Marvel fans are going nuts over the return of [SPOILERS] in ‘Hawkeye’

This week’s Hawkeye was an action-packed adventure that showcased Clint’s collection of trick arrows and Kate’s growing archery skills. But throughout the episode, we also got teases of a huge upcoming villain reveal that has MCU fans positively vibrating with excitement.

Spoilers follow

The episode opened with a recap of Maya Lopez/Echo’s childhood, showing her gaining her combat skills and the reason why she’s so determined to get revenge on Ronin (though as yet, she doesn’t know he’s Clint). During a scene at her karate dojo, we saw her interacting with a mysterious and imposing figure who pinched her chin paternally.

In the present day, we also saw Echo warned that her roaring rampage of vengeance is going to make “Uncle” very unhappy – hinting that whoever they are, they’re a powerful figure in the New York underworld. Or, to put it another way, a Kingpin.

“Uncle” is almost certainly Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, though it remains to be seen if the man in the suit is one Vincent D’Onofrio. D’Onofrio has been dropping hints that he’s interested in Hawkeye, and in the comics, Fisk is Echo’s adoptive father. Here’s how these teases are going down online:

Marvel Studios finally bringing back some of the Netflix characters would be a big deal for the MCU’s future. Reports suggested that the contract between the two studios contained a two-year waiting period before Marvel could use the ‘Defenders’ characters again, and we’re now solidly beyond that.

We’ve also seen leaked images from Spider-Man: No Way Home that hint Peter Parker has retained the legal services of Matt Murdock after his identity became public. We don’t know the provenance of the pictures (now mostly scrubbed from the internet), though they don’t seem to be faked, and it’d make sense for Murdock to appear in this role.

So, can we start getting hyped about Daredevil season 4 yet? Confirmation that the Man Without Fear is returning on Disney Plus would be the best Christmas present fans could hope for…

Hawkeye airs Wednesdays on Disney Plus.