Hawkeye: What’s hidden in plain sight in episode 5

How Maya’s father really died

Taking up the mantle of Ronin once again, Clint confronted Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) at the same auto dealership that her father (Zahn McClarnon) ran as a front. Instead of killing her, however, he warned her never to threaten his family ever again. He also revealed that, while he did kill her dad as Ronin, he was tipped off by an informer. Only later did he find out that the informant was acting on Kingpin’s orders, as he wanted Maya’s father out of the way. Moreover, it’s heavily implied that the informer is Maya’s second-in-command, Kazi Kazimierczak (Fra Fee).

Interestingly enough, this is pretty close to how the Kingpin arranged to have Maya’s father killed in the comics, albeit some major differences. Most of them we already mentioned when covering episode three, including that Maya wanted revenge against Daredevil, not Ronin, as Fisk manipulated her into thinking the “Devil of Hell’s Kitchen” was the one responsible. Another, of course, is that Kazi didn’t inform anyone, as he’s a gun-for-hire in the original comics who didn’t have a connection to Fisk at all.

The important thing is that now Maya suspects that the man she called her uncle arranged to have her father murdered, and that closest person she has as a friend may also have had something to do with it. That’s a prime set-up for her own Disney Plus television series that’s scheduled to come out sometime next year, which will also apparently star Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio reprising their roles as Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Wilson Fisk respectively.

As an aside, it also wouldn’t surprise me if Kingpin also planted the list containing information about Clint’s family in Maya’s apartment. That could have, after all, resulted in Clint and Maya potentially killing one another and taking care of two potential problems at once.

The Avengers memorial

Prior to his confrontation with Maya, Clint makes a stop by a bridge containing a plaque. On the plaque reads the following:

"On this site in 2012, during the Battle of New York, the Avengers first assembled. Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Thor Odinson, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton."

Of course, this is the bridge that’s in front of Grand Central Station, which served as the backdrop for the climatic battle with Loki and the Chitahuri from the first Avengers movie. Like Yelena’s mention of the “new and improved Statue of Liberty” (which you can see in Spider-Man: No Way Home) and Rogers: The Musical, we’re once more reminded that if superheroes existed in our world, they would have a monumental affect on culture, history, and politics.

In addition, as Clint addresses Natasha, we can hear the same music that played when Natasha sacrificed herself on Vormir during Avengers: Endgame (2019). And of course, the “stupid orange rock” he mentions was the Soul Stone. Between this scene, and the earlier one with Kate and Yelena, it’s nice to see Black Widow getting recognition for her part in saving the universe.