Details You Missed, Easter Eggs, Secret References

The bell tower Kate Bishop breaks into in episode 1 is called Stane Tower

The sign on the wall in front of the tower reads: “The Oldest University Bell Tower in the United States. Its Cornerstone was placed on October 20, 1725. Rededicated on July 1st, 2006 in honor of Obadiah Stane.”

Obadiah Stane was the main villain in the first “Iron Man” movie, a jealous employee of Tony Stark.

The Stane Tower might be a reference to Stane trying to compete with Stark, who had his own tower called Stark Tower.

The “Thanos was right” graffiti in the toilets in episode 1 is a nod to conspiracy theories

Following 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War,” there were memes from fans who supported Thanos’ decision to wipe out half of all life.

“Thanos was right” could also be a reference to the Flag Smashers, the super-soldier group in “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier,” who wanted the world to return to how it was before the Avengers brought everyone back.

In episode 4, Hawkeye drinks from a purple mug that has “Thanos was right” written on it.

“Hawkeye” switches up Kate Bishop’s backstory.

There were clues from the very start of the show for Eleanor’s betrayal. In the comics, Kate’s mother, Eleanor Bishop, seemingly dies when Kate was a child, and her father was the one to have a connection to the criminal underground. The comic version of Eleanor also is revealed to be alive later in the story and working with the nemesis of Kate.

“Hawkeye” head writer, Jonathan Igla, told Insider in an interview that it was decided to switch the storylines for Kate’s parents to make the series stand out.

“We hadn’t seen [mother-daughter relationships] as much in the Marvel movies and Marvel shows,” Igla said.

The lot number for the Avengers Compound watch has a reference to Kang.

In episode one, it is revealed that the Tracksuit Mafia are trying to steal a watch from the Avengers Compound. The lot number on that watch is 268 which is a reference to “Avengers (1963) #268” where the Avengers fight Kang.

At this point, the team was made up of characters who have not been properly introduced in the MCU such as Namor, Black Knight, and Hercules. Black Knight appeared for the first time in “Eternals” played by Kit Harrington while Namor and Hercules have been rumored to be appearing in upcoming Marvel movies “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Thor: Love and Thunder.”

The newsreader in episode 1 has appeared in multiple Marvel live-action series and movies.

NY1 Morning News Anchor Pat Kiernan is the greatest sign that the multiverse exists as he has appeared in multiple movies and TV shows as an anchor.

In Marvel Studios projects, he has appeared in “The Avengers,” “Iron Man 3,” “Doctor Strange,” and “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” He has also appeared in “Daredevil,” “The Punisher,” “The Defenders,” and “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.”

Kate Bishop’s aunt, Moira Brandon, is an honorary Avenger in the comics.

In episode two, Kate Bishop explains that the apartment they are hiding in is owned by her aunt, Moira Brandon.

This is an Easter egg for the character in the comics. Brandon was a movie star who sold her estate to the West Coast Avengers, led by Hawkeye and his wife Mockingbird. In “Avengers: West Coast #100,” when the two leaders visited the estate for the first time, it was attacked by a villain and Brandon had to save them. Hawkeye then made her an honorary Avenger.

Kate Bishop continues the trend of referring to Hawkeye as the wrong famous archer.

In episode 2, Kate Bishop confuses Hawkeye with Katniss Everdeen, the archer from “The Hunger Games” played by Jennifer Lawrence.

This could be a callback to “The Avengers” where Iron Man calls Hawkeye “Legolas,” the “Lord of The Rings” elf archer, before picking Hawkeye up to move to another vantage point.

Maya Lopez’s leather jacket has a small reference to her comic counterpart’s later costume.

In the flashback in episode 3, we see Maya’s dad with a triangular sun tattoo around his neck similar to her Phoenix Force costume in the comics. Later in the episode, the same symbol is on the shoulder of Maya’s leather jacket and a tattoo on Kazi’s hand.

Whilst Maya doesn’t have the iconic white handprint on her face as she does in the comics, her father does put a bloody handprint on her cheek when he dies in episode three just like in the comics.

There is a lot of red imagery surrounding Maya, highlighting her anger.

A big part of Maya’s origins in both the comics and “Hawkeye” is her journey to get revenge for the one who killed her father. In the show, this is emphasized through the use of red lighting.

When we are first introduced to her in episode two of “Hawkeye,” she is in a red room, and this red lighting also appears in the scene where her father dies in episode three.

Kate draws Hawkeye’s classic comic costume.

In episode three, when Kate is trying to help Hawkeye’s “branding” problem and make him a suit, she creates one which looks a lot like his original costume in the comics. In a behind-the-scenes clip for the Larp scene in episode two, an extra also wears a costume that looks exactly like Hawkeye’s original costume but that scene was cut.

Kate (Steinfeld) also wears comic-accurate clothing in “Hawkeye” including a Laika the Soviet space dog shirt in episode 4 that looks just like one from the comics.

“It’s A Wonderful Life” is playing on TV during Hawkeye and Kate’s conversation about Black Widow in episode four.

The scene shown from the classic Christmas film is where George Bailey (James Stewart) makes it back to his family, highlighting Hawkeye’s desire to be back home with the family. The movies have other parallels with “Hawkeye,” such as the fact that Hawkeye is giving up his personal dreams to help his community.

In the opening of episode 5, you can hear quotes from “Black Widow.”

The opening scene of “Hawkeye” episode five is set in 2018 with Yelena (Florence Pugh) hunting the remaining brainwashed spies from “Black Widow.” Before we see any character, we hear the voices of Yelena (Florence Pugh) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) repeating lines from the “Black Widow” movie.

We also hear the special whistle call that Yelena and Black Widow used on each other.

In episode 5, Kate Bishop ironically has a Hawkeye magazine article on her wall titled “Hero Worship.”

In Kate Bishop’s room in episode five, we see a scattered poster board that includes a magazine article with a picture of Hawkeye. The title says “Hero Worship,” which perfectly captures how Kate sees Hawkeye at this moment, a hero she worships rather than a partner or a friend.