Hawkeye: Kate Bishop Proves MCU Success Comes at a Price

Warning! Spoilers for Hawkeye: Kate Bishop #1 ahead! 

The new Kate Bishop ongoing solo comic series proves that MCU success comes at the price of character development.  Hawkeye: Kate Bishop #1, by Marieke Nijkamp and Enid Balam takes the character back to basics at the expense of the character’s journey over her most recent appearances.

Kate Bishop was created by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung for Young Avengers #1 in 2005. The youngest daughter of wealthy Manhattanites Derek and Eleanor Bishop, Kate was inspired by the Avenger Hawkeye, a regular man standing shoulder to shoulder with gods and icons. She made Hawkeye her role model and as she grew older, she trained in several styles of self-defense as well as learning swordplay and archery. She encountered the Young Avengers after they attempted to rescue her and 200 others during a hostage crisis at her older sister’s wedding. However, Kate ended up rescuing the Young Avengers and joined the team, accepting the name Hawkeye from Captain America in Young Avengers #4. Since her first appearance, Kate has served as the leader of several incarnations of the Young Avengers, the partner to original Hawkeye Clint Barton, an LA P.I., and most recently the leader of a revived West Coast Avengers.

However, Hawkeye: Kate Bishop #1 seems to be deliberately taking the character back to basics. The issue begins with the West Coast Avengers disbanded and Kate having decided to pack in her private detective business. She’s also broken up with her boyfriend, and is heading back to New York for a reunion with America Chavez and Cassie Lang. On the way back to New York, Kate decides to accept an invitation to solve a case at the mysterious resort Chapiteau in the Hamptons. Upon arriving Kate discovers the invitation was sent by her estranged older sister Susan, who believes shady things are happening at the resort. Against her better judgment, Kate decides to stick around and investigate after another of the guest’s daughters goes missing.

While it’s exciting for Kate Bishop to return in her own solo series, and the issue is a great start to a rollicking adventure, Hawkeye: Kate Bishop #1 stands as the most recent example of the price that a character pays when they make their debut in the MCU. Hawkeye: Kate Bishop #1 was released on November 24th, the same day the first two episodes of Disney +’s Hawkeye series were released in which the character of Kate Bishop, portrayed by Hailee Steinfeld, is introduced into the MCU. Marvel is clearly hoping to capitalize on a sudden boom in the character’s popularity following her introduction to a wider audience.

Because of this Marvel has seemingly decided it wants Kate’s progress rolled back, as happened to the characters of Ant-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy after their MCU debut. The rationale behind this makes sense: Marvel wants the character to feel familiar to readers introduced to the character via the MCU version. However, the upshot is that all of the character’s recent development: her running her own P.I. business, her role as leader of the new West Coast Avengers, her relationship with fellow superhero Fuse, is all thrown out so that Kate can return to her roots as a scrappy, well-meaning rich-girl getting into trouble in New York.

Kate comments to herself in the issue, “I came to L.A. because I needed a change. I changed.” Sadly, Marvel has decided the opposite: the character went to L.A. to change but needs to go back to New York and her old status quo, undoing all of her recent character development and relationships. Hopefully as Kate and her sister try to unravel the mysteries of Chapiteau in Hawkeye: Kate Bishop #2, the series will bring back some of Kate Bishop‘s character development instead of throwing it all out to appeal to MCU fans.

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