WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Hawkeye: Freefall #1 by Matthew Rosenberg, Otto Schmidt and VC's Joe Sabino, on sale now.
Disney+ kicked off the new year by revealing all of the original TV series and movies that will be arriving on the streaming platform in 2020. Recently, A sizzle reel released included the announcement that WandaVision's release date has been bumped up from spring 2021 to 2020. Though a specific premiere date was not revealed, WandaVision will now join The Falcon and The Winter Soldier as the first set of Marvel Cinematic Universe properties to debut on Disney+.
Another MCU series planned for Disney+ is Hawkeye, with Jeremy Renner reprising his role as Clint Barton as he mentors fellow Hawkeye, Kate Bishop. Filming for Hawkeye is reported to begin in the summer, with a planned premiere date of fall 2021.
Hawkeye is keeping himself pretty busy in the comics as well, as writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Otto Schmidt pair up for Hawkeye: Freefall. The miniseries finds a new person adopting the Ronin identity, which is one of Clint's former personas. Of course, this thievery doesn't sit well with him, and he sets out to uncover who is now behind the mask. But instead of going on a solo mission, Hawkeye has some backup in the form of his fellow Disney+ stars, Falcon and Winter Soldier.
Hawkeye: Freefall initially begins with the hero sending The Hood to jail. However, Parker Robbins avoids his day in court and is released with an apology from the mayor, who just happens to be the former Kingpin of Crime, Wilson Fisk. The Hood and Hawkeye trade some verbal jabs at one another but leave it at that, though Hawkeye vows to keep an eye on the villain.
Later, the new Ronin hijacks a pair of armored cars and sends the security detail of ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to the hospital. The only item taken is a briefcase of unknown contents. What brings Falcon and Winter Soldier into the equation is the duo believes Hawkeye is back to wearing his Ronin gear. The only way for Clint to clear his name is inviting Falcon and Winter Soldier along as he follows a lead on The Hood. Hawkeye believes Hood could be behind everything since he did piss him off earlier.
As luck would have it, Ronin reappears during their stakeout, and the trio leaps into action to find some answers. Unfortunately, they wind up getting in each other's way, allowing Ronin to pick them off one by one until he makes his escape. All Hawkeye has to show for his efforts is a possible broken nose, which has turned into a running gag with the marksman in previous comic book series. But on the positive side, Hawkeye now has proof that he isn't running around as Ronin again.
Three previous individuals have taken on the Ronin mantle after Hawkeye: Alexei Shostakov, Blade the Vampire Hunter and Echo. As Winter Soldier points out, Shostakov is out of the country, the ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agents aren't vampire so that ruled Blade out, and the person in the Ronin photos had a male figure, which ruled out Echo. All clues and the process of elimination led Falcon and Winter Soldier to Hawkeye as a suspect. It wasn't personal, though at times it probably felt that way to Clint.
Hawkeye, Falcon and Winter Soldier will have to work together to track down this new Ronin and find out why he has decided to steal this underused identity.