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What SPOILER’s Appearance in Hawkeye Could Mean

In the fifth episode of Hawkeye we got to see new and old sides of multiple characters. After sacrificing his Christmas at home to help out his new ally Kate Bishop, our hero Clint Barton finds himself plagued by ghosts of Ronin’s past. Since episode one we have been getting hints at a certain crime lord who Clint Barton, acting as Ronin, had dealt with during the MCU’s “Blip” period. Little is known about the 5 years in which half of all life was taken out of the universe, especially from the street level, though we got a peek at how rampant crime had become when we first saw Ronin in the movie “Avengers: EndGame”. It is very easy to see how a world that ravaged by crime could create a fearsome opponent for any street level hero. However after weeks of speculation, fans finally got their big reveal in the closing moments of the fifth episode.

SPOILERS TO FOLLOW. TURN BACK NOW IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED THE FIRST FIVE EPISODES OF HAWKEYE ON DISNEY+

That’s right folks, after a month or more of speculation, it is official. Wilson Fisk, also known as “The Kingpin”, is indeed the man who scares Clint Barton so much throughout this entire series. Reprising his role, in all his menacing glory, is none other than Vincent D’Onofrio. For three seasons D’Onofrio managed to instill fear into the hearts of many as The Kingpin, and many fans are now wondering what his introduction means for the character.

We know now that Wilson Fisk was present during the “Blip”, which means his entrance into the MCU has nothing to do with the multiverse fun of the upcoming “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, but does that mean this is not the same version of Wilson Fisk we know from the Netflix “Dare Devil” series? Either this is a different Wilson Fisk, ever present in the MCU, who has managed to stay mostly in the shadows for all of these years, or this is Marvel’s way of telling fans that the Netflix Series featuring Marvel Comics characters are now being considered cannon to the MCU.

If this is Marvel adopting the timeline of the Netflix shows into it’s own, that could signify that many more heroes are about to appear in upcoming Films and Shows. Speculation that Charlie Cox, who played the Dare Devil himself Matt Murdock, will appear in the upcoming “Spider-Man: No Way Home” film has only had fuel added to it’s fire as Marvel Executives recently announced that their pick for a future return of that hero would indeed be Charlie Cox. Could we also be in for a Punisher return from John Bernthal, or perhaps more of that universe? Or is this just Marvel adopting actors to remake these characters in a new direction? Only time will tell.

The Final Episode of Marvel’s Hawkeye will premiere on Wednesday December 22nd, just in time for Christmas. Are you excited to see our Kingpin return to the screen? Let us know.

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Welcome to The Hero Watch

Your complete Hero news source

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.

Welcome to your source for all things news regarding Super Heroes. Movies, comics, television and video games. And did I mention we will be keeping my personal political beliefs out of things? That’s right, no forced agendas here. That was the motivation for all of this. Just the news and nothing more.

Thanks for checking it out,

-Aaron

Where To Start Reading Spider-Man

If you’ve ever attempted to start reading Spider-Man, you’ll know its a long and grueling task just to decide where to jump in. There are decades worth of comics featuring the Web-Slinger out now, and since Marvel comics use a rolling continuity, the universe has never had a true reboot. This makes it extremely difficult to decide just what issue is a good start, and not the middle of an ongoing run. That’s why today I’m bringing you exactly what you need to know to jump in.

First thing is first. You need to decide what you’re looking for in your journey. You can jump into Peter Parker’s story in a couple different spots and get a good experience, or you can read from the beginning of his story starting at a couple of different points. We will start with the origins first.

The important thing here is whether you’re looking to read nearly one thousand issues, or just a couple hundred to get caught up. Marvel comics decided, in 2000, that they wanted to create a new universe to start some stories over again in a more modern setting. This new Universe was labeled the “Ultimate” universe, giving us new versions, in some ways, of our favorite characters. The best part about starting Peter’s journey here is that the Ultimate Comics rarely waste time on “filler”. The story is stream-lined in a way that allows nearly no room for slow points. It moves quickly and introduces you to the brand new origins of most Villains you’ve come to know and love. The main narrative of the story remains the same as it was in its original state, leaving just enough room to make it feel new and exciting. It will give you a good amount of reading, however this version of Peter Parker won’t make it into the new Universe post Secret Wars(2015).

The other way to get into the story from the beginning is going all the way back. That’s right, you can always go back to 1962 when Spider-Man was First introduced in “Amazing Fantasy” #15, and then continue reading in “Amazing Spider-Man” #1 from 1963. This is the lengthy route, and without Marvel Unlimited it is unlikely you’ll be able to read it all. If you can however, you’re in for nearly 1000 issues of Peter Parker in all his glory. From the first bite to where his story currently resides in the new Universe Post Secret Wars. The beauty of reading the entirety of his story here is that it will give you the absolute best and worst. From the clone sagas that people despise, to the truly great stories like “Vengeance Of Venom”. However if you’re planning to go that route, I don’t think you’ll need much help from this guide. So lets move on to where you can jump in to some more modern stories from the original 616 universe.

Can BatWoman Survive the Trolls?

In an age where shady marketing and alienation of fan-bases are a common trope, is CW’s new Batwoman receiving undue backlash?

It seems like everywhere you look, you’ll see another movie or reboot being pushed with an obvious tilt on the political spectrum. Often times these tilts lead to fans feeling alienated, or that the changes or agendas put into the final product don’t serve the story in any way. This has created quite a strong “counter culture” of fans that have had enough. However this doesn’t stretch to every piece of media, and sometimes the backlash a series or film gets from online “fans” is out of left field. Does this mean they are horrible people, worthy of such horrible titles normally stuck on anyone who doesn’t like something the masses want? Of course not. However they may be bashing things for the wrong reasons all the same.

So in an age of justified anger, is Batwoman any different? Yes. Most people who speak out so strongly against the show are, for the most part, still just angered with the trailers. Now I’ll be the first to admit, even as an avid comic reader who has enjoyed the character of Kate Kane quite a lot over her near decade in print, the trailers made me nervous. Nothing about them screamed “watch me” to anyone other than late teen to early twenties women. And to be fair, that’s completely fine. To each their own, not everything is for me. However fans of “The Arrowverse” lineup voiced their disliking of the trailers very loudly. And believe it or not, for the most part, they were heard.

If you’ve watched the show you’ll know only one of the two scenes from the trailer, that caused the uproar, has made it into the show. This was a willing change on the part of the producers and directors. Thus far they have ensured that there was barely a single moment where anyone would feel alienated. Disliking the slower buildup, the changes to comic accuracy in ages between her and Bruce, or even the Gotham post-Batman is fine. However that is rarely what we see. At this rate the show will tank simply because those who never got over the trailer can’t give it a shot. So far it is arguably the most interesting arrowverse show this season, and with any luck it won’t be going anywhere. That won’t be the case for long if the silent majority, who enjoy it, don’t speak up in its defense. And not with “Oh you’re a misogynist”, or “You’re just homophobic”. Counter the trolls with good points that defend the filmography and writing of the show. Don’t virtue signal, they prey on that. Just battle them with intelligence. They’ll hate it.

Remember the true enemy. Forget Crisis, worry about the trolls.

How To Start Reading DC Comics

Over the years comics have reached a new level of popularity. As these books have progressed, however, its become an ever more daunting task for new readers to jump in. So whether you are a veteran reader who fell off for a few years, or a fresh reader looking to start a journey, this article will provide you the best starting point for reading DC Comics.

Now if you were to ask one of the “old-guard” comic readers where to start reading “Batman”, you’d probably get mixed answers at best. Most of them haven’t been a new reader in so long, they have forgotten the woes of finding a good starting point. For the most part they would probably point you to iconic story runs like “The Dark Knight Returns”, “Court Of The Owls” or a number of other great stories. However that’s about where you’ll also be ending your journey if that is your only guidance. These are stories that, while once part of continuity, for the most part aren’t even referenced in main-line continuity.

So then your next question you might have is, “well where should I start if I want to read something meaningful to the current universe?”, and for that I point you to DC’s “Rebirth”. Whether it be “Batman”, “The Flash” or even “Green Arrow”, Rebirth is the perfect place to jump in. The main Rebirth event that kicked off current comic continuity back in 2016 is not only the beginning of our story, it also features most of DC’s main lineup of heroes. While this wasn’t a complete reboot of the timeline established in “The New 52” comic run that went from 2011 to 2016, it was a good “soft Retcon” event that allowed for DC to combine all the best parts of the comics and throw out the confusing or disliked plots fans had been asking them to drop.

So pick up “Rebirth” and go from there. If you like a character in that run, go jump into that character’s comic run. Rebirth still remains the current continuity, though the comics have adopted the name “DC Universe” instead of “DC Rebirth”, and this allows you to read through the stories knowing that when you get caught up, you’ll actually be caught up. The issue with going back to comic runs like silver age or the New 52 is that, while they may have been great times for comics, they simply don’t matter anymore. You won’t get a good sense of the personality a character has now if you read older comics, as most characters have progressed or changed completely through different reboots and events.

The best part is once you start reading through a character run, they will often have crossovers with others that you may find interesting. Start “Flash-2016” comic run and you are almost immediately introduced to the story of the old Wally West, one that you can follow over to “Titans-2016” and continue there which is a great way to get involved in other heroes. If you start here you will be given over 60 issues for most heroes before you are caught up with the current releases. This is great as it gives you a good backlog to read through and enjoy in one run without the wait, but it isn’t so many issues you’ll feel as if you just cannot ever get through it all.

So long story short, don’t go searching for those iconic stories until you’ve gotten a grasp for how DC comic runs work and know your characters. Stick to current runs and jump in at the beginning of it all. Rebirth is your go-to for comics that actively matter in the grand scheme of things. And above all, just have fun with it. These stories are an escape and no matter what hero you start with, you’ll be in for a long adventure.