Hawkeye: Whose Avengers Watch Is Stolen In Episode 1

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Hawkeye episode 1.

Whose Avenger’s watch was stolen by the Tracksuit Mafia in Hawkeye episode 1 titled “Never Meet Your Heroes”? Marvel Studios returns to Disney+ with its latest series which focuses on Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton. As the first original Earth Mightiest Heroes member to star in his own show, the first two episodes of Hawkeye features several ties to the bigger MCU, such as the inclusion of an important timepiece that’s originally owned by one of the Avengers.

Set some two years after the events of Avengers: Endgame, Hawkeye not only sees Clint protecting Kate Bishop, who is played by Hailee Steinfeld (and presumably becoming her mentor), but also dealing with the fallout of his time as Ronin. Clearly, the emotional scars still affect him, but so too does the impact his masked vigilante had on the world’s criminal underworld. And beyond the impact on criminals like Hawkeye‘s Tracksuit Mafia, there’s further examination of the fallout of Endgame and the Battle of New York as the Captain America musical is introduced and the secret auction reveals that someone looted Avengers HQ after Thanos’ MCU defeat.

Apparently, after the battle with Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Endgame, the ruins at the Avengers HQ was ransacked, with some of the heroes’ possessions ending up being sold in the black market. That includes Ronin’s retractable sword and suit. A wristwatch was also part of the selection of pieces being offered at an underground auction, but before it could even be presented, the Tracksuit Mafia hijacked the event in the hopes of stealing the timepiece. It wasn’t revealed why they were looking for it, but since the goons were focused on that item and nothing else, it seems to be both very expensive and important. That begs the question: whose watch was it anyway? Chances are that it could be Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.); this makes sense for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it’s supposed to be more valuable than the $2 million-priced dinosaur head and Stark is the only Avenger who is significantly wealthy, and then there’s the fact that a personal artefact of a dead hero would be even more valuable to collectors who either loved Tony Stark or hated the departed Iron Man and wanted a trophy.

Before moving into the lake house that he shared with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) in Avengers: Endgame, he was living in the Avengers HQ along with some of the other Avengers. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) was in the process of moving Stark’s things from the Avengers tower in Manhattan to the new facility in Upstate New York. So, it’s possible that the aforementioned watch was part of his collection that just got buried in the ruins after the fight with Thanos. In addition to that, Downey Jr himself is known as an avid watch collector. This could be Hawkeye‘s way of subtly paying homage to the actor since Renner considers his co-star as his mentor in the MCU. In any case, since Downey has long been synonymous with Tony Stark, it doesn’t really matter if the show was referencing the actor or his Marvel character.

The question now is, why would the Tracksuit Mafia want this watch? The auction in the Hawkeye episode 1 featured several high-valuable items, and yet, the criminal group was fixated on this timepiece. It’s possible that this isn’t just a normal watch. Assuming that it is Tony Stark’s, it’s possible that he tweaked its mechanism and upgraded it with Stark Tech. In Captain America: Civil War, he was wearing a wristwatch that easily transformed into an Iron Man gauntlet. Having access to this kind of technology could help the Tracksuit Mafia improve their own gadgets. Whatever the case may be, expect the watch to factor in the show’s narrative moving forward, with Marvel Studios ultimately revealing the Avenger owner of the item.

Hawkeye airs every Wednesday on Disney+.

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