Thanks to the events of “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame,” Marvel Studios has painted itself into a a bit of a corner in that, at some point, each new project will have to address whether its heroes were blipped or not. And while it remains unclear for other new additions in the MCU, we have an answer on Kate Bishop in “Hawkeye.”
As we find out in the first two episodes, “Hawkeye” is set in “present day” — but we don’t know specifically what year “present day” is in the MCU. The timeline is a bit funky — to put it as gently as we can — right now, thanks to “Endgame” tossing everything five years into the future, to 2023, and then refusing to establish any clear year in subsequent projects.
What we do know is that Kate Bishop is 22 years old, because she tells Clint that outright. And, in the opening moments of the first episode of “Hawkeye,” we see a young Kate Bishop in her room in 2012, during the Battle of New York. She’s somewhere in the 9-11 years old range at that point, which would then indicate that, if “Hawkeye” is set in the MCU’s apparent present day of somewhere between 2023-2025 (considering at least some time has passed since “Endgame”) she was not snapped.
And, according to series star Hailee Steinfeld, that math is about right — Kate Bishop was not snapped out of existence by Thanos.
“No, I believe that we see her survive and we see, you know, loss there as well,” Steinfeld told TheWrap. “And that didn’t happen to her.”
That would seem to suggest that we’ll be seeing more blip years on “Hawkeye,” likely in flashback form. And if that happens, it’s entirely possible we’ll see more of Clint Barton as Ronin, swiftly and ruthlessly (and emo-ly, since he was mourning the loss of his entire family) killing criminals in major organizations.
Even if that scene doesn’t come, at least we’re going into “Hawkeye” with slightly more clarity as to when, precisely, it’s taking place than Marvel has generally established in the post-“Endgame” era. (Aside, obviously, from “Spider-Man: Far From Home” and “Wandavision.”) So at least there’s slightly less frustration. Small victories, everyone.