Warning: The following contains major spoilers for Hawkeye episode 2! Bookmark this page and come back later if you haven't seen the episode on Disney Plus yet!
The first two episodes of Hawkeye have been released, and Clint Barton's first solo outing in the MCU has already raised a big question.
Episode 1 introduced Kate Bishop, played by Hailee Steinfeld, and saw her briefly wear the Ronin costume after she was caught up in an explosion. It seems that decision is going to have a big knock-on effect on the rest of the series, though, as it draws the attention of a criminal group (dubbed the Tracksuit Mafia by Clint) – and puts Hawkeye and Kate in the crosshairs of a mysterious new character.
But who exactly is that new face at the end of episode 2? We explain all below…
Hawkeye episode 2 ending
Clint gets himself deliberately captured by the Tracksuit Mafia to try and resolve the situation, since they've been going after Kate under the mistaken assumption she's actually Ronin. The young archer, unfortunately, doesn't get the memo – and jumps into action to rescue Clint. That ends with both of them caught while the tracksuits go to get their mysterious boss, who clearly wants something with Hawkeye.
Who is that mystery character?
As it turns out, that shadowy figure is none other than Alaqua Cox's Echo, AKA Maya Lopez. At the moment, we don't know what she wants with Hawkeye and Kate. The Avenger made a lot of enemies for himself in his time as Ronin, and it seems the tracksuits want revenge for whatever he did to them (but seem to think it was Kate all along).
In Marvel comics, Echo was the first person to don the Ronin identity – and was raised by Kingpin. Vincent D'Onofrio, who played the crime boss in the Daredevil Netflix series, has already fueled speculation via social media that he'll feature in the series, so it's possible that Echo's vendetta could tie in with a potential Kingpin appearance. Or, Echo could be furious that someone stole her Ronin identity, if that's what went down.
"There wasn't a lot shown of what happened during those years, right, when he embodied that character, which came from losing his family," Renner told 12DOVE of Clint's past as Ronin. "A lot of this past catches up to him, [which] affects the storytelling of this… It's a deep rooted thing, and it's a very poignant thing, and a serious thing, and it's addressed in the show."
Echo is also due to get her own spinoff series after Hawkeye, aptly titled Echo. Clearly, her storyline isn't going to be neatly wrapped up in these six episodes.
Episode 3 will likely shed more light on what Hawkeye has done to upset Echo, but in the meantime, their connection remains a mystery.
Hawkeye releases weekly on Disney Plus. While you wait for the next episode, check out our complete guide to Marvel Phase 4 for everything else the MCU has in store for us.
