'Avengers: Endgame': Who is Kate Bishop and what does the young Hawkeye's arrival mean for the MCU?
The countdown for one of the best cinematic experiences of the year – 'Avengers: Endgame' – has already begun and we are impatient to see how the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going to move into its next phase. There definitely seems to be the looming threat of many superheroes retiring or biting the dust – or being the dust in this case – and the respective actors hanging their capes and spandexes for good.
The silver lining, however, seems to the addition of new and – dare we say improved – superheroes, and from the trailer that was released earlier this week, Young Hawkeye seems to be one of them.
Any diligent fan would have noticed Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye aka Clint Barton training a young girl in archery, and if we are to judge, based on all the MCU history we know so far, the girl is none other than Kate Bishop.
A superhero sans superpowers in her own right, Kate is originally a member of the Young Avengers and is the third character and first female to take the code name Hawkeye. Having first appeared in 2005’s 'Young Avengers #1' it is understood that a brutal attack that she was a victim of is what prompted her to train hard in intense combat and become the hero she is.
Comic book lore suggests that her gear is a combination of Mockingbird, Hawkeye, Swordsman and Black Widow. She is highly trained in archery, fencing, swordsmanship, jujitsu, and boxing, making her a great asset to the Avengers – well, what’s left of them.
This puzzle piece perfectly into the suggestion that the OG Hawkeye would become Ronin come 'Avengers: Endgame'. According to the comics, Clint became Ronin after some severely traumatic experiences, in this case, the loss of his friends and possibly family. This spurs on his evolution into becoming the more dark and violent version of himself.
When Ronin returns to reunite with his crew and battle against Thanos (Josh Brolin), he finds out about his namesake and decides to train her after giving her his blessing. Even after he reclaims her name as Hawkeye, he makes it clear to Kate that she has done enough service to humanity to retain her own title as well.
Our theories are further cemented by the fact that Australian actress Katherine Langford, best known for her role in '13 Reasons Why', has been cast in the upcoming installment of the MCU universe. No details regarding her character has been revealed, but we are pretty certain that she is going to be the Kate of our dreams.
An alternative theory regarding the archery scene from 'Avengers: Endgame' trailer is that Clint is merely training his daughter Lila, now that she has seen enough loss around her to become a superhero like her dad. MCU may make Lila the Young Hawkeye instead of Kate, by rewriting comic book history, which it has been known to do time and again.
We definitely are looking forward to seeing a young, female Hawkeye in the upcoming 'Avengers: Endgame', which is set for release on April 26.
