‘Hawkeye’ is More ‘Lethal Weapon’ Than ‘Die Hard’
The fact that episode two of Hawkeye didn’t inexplicably flash forward to Cinco de Mayo only further cemented that this will be a very Christmas-y series. At one point, Clint Barton and Kate Bishop even pass by Santa Claus, who’s either just a guy in a costume or the world’s most powerful mutant.
Marvel Studios
While the team behind Hawkeye has namechecked a few key yuletide influences ranging from Die Hard to Home Alone (hopefully, this doesn’t mean that Kate will give up archery for deadly art of paint can bludgeoning), it seems like they may be leaning more in the direction of another Christmas action movie: Lethal Weapon. Sure, Die Hard may get more holiday attention, but Lethal Weapon features a scene where Riggs guns down a gang of coke dealers in a Christmas tree lot, which is arguably right up there with Scrooge bringing Christmas dinner to Bob Cratchit’s house or George Bailey gleefully mooching off of all his friends.
This isn’t totally new for an MCU story; we’ve talked before about how The Falcon and the Winter Soldier pulled heavily from Lethal Weapon, and it shares a lot in common with Iron Man 3, which was written and directed by Lethal Weapon screenwriter Shane Black. Hawkeye seems to be following this trend; most obviously, it’s the story of a grizzled veteran crimefighter who, let’s face it, is likely heading for retirement, teaming up with an impulsive young hotshot who doesn’t play by the rules.
It also seems probable that the show could end up mirroring the ending of Lethal Weapon. Clint, not unlike a character in an inadvertently horrifying coffee commercial, has to make it home by Christmas day. And since A) Kate’s dad is dead and B) her mom is clearly sketchy as hell, might this all be leading to a finale in which Kate has nowhere to go for Christmas and is taken in by the Barton family? If so, that wouldn’t be so dissimilar from the ending of Lethal Weapon.
But Hawkeye would have the benefit of in no way involving Mel Gibson.
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Top Image: Marvel Studios
