that D’Onofrio has a soft spot for the design, as he reveals it was an idea he “brought to the table.” You can check out the video here:
It’s great to see how much love D’Onofrio has for the role and even bringing this different take on his usual fashion sense to life. It worked incredibly well, even if the hat was an adorable addition. Here’s hoping we get a lot more of his character in the future with some new outfits to mix it up.
For seven seasons starting in 2013, Marvel Television and ABC Studios’ soap opera, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., adapted characters and story lines from Marvel Comics that were unlikely to ever make their way into any of the company’s mainstream films. With former head of Marvel TV, Jeph Loeb, stepping aside and the company falling under the oversight of Marvel Studios One-Above-All, Kevin Fiege, the series was not renewed following its seventh season, which received rave reviews from all 15 critics who took the time to watch it and share their opinions with Rotten Tomatoes.
In late-2018, Marvel Studios began developing its own series which were set to become key central to Disney’s efforts to enter the streaming wars. By early 2019, development on several series had begun, including Hawkeye, which would be officially announced by Feige at SDCC ’19. Hawkeye recently concluded its 6-episode streaming run and, in its finale, clearly identified Laura Barton, played since 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron by Linda Cardellini, as a former Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. More specifically, it was made clear that Laura was Agent 19, a designation that belonged only to Barbara “Bobbi” Morse, also known as Mockingbird, the one-time wife of Clint Barton. This revelation indicated to fans that the events of the long-running ABC soap opera, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., could no longer be considered canonical in the Sacred Timeline of the MCU since that show had its own Bobbi Morse who had a very different story.
With the startling revelation that Marvel Studios would choose to tell its own stories with the character it controls, we thought it a good time to take a look at other characters from the ABC series who could be recast and see their stories retold in the Sacred Timeline.
The Secret Warriors
In the mid-2000’s, Marvel Comics’ writer Brian Michael Bendis went on a hot streak the likes of which was rarely seen before it and has rarely been seen since. Beginning in 2004 with Secret War, Bendis weaved a fascinating story with Nick Fury at the center. After killing one his old friends, Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine, and finding out she was a Skrull, Fury began assembling, in secret, a team of under-the-radar powered warriors to fight back. These individuals were called Caterpillars and were split up into 3 teams each of which were led by agents who Fury deeply trusted. First appearing in Mighty Avengers #13 during the company’s line-wide Secret Invasion event (overseen by Bendis, who wrote the event series), Fury’s Secret Warriors eventually headlined their own series (co-written by Bendis and Jonathan Hickman). Starting in 2009, Secret Warriors took readers on an absolutely insane ride that slowly unraveled a wild story that included Leonardo da Vinci’s secret council of spies, known as the Great Wheel of the Zodiac.
The third season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was loosely based on parts of Bendis and Hickman’s Secret Warriors as it saw Agent Coulson and Daisy Johnson assemble a group of Caterpillars who, in the show, were Inhumans, to battle Hydra and the Hive.
In May of 2020, it was revealed that Marvel Studios has been developing their own Secret Warriors project. Should this project go into development and stick a little more closely to the source material, Marvel Studios could chose to repurpose the following five characters, all of whom were integral to the Secret Warriors comic book though not all of them appeared in the Season 3 Secret Warriors arc of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
As Kolpak indicated in the interview, Feige has plans for Marvel Studios to use Blaze (in fact, they may have found their guy) and are developing a solo Ghost Rider project.
Deathlok
One of the first teasers for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. featured a character jumping out of a building and cracking the concrete beneath his feet. Fans speculated WILDLY about who it might be. Was it Luke Cage? Nope. It was legendary Marvel Comics’ character Mike Peterson, portrayed by J. August Richards. Peterson, a one-time Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., volunteered for the Centipede Project which was meant to build an army of super soldier for Hydra. Apparently a big project guy, Peterson then became a subject in Project Deathlok which turned him into a laughable version of the comic book character. I mean he had a rocket launcher in his forearm.
Interestingly enough, in 2019 Deadline reported that Marvel Studios was looking to use the character in an upcoming project. Presumably, the studio would do so by using one of the five comic book characters who have become Deathlok and not creating a new character to act as a poor substitute.
Victoria Hand
In another pretty poor page-to-screen adaptation, Victoria Hand went from a S.H.I.E.L.D. accountant fired by Nick Fury in the comics to a Level 8 Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the show. Hand’s time on the show was short, thankfully, as she was betrayed and murdered by Grant Ward. In the comics, Hand became the right hand of Norman Osborn as he rose to power in the aftermath of the Skrull Invasion of Earth and helped him create the Thunderbolts. She later became an Avenger and was killed by a ghost, which not many people can say.
Production on Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion is underway and there’s no telling how messy things will get in the MCU following the events of the paranoia-driven series and who will be left standing to pick up the pieces. Obviously S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn’t existed in years, but that doesn’t mean a version of Victoria Hand doesn’t exist in the MCU, waiting to be redeemed for how she was handled in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Antagonists
If there was one thing Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. did incredibly well, it was utilizing interesting comic book villains in incredibly uninteresting ways. Franklin Hall, Graviton, a one-time Master of Evil, A.I.M.’s Minister of Science and an Avengers-level threat was forgotten about after being introduced in Season 1 before his powers were, inexplicably given to Glenn Talbot. Mr. Hyde was turned into a homeless, junkie and the father of Quake (and then the comics retconned Daisy’s whole past to line up with the show). Small-timers Blizzard and Blackout were unceremoniously dispatched. And that brings us, finally, to Carl Creel, the Absorbing Man, who ended up being used by Talbot to turn him into Graviton?
Franklin Hall/Graviton
Calvin Johnson/Calvin Zabo/Mr. Hyde
Carl Creel/Absorbing Man
Marcus Daniels/Blackout
Donald Gill/Blizzard
Glenn Talbot
Of these characters, it’s possible that Carl “Crusher” Creel could show up in the MCU in the next year. Creel’s wife, Titania, plays a major role in She-Hulk and the two have been nearly inseparable in the comics over the past several years. Creel’s power set, much like many of the rest of the villains on the list above, would play much, much better in the big budget world of Marvel Studios television than they did on the melodrama budget of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. And Talbot has been a thorn in the side of Hulk since the 1960s; hell, he was even included in Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk. He deserves an upgrade, too.
Fingers crossed, True Believers! Some day some of your favorite heroes and villains will make the jump to the big leagues and join the MCU, just like Agent 19, aka Mockingbird, aka Bobbi Morse, aka Laura Barton.
Hawkeye’s finale had shocked many, as it finally introduced Vincent D’Onofrio‘s Kingpin only to have Echo shoot him in the final moments of the episode. Of course, many eagle-eyed fans of the character have noticed that he gets away with it, especially how much the show teased that he’s quite a bit stronger than he was in Daredevil. Luckily, the actor offered a comment on his apparent “death” and what it meant for him.
I can comment personally. I can’t comment about any fact because they just don’t tell me. So, it made me hope that it would continue and it still makes me feel that way. I mean in my mind, she definitely shot him. And, I walked away from Daredevil, at first I thought, “Maybe he’ll come back somehow.” And then very quickly after that, I thought I was walking away for good. So I had always hoped because of the fans wanting him back and everybody, I’d hope that I would come back. So I feel the same way now.
Vincent D’Onofrio
They also got a chance to talk about the Echo spinoff that was teased during Disney+ Day. While we know very little about that project, it does seem like it’ll closely tie into these events and it seems like a fitting choice for Wilson Fisk to return as its primary antagonist. It would seem that D’Onofrio is also up to exploring their relationship more.
I think it would be great. I remember the comic run. It was one of my favorites, the father-daughter relationship between Maya and him, and I would love the opportunity to do that.
Vincent D’Onofrio
It seems likely the character got away from the shot, as either Echo ended up missing due to her strong feelings towards the surrogate father, or the man survived a bullet shot as if it was a scratch. Either way, it doesn’t seem likely that Marvel Studios would introduce such an essentially comic character only to never bring them up again. Perhaps we’re about to enter a new era of Fisk’s control over NYC.
You never know what may get revealed in one form or another. Crew merch has always been a good indicator of what we can expect from a project. Well, it seems that a new employee gift from Lucasfilm has hinted at a rather curious addition. It seems that they may be working on a project inspired by the book series Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi.
The gift of a classic record player came in a box from Lucasfilm Ltd. It has the company’s logo on it alongside the various projects in development that include The Book of Boba Fett, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Indiana Jones 5, and more.
What sticks out is that alongside Willow, The Bad Batch, and Visions, there’s a new logo for the before-mentioned project that has not officially been announced yet.
We’ll see if we get an announcement in the near future, but it’s a curious addition if this employee gift turns out to be real. If it’s included in this line-up it might hint at a project that is further in development than initially expected. Here’s hoping we find out more in the near future.
We’ve been theorizing quite a bit since the announcement that Vincent D’Onforio‘s return in Hawkeye as Kingpin might connect to the original Daredevil in some form or another. There are hints at elements being taken over, but also his new durability as a sign this is a more comic-accurate depiction of the character. Luckily D’Onofrio offered some insight into it in an interview with CinemaBlend
It’s the same character. Yeah, I mean, the way that we saw it on Hawkeye, or [what] I ended up believing, is that there are [as] many dots connected as we can possibly connect, and some are just impossible to connect. But I think… it’s the same as a lot of the MCU stuff that’s done, that Kevin [Feige] does, and all the incredible filmmakers, you know, they try to connect to the original stuff as much as they can. … But then there’s dots that can’t be connected. And I think we tried to do the same thing with connecting Daredevil to… or Hawkeye to Daredevil and Daredevil to Hawkeye. You know, it’s like that.
Vincent D’Onofrio
He does go on to highlight that this version is quite a bit stronger, especially as we saw him rip an entire car door with his bare hands hinting at the more comic inspirations, but at its core, the character remains the same.
I mean, obviously, my character in Hawkeye is physically stronger and can take a lot more physical abuse. But my approach to him is exactly the same approach that I did on Daredevil. He is an emotional human being, he is a child and a monster simultaneously. The same things that are going on inside me when I’m playing the character, the events that I use, whether the joyful ones or sad ones or frustrating ones or angry ones, the events that I use from my life are the same ones that I used in Daredevil that I used to portray Fisk. So it’s connected, for sure. In my mind, for sure.
Vincent D’Onofrio
He does go on to share his headcanon, as “he has lost the power he had in Daredevil and he wants it back.” It might explain why he isn’t working from a penthouse and that is why he wants to take back the city. It may also be the reason he’s become a bit more “hands-on” in his approach instead of relying purely on his goons. It’ll be interesting to see what the future has in store.
This one was a well-known fact among many in the “scooper” community and made its way into the public via a Reddit post. After being referenced regularly and teased in Episode 3, Kingpin was seen at the end of Episode 5 before making his grand entrance into the MCU in Episode 6.
Incorrect: A Combo of a Fat Suit and CGI Will Be Used to Make Kingpin Appear Huge
This one spread like wildfire after RPK News shared it and ended up generating the ridiculous looking picture above. As it turned out, it was just D’Onofrio who, at 6’4″ and 250+ lbs., is plenty big enough to be physically menacing.
Correct: Clint Barton Would Need an Audiologist
One of our own and one that was never in doubt since it came from a casting call. Clint’s hearing loss played an integral part in the beginning of the series and, as expected, he had to visit an audiologist. This visit was also seen in set pics taken during filming.
Incorrect: Madame Masque Would Appear in a Supporting Role
Shared last Fall by The Direct, this one turned out to be inaccurate. To add to it a bit, there were also rumblings that Kate’s Mom, Eleanor, would be revealed to be Madame Masque: this was never the case and not something that was “cut” from the series.
Partially Correct: Trickshot and the Tracksuit Mafia Would Appear
An old rumor from MCU Cosmic suggested that Trickshot, the brother of Clint Barton, would appear in Hawkeye. In what seems like a missed opportunity to introduce that character, he was not included. The same report also indicated that the Tracksuit Mafia would appear in the series. Of course, they did appear and were one of the highlights of the series.
Correct: Carlos Navarro Joined the Cast
Another one of ours and it was spot on. The MM team was tipped off and a quick check of social media gave us enough confidence to run it. At the time, we thought maybe Navarro would be playing one of the NYC detectives in the show but, as it turned out, he got to be one of the bros in the Tracksuit Mafia instead!
Correct: Ace Ventura Villain Simon Callow Joined the Cast
This past summer, The Cosmic Circus correctly reported that Simon Callow joined the cast of Hawkeye. Callow, who played one of the Armand’s, was fantastic in his short time in the series.
At the end of 2020, Amazon released a new title: Yearly Departed. The comedy special was to poke fun at the chaos we’d all endured because of COVID-19. While it was enjoyable, the special often felt too-scripted at times, making it hard to truly appreciate the fantastic crew of female comedians on hand. Unfortunately, the follow-up special seems to suffer from many of the same issues. Dubbed Season 2, the 2021 episode of Yearly Departed features yet another stellar group of women but feels edited down.
The idea of bringing together some of the biggest names in comedy to roast a year like 2021? It’s a great idea, and honestly, the year has produced plenty of content to craft a comedy special. The thing is, though, Yearly Departed never feels like a comedy special. It feels like a scripted attempt at a comedy special designed for primetime television and it’s frustrating. Which is odd as Amazon Studios has done a great job with its original programming thus far.
This year’s special is hosted by the incredibly talented Yvonne Orji (Insecure). From the moment she enters the screen until the moment she exits, Orji is a commanding presence. Joining the actress are Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie), Chelsea Peretti (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Meg Stalter (Hacks), Dulcé Sloan (The Daily Show), Aparna Nancherla (The Great North) and X Mayo (The Daily Show) with musical guest Alessia Cara. It’s an impressive cast, and honestly, the jokes are great. The problem with the way Yearly Departed is formatted is it often feels overly edited.
Yearly Departed has the potential to be something truly special. All-female talent with the willingness to produce jokes most wouldn’t dare? It should be a huge success. From the jokes regarding Zoom, Hot Vaxx Summer, Hermit Life and Saying Goodbye to Assholes, there’s plenty of promise here. If only the format was different. Set it before a live audience, even if the audience has to be present through virtual measures. Allow for that live feedback.
The most frustrating part is that the outtakes prove Season 2 of Yearly Departed was full of fantastic comedy work. The women were free to play and joke, the laughs felt real, the smiles genuine, and more importantly? It didn’t feel overly scripted. With a 2022 return teased, one can only hope next year’s special toys with its format a bit more because with such impressive talents? There’s no reason Yearly Departed shouldn’t be enjoyable.
If you’re looking for something to ring in the New Year with, Yearly Departed could still prove to be a fun series to enjoy. However, it’s best to temper your expectations.
Criminal. Mentor to Clint Barton. Avenger. Strategic genius. Father of the Celestial Messiah (in a really creepy way). In the comics, Jacques Duquesne, the master of bladed weapons known as Swordsman, was all these things before he ultimately gave his life in defense of the love of his life, Mantis.
Broke rich guy. Witless buffoon. Guy who bought a book on being a step-father. In the Marvel Studios streaming series Hawkeye, Jack Duquesne, the avid collector of bladed weapons known as, well, Jack, was all these things before he was used as a fall guy by the love of his life, Eleanor Bishop, to cover her tracks.
Hawkeye showrunner Jonathan Igla and directors Rhys Thomas, Bert and Bertie did the character of Jacques Duquesne dirty over the course of the six-episode series; however, the series’ finale did redeem the loveable moron and provide an opportunity for the character, played wonderfully by Tony Dalton, to return down the road. And should we see this daringly-different Duquesne again, whether it be in a second season of Hawkeye or another project, the creatives also left him in the perfect position to suit up as his swashbuckling self from the comics.
Desperately in need of some new friends after being manipulated and used by his fiancee, Duquesne finds himself in the company of one of the show’s First Responders, Adetinpo Thomas’ Wendy, following the big events of the finale. Before becoming distracted by the blood on his tie (Balls!), Duquesne was talking with Wendy about a potential “leisure activity”: LARPing.
Throughout the series, the window to the First Responders’ hobby provided comic relief and Clint’s original meeting with them provided fruit down the road as not only did they help out the heroes in the final battle, but also created the great new outfits for Clint and Kate. And while Jacques and Wendy don’t get to finish their conversation, the creatives of Hawkeye have certainly set the table for Jack to give LARPing a shot if/when we see him again. And if we do see Jack (there’s no way they don’t bring Dalton back if there is a Season 2) and we do see him LARPing, the creatives could do the character a solid (though a ridiculous looking solid) by having his LARP in something resembling his classic Swordsman suit, first seen in Avengers #19.
At this point, it seems obvious that the Duquesne of the MCU won’t ascend to the ranks of Avenger and he likely won’t have his dead body possessed by a tree-alien who then uses it to copulate with Mantis (he could, however, meet Mantis, I suppose, if the Guardians where to say, come to Earth at some point) and conceive a child. But we saw enough from the guy over the course of the season to know that he has a big heart, probably way too big, and is always up for a good time. Given that (and the fact that the creatives actually included Hawkeye’s original comic book costume in a LARPing scene before cutting it), it doesn’t seem to far-fetched of an idea at all that we might see a swashbuckling Swordsman braving the battlefield with bladed weapons some time down the road. En garde!
Early last month, Golden Globe winner Gael Garcia Bernal joined the cast of Marvel Studios Halloween Special, Werewolf By Night. At the time of his casting, it was widely assumed that Bernal would be playing Jake Gomez, the most recent Marvel Comics’ character to carry the burden of lycanthropy. A new rumor from The Illuminerdi contradicts that report and indicates that Bernal is instead playing Jack Russell, the original Werewolf By Night.
In the comics, lycanthropy has been part of Russell’s family line dating back to 1795 when his ancestor, Grigori Russoff first became a werewolf after being bitten by one following a battle with Dracula, of course. The curse of the werewolf was passed through generations, with some assistance from the Darkhold (which now plays a prominent part in the MCU), until it manifested in Russell. Over time, Russell used his powers as a werewolf to battle evil, serving at one point as part of the Midnight Sons.
It’s worth noting that the Illuminderi’s report indicates that another “by nighter”, Vampire By Night, could be joining the party in Werewolf By Night. That character, Nina Price, is the niece of Russell and a vampire/werewolf hybird. Price carried the lycanthropy in her DNA and was further changed after being, of course, bitten by a vampire.
Werewolf By Night is set to go into production in February and is being billed as a “one-off movie” for Disney Plus. It is expected to complete filming by the end of March and ready to stream for Spooky Season 2022.
Netflix’s Iron Fist seemed to finally be finding its identity when it was canceled following its second season. A big part of that identity was giving then budding star Jessica Henwick more to do. By season’s end, Henwick’s character, Colleen Wing, wielded the power of the Iron Fist of K’un Lun and, presumably, would have had a major arc in a third season.
Henwick is now starring in the recently released Matrix Resurrections and revealed that, in order to land that role, she passed on one in Marvel Studios Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings. After that report, fans speculated, wildly as always, that Henwick was set to reprise the role of Wing in Shang-Chi. Thankfully, in an interview with a trade,Henwick clarified that not only was she NOT going to be playing Wing in Shang-Chi, but also that she passed on the role in order to keep hope alive that she might reprise the role sometime down the road.
If I did [Shang-Chi], I would effectively be putting Colleen to bed. It wasn’t the main factor, but it definitely came up in conversation. I love Colleen. She changed my life. Of course, if I was given the opportunity to revisit her, I would, but I just don’t know how likely that is. Charlie [Cox] knew about that opportunity years ago. He already knew it was happening. I think I would have heard by now if there were any plans with Colleen.
As Henwick noted, plans for Daredevil star Charlie Cox to return were in place for some time ahead of his work on Spider-Man: No Way Home and the fact that she hasn’t heard anything about a potential future for Wing could easily be construed as the end for the character; however, as Spider-Man: No Way Home and Hawkeye have proven, there can be life after Netflix death for these characters.
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