Caution: spoilers ahead for Hawkeye episode 3
Kate Bishop's interrogation interruption. Now Clint Barton's game of "catch-release" with the Tracksuit Mafia is ruined, both archers are prisoners of Hawkeye's fashion-backward gangsters, and the bulk of episode 3 charts their dramatic escape through the snowy streets of New York.
Mostly, Hawkeye episode 3 acts as a formal introduction to Alaqua Cox's Maya Lopez - better known by her super-moniker, Echo. Flashbacks reveal Echo's struggle as a deaf child in non-specialist education, her ability to mimic the movements of others, and how her father led the Tracksuit Mafia before Ronin killed him. Though Clint Barton and Kate Bishop have escaped for now, Echo's relentless quest for Ronin revenge is far from over, and as Kate duly points out, there's still the small matter of her swordsman step-father.
Hawkeye episode 3 is also especially generous with its MCU and Marvel Easter eggs. There are nods to other Avengers, massive character teases, and a greatest hits of trick arrows from across Clint Barton's comic and movie career.
Echo's Capoeira Reference Foreshadows Her Fighting Style
During Hawkeye episode 3's opening flashback sequence, a young Echo is struggling to keep up with a teacher not using ASL to communicate. Echo is, however, supremely intelligent, and completes her schoolwork regardless. Maya gets extra marks for including a Marvel Easter egg too, as she writes, "This year, I want to learn how to play capoiera [sic]." Capoeria is a Brazilian fighting-dance hybrid Tekken fans will as the distinctive fighting style of Eddy Gordo. During Echo's battle with Clint Barton in the present day, she's visibly throwing capoeira kicks, proving her classroom goal was wholeheartedly achieved. This Easter egg is heavily informed by Echo's comic book counterpart, who is both an elite martial artist and a skilled dancer.
Echo's Father Alludes Toward Shang-Chi
Echo was obviously inspired by dragons as a child, and her father used the mystical creatures as an allegory for her deafness. Just as a dragon exists in both its own world and the outside world, Maya must balance her soundless environment with a society that never stops talking. When Echo innocently asks if dragons are real, her dad says, "Dragons live in a different world." A member of the Tracksuit Mafia probably isn't versed in the ancient lore of Ta Lo, but Shang-Chi & The Legend of the Ten Rings proved dragons like the Great Protector do indeed dwell inside alternate planes of reality.
Does Echo's Owl Toy Tease A Marvel Comic Book Villain?
While father and daughter discuss dragons, a toy owl is prominently placed in Echo's bedroom. It may not be a coincidence that The Owl is a Marvel comic book villain who, like Echo, has ties to Kingpin. Predominantly an enemy of Daredevil, The Owl shared something of a rivalry with Wilson Fisk, and would have a natural entry point into the MCU via Hawkeye.
Hawkeye Teases Echo's Comic Book Powers
During Echo's flashback karate class, Hawkeye shows her carefully watching an obnoxious kid's take-down, before perfectly countering the technique minutes later. Though Hawkeye understates her ability, Echo in the Marvel comic books is able to copy movements precisely after only a single glimpse.
Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin In The MCU?
Echo's father says her "uncle" will be waiting after karate class, then a mysterious (giant) hand playfully pinches Maya on the cheek and laughs. Hawkeye episode 3 goes on to make repeated references toward this enigmatic character, who Clint Barton reveals is the true mastermind behind the Tracksuit Mafia. The man in question is almost guaranteed to be the MCU's Kingpin - Wilson Fisk to his mother. In the Marvel comics, Echo's biological father died on Kingpin's order, but Fisk adopted the orphan as his own, raising her into an elite combatant. Something very similar has evidently taken place in the MCU's live-action world.
Though Hawkeye never shows the uncle's face, his laugh is very reminiscent of Daredevil series. The actor has long been rumored as making a Hawkeye appearance, and "Echoes" all but confirms his return.
"Fat Man" Is Another Kingpin Easter Egg
Immediately after establishing Kingpin as the Tracksuit Mafia's leader, Hawkeye episode 3 fires off another Fisk-themed Easter egg. When an older, Blip-era Echo pulls up at her father's HQ, the Tracksuits are working out of a mechanic shop. The garage in question is conspicuously labelled as "Fat Man Auto Repair." Kingpin obviously isn't known for his slender frame, and "Fat-Man" has been used as another nickname for Fisk in the Marvel comics. If the MCU's Wilson Fisk truly does command the Tracksuit Mafia, it makes sense that he'd call one of his legitimate fronts "Fat Man."
Echo's Bloody Hand Print Echos The Marvel Comics
As he lays dying from Ronin's blade, Echo's father bids farewell to his child and gently touches her face with a bloody hand, leaving a crimson print upon her cheek. This brutal image derives directly from Echo's Marvel comic book backstory, where a much younger Maya was also left stained by her dying father's touch. As an adult vigilante, Echo paints a white hand on her face as a reminder of that fateful day. Hawkeye foreshadows this moment in its aforementioned "dragon" scene, where a blue hand painting can be spied on the young Echo's bedroom wall.
Black Widow Killed The Ronin
Because Echo is desperate for vengeance, the Tracksuit Mafia want to know Ronin's real identity and current whereabouts. Despite his secrecy putting Kate Bishop in imminent danger, Hawkeye still doesn't it he was actually the mysterious Ronin. Instead, Barton claims Black Widow killed the ninja, and that he "was there" when it happened. From a certain point of view, Clint isn't lying. After losing his family to Thanos' snap, Clint Barton adopted the Ronin persona, but Black Widow's noble sacrifice on Vormir made him retire that mantle and return to being everyone's favorite family-friendly archer. So, technically speaking, Black Widow did kill Ronin, and Hawkeye was present at the time.
Hawkeye's Comic Book 1970s Red Dodge Challenger
The first two episodes of Disney+'s Hawkeye series drew heavily from Matt Fraction's 2012 comic run, and the appearance of a red 1970s Dodge Challenger in episode 3 provides yet another link. In Fraction's story, Hawkeye buys a Challenger, but later destroys it during a chase with the Tracksuit Mafia. Echo's muscle car in Hawkeye is near-identical to Clint's, and his refusal to jack such a beautiful vehicle pays homage to his taste of automobiles from the source material. Just like Fraction's story, the live-action Dodge Challenger gets beaten up anyway.
Hawkeye's Car Chase Is Ripped From His Most Famous Comic
And it's not just Hawkeye's Dodge Challenger that hails from the 2012 comic series - the entire car chase adapts a classic scene from Matt Fraction and David Aja. In the comics, Kate Bishop is driving the Challenger whilst Clint Barton fires arrows at the Tracksuit Mafia, and though the roles are reversed in the MCU, the setup is otherwise identical in printed form. Both versions of the chase sequence also feature generous amounts of tricks arrows and culminate with a pile-up on a bridge.