Every MCU Disney Plus Pilot Ranked Worst To Best
5. Hawkeye
The first episode of Hawkeye, Never Meet Your Heroes, introduces a new character to the MCU: Hawkeye. This may seem confusing, since Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, has been a prominent MCU character since 2012's The Avengers. However, this episode first showcases another character who takes the name Hawkeye, Kate Bishop.
In 2012, a horrified young Kate watches the Battle of New York, the climax of The Avengers, take place. She is inspired by Hawkeye's bravery to take up archery herself, and becomes skilled at it, using her talents to accidentally vandalize her college.
Seeing the Battle of New York from Kate's perspective, as well as watching a retired Clint and his family sit through the Broadway smash hit Rogers: The Musical, are the episode's highlights. Aside from that, it feels like it's stalling in many ways, featuring lots of filler and keeping the plot-relevant elements only towards the very end. Hawkeye would have benefitted from either more or fewer episodes, to either flesh out some underdeveloped story threads or condense them, and this first episode falls into the same trap as the rest of the series.
Still, Hawkeye's pilot is a fun time, and helps with the world building of the MCU by letting audiences know what it must be like to live in the Avengers' New York City as a civilian.