Hawkeye: What’s hidden in plain sight in episode 3

The Car Chase

Speaking of the car chase between Clint, Kate, and the Tracksuit Mafia, that too, was something lifted from Matt Fraction and David Aja’s run on Hawkeye, specifically Hawkeye Vol. 4 #3. Yet once again, the series has shifted most – if not all – of the details of the chase scene around, including the context for why it started in the first place.

In the comics, Clint and Kate are rescuing Darlene “Cherry” Wright, the wife of one of Tracksuit Draculas. Moreover, she’s the original owner of the red 1970 Dodge Challenger, and that, while she was on the run, offered to sell it to Clint. Thus, contrary to Clint telling Kate not to use such a nice car as their getaway vehicle in the episode, they absolutely do in the comics. More specifically, they steal it from the Tracksuit Draculas as part of their rescue attempt of Cherry.

Moreover, the roles of Clint and Kate are reserved. In the issue, Clint is the one firing trick arrows at the pursuing Tracksuits while Kate is the one driving. In addition, the Tracksuits are pursuing them in numbered Mini Coups, a possible shout-out towards both the original and remake of The Italian Job. The chase also does end on the bridge, but instead of using a Pym Particle Arrow, Kate uses a Boomerang Arrow to knock the last of the Tracksuits out. Oh yes, and the Challenger does indeed get wrecked in the original comic book.

One nice comedic touch during the episode’s chase scene, though, is the choice of music. It’s a rendition of “Russian Dance” from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet, The Nutcracker.  Rather appropriate considering how the series takes place days before Christmas and that it’s Russian mobsters chasing our heroes.

Hawkeye’s costume

Finally, as part of Kate’s insistence that Clint needs “rebranding,” she draws him a costume using crayons. The crude illustration she comes up with is based off of Doug Keck’s original design for Hawkeye in the comics, complete with wing-like mask and the letter “H” on the forehead. Turns out, this would’ve been the second appearance of Clint’s classic costume in the series. As revealed in the “Meet the LARPers” featurette, one of the cosplayers from “Hide and Seek” was actually wearing a comic book accurate version of the costume. And if you’re wondering why your humble writer didn’t spot it last time, it seems that that particular LARPer got cut from the episode.

Still, this serves as a good reminder that, if you want to spot some more Marvel-related Easter Eggs, homages, and callbacks, you should pay very close attention. You never know what you might’ve missed on a first viewing. And since we only have three episodes of Hawkeye left to go, we should be extra vigilant to keep our hawk eyes wide open.

Spot any other Marvel-related Easter Eggs or curiosities during Hawkeye, episode 3? Let us know what you found that we may have missed in the comments section below.