Hawkeye Episode 3: All Easter Egg And References In Episode 3 Explained Dedicated To Echo

December opens big for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, who can watch the new episode of Hawkeye episode 3 available on Disney+. The third installment of the series dedicated to Hawkeye and Kate Bishop focuses on the character of Echo, her origins and why she is looking for Ronin. This article offers a look at the easter eggs and MCU references contained in the episode titled “Echo” – so watch out for spoilers!

The Origins of Maya Lopez aka Echo

Hawkeye’s third episode shows Maya’s father William alive in 2007 played by Zahn McClarnon. Both the character and the actor have Native American origins as well as Echo and the actress who plays her, Alaqua Cox. The connection between these two characters, as well as their origins, corresponds to what is narrated in the Marvel comics. On the small screen, as well as deaf, Maya shows up with an artificial leg: could Marvel Studios have inserted an accident in Echo’s past?

Also, in the comics Echo’s father works for Kingpin and it’s the New York criminal himself who kills him. In the series it appears that William Lopez may have a connection with Wilson Fisk but it is obvious that he was murdered by Ronin.

The Homage To Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith is a director / writer who is also a huge fan of Marvel and DC comics. In the movie Captain Marvel he was honored by Marvel Studios with a beautiful easter egg linked to the 1995 movie Mallrats (Generation X). In the third episode a workshop bears the name of Fat Man, which is also the nickname (and a brand) of Kevin Smith:

The Imagine Dragons

One of the Tracksuit Mafia members tells Kate Bishop that he bought tickets to an Imagine Dragons show. Well, this is a real existing American pop rock group that started business in 2008 which is the same year that the Marvel Cinematic Universe started with the movie Iron Man. Plus, their song “Zero” is used in the movie. Disney Ralph breaks the internet.

KB Toys

Echo and Tracksuit Mafia’s hideout is an abandoned KB Toys store. This was a famous and fruitful chain of toy stores located in almost all of the United States. After filing for bankruptcy, KB Toys finally shut down in 2009.

Pym Technology

At the end of the spectacular chase between the Tracksuit Mafia and the duo formed by Hawkeye and Kate Bishop, Jeremy Renner’s character uses an arrow with Pym technology useful to enlarge objects. The same technique was used, and probably observed by Clint Barton, in Captain America: Civil War: during the fight between Avengers, Ant-Man asks Cap to throw a model of a truck at an object that has the same blue light as the Clint’s arrow in Hawkeye. The encounter between the two objects enlarges the model launched by Steve Rogers.

The Avengers of 2012

Any Marvel fan will have noticed that the jump Clint Barton and Kate Bishop make off the bridge, right after the car chase of the third episode, is reminiscent of what Hawkeye does in The Avengers. This spectacular gesture is itself shown at the beginning of Hawkeye’s first episode when Kate is just a child.

The Hawkeye Costume

Kate Bishop thinks Clint Barton needs a new costume, so she designs one that is very reminiscent of the Marvel comics: Kate Bishop suggests that Clint also print an “H” in the center of his forehead, just like in classic comics:

Sloan Limited

At the Bishop home, Kate discovers that Kazi aka the Clown works for Sloan Limited. This could be a front company run by Echo’s “uncle”. There are several characters in the Marvel Comics whose last name is Sloan but none, at the moment, seem to be relevant to the continuation of the live-action show.