The first two episodes of Hawkeye set the tone for the much-anticipated Disney Plus show, giving us a new peek into the New York City underworld. It’s great to see Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton back in action after so long, and Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop feels like a glimpse at the future of the Avengers.
It seems that they’re going to face some stiff opposition in the show. Upcoming antagonists include Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Contessa, Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez/Echo, and, if the rumors prove true, the triumphant return of Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin.
But for now, the primary villains are the appropriately named Tracksuit Mafia, who aren’t exactly a Thanos-level threat. Between them, they can muster a couple of vans, a crappy-looking hideout, and matching tracksuits. But their bumbling idiocy (ripped straight from Fraction and Aja’s comics) has already made them a firm fan favorite.
To hype them up, Twitter has given them their own dedicated emoji (Alaqua Cox’s Echo is also represented).
The closing scenes of the second episode indicated that the Tracksuit Mafia are either working with or led by Echo, who will likely be a key antagonist across the series and has her own Disney Plus show in the works.
But what’s got fans especially hyped is that in the comics she’s Wilson Fisk/Kingpin’s adopted daughter. This (and some curious tweets from D’Onofrio about Hawkeye) means many expect Fisk to make an appearance here. And, let’s face it, having an actor as talented as D’Onofrio eager to get back to the MCU and not using him is simply a waste of talent.
Here’s hoping we get some of that confirmed when Hawkeye airs its third episode on Wednesday on Disney Plus.