Today’s episode of Hawkeye, “Echoes”, jumped right into Maya Lopez’s backstory. The first 5 minutes of so of the episode gave us everything we need to know about the character and introduced the two most influential men in her life: her father, Willie Lopez, and her “Uncle.” We later find out that her “Uncle” is also the big boss of organized crime in New York City, a man, as Clint explains it, will “do anything to grow the operation” and is “someone you don’t want to mess with.” Who is this “Uncle” and what does his presence mean for the Hawkeyes and the future of the MCU? Read on, True Beleivers.
In this case, the term “Uncle” is clearly not a strictly familial term but rather a way of recognizing the close relationship between Maya’s father and the man in black that we meet at about 5:18 into the episode right before Maya’s karate match. As the episode explains, Maya’s father worked for “Uncle” as upper management in the Tracksuits, meaning he was someone that the man trusted very much. His death, at the hands of Ronin, not only interrupted operations but also may have been a very personal loss for both Maya and her “Uncle.” In putting all the pieces together and digging into the comics for some support, it’s clear that Maya’s “Uncle” is Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of New York City.
While there are some pretty significant changes to the story and the relationship in Hawkeye, the Kingpin was a similarly significant figure in Maya’s life in the comics. In her origin arc, which was told beautifully over several issues of 1998’s Daredevil, we learn that Maya’s father worked for Fisk and was, in Fisk’s words “a good friend.” It’s that close friendship between the two men that’s being interpreted as Fisk being Maya’s “Uncle” in the series.
Rumors of Kingpin appearing in Hawkeye, with Vincent D’Onofrio reprising his role from the Netflix Daredevil series, have swirled for months; today’s episode laid any doubts to rest. At the 5:18 mark when “Uncle” touches young Maya’s face and chuckles, the chuckle discernably belong to D’Onofrio. With such a blatant tease in Episode 3, it won’t be much longer before the series fully reveals the identity of Maya’s “Uncle.” The arrival of the Kingpin on the scene will mean that Kate and Clint will now be faced with a ruthless and powerful adversary, much more competent and deadly than his Tracksuit goons.
With Wilson Fisk operating in the MCU, it’s only a matter of time before he crosses paths with Daredevil and, potentially Spider-Man; in fact, D’Onofrio, who took to Twitter to share his excitement for the upcoming series, mentioned in a recent interview that if he were to reprise the role of Fisk, he’d love to square off against Spidey. Now it seems that’s not only possible, but maybe even inevitable.
