Hawkeye Series

 Your whole thing is that you’re low-key. It’s a very hard brand to sell.” The most by-the-numbers member of The Avengers is the first to get his own show this week in the two-episode launch of the six-episode “Hawkeye,” premiering on Disney+. The writers, led by creator Jonathan Igla, seek to counter the difficulty of selling the Hawkeye brand by balancing it with one of the most charismatic young actresses working today, but they forget to inject enough story, character, or world-building into these first two episodes to hook viewers. After “WandaVision” felt like it was trying something new in the superhero world, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” landed with more of a predictable thud, especially when it came to its questionable politics. “Loki” fared a little better in the creativity department and “What If…?” has the natural hit-and-miss nature of an anthology series. Where does “Hawkeye” fall on this spectrum? After two episodes, my biggest concern is that it will be the most forgettable. “Hawkeye” tends to be too thin, even with some of the best source material to work with for any of these shows.

Hawkeye MerchandiseWhen “Hawkeye” opens, Clint Barton is in New York City with his family in a universe where the Blip definitely happened but not COVID—Jeremy Renner does convey how tightly a father would hold onto children who literally disappeared for half a decade with some subtle beats. The Bartons—minus mom, who is seen in a few brief scenes on phone calls, again played by Linda Cardellini—go to a show of Rogers: The Musical, which appears to be a pretty dull recounting of the Chitauri attack on the Big Apple. Barton hates it. You probably would too. read more