Hawkeye Is Set In The Multiverse - This MCU Theory Could Change Everything

Warning: SPOILERS for Hawkeye episode 3.

Though Hawkeye seems like a smaller Marvel Cinematic Universe story, there are hints that it secretly takes place in the Multiverse, which changes everything. Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) wants to hang out with his kids in New York during the holidays in Hawkeye. Unfortunately, Marvel doesn't let that happen. In the series, Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) wears Hawkeye's Ronin outfit while taking on criminals, which soon has Ronin's old enemies seeking her out. Now, Hawkeye needs to team up with the young archer and face his disturbing past as Ronin. If he can do that, Barton might just make it home for Christmas.

Like Marvel's other shows and movies, Hawkeye includes several MCU Easter eggs. Marvel treated fans to a Captain America-inspired musical called Rogers: The Musical in the Hawkeye premiere. A short glimpse of the Broadway show recounted the Avengers' battle in New York against Loki (Tom Hiddleston) from 2012's The Avengers, showing several Easter eggs in the process. Additionally, Hawkeye episode 3 included several nods at a significant villain making his way to Hawkeye, hinting that the series may bring Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin into the MCU.

Besides Easter eggs, Marvel may be giving fans hints at an MCU-altering twist. The Hawkeye premiere shows Bishop's perspective of Loki's attack on New York City, revealing a young Kate Bishop standing before Stark Tower. In Hawkeye, the "STARK" sign on the tower is missing the "R" due to Loki's attack. However, in Avengers, the sign is missing the "K." While some fans view the moment as a Hawkeye continuity error in the MCU, the scene may reveal that Clint Barton's Disney+ series actually takes place in an alternate MCU timeline. It's a twist that could change the MCU, and there are several clues to the possible revelation.

Hawkeye's potential timeline twist makes sense. The Stark Tower loses its "K" early in Loki's Avengers battle, with the letter falling off while Chris Hemsworth's Thor takes on Loki one-on-one. It's a significant scene in the film, and the camera even follows the "K" as it tumbles down from the tower. If the differences in the "STARK" sign were indeed the result of a continuity error, it'd be an unambiguously egregious one. Besides the Stark Tower sign, Rogers: The Musical also includes an actor representing Paul Rudd's Ant-Man in its Battle of New York sequence. Clint Barton notices the error, telling his daughter that Ant-Man wasn't in the Battle of New York. However, Ant-Man was present at the battle in an alternate timeline in Avengers: Endgame. So if Hawkeye does take place in an alternate timeline, it'd explain Ant-Man's presence in the show.

At the very least, something strange is going on with Hawkeye. After all, most of Marvel's previous Disney+ shows are about setting up the Multiverse. For example, WandaVision shows Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch seemingly taking her place as a timeline-altering Nexus being, and Marvel's What If...? is all about revealing alternate timeline stories in the MCU. Interestingly, the only MCU show that supposedly doesn't deal with the Multiverse is Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which was supposed to be Marvel's first show on Disney+ before the pandemic delayed it. So either Marvel is interrupting its sequence of shows setting up the Multiverse to make a quick detour about Clint Barton celebrating Christmas, or things aren't quite what they seem in Hawkeye.

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Hawkeye releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.