Will Marvel Reveal Laura Barton as Mockingbird in ‘Hawkeye’?
The MCU hasn't given Linda Cardellini much to do...until now.
There are only two episodes left in Marvel’s Hawkeye, and the wildly entertaining Disney+ series clearly has more tricks up its sleeve. Episode 4 delivered more clues about the mysterious Rolex found in the wreckage of the Avengers compound. But whose Rolex is it, and why is it so important to Clint Barton? After all, he seems plenty busy corralling Kate and tracking down his Ronin suit.
Clint tells Kate that the watch belonged to someone he used to work with, saying “they’ve been out of the game a long time but their identity is still attached to that watch.” The watch was up for auction in the first episode, and is in Echo’s apartment before Kate steals it. In addition, we see Clint’s wife Laura, played by Linda Cardellini (Freaks and Geeks, Dead to Me) doing recon on the Tracksuit Mafia and Sloane Ltd. and casually switching to German on a call with her husband. This is the first time we’ve seen Laura working with Clint, and it naturally raises some questions about her background.
After all, Laura is fully aware of Clint’s career as an agent and an assassin, and was shown to be close with family friend and Avenger Natasha Romanoff. And when the Avengers come to hide out in her country home in Age of Ultron, she barely bats an eye.
Fans are now theorizing that the watch belongs to Laura, and that Laura Barton is in fact S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Mockingbird. It would make sense, since the talented Cardellini has largely been wasted in the MCU. Aside from raising her kids in the country and dissolving into dust in the Snapture, Laura has little else going on. Maybe she gave up being a superspy to settle down and raise kids.
Laura as Mockingbird makes sense, as Mockingbird and Hawkeye are married in the comics, where they lead the West Coast Avengers (and eventually get divorced). The only hitch in the theory is the fact that Mockingbird was previously a recurring character on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Adrianne Palicki (The Orville, John Wick) played Bobbi Morse in seasons 2 and 3 of the series. And while AoS is MCU canon, there’s absolutely wiggle room for a reinvention of the character, especially since AoS wrapped its run last year. Oh, and AoS never used the name “Mockingbird” in the series, so the moniker is up for grabs.
Narratively, it would make the most sense for Laura to be the owner of the watch, and to have some sort of superhero/secret agent background. But maybe we’re overthinking it, as we tend to do with these Marvel Disney+ shows (until Mephisto finally shows up and validates our conspiracy theories).
After all, with only two episodes left, Hawkeye still has a lot to accomplish, what with bringing in Yelena Belova and wrapping up the central mystery of the series. And given that Jeremy Renner’s future in the MCU is up in the air (the actor hasn’t said whether or not he’ll return to the MCU), Laura’s may be as well.
What do you think? Does the Rolex belong to Laura and is she hiding a secret past? And is that past Mockingbird?
(image: Marvel Studios)
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