The arrival of Alaqua Cox’s Echo in this week’s Hawkeye has left fans theorizing about the return of a specific villain from Marvel’s televised universe at Netflix. According to ScreenRant, many viewers alleged none other than Vincent D’Onofrio (Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Godfather of Harlem) may be reprising his role as the Daredevil villian, Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin. The actor became a fan favorite as he plotted a criminal takeover of Hell’s Kitchen despite the heroics of Charlie Cox’s (Stardust, Kin) Matt Murdock.
Hawkeye’s third episode, titled “Echoes,” seemed to hint at the character’s return throughout the series entry. The first clue occurred early on as viewers were shown Maya’s backstory. She grew up being raised by her single father, William, who is played by Reservation Dogs’ Zahn McClarnon. As they faced hard times, William became entangled in organized crime to make ends meet. It is here, in a fleeting moment, that the show teases us with an associate of William’s who is called Maya’s “uncle.”
Despite Maya’s disability, she excelled at almost everything, given her natural ability to mimic and master any task she viewed. She becomes a competent fighter, learning karate at a young age. During training at the dojo, William has to leave to tend to some business. He informs Maya that her “uncle” will take her home. As the camera zooms in on Maya, viewers see a large suited arm reach out to caress her cheek. Matched with a familiar chuckle, many fans have deduced that Maya’s “uncle” is D’Onofrio’s Kingpin.
The second clue, according to ScreenRant, comes later in the episode as Echo is revealed to be Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) and Clint Barton’s (Jeremy Renner) captor. The duo eventually escapes, leaving Maya’s tactics to be questioned by her second-in-command, Fra Fee’s (Animals, Pixie) Kazi. In a disagreement, Fra challenges Echo’s decision-making saying that their boss would have done things differently. They both, again, make reference to Maya’s “uncle” being in charge.
Kingpin being Maya’s “uncle” is not farfetched. In the comics, he becomes Maya’s legal guardian after murdering her father. However, D’Onofrio possibly playing the role signals something totally different happening within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For years, Netflix’s Marvel series had no real connection to the events of the films. They existed in their own ecosystem of Marvel superheroes. If D’Onofrio is in fact revealed as playing Fisk, it means we could see the return of other actors from the televised series. Marvel Studios already secured the rights to not only Netflix’s Daredevil but two previous series from Netflix’s Marvel universe. So the possibility of seeing Cox’s Murdock or Krysten Ritter’s (Don’t Trust the B in Apt. 23) Jessica Jones pop up here, or in any future series, could be a reality.
New episodes of Hawkeye air every Wednesday only on Disney+.