Hawkeye came to an end on Wednesday, December 22, a few days after Spider-Man: No Way Home was released in theaters on December 17.
As fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are more than aware of by now, every film and TV show in the franchise is linked in some way, whether that be through a supporting character or event.
Hawkeye and Spider-Man: No Way Home share a number of these connections, like Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) appearing in the former while Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) made a cameo in the latter.
The final scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home also sees Peter Parker (Tom Holland) swinging over the Rockefeller Center and its Christmas tree, which is the exact spot where Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) have their climactic final battle.
But these are the obvious connections between the film and Disney+ show, and there is one link that is so subtle fans probably didn't even realise it was one.
The 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' Easter Egg in 'Hawkeye' You Probably Missed
After Peter is unmasked as Spider-Man by J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) following the death of Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) the government start to investigate him.
Its case leads the FBI to impound evidence from the Avengers compound, which is briefly shown being taken away in a number of trucks.
This is the one time the evidence is referred to in the film as the focus diverts away from the investigation and instead moves onto Peter's quest to get everyone to forget he's Spider-Man, only for Dr. Strange's spell to go very wrong.
However this small, blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene is actually crucial for the events in Hawkeye and how the show begins in the first place.
Kate becomes a part of Clint's life after she comes into possession of his Ronin suit, which her future step-father Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton) and his uncle Armand (Simon Callow) were bidding over in a black market auction.
As well as the suit, Jack bids on Ronin's sword which he takes when the Tracksuit Mafia crash the event, and the gang also take a watch belonging to Clint's wife.
These items, the suit, sword and watch, were all in safe-keeping at the Avengers compound, as Clint explains later in the series and the only logical way these items got onto the black market was as a direct result of them being taken as evidence by the FBI in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
While it's not explained how the items went from the FBI's evidence room to the black market, it doesn't seem unreasonable that one member of the team (or several) thought they could make money by selling off the priceless items.
It should also be noted given D'Onofrio's return as Fisk that in Daredevil Season 3 Kingpin had control of the FBI through blackmail and extortion, so he could well have demanded the items go on the black market with the intention of owning them himself.
Daredevil Season 3 ended with Fisk being taken into custody and his blackmail of the FBI being revealed to the world, but, since there is at least a five-year time gap between the Netflix series and Hawkeye, the villain could have easily escaped, blackmailed the FBI and taken his position at the top of the criminal underworld once more.
Hawkeye is available to stream on Disney+, while Daredevil is available on Netflix, and Spider-Man: No Way Home is in theaters now.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Roxy Simons is a Newsweek TV and Film Reporter (SEO), based in London, U.K. Her focus is reporting on the ... Read more
