Ronin's past can explain how Kingpin appears in the Hawkeye Disney+ show. The upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe series stars Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton and will provide a platform for Marvel Studios to flesh out the character's mysterious past. There are strong hints that Hawkeye will explore elements of Clint's upbringing and training under Swordsman, which could be telling. However, it is also confirmed that the show will explore Clint's time as Ronin in greater depth.

The MCU's resident sharpshooter underwent a major appearance change in Avengers: Endgame after Thanos' snap resulted in his family being wiped away. Clint ditched his purple color scheme for a black and gold hooded ensemble, which also saw him trade in his bow and arrows for a katana. Despite the excitement generated from promoting Hawkeye's Ronin transformation, Avengers: Endgame barely explored this period of Clint's life. It did establish that he spent the better part of five years traveling the world killing criminals who survived Thanos' snap. Although Ronin seemingly operated all over, the movie only confirmed missions to Mexico and Tokyo.

Related: Marvel Is Fixing Endgame's Biggest Hawkeye Mistake

The first trailer for Hawkeye already fleshes out more of Clint's past as Ronin, which is now confirmed to include time in New York City. A news report on TV mentions that Ronin "terrorized the criminal underworld" of New York in the past. While this might sound like a throwaway line at first, Hawkeye could connect Ronin's past in New York as a way to bring Kingpin into the series. Clint's desire to kill criminals who shouldn't have survived the snap could have led him to someone associated with Wilson Fisk since he is one of New York's biggest and most powerful crime bosses. If Clint did kill people involved with Kingpin's operations, that could be what draws him out of the shadows and into an appearance in Hawkeye.

An appearance by Kingpin in Hawkeye has been a popular rumor surrounding the show, with Daredevil's Vincent D'Onofrio even reportedly set to return. This has created a lot of excitement for the Disney+ series as D'Onofrio's portrayal of Wilson Fisk is one of the best parts of Netflix's Marvel shows. Kingpin's Hawkeye appearance is far from confirmed, even as D'Onofrio continues to like tweets about the possibility, but that hasn't stopped fans from trying to connect the dots as to how and why he'd be featured. The inclusion of Maya Lopez aka Echo (Alaqua Cox) in Hawkeye has been the leading explanation so far, but him having a vendetta with Clint is an even better possible reason.

Clint having a past with Kingpin through his days as Ronin gives Marvel Studios a clear reason to bring D'Onofrio back for Hawkeye specifically. If his role is only meant to connect him to Maya Lopez, then the announcement of an Echo spinoff show would make that a better place for Kingpin. It would also mean that his appearance in Hawkeye is more so just set up for a future project than having any real involvement in the story at hand. Connecting Kingpin to Ronin's past explains D'Onofrio's possible return in Hawkeye while still leaving the door open for him to be involved in more MCU projects moving forward.

More: Hawkeye Perfectly Counters His Own Age of Ultron Criticism

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