In every nook and cranny of the MCU, the heroes or heroines that do their best work have a specific villain they go up against. And as a result, Hawkeye is no different. With the first two episodes of the highly-anticipated series, fans can catch up with what Hawkeye has been up to since the events in Avengers: Endgame.
However, the main question on every viewer’s mind is—who will be the big bad that Hawkeye will go up against in battle? Unfortunately, it seems the series is playing that card close to its chest and is not quite ready yet to make the reveal. But that doesn’t mean that fans don’t have their theories.
Image: Screen Rant
After viewing the first two episodes and considering all of the Easter eggs thus far, there are a few candidates that can be considered.
Jack Duquesne (aka “Swordsman)
Presented as Kate Bishops secretive stepfather, Jack appears to be somewhat adapt in sword combat, along with being linked to his uncle, Armand Duquesne’s, murder. Duquesne is also Hawkeye’s former mentor before turning to crime and taking on the role as the Avengers foil in the comics.
Yelena Belova
Assuredly, we can expect that Yelena will take on the role of a villain to some degree. In a post-credits scene to Black Widow, it is revealed that Yelena is under the belief that Hawkeye was responsible for Natasha’s death. As it turns out, she has taken on a quest for vengeance with the view that balance will be restored when Hawkeye is dead.
Kingpin
Last but not least, is the most likely character to end up being the big bad—that of Kingpin. The character hasn’t been seen since the Netflix series Daredevil, but it is felt that with the recent addition of Echo, Kingpin will not be far behind.