Hawkeye Theory: Marvel Is Lying To You About Jack Being Evil

In Hawkeye, Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) – and viewers – may be unfairly suspecting Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton), who may not be the villain he’s perceived to be. As things stand, the MCU’s take on the Swordsman from Marvel Comics is thought to be one of the primary antagonists of the Disney+ series. However, nothing in the show has confirmed Jack to be evil.

Introduced as the suave and mysterious fiancé of Kate’s mother, Jack is a noteworthy addition to the MCU. As noted above, he serves as a live-action interpretation of Swordsman, a supervillain who wields a blade created by the combined powers of the Mandarin’s Ten Rings. Due to his reputation as the character who raised and mentored Clint Barton, it was widely believed that Swordsman would somehow be incorporated into Hawkeye, and that’s exactly what ultimately happened. That being said, his role in the MCU is different from the one he held in the comics. Hawkeye episode 4 made it clear that Jack and Clint (Jeremy Renner) don’t know each other, meaning that they never had a student-teacher relationship.

Despite this change to the comic book character, Jack is still thought to be an enemy to Kate and Clint in Marvel’s Hawkeye show. At this point, he doesn’t appear to be the heroes’ biggest threat – if he is one at all – but he may be an ally to Kingpin, the not-so-secret boss of Echo’s gang in the Disney+ series. Another possibility is that Jack is completely innocent, regardless of how certain Kate may be of his guilt. Here’s how Marvel is making him look like the villain, why it may not be him, and who their real foe could be.

Marvel Wants You To Think Jack Duquesne Is A Villain In Hawkeye

The Swordsman leaps in the air as Hawkeye expresses surprise in Marvel Comics.

When the nefarious activities in Hawkeye first began in the series premiere, suspicion fell on Jack before anyone else. His theft of the Ronin’s sword, the circumstances behind his uncle’s murder, and his secretive behavior all put him at the very top of Kate’s suspect list. His confidence when being questioned by Kate only strengthened the notion that he fit the stereotype of the untouchable, evil boyfriend of the protagonist’s mother. Since the first episode revealed that he wasn’t as wealthy as he may have seemed, there was an impression that he was after Eleanor’s money. Not only that, but the deeper they dig into the show’s overarching mysteries, the more Kate becomes convinced that the villain has to be Jack. In episode 3, the two lead characters discovered a connection between him and Echo’s gang.

Further reinforcing the idea that Jack must be Hawkeye’s villain is the character’s comic book counterpart. In the Silver Age of Marvel Comics, Swordsman was Hawkeye’s archenemy. The sword-wielding villain who turned Clint into a criminal infiltrated the Avengers, tried to best the team on several occasions, and served on a team of villains called the Lethal Legion. Both his villainous past and personal history with Clint in the comics made it easy to believe that the MCU’s Swordsman is capable of being a formidable antagonist for the show.

Why Jack Probably Isn't Hawkeye's Villain

The problem with Jack turning out to be Armand’s murderer is that it doesn’t fit with the MCU formula. Marvel has a propensity for offering major twists when it comes to its villains. But in the case of Jack, his character being the one who’s pulling the strings feels a bit too obvious for Marvel. Given that he was Kate’s original suspect in the first place, him turning out to be the show’s big bad would be an underwhelming development, to say the least. All things considered, Hawkeye going down such a predictable path with Jack is unlikely.

Plus, Marvel is certainly aware that Jack’s comic connections further incriminate him in the eyes of viewers. There’s a strong possibility that Marvel is using the comic book character’s history as a misdirect intended to help create this false narrative that Jack is Hawkeye’s real villain. If it didn’t want audiences to suspect Jack, chances are it would have picked a different Marvel Comics character to take this role.

It’s worth noting that Hawkeye using Swordsman in particular as Eleanor’s fiancé is quite telling. In adapting Swordsman, Marvel has plenty of leeway in regards to what it can do with him. That’s because while the character’s most well-known exploits may have been during his days as a villain, he’s no stranger to heroics either. For a brief time in the early 1970s that lasted until his death, Swordsman was an Avenger. For this reason, Marvel can maintain a sense of mystery with his true role. It wouldn’t be too big of a deviation from the source material if he was a hero or a villain in the MCU.

Theory: Eleanor Bishop Is The Real Villain In Hawkeye, Not Jack

Eleanor Bishop toasting a drink in Hawkeye

A twist that would be much more meaningful (both emotionally and narratively) than Jack being Hawkeye’s villain – would be Marvel giving this role to Eleanor Bishop (Vera Farmiga) instead. As Kate’s mother, she’s the last person the young hero would think is the mastermind behind everything that’s happened so far. Also, such a reveal wouldn’t be without proper setup. After finding out about the “case” that Kate is working on, Eleanor made a mysterious phone call. It may not be a coincidence that this conversation (which took place mostly offscreen) happened shortly before Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) came onto the scene to fight Hawkeye. It could be that Eleanor is the one who contacted her. As for why she would do that, there’s a chance that she – and not Jack – is the one who’s really responsible for killing Armand.

The Hawkeye series premiere indicated that Armand was threatening Eleanor, but was curiously ambiguous about the real subject of their conversation. In fact, Hawkeye could reveal that Armand was right to have a negative opinion of Kate’s mother. It may be that Kate misunderstood their argument. What Kate heard may have been Armand pushing back against her threats. In addition, Eleanor’s remark to Armand about having “powerful friends” shouldn’t be overlooked. If she was referring to the MCU’s Kingpin, Kate could be in for a huge shock by the time Hawkeye wraps up its six-episode season.

More: Marvel Is Making Your Hawkeye Criticisms Look Ridiculous

Hawkeye releases new episodes on Wednesdays on Disney+.