Hawkeye: 5 Easter Eggs & References In Episode 3!

Hawkeye returns with “Echoes,” which picks up just after Kate Bishop’s questioning is interrupted, following a well-received premiere on Disney+. Clint Barton’s “catch-release” game with the Tracksuit Mafia is over, both archers are Hawkeye’s fashion-forward gangsters’ prisoners, and the bulk of episode 3 follows their spectacular escape through the cold streets of New York.

Here Are Some Of The Few Easter Egg And Reference In Hawkeye Episode 3 

Echo’s Father Makes a Reference to Shang-Chi

As a child, Echo was clearly influenced by dragons, and her father used the mythical beasts as a metaphor for her deafness. Maya must balance her soundless surroundings with a culture that never stops talking, much as a dragon exists in both its own world and the outside world. “Dragons live in a different world,” her father explains when Echo innocently asks if dragons are real. A member of the Tracksuit Mafia is unlikely to be familiar with Ta Lo’s ancient heritage, but Shang-Chi & The Legend of the Ten Rings demonstrated that dragons like the Great Protector do exist in different realities.

Echo’s Comic-Book Powers are teased by Hawkeye

Hawkeye shows Echo patiently monitoring an unpleasant kid’s take-down during Echo’s flashback karate lesson, before successfully countering the move minutes later. Echo in the Marvel comic books is able to mimic moves accurately with only a single glance, something Hawkeye downplays.

 Does That Chuckle Seem Similar To Vincent D’Onofrio‘s Kingpin?

After karate class, Echo’s father says her “uncle” would be waiting, and then a mysterious (huge) hand pinches Maya on the cheek and chuckles. This enigmatic character, who Clint Barton reveals is the ultimate mastermind behind the Tracksuit Mafia, is repeatedly mentioned in Hawkeye episode 3. The man in question is almost certainly the MCU’s Kingpin, or Wilson Fisk as he is known to his mother. In the Marvel comics, Echo’s biological father died on Kingpin’s orders, but Fisk adopted the orphan and raised her into an elite combatant. Something quite similar appears to have occurred in the MCU’s live-action universe.

Hawkeye never sees the uncle’s face, but his chuckle is eerily similar to Vincent D’Onofrio’s portrayal of Kingpin in the Netflix series Daredevil. The actor has long been speculated to be returning as Hawkeye, and “Echoes” almost confirms it.

Hawkeye’s Car Chase is based on one of his most well-known comics

The entire vehicle chase is based on a great scene by Matt Fraction and David Aja, not just Hawkeye’s Dodge Challenger from the 2012 comic series. Kate Bishop pilots the Challenger as Clint Barton shoots arrows at the Tracksuit Mafia in the comics, and while the roles are swapped in the MCU, the premise is otherwise identical. Both versions of the chase sequence include a large number of tricks arrows and end with a bridge pile-up.

The Avengers Used Hawkeye’s USB and Grapple Arrows.

You thought Hawkeye’s trick arrows were over? Clint draws two more cards from his quiver as a final flourish, both of which have previously appeared in the MCU, most recently in 2012’s The Avengers. The USB arrow Kate uses to “threaten” the Tracksuit Mafia was used by Hawkeye to hack into SHIELD’s helicarrier system, carried an Ultron-killing virus by the animated archer in What If…?, and held Clint’s tax information in the comic books. During the Battle of New York, Hawkeye leaps from a building’s roof, and the grappling arrow Kate and Clint use to flee get whipped out.

Let us know if you found any easter eggs & references in Hawkeye Episode 3, that we missed out on!