The third episode of Hawkeye on Disney+ was my favorite of the bunch, even though there were only a couple of real highlights; Echo’s origin and the trick arrow chase scene. Great stuff! It’s going to be remembered for one thing, though, and that’s the cameo that may turn out to be the first MCU appearance of a major villain we haven’t seen since the Netflix era.
Titled “Echoes”, this episode focused heavily on Echo/Maya Lopez, revealing a large part of her origin story, including that Ronin, back when Clint Barton was in the suit exacting revenge on everybody, was the one who killed her father, played by terrific Westworld actor Zahn McClarnon. But it’s another father-figure that could be the bigger deal. We see the overly-large hand of a chuckling man in a black suit, referred by Echo’s father as her “Uncle.” He’s also referred to later by Tracksuit Mafia member Kazi as someone who isn’t to be messed with.
Now, this is very likely to be Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin, but unlike some others I’m not ready to say that chuckle was definitely Vincent D’Onofrio’s, who played the role in Netflix’s Daredevil series. Marvel has been known to toy with our expectations when it comes to stuff like this. Just look at the whole Quicksilver thing in WandaVision as just one example. They know fans are eager to see D’Onofrio because if he returns, then it means others from the Netflix shows will also come back, such as Charlie Cox.
You think Marvel is going to make it that easy, though. I think it’s big enough that Kingpin is in the MCU at all. Assuming this is him, Kingpin is a figure that could open up a side that we haven’t seen explored too much, and that’s the grounded, street-level criminals the heavy-hitter Avengers wouldn’t bother with. Hawkeye is filling that void now, but there’s a ton that could be done later. Those hoping to see the return of Daredevil, the Punisher, and others will want this to be Kingpin because he heralds their inevitable arrival.
In short: Kingpin yes!!! D’Onofrio maybe!!!
