WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the first three episodes of Hawkeye, now streaming on Disney+.

As expected, the Hawkeye series on Disney+ has had a lot of fun with the character’s trick arrows. Season 1, Episode 3, “Echoes” uses its big chase scene to reveal a wide variety of them, but they don't all have the same level of usefulness. The scene’s humor relies in part on Kate Bishop forced to pick random arrows to shoot at the pursuing Tracksuit Mafia, not all of which work in the manner they’re intended.

The USB arrow, in particular, serves as a very funny punchline at the chase’s climax, with the two heroes out of options and the villains closing in. On its face, the gimmick is ridiculous, though it could certainly serve a variety of purposes in a less lethal situation. The show rightly played it for laughs. However, this isn’t the first time it has appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or its attendant Multiverse, with the silly trick arrow having changed the course of the franchise's history once before.

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Hawkeye’s arrows have remained his central gimmick since his comics days. That involved a staggering variety of tricks and gadgets, not all of which made sense. In the four-color universe of the comic book page, some truly ridiculous notions could work in ways they wouldn’t in any kind of reality. The MCU wisely eschewed the silliest of them, focusing instead on Barton’s skills as an archer. It let the character flourish without being buried beneath his toys while keeping him comparatively grounded as one of the few Avengers without an appreciable superpower.

Hawkeye gives the MCU a chance to expand that repertoire beyond the expected but by-the-book exploding arrows and grappling arrows he typically used in the movies. The USB arrow came at the end of a line of intermittently effective and absurd remedies, including a goo arrow that spread purple slime all over the villains’ windshield and a Pym arrow that turned another arrowing into an impossibly huge. The USB arrow is the only one left in the quiver. Barton tells Bishop to use it as a distraction, while he retrieves the plunger arrow -- another seemingly useless trick that comes in surprisingly handy -- to complete their escape.

The arrow itself presumably helps Barton during espionage missions, where he could use it to quickly clear retrieved information from an enemy institution once he had it. His unerring accuracy would also let him plant the arrow in any visible access port, allowing him to download anything from vital information to a crippling virus safely from a distance. It’s less useful in combat, at least directly. But in 2012’s The Avengers, Barton deployed it to devastating effect. During the battle on the Helicarrier to free Loki, a mind-controlled Hawkeye fired it into an access port on the bridge. It shut down one of the engines and cut power to the carrier’s system, allowing Loki to complete his escape.

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the avengers hawkeye hacker arrow

That’s the only time it’s appeared in the “prime” MCU, but Marvel’s What If…? gave it a surprisingly important role in its season-long arc as well. It first appears in Season 1, Episode 8, “What If… Ultron Won?” containing an upload of Armin Zola’s mind. It’s designed to stop the mad robot from completing his genocidal plans, and while Barton dies in the attempt, Black Widow retains the arrow. And during the battle for the Multiverse in Season 1, Episode 9, “What If… The Watcher Broke His Oath?” she uses it to destroy Ultron and ensure the robot’s defeat.

Hawkeye’s suction cup arrow used the same idea, though on a much smaller scale, and it’s safe to assume that series intends to keep the notion rolling. Barton is a practical man, but the universe he lives in can be outlandish. Every tool at his disposal has a use, and while this one served as a punchline, it might serve a far more important function before the season is over.

To see all the different arrows in action, new episodes of Hawkeye are available Wednesdays on Disney+.

KEEP READING: Every Trick Arrow in Hawkeye's Quiver in Episode 3