Warning! This article contains spoilers for Hawkeye: Kate Bishop #2
There has been a clear resurgence in fan interest in Kate Bishop’s Hawkeye due in part to the Disney+ live-action series but also because of her all-new solo comic series, in which Hawkeye is facing a new kind of Marvel Zombies. The universe of Marvel Zombies is arguably the most brutal in the Marvel multiverse where heroes are torn to shreds and become undead creatures that, in turn, tear others to shreds, including the cosmic being Galactus. While Kate Bishop isn’t currently fighting those specific zombies, she's facing an all-new kind of zombie threat that is targeting her personally.
In Hawkeye: Kate Bishop #2 by Marieke Nijkamp and Enid Balam, Kate Bishop is at a resort trying to track down a missing child. When Hawkeye finally locates the captive child, the man holding the kid captive is shown wearing a metal bracelet that is seemingly controlling his actions. The man attacks Hawkeye until she destroys the bracelet with an arrow, confirming that it was, in fact, controlling him. The mind-controlled kidnapper slowly regains himself and has no memory of kidnapping the child or even where he is. While Kate is anxious for answers, she had to leave the scene to return the kid to her parents, restraining the unwitting kidnapper for the police.
When Hawkeye returns to the resort with the knowledge that the silver bracelets are worn by more people than just the kidnapper, she becomes the target of a full-on zombie attack. Every guest and employee of the resort wearing the mysterious bracelets are seemingly given the order to attack Kate Bishop as she is getting closer and closer to the sinister truth of the mysterious villain’s true intentions. Hawkeye even comments to herself, “Mind-controlled zombie guests?! I came out here to have such a good time. And I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now”. The issue ends before fans get a chance to see Kate in action against the new kind of Marvel Zombies, though as it stands the situation doesn’t look great for the heroic archer.
This issue isn’t the first time a Hawkeye hero had to face off against a zombie-like threat. Apart from being one of the zombies in the first Marvel Zombies event, Clint Barton’s Hawkeye took on a legion of Ultron robots in the comic Age of Utron. In the first issue of the Age of Ultron storyline, Hawkeye takes on a horde of Ultrons while he is on a covert mission to rescue a kidnapped Spider-Man. Age of Ultron is one of the greatest examples of Hawkeye’s skill set and his worth among other heroes such as Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America.
While Kate Bishop is not Clint Barton, she was trained by the Avenger and has more than earned the mantle of Hawkeye. Clint may have been involved in at least two zombie-like events in Marvel Comics, Kate is now facing one for herself which is a new test for the Young Avenger. Kate Bishop’s Hawkeye is facing a new kind of Marvel Zombies, and only time will tell if she will be able to overcome the horde and survive the attack.