Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel TV

  • ‘Hawkeye’ From Page to Screen: Episode 6

    ‘Hawkeye’ From Page to Screen: Episode 6

    With the finale in the rearview mirror, Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye series has come to a close. Each week we have looked at ways in which the live-action series has adapted parts of the Matt Fraction and David Aja Hawkeye comic book run. Between the origins of Lucky the Pizza Dog, Clint’s capture by the Tracksuit Mafia, Episode 3’s car chase and trick arrows, the connection between the live-action LARPERs and the comics’ neighbors, and Kingpin’s role, the series has covered a lot of ground. Looking at the finale episode of Hawkeye, a few things stand out as having strong ties to the source material: (1) the importance of Kate taking on the “Hawkeye” mantle; (2) the six-day Christmas-themed adventure; and (3) Kate’s parents’ role in the organized crime that the Hawkeyes go up against.

    Hawkeye and Hawkeye

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 6
    Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 6

    A clear goal of the live-action Hawkeye series was to introduce and establish Kate Bishop as the next “Hawkeye.” While the show follows Kate from her pre-superhero days through her first adventure with Clint, in the Hawkeye comic she is already established as Hawkeye alongside Clint’s own Hawkeye persona. While the series finale ended just shy of officially referring to Kate as Hawkeye, it’s almost certain that the next time we see Hailee Steinfeld’s character there won’t be any question about her superhero identity.

    The live-action and comic Hawkeye stories also both seem to have built a greater appreciation for Kate’s character over time. While both the series and comic are premised on Clint Barton’s story, Kate is a major character throughout his story. The Hawkeye series of course ends in a way that reflects Kate’s new role in Clint’s life and as a hero. The Hawkeye comic ends with a similar acknowledgment of the significance of the relationship between the two. On its final page, it also calls the Hawkeye comic run a “Clint Barton/Kate Bishop Comic Book,” giving further credit to Kate being deserving of the Hawkeye mantle on the same level as Clint.

    ‘Hawkeye’ #2 (2012)
    ‘Hawkeye’ #22 (2015)

    Six Days of Christmas

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 6

    Hawkeye made itself a Christmas show, and it made sure you knew how Christmas-y it was as often as it could. The series was clever to use its six episodes to cover the six days leading up to Christmas, which served as a countdown for Clint to get home to his family for the holiday. Not only did the second issue of Hawkeye explore a heavy Christmas theme, it also specifically looked at the six days of Clint’s life during that time. The comic version of the six days of Christmas had cameos from Tony Stark, Wolverine, and Spider-Man, which obviously the series did not. But it did heavily feature Kate, as well as the Tracksuit Mafia like the live-action series, did. In Hawkeye, the six days were presented out of order, and that added to the intrigue of the narrative––it’s interesting to think about how the Hawkeye series would have played out if its reveals and investigative themes were similarly distorted in order.

    Both six-day stretches end with Clint having company for Christmas. In the Hawkeye series, Clint makes it home to Missouri with Kate to spend Christmas with his wife and kids. Comic Clint has a much different family life than MCU Clint, though. He is divorced with no children and is living alone. At the end of his six days, a family that lives in his apartment building comes to keep him company in a warming moment for the self-deprecating and down-on-his-luck archer.

    • ‘Hawkeye’ #6 (2012)
    • ‘Hawkeye’ #6 (2012)
    • ‘Hawkeye’ #6 (2012)
    • ‘Hawkeye’ #6 (2012)

    Bishop Family Values

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 6
    • ‘Hawkeye’ #20 (2014)
    • ‘Hawkeye’ #20 (2014)
    ‘Hawkeye’ #22 (2015)

    One of the major reveals of the Hawkeye series was that Kate’s mother Eleanor Bishop was working for Wilson Fisk, also known as Kingpin, and her ties to New York City’s criminal underground was essentially the catalyst for the entire series. In the comics, Kate Bishop’s mother is the one who is presumed dead, and her father Derek Bishop raised her. In the live-action series, of course, the parents’ statuses are reversed, but in both iterations, they made deals with Kingpin among other criminal figures and organizations that ultimately impacted Kate and her safety.

    In any event, the Bishops were a wealthy family which gave Kate the status as a socialite on top of being a superhero. As a result, we get to see Kate bring Clint to a fancy event in a skyscraper in order to investigate some criminal activity in both the comic and the series.

    • Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 6
    • ‘Hawkeye’ #2 (2012)

  • ‘Spider-Man: Freshman Year’ Adds ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Li Cree as Storyboard Artist

    ‘Spider-Man: Freshman Year’ Adds ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Li Cree as Storyboard Artist

    We’ve been quite excited to see what the future has in store for Marvel Studios’ new ventures, especially with their drive to expand into animation. What If…? was merely a window into the potential we can expect, but with the announcement of an X-Men: The Animated Series revival and Marvel Zombies project, there’s a lot of potentials. A personal highlight is the prequel series Spider-Man: Freshman Year that’ll explore Peter Parker’s time before he joined Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War.

    It looks like the team is continuing to expand, as Star Trek: Lower Decks and My Adventures with Superman‘s Li Cree has announced they’ve joined the project on Twitter. The resumé also includes Port by the Sea, Critical Role: Vox Machina, and she was even part of the Nickelodeon Artist Program working on Rugrats. Her announcement came with a new visual to highlight the new project on Twitter:

    The animated sequel has garnered a talented team of artists, such as Harley Quinn‘s Liza Singer alongside Jeff Trammel as executive producer. She’s also has worked on various projects including Disenchantment, DC Super Hero Girls, and more. It’ll be exciting to see how they bring the visual style to life and explore Peter’s time as a small-time hero while balancing his school life.

    Source: Twitter, Li-Cree

  • ‘Hawkeye’ Director Rhys Thomas Plays Coy on a Potential Season 2

    ‘Hawkeye’ Director Rhys Thomas Plays Coy on a Potential Season 2

    It caught everyone’s eye when Hawkeye‘s final episode was called a “season finale“. We all expected an announcement in the series’ post-credit sequence but we were surprised by the fully filmed musical number from the Rogers musical. While a hilarious addition on the same level as the “patience” post-credit from Spider-Man: Homecoming, we were still left with some questions. In an interview with Collider, director Rhys Thomas was asked about a potential second season, where he only stated that:

    I cannot speak to future plans in the tradition of secrecy. Again, the show coming out, you never know how it’s going to be received and it has been amazing to see how warmly people have taken it and enjoyed it. And it’s been great to see Hailee’s character embraced and sort of land so firmly in the MCU. I sincerely look forward to where that character goes next. And yes, I loved walking on the streets of the MCU and would gladly enjoy doing it again.

    Rhys Thomas

    So, it looks like they’re still sticking to that remaining a secret for now, but it’s interesting that Thomas didn’t give a clear “no” when discussing it. We might get an announcement in the near future, as we still anticipate what the future of Disney+ has in store for us. We’ll see what series we can expect in 2022 and when. Here’s hoping the wait isn’t too long until we find out.

    Source: Collider

  • ‘Hawkeye’s Vincent D’Onofrio Pitched His ‘Family Business’ Inspired Outfit

    ‘Hawkeye’s Vincent D’Onofrio Pitched His ‘Family Business’ Inspired Outfit

    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:

    https://twitter.com/adambarnhardt/status/1474068733597519883

    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.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Hawkeye’s Vincent D’Onofrio Talks Kingpin’s Apparent Fate in the Finale

    ‘Hawkeye’s Vincent D’Onofrio Talks Kingpin’s Apparent Fate in the Finale

    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.

    Source: Collider

  • Vincent D’Onofrio On ‘Hawkeye’s Kingpin: “It’s The Same Character” as in ‘Daredevil’

    Vincent D’Onofrio On ‘Hawkeye’s Kingpin: “It’s The Same Character” as in ‘Daredevil’

    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.

    Source: CinemaBlend

  • ‘Hawkeye’ Rumor Review

    ‘Hawkeye’ Rumor Review

    Correct: Kingpin Will Appear

    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

    Kingpin se verá tan exagerado como en Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse en su regreso al MCU | Código Espagueti

    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

    Who Are the Tracksuit Mafia in Hawkeye? Why Do they Want the Watch?

    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.

  • How the ‘Hawkeye’ Finale Sets up Swordsman to Surface in a Second Season

    How the ‘Hawkeye’ Finale Sets up Swordsman to Surface in a Second Season

    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!

  • ‘Iron Fist’ Star Jessica Henwick Turned Down ‘Shang-Chi’ To Keep Hope Alive for the Return of Colleen Wing

    ‘Iron Fist’ Star Jessica Henwick Turned Down ‘Shang-Chi’ To Keep Hope Alive for the Return of Colleen Wing

    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.

  • ‘Hawkeye’ Finale’s BIG “Death” Explained

    ‘Hawkeye’ Finale’s BIG “Death” Explained

    Marvel fans waited patiently to see Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin make a big splash in Hawkeye and their patience paid off in the season finale. Wilson Fisk proved to be a major physical threat and pretty damn hard to kill. He shrugged off an arrow to the chest, showed almost no ill effects to being hit by a car and was able to walk away from an explosion that would have left a normal person in pieces. His reward for all that? Being shot at point-blank range by Maya Lopez at the end of the episode. Is it over for the Kingpin? Did Marvel Studios bring D’Onofrio back simply to kill him off? Absolutely not.

    The final meeting between Lopez and Fisk in Episode 6 of Hawkeye was nearly identical to the way things went down between the two characters in David Mack’s Daredevil (Vol.2) , Issue #15, entitled “Vision”, published in 2001. In both cases, Maya took her revenge on Fisk by shooting him at point-blank range.

    As we saw in Hawkeye, the Fisk from the comics has also been notoriously hard to kill. In “Visions”, as Fisk is brought into the hospital following his encounter with Maya, readers learn that he was shot multiple times, including once in the head. The medical staff concludes that while he might live, they won’t be repair the damage done to his vision, leaving Kingpin blind. Of course, Fisk didn’t say blind forever and, after having surgery in Sweden to repair the damage done, he returned to his criminal ways.

    Given the combination of the way the event went down in the comics, the fact that Hawkeye’s Fisk was essentially indestructible and that we didn’t actually get a look at what transpired, it is reasonable to assume that Fisk is not dead and will be back in action in Echo.