‘Hawkeye’ writer confirms interesting episode 3 character identity

Hawkeye is now halfway through its first season and it’s already off to a great start. Hailee Steinfeld is extremely charismatic as Kate Bishop, we’re seeing new sides to Clint Barton, and we have a tantalizing tease for the return of Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin.

But there’s one character that’s got tongues wagging: Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez/Echo.

Warning: Spoilers to follow.

She was the focus of the third episode and has the Taskmaster-like ability of photographic reflexes. Her powers make her a dangerous adversary, matching both Clint and Kate in weapons skills, martial arts combat, and acrobatics.

Adding a bit of complexity is that she isn’t necessarily a villain and has a justified beef with Clint. We saw another side to her when she was talking with her friend Kazi, as played by Fra Fee. Now a new interview with Hawkeye writer Tanner Bean sheds some new light on the pair, confirming in a tweet that:

“In the little kids’ karate scene, the first boy who Maya is watching compete is actually Little Kazi.”

Bean later said that their connection “runs deep.” With only three episodes left and a lot of story to get through, there’s a chance we might not get to explore this fully in this series. Fortunately, we already know that Echo is getting her own Disney Plus spinoff and I’m betting Kazi will be along for the ride there too.

Readers of Matt Fraction and David Aja’s comics will know Kazi goes on to become a key character there, so here’s hoping Marvel Studios have big plans for him and he follows a similar arc.

We’ll see more of Echo and Kazi tomorrow when the fourth episode of Hawkeye airs on Disney Plus.