Mockingbird Archives - The Wide Screen

September 13, 2021

“Hawkeye” 1st Trailer Throws Some Holiday Cheer Our Way

As the only two members of the original Avengers line-up without either superhuman strength, durability, or flight, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye tended to get sidelined in most of the Avengers movies where the enemies were usually a little too big or overpowered to be taken down by an arrow or a well-aimed high-kick. In Black Widow’s case, the MCU got around this problem by finding a place for her in the comparatively grittier, more grounded Captain America franchise, and then when she finally got her own movie earlier this year they just…removed the problem entirely and retroactively gave her superhuman abilities even though that went against her whole character.

But Hawkeye never got the chance to be a major supporting player in anyone else’s franchise, and he never got a solo movie. Following the release of Black Widow, he is in fact the only remaining member of the original six Avengers not to have their own solo film (with the caveat that Hulk technically has one; not with Mark Ruffalo in the lead role, but the MCU has increasingly treated it as canon anyway). That’s not going to change anytime soon, I don’t think – but that’s okay, because Hawkeye’s getting the full Disney+ treatment.

And now that we have our first teaser trailer for the Hawkeye series, I have…well, a lot of thoughts, but the thing that really stood out to me from the trailer is that Hawkeye isn’t suddenly getting a power upgrade just because he’s the star of the show now. He’s a really good shot with a bow…that’s it. There’s plenty of cool stuff Marvel can do with that powerset alone (go watch all of Legolas’ scenes in The Lord Of The Rings if you don’t believe me), while still acknowledging Hawkeye’s obvious weaknesses.

Frankly, those weaknesses are a big part of what makes the character even halfway interesting, because he can’t rely on his own strength and agility to save him in a fight, like most of the other Avengers. He’s dependent on his bow and arrow, and without it he’s just a relatively average middle-aged guy. Even with it, the bow is only truly effective as a long-distance weapon – Hawkeye has some training with swords thanks to his work as Ronin, but he’s probably not gonna last long in a duel: something he learned the hard way when he fought Black Widow on Vormir, in a last-ditch effort to stop her from throwing herself off that hateful cliff.

And while a lot of Avengers purposefully put distance between themselves and their loved ones because they can’t balance their personal commitments with their duty to the world, Hawkeye is one of the few who’s always been adamant that he can’t abandon his wife and kids, and that he’d rather give up his place on the Avengers team than do so. That gives him another crucial weakness, but it’s also theoretically one of his greatest strengths because he’s so human. His empathy and capacity for understanding are admirable qualities that never really found an outlet in the movies, and I hope Hawkeye does a better job in that regard.

The series picks up probably about a year after Endgame, during the middle of the Christmas season, and the trailer and other marketing heavily leans into the holiday spirit. I’m talking snow flurrying over the title-cards, a genius Christmas-themed tagline (“This Holiday Season The Best Gifts Come With A Bow”), and a Rockefeller Center action set-piece, all set to “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year”. Marvel’s closest thing to a Christmas movie is probably Iron Man 3 (one of those “if it’s set at Christmas but doesn’t actually have anything to do with Christmas, is it a Christmas movie?” movies), so this is kind of a surprise.

Now, Hawkeye is set to premiere in November and run through December, so this is obviously just a case of good timing on one level: but thematically, I think sticking the most empathetic Avenger into the season of giving and caring makes sense and could lead to some interesting and emotional character moments, not only between Hawkeye and his family (whom he takes into the city to go see Rogers: The Musical, a Broadway retelling of Captain America’s life that features Hawkeye as a backup dancer – awkward), but also between him and his young protégé, Kate Bishop.

Kate Bishop’s arrival in the MCU is an important milestone, bringing us one step closer to the formation of a Young Avengers team. Just like in the comics, it appears she’s run away from home to follow in Hawkeye’s footsteps, which includes honing her skills as an archer and donning a version of his purple uniform. In the comics, Bishop also emulates the super-spy Mockingbird, but we have no idea if Marvel plans to bring that character back after her appearance in Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., or if she would be played by Adrianne Palicki again.

Regardless, introducing Bishop here is logical, and it’s a good business move: Hawkeye has some fans, but Oscar-nominee and bestselling popstar Hailee Steinfeld brings with her an entire fanbase. She and the other women of Hawkeye, including Alaqua Cox as Echo and Vera Farmiga as Eleanor Bishop (both very briefly visible in the trailer), not to mention Florence Pugh as returning fan-favorite Yelena Belova, are the main reason we will be watching.

And none of these characters, at least as far as we know, have superpowers. That’s not to say there won’t be any, or that they couldn’t be handled well, but I do appreciate having a corner of the MCU where the “street-level” heroes don’t necessarily have to fight literal gods and monsters all the time. There’s just something so wonderfully relatable about Hawkeye attempting to zipline across Rockefeller Center and falling into the Christmas tree that not only harkens back to the lighthearted tone of the Matt Fraction comics that defined this character, but is also necessary in a franchise where heroes are too often invulnerable and untouchable.

Trailer Rating: 9/10

December 2, 2020

Hailee Steinfeld Confirmed As Kate Bishop In “Hawkeye” In Set Videos!

Marvel Studios has a reputation for strict secrecy, and they’ve always been good at keeping things hidden from the public and press, even if it means lying and spreading misinformation to cover their tracks. The casting of Kate Bishop, however, has been one of the studio’s worst-kept secrets in recent months, as literally every clue has pointed towards singer and Oscar-nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld being the top choice for the coveted role – but nothing official from the major Hollywood trades has leaked to confirm or deny these rumors since September of last year, when Steinfeld was said to be “in early talks” to play the vigilante archer. This summer, The Illuminerdi was able to confirm that Steinfeld had officially landed the role, and they have now been proven correct. Hailee Steinfeld was spotted today in full Kate Bishop costume, filming the Hawkeye Disney+ series in New York City.

The question of whether Steinfeld could even play Bishop was always a tricky one, because of her pre-existing commitment to film another season of Dickinson on Apple TV. But it appears that her schedule has now cleared up thanks to the constant shuffling of production start dates, or something else has happened behind the scenes. Either way, video footage distributed online by multiple scoopers today (including Charles Murphy at Murphy’s Multiverse, whom I believe to have been the first to do so) clearly shows Steinfeld alongside Hawkeye star Jeremy Renner, racing through a subway station – accompanied by none other than Lucky the Pizza Dog, Hawkeye’s canine companion from the popular Matt Fraction Hawkeye comics, here making his first MCU appearance.

In the comics, as some of you will already know, Kate Bishop is a young adult crime-fighter who takes after Hawkeye and ends up becoming his apprentice and accomplice, taking on villains like Madame Masque, who has also been rumored to show up in the Hawkeye series. Later, she becomes a founding member and leader of the Young Avengers, a team that is currently being assembled across the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in both movies and TV. While the MCU’s version of Hawkeye is still very different from his portrayal in the comics (and you could make a convincing argument for why Renner has been miscast all along), MCU Kate Bishop already looks nearly perfect, and she’s equipped with her trusty bow. The overcoat she’s wearing appears to just be part of her outfit: unlike the heavy tarps often worn by MCU actors to hide their costumes. She’s definitely wearing something purple underneath the coat, although another behind-the-scenes photo seems to show that it’s an oversized sweater rather than a version of her actual superhero suit.

But no matter what, Steinfeld is clearly a great choice to portray this important character. She’s been in the running for so long, and the conversation around her casting has become so intense, with people picking apart her social media posts looking for hints, that it would have been absolutely bizarre if someone else had come in at the last minute and claimed the role instead of her. That’s not to say there aren’t other actresses who could have done so, but Steinfeld is – no questions asked – extremely talented in multiple different fields, with a strong film and TV resume, and a successful music career. No word yet on whether she’ll do any singing for Hawkeye, but I wouldn’t be opposed. Every good series needs a theme song, right?

Of course, the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. fan in me can’t help but wonder if Kate Bishop’s other mentor and role model from the comics, Mockingbird, will make an appearance in the Hawkeye series. Mockingbird was portrayed by Adrianne Palicki all-too-briefly on Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. before parting ways with the other agents and going rogue, and Palicki has expressed interest in reprising the role in Hawkeye (or even replacing Hawkeye completely, which sounds…okay by me, honestly?). Fingers crossed she gets to return!

So how do you feel about this casting? Is Hailee Steinfeld the Kate Bishop you had in mind, or were you hoping for someone else? Share your own thoughts, theories, and opinions, in the comments below!

September 28, 2020

Madame Masque Is Likely To Appear In “Hawkeye” Series!

Two stories (or, rather, one story and one completely unverified rumor from a previously unreliable source) about the upcoming Hawkeye Disney+ series dropped on the internet today, with both quickly becoming the topic of much uproarious discourse. The first, which I will address briefly so as to get it out of the way before we move onto the actual story, was the rumor that Adrianne Palicki – who played Mockingbird in early seasons of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. – would be recast, and her character rebooted in the Hawkeye series. This report is nothing to worry about: the site that covered the “news” is notorious for clickbait, so much so that I will not be linking to their story as a matter of principle. With that in mind, let it be known that if Marvel does decides to ever recast Adrianne Palicki as Mockingbird, I will not stand for it.

The second story, which comes from the folks at The Direct, carries much more weight due to their site having proven fairly reliable in past occasions. Per their exclusive reporting, the Hawkeye series will feature the MCU debut of an iconic comics villain, Madame Masque.

Hawkeye Madame Masque — fullcirclecinema.com

Interestingly, this means that both of these stories today are intertwined with the complicated rise and fall of Marvel TV, the studio’s subdivision which, until recently, produced offshoot TV programs for ABC and Netflix: including Agent Carter, which actually introduced a version of Madame Masque in its second and final season. Agent Carter‘s Masque bore little in resemblance to her comics counterpart – instead of an armored, high-tech villainess, Agent Carter‘s Masque was a 1940’s actress modeled on the real-life Hedy Lamarr, who worked secretly for the Allied Forces developing Isodyne Energy: during the course of her character arc, this version of Madame Masque never actually adopted the title, instead using the stage name “Whitney Frost”, a name which, in the comics, Masque sometimes uses. All of this means that, thanks to the show’s twist on the character, Marvel won’t have to explicitly say that this new Madame Masque appearing on the Hawkeye show is in fact a reboot or recast of Agent Carter‘s Masque, because they can legitimately claim that “Whitney Frost” was never really Masque at all. We all know that Agent Carter is Marvel President Kevin Feige’s favorite out of the entire Marvel TV division (it was the only one he himself worked on, and one of its stars, James D’Arcy, even got a brief but important cameo in Avengers: Endgame), so it makes sense why he wouldn’t want to just thoroughly disregard it even now, years after its cancellation.

But it begs the question: who is the real Madame Masque, the version of the character from the comics who will presumably be brought to life in Hawkeye? For starters, her real name is actually Giulietta Nefaria, and she is the daughter of an Italian crime lord, Count Nefaria. In the comics, she’s most often entangled with Iron Man (either as his enemy or his lover), so the MCU version could do something with that: Iron Man has already been shown to have had countless previously-unheard-of rivals during his career…one more wouldn’t hurt, right? Personally, I think one more could hurt: fans like Iron Man, but this is an MCU trope that’s getting real old, real fast. No, in my opinion, Madame Masque should be her own character, though if she does have to have connections to anybody else in the MCU it should be Baron Zemo. Zemo, who will appear as the main antagonist of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier Disney+ series, is an associate of Masque’s in some comics: she’s even worked as his right-hand woman from time to time. With the MCU version of Zemo being set up to lead a new group of supervillains called the Thunderbolts, the time is ripe for Madame Masque to show up and secure her place on the team. How better to do this by than by trying to take out one of the last remaining Avengers?

In recent comics, Madame Masque has become a frequent enemy of Hawkeye and his young disciple Kate Bishop. They had a pretty infamous run-in on the island of Madripoor (which, as we know already, is also set to appear in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier), where Bishop was able to capture Masque and assume her identity briefly in order to help Hawkeye destroy some incriminating evidence of past potential wrongdoings, all while the real Masque was tied up in Bishop’s hotel room. In revenge for the humiliating incident, Masque later captured Bishop and took her to her California mansion – a mistake, in retrospect, as Bishop escaped and completely wrecked Masque’s home. Masque, motivated at this point purely by pettiness and spite, burned down Bishop’s house, but was eventually captured and put in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody when her secret base of evil operations was discovered in L.A. This is plenty of material for Hawkeye to dig into: but what’s most exciting is that we’ll finally get to see a truly menacing Madame Masque.

Oh and, unlike the Agent Carter version of the character, one would hope this new Masque would actually, you know…wear a mask. In the comics, her bulletproof golden headpiece isn’t just decorative armor, but is meant to hide her disfigured face. Over the years, the fact that she wears a mask so often, and that so few have seen her true face, has become a major plotpoint: it allowed Kate Bishop to pass as her undetected on Madripoor, and it also led to her being a key target of the shape-shifting Skrulls during the Secret Invasion storyline. She was even attacked by Skrulls who planned to take her form as a disguise. In the MCU, there’s been plenty of hints and signs that point towards Secret Invasion being a major story arc in the near future, although we don’t know if Masque will survive long enough to be involved with any of that: it’s possible she’s merely meant for a one-time appearance.

So what do you think? How do you feel about her character possibly showing up in Hawkeye, and what do you think her future in the MCU will look like after the show ends? Share your own thoughts, theories and opinions in the comments below!

September 9, 2019

Marvel’s “Hawkeye” Aims To Cast Hailee Steinfeld!

Marvel Studios’ upcoming Disney+ series, Hawkeye, centered on the post-Endgame adventures of the former Avenger and expert marksman, has apparently just scored another win, mere days after landing Mad Men screenwriter Jonathan Igla.

Singer and actress Hailee Steinfeld, the Oscar-nominated star of True Grit and Bumblebee, is apparently in early talks to star alongside Jeremy Renner in the miniseries, as Hawkeye’s young apprentice Kate Bishop, a crucial member of the Young Avengers. Kate Bishop, an expert archer, fencer, and strategist, has long been rumored to make her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Hawkeye, but this confirmation is an exciting stepping-stone on the path toward having the Young Avengers team finally assembled in the MCU – with other Disney+ shows like WandaVision, Ms. Marvel and Loki also possibly hinting at the gang of teen superheroes, it sounds like the family-friendly streaming service could eventually be home to the team: which, honestly, seems like a great fit. Though, considering that Steinfeld is twenty-two years old already, this makes it look like Marvel’s casting choices for the Young Avengers will be skewing slightly older than expected.

We don’t really know anything about the plot of Hawkeye, or how much of it will be about Jeremy Renner’s iteration of the character versus Steinfeld’s fresher, younger take. But a quick look at Kate Bishop’s character bio opens some interesting possibilities for potential plot points: in the comics, Bishop has also donned the nickname “Hawkingbird” because she stitched her own outfit together from bits and pieces of Hawkeye’s attire, as well as that of another hero, Mockingbird, a.k.a. Bobbi Morse. Morse has already shown up elsewhere in Marvel, on ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., played by Adrianne Palicki – while both she and her partner, Lance Hunter, were forced to retire from the S.H.I.E.L.D. team early on, both characters are still very much alive in the MCU – and in fact, almost got their own spinoff series on ABC, which was cancelled before airing a pilot. Palicki would probably be willing to work with Marvel again on the Hawkeye series, and her character, displaying super strength, agility and martial arts prowess, seems like a good fit for this mostly powered-down group of civilian heroes: plus, the retired agent would probably have a lot in common with Hawkeye himself, who notoriously left the main Avengers team to be with his family.

So what do you think about the casting? Is Hailee Steinfeld a good fit for archer-extraordinaire Kate Bishop? Could this be an opportunity to have Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. crossover with the main MCU? Share your thoughts in the comments below!