This is the big week for the MCU, as the highly-anticipated Spider-Man: No Way Home is hitting theaters. Separately, Hawkeye episode 5 is now streaming on Disney Plus, setting the stage for the show’s big finale. We’ve been waiting for this particular week to arrive, as we were anticipating a significant connection between the two shows. And it just so happens that Hawkeye episode 5 brings back a Marvel character you’ve been dying to see in the MCU while making a connection to No Way Home.
Before we go any forward, you should know that big Hawkeye and No Way Home spoilers follow below.
The Hawkeye episode 5 cameo
Even before Hawkeye premiered, we heard that the TV show would feature several exciting cameos. The list includes Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Echo (Alaqua Cox), and Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). While each one is interesting in its own way, Fisk was the one that stood out.
D’Onofrio’s Kingpin is one of the best Marvel villains to date. The problem is that the Kingpin he played appeared in Netflix’s Daredevil run. The TV show is not part of the MCU canon, even though it references events from the MCU.
As the show started, we heard that D’Onofrio would cameo in a post-credits scene of episode 4, which didn’t happen. Reports last week said that Marvel cut the post-credits sequence to ensure that the new Black Widow got all the attention.
But Fisk finally materialized right at the end of Hawkeye episode 5. It’s D’Onofrio’s Kingpin too, although we only get to see a blurry image on a smartphone. Incidentally, it’s Yelena sending a video of Kingpin and Eleanor Bishop (Vera Farmiga) to Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld).
We’ll probably see Kingpin in the flesh in the Hawkeye finale next Wednesday, given this big reveal.
The No Way Home connection
How do Hawkeye episode 5 and No Way Home link up?
Marvel boss Kevin Feige confirmed a few days ago that Charlie Cox will play Matt Murdock/Daredevil in the MCU. That’s after months and months of denials from Cox that he’s in No Way Home. Plenty of rumors have referenced this particular Spider-Man cameo all year long. And we had leaked images that showed Matt Murdock in a scene with other No Way Home characters, Spidey included.
That’s to say that, in a matter of days, Hawkeye episode 5 and Spider-Man: No Way Home will establish that Daredevil and Kingpin exist in the MCU. Cox and D’Onofrio will play the characters once again, and we expect more cameos in future MCU projects related to these characters. Echo will surely be one such title.
Marvel will undoubtedly also make its own Daredevil show or movie down the road, although the company hasn’t announced anything specific.
But other than the Daredevil connection, there are no links between Hawkeye episode 5 and No Way Home. Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) does not appear in No Way Home. And Peter Parker (Tom Holland) isn’t in Hawkeye. However, Yelena does sneak in one clever remark about the “new and improved Statue of Liberty.” We know from the trailers that’s where the final fight takes place in No Way Home.
Separately, there might be one heartbreaking connection between the two projects that you won’t realize until you’ve watched them both.
Spider-Man: No Way Home premieres on Friday — read our review. Five of Hawkeye’s six episodes are available on Disney Plus. The finale will be released next Wednesday.
