If you cast your mind back to late 2018, before pandemics, lockdowns and social distancing were common everyday phrases, Disney announced the release of their own streaming service to be launched in 2019 (or March 2020 for us Brits). Whilst everyone was excited about the Star Wars series The Mandalorian, it was the announcement of a series focused on my second favourite Avenger, Hawkeye, that persuaded me to commit to another streaming service provider.

Despite announcing the series fairly early on, Hawkeye closed out a rather jam-packed year – five series and four films to be exact!! – with the season finale airing on December 22nd. But the question is… was it worth the wait?

Starting with a flashback to the Battle of New York, and one of Hawkeye’s most iconic scenes, we see a young Kate Bishop watching a normal (ish) guy on the roof of a skyscraper fending off an army of invading aliens with nothing more than a bow and some arrows. Taking inspiration from her newfound hero, Kate takes up martial arts and archery becoming quite proficient in a number of skills.

Fast forward to a short but undefined period of time after the events of Avengers: Endgame Kate has returned to the big city following an unfortunate incident with a university bell tower and a retired Clint Barton, physically and emotionally weighed down by his superhero past, enjoying a Christmas trip to New York with his children.

“ Renner’s tired, grumpy old man brand of comedy juxtaposes nicely with Steinfeld’s youthful optimism.

Kate discovers on a secret black market auction in the basement of her mothers party, believing her mums new boyfriend Jack Dusquesne is up to no good, she decides to investigate. But when the auction is ambushed by a mysterious track-suited gang, Kate steps up to the superhero plate and dons the nearest costume she can find – the uniform worn by the notorious vigilante Ronin.

Kate’s unfortunate wardrobe choice puts her on the radar of some powerful people and drags her into a world she’s not quite ready for. Fearing his dark past will come out into the open, Clint sets out to recover the suit but there are forces at play that Clint isn’t ready for and, once again finding himself in the role of reluctant mentor, he must partner up with the enthusiastic but inexperienced Kate to make sure he is home in time for Christmas.

Jeremy Renner’s quiet and understated comedic timing struggled to make much of an impact alongside the loud and bold personalities of the likes of Robert Downey Jr and Chris Hemsworth but he is given a chance to shine here. His tired, grumpy old man brand of comedy fits perfectly with both Renner and Barton, and juxtaposes nicely with Steinfeld’s vivacious youthful optimism, and the fact that they share a great on screen chemistry and rapport only adds to the overall experience of the series, which is a lot more fun and lighthearted than what the MCU has been offering of late.

As much as I may love Renner’s Clint Barton, it is Steinfeld that steals the show and if Hawkeye is a passing of the torch I, for one, will be very happy to see what she brings to the next phase of the MCU.

Alongside Barton and Bishop, Hawkeye also brings in a number of new, and newly familiar, faces. Some, such as Florence Pugh’s Yelena, first introduced in Black Widow, threaten to steal the show whereas others are short lived, put in as acts of fan service and threads to bring previously non-canonical universes into the fold – there’s no spoilers here so if you know, you know and if you don’t, well you’ll just have to watch it to find out.

We are also introduced to deaf actress Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez aka Echo; adept at combat and fueled by a hate-filled vendetta against Ronin, Lopez is the leader of the Tracksuit Mafia and one of the main protagonists of the series. Although somewhat overshadowed by the other big characters around her, Cox has a great presence on screen and has already secured herself her own spin-off, Echo.

No matter which publishing giant they may belong to, I usually find myself favouring the superheroes without superpowers, and if they don’t have billions of dollars – a la Batman and Iron Man – then they are usually particularly deadly with a bow and arrow aka Green Arrow and Hawkeye. As a result, I’ve had a particular fondness for Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton ever since his first appearance in Thor so the fact that he gets his very own series makes me particularly happy and the fact that it is so well done is just the cherry on top. Where The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki are perhaps, at times, a little too heavy on the dialogue, Hawkeye manages to perfectly balance every episode with a well-written story and some great action sequences.

Fans of the comics will appreciate the extra nods to the source material including Clint’s loss of hearing, some straight-from-the-page costume and set design and the beautifully designed title sequence inspired by Matt Fraction and David Aja’s comic book run that started in 2012 Coincidentally the one and only graphic novel that I personally own.

Overall, Hawkeye is a light-hearted, fun-filled frolic all wrapped up in a Christmassy bow and is a refreshing escape from the heavy expectation that seems to have permeated most Phase 4 offerings so far.

Hawkeye is now available to stream on Disney Plus.