Hawkeye Finale: Every Unanswered Question

Warning: Contains spoilers for Hawkeye season 1.

The Hawkeye season 1 finale gave a lot of answers and concluded a lot of stories, but the show ultimately left many unanswered questions as the MCU moves forwards. Hawkeye did not use the traditional MCU post-credits scene to tease the next step in the franchise, instead opting to give viewers the holiday treat of the full song from Rogers: The Musical. However, even without the normal post-credits tease Hawkeye set up a lot of questions that then MCU will still have to answer.

The Hawkeye finale sees Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) and Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) take on Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio). While Wilson Fisk is the big bad of the series, multiple smaller conflicts keep the show feeling busy. Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) faces off and seemingly kills Kazi Kazimierczak (Fra Free) before apparently killing Kingpin as well. Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and Clint face off on the ice and Clint eventually convinces her that Natasha truly chose to sacrifice herself. Finally, Clint and Kate return to the Barton family home where Clint gives Laura that watch taken from the Avengers compound and Kate and Clint burn the Ronin costume before brainstorming a code name for Kate.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become famed for leaving audiences wanting more. Even with four feature films and five full TV series releasing in 2021, the MCU manages to keep viewers coming back to learn more about this expansive universe. The unanswered questions Hawkeye season 1 leaves audiences with are clearly set-ups for later projects, and while some will be mysteries for a long time, a deep look can give probably answers to several of those questions. Here is every unanswered question from the Hawkeye season 1 finale.

Is Netflix’s Daredevil Canon Now?

Vincent D’Onofrio originally played Wilson Fisk/Kingpin in Netflix’s Marvel adaptation Daredevil. Daredevil, along with Netflix’s other Marvel shows (Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist) were all seemingly decanonized when Marvel launched WandaVision and presented contradictory elements to those shows for the MCU. Since then the birth of the MCU multiverse has opened up a world of possibilities. It isn’t entirely clear how the details will work yet, but Vincent D’Onofrio confirmed in a Screen Rant exclusive interview that his Hawkeye Kingpin is the same as the one from Daredevil. This means that at least parts of Netflix’s Daredevil are now canon, and while it’s not a guarantee, it might mean that Charlie Cox will return to the MCU as Matt Murdock and other Marvel Netflix collaborations might see a new lease on life.

Is Kingpin Really Dead?

Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin gets a rough time of it in the Hawkeye season 1 finale. After Kate shoots him in the chest with an arrow, Eleanor Bishop (Vera Farmiga) rams him with her car, and then after an extended fight scene, Kate blows Kingpin up with a collection of trick arrows. While this is enough to knock him down, he is found to be missing afterward and is seen limping down the street before being confronted by Maya who, ignoring his pleas for family compassion, aims a gun at him and a gunshot is heard after the camera has panned away.

While it is distinctly implied that Kingpin is dead at the end of Hawkeye, it seems unlikely that this is really the case. Hawkeye spent a lot of time setting the character up and brought him in from the original Daredevil series and writing him out so soon afterward would seem like a waste at best. Additionally, as the shot happens off-screen, it is unclear what really happened and his death cannot be trusted. Even if Maya really did shoot him, his resilience has already been shown and Marvel Comics history suggests that he would survive. In the comics, Maya shoots him in an extremely similar scene and it is later revealed that Kingpin survived but at the cost of both of his eyes. Kingpin’s finale line in Hawkeye seems to hint at this being the case as he points out that “sometimes family doesn’t see eye to eye.” While Vincent D’Onofrio wasn’t able to confirm his character’s return, he has said that he hopes he will play the role again, and it seems likely that Kingpin is not dead at the end of Hawkeye and will return in Echo, if not before.

Will Kazi Return After Hawkeye’s Finale?

Kazi and Maya have been friends since an early age, having been shown meeting while training at a dojo during a Hawkeye flashback. In the Hawkeye finale, Maya regretfully stabs Kazi in the stomach after he insists on fighting her and declining her suggestion of running away together. While he seems on death’s door, Kazi is not actually shown to die. While it is possible that Fra Free won’t return to the MCU, there are good reasons why he might. In the Marvel Comics, Kazi becomes the mercenary The Clown, an identity that is not fully realized in Hawkeye. Maya Lopez’s spin-off series Echo would be a welcome opportunity for Kazi to return as The Clown and to continue to explore his relationship to Maya and Kingpin.

What Will Yelena Do After Hawkeye’s Ending?

At the end of their confrontation in Hawkeye, Clint watches Yelena leave, but it is unclear what is next for the Black Widow. She had been hired by Eleanor Bishop through Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) to kill Clint Barton, having been told that he was responsible for Natasha’s death. Having learned that that is not the truth, it is likely that the relationship between Yelena Belova and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is going to be strained and she might no longer want to work for her. Yelena will likely need to do some soul searching, but might still end up joining Fontaine’s Thunderbolts or even become an Avenger herself like her sister.

Who Was Laura Barton, And What Does Her Watch Mean?

One of the biggest questions that quietly runs through the background of Hawkeye is related to the watch recovered from the Avengers compound. In the Hawkeye season 1 finale, it is revealed to have belonged to Laura Barton (Linda Cardellini) and is engraved with the SHIELD logo and the number 19. This seemingly confirms a fan theory that Laura Barton herself was a superhero before retiring to raise a family with Clint. In the comics, a character called Bobbi Morse who is extremely skilled in close combat eventually marries Hawkeye. Bobbi uses the name Mockingbird but during her time working for SHIELD is known as Agent 19. It appears that in the MCU Laura Barton will be Mockingbird which begins to explain the backstory to her relationship with Clint and hints at a strong MCU future for Linda Cardellini.

Who Is Jack Duquesne, And Why Can He Fight So Well?

The Hawkeye storyline surrounding Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton) ended up being somewhat of a red herring after he was set up to take the fall by Eleanor Bishop as the head of Sloan Limited. However, given that he was revealed to not in fact be a criminal mastermind, the question remains unanswered as to why he was such a mysteriously good sword fighter. The answer to this will likely be expanded on in the future of the MCU as it seems likely that this Jack will make a future appearance. However, for the impatient, the likely answer can once again be found in Marvel Comics. In the comics, Jack Duquense was known as Swordsman. While he is sometimes a villain, he was an extremely skilled sword fighter and taught a young Clint Barton how to master bladed weapons.

Will Jeremy Renner Return In The MCU?

While it was possible that the Hawkeye TV series might kill off one of the older Avengers, Clint Barton came out of the show with only scrapes and bruises. It is an ongoing theme in Hawkeye (and also discussed in What If…?) that Clint Barton is tired of the hero game and his body isn’t quite what it used to be. While Jeremy Renner might return as a full Avenger, it seems likely that Clint Barton will be taking a step back from the main lineup. His story has been thoroughly explored at this point, and his MCU future is most likely to be smaller supporting roles to Kate Bishop and Laura Barton.

Will Kate Bishop Become Hawkeye?

At the end of Hawkeye, Kate Bishop suggests her possible superhero name to Clint, offering some options that she could use as a hero as she moves towards an eventual Avenger status. While she suggests several names, including Lady Hawk which is a nod to one of the names the character had in the comics, Lady Hawkeye, Clint dismisses all of them before saying he has an idea. A title card cuts him off, presumably suggesting that he recommends that she take up the name “Hawkeye.” Clint Barton has tried to retire from the superhero game before, and Disney+’s Hawkeye leans into him wanting to quit. But beyond that, the final episode of Hawkeye demonstrates that Hawkeye has come to respect Kate and believes she can really make it as a hero. With all of these factors together, it seems extremely likely that Clint now sees Kate Bishop as his natural successor and will have her take up the “Hawkeye” mantle. This will be particularly interesting to see given the natural pairing that Kate and Yelena have shown on screen and the possible return of a duo of Hawkeye and Black Widow.

What Will Echo’s Story Be After Kingpin’s “Death”?

The MCU has so many upcoming movies and TV shows that it can be hard to guess which stories will be picked up where. While it doesn’t have a release date set yet, it’s safe to say that Maya Lopez/Echo will be returning in the future Echo TV series. While events between Hawkeye and Echo might help to shape the story of Hawkeye‘s Echo spin-off, there are some good clues in Hawkeye. Assuming that Kingpin is still alive, he is likely to be the villain for her series, while if Kazi has survived he might return as an antihero or eventual romantic interest. Maya seems set on separating herself from her criminal past and doing some good in the world, so it is possible that she will seek out Clint Barton again, try to join the Avengers, or might get roped into Fontaine’s larger plans.

What Else Might Have Been Stolen From The Avengers Compound?

Two major storylines were set in motion in Hawkeye episode 1 by the auctioning of items stolen from the remains of the Avengers compound. While the story of the Ronin suit and sword seems to be at an end, Mockingbird’s watch is just beginning its new saga. The Avengers compound was likely full to bursting with various Avengers weapons and artifacts and it seems that in the fallout from Thanos’ defeat and the sudden return of half of the universe’s population security around the site was lax. The MCU has told a previous story about the recovery work done in the wreckage left behind by the Avengers with Michael Keaton’s Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming. It seems entirely plausible that future MCU storylines might yet revolve around illicitly attained Avengers equipment from that compound.