Hawkeye Episode 3 Asks 4 Questions About Kingpin & Ronin

Warning: Contains spoilers for Hawkeye episode 3.

In Hawkeye episode 3, “Echoes,” the Disney+ show raised more questions about Ronin as well as teasing the introduction of Kingpin to the MCU. Like Loki and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Hawkeye is only six-episode long. This means that the show is already halfway through, and so far it has raised a lot of questions that Hawkeye will need to answer outside of setting up future content.

Much of Hawkeye episode 3 is devoted to an extended action sequence as Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) work to escape from the Tracksuit Mafia before launching their investigation into the organization. Some key flashbacks help to develop the character of Maya Lopez, AKA Echo (Alaqua Cox). Echo is revealed to be in charge of the Tracksuit Mafia, having taken over after she saw her father, William Lopez (Zahn McClarnon), killed by Ronin, but Hawkeye suggests that there is someone above her that is more powerful.

Hawkeye is Clint Barton’s first long-overdue solo outing, but a lot of the focus has been on setting up additional characters and future properties. Kate Bishop is expected to join the main MCU roster and Maya Lopez is set to return in her own Disney+ show, Echo. However, the show is setting up several mysteries about the legacy of the Ronin and the possibility that Kingpin could be behind the organized crime families, and these are all questions Hawkeye will have to address.

Is Maya Lopez’s Uncle Actually Kingpin?

Hawkeye’s flashbacks to Echo’s childhood largely focus on her relationship with her father as he teaches her not to hide who she is, to live in two worlds, and to be strong. When her father leaves her martial arts lesson, he tells her that “uncle” will take her home. A large hand is shown, but the camera never shows the man’s body or face. Maya’s father is revealed to be the head of the Tracksuit Mafia before his death but Hawkeye makes it clear that there is someone above him who maintains power over the group when Maya leads them as well. A lot of signs point to Maya’s “uncle” being Wilson Fisk, Kingpin himself.

In the Marvel comics, Echo has a connection to Kingpin as Wilson Fisk took care of her after her father’s murder, sending her to expensive schools and using her as a tool in his crime empire. This makes Kingpin Hawkeye’s obvious choice for the identity of Maya’s uncle to the degree that not following through would feel like an unjustified tease to comics fans. However, Hawkeye faces a unique problem with bringing Kingpin into the MCU: he’s been there before. Wilson Fisk appeared in Marvel’s Daredevil TV show as an antagonist before that show was decanonized from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Vincent d’Onofrio played Kingpin and became many viewers' ideal image of the character. Reports suggest that he might reprise the role in Hawkeye, but they will either need to explain how he has crossed from the multiverse ahead of Spider-Man: No Way Home, have the same actor play a rebooted version of the character, or entirely recast Kingpin.

Why Did Ronin Never Take Down Kingpin Before?

Clint Barton, wearing his Ronin costume, stands over a defeated gangster.

It is clear that the Tracksuit Mafia answer to a higher power and have done for a long time. While this power is most likely Wilson Fisk’s Kingpin, the presence of a huge figure in the criminal underworld begs the question of why Clint Barton didn’t take out Kingpin during his stint as Ronin. Hawkeye has provided helpful flashbacks to remind viewers of Barton’s vicious actions as Ronin during the blip and Avengers: Endgame implied that he had traveled internationally taking out any criminals he could. So why did Ronin never kill Kingpin?

When the puppetmaster behind Echo comes up in conversation with Kate Bishop in Hawkeye episode 3, Clint says that he’s not someone to mess with. This suggests that he did have some dealings with Kingpin in the past and potentially either didn’t go after him because he was too much of a threat (which doesn’t fit with Ronin’s death wish) or he tried to kill Kingpin but was never able to. However, more likely still is that Wilson Fisk was not yet Kingpin for the majority of Clint Barton’s stint as Ronin. When half of all life disappeared after Thanos’ Avengers: Infinity War snap, it presumably left some form of a power vacuum in the criminal underworld that Fisk was eager to fill. This would have eventually been exacerbated by Ronin taking out so many of the big players in that underworld, effectively making it easier for Kingpin to consolidate power and become the feared crime boss he is in the present day. Ultimately, Ronin didn’t kill Kingpin because Ronin made Kingpin and now Clint Barton and Kate Bishop will have to face down that part of Ronin’s legacy in Hawkeye.

Did Ronin Really Kill Echo’s Father?

Echo loses her father in Hawkeye series.

In a flashback, Echo’s hatred and hunting of Ronin is explained when she apparently sees him stab her father and leave him for dead. While this makes sense as her father was running the Tracksuit Mafia and it clearly took place during the time that Clint Barton was active as Ronin, there are some questions that Hawkeye raises with this scene. It is unclear why Ronin flees when Maya arrives rather than killing Echo as well as he is shown to be ruthless and had no personal stake in Echo’s survival. Crucially, the audience does not see Clint Barton’s face, even behind a mask during this scene and the killer is only seen from behind.

It is possible that it was not really Ronin that killed Echo’s father, but someone using the Ronin identity to mask their killing of her father and his crew for other purposes. Hawkeye has already shown how easily someone else in the costume can be mistaken for the true Ronin as Kate Bishop is seen wearing the outfit in Hawkeye episode 1. Once again, this could be another hint that Wilson Fisk will appear in Hawkeye. In the comics, when Kingpin takes in Echo, it is under false pretenses, and she does not know that it was Kingpin himself who had her father killed. If the series stays true to this story, then Maya’s mission to kill Clint Barton will be revealed as misplaced and she will turn on Kingpin, turning her from antagonist to hero in time for her Echo series on Disney+.

Why Did Jack Want Ronin’s Sword?

Jack holds a sword against Clint's neck in Hawkeye.

Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton) was introduced in Hawkeye episode 1 as Kate’s mother’s love interest and a notably suspicious figure. He purchases the Ronin sword at the black-market auction and then holds Clint Barton up with it at the end of episode 3. Armand III (Simon Callow) notes that Jack does not have the money for the sword, but Jack is eager to claim it nonetheless.

In the Marvel comics, Jack Duquesne is known as Swordsman and in one storyline is shown to be responsible for mentoring Clint Barton. If this origin story is included, then it is possible that Jack and Clint already know each other and Jack Duquesne might even know the true identity of the Ronin. This would go some way to explaining why Jack would be eager to claim the sword for his collection, but with everything else, there is a darker possible motivation.

If Kingpin is coming to Hawkeye and might have been behind someone disguised as Ronin killing Echo’s father, it leaves the question: who was wearing the Ronin costume? The person would have to be a particularly skilled swordsman to execute the Tracksuit Mafia in the way shown, and they would also need to have the sort of sketchy background that might leave them willing to work for Wilson Fisk’s Kingpin. This definitely suggests that there might have been a fake Ronin that was none other than the Swordsman, Jack Duquesne.

Next: Marvel May Have Already Given MCU Kingpin His Own Disney+ Show

Hawkeye releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.