How ‘Hawkeye’ Hit the Bullseye on Kate Bishop’s Queer Christmas Story

‘Hawkeye’ paid tribute to many popular holiday movie tropes. But the best Christmas story was Kate Bishop’s queer coming home for Christmas.

The first episode of the hit show Hawkeye introduced us to the MCU’s version of Kate Bishop. Played by the incredibly talented Hailee Steinfeld, the Hawkeye protégé was spontaneous, determined, and charming. And from the moment she showed up on screen in that black tuxedo, I knew this was the queer Christmas story I’d been waiting for.

Hawkeye premiered early Thanksgiving morning, but I wasn’t able to watch it until late that night. I spent most of the day in my car, driving to and from my hometown. It was my first time going home since I’d publicly changed my pronouns. Something I’d wanted– and needed– to do for years.

On the 2-hour car trip, I worked on managing my expectations. No, no one in my family would refer to me by my proper pronouns. And someone would definitely make a comment about what I was wearing. More than anything, I prepared myself for the out-of-body experience I equate with time spent with a family.

You see, I’m the only person in my family who’s queer. Coming out as bisexual means my family has stopped asking about my dating life. And they have a very simple understanding of gender, so I have to present as feminine as possible to avoid a headache.

So when I finally sat down with Hawkeye, I was blown away. I didn’t expect to go to sleep that night feeling so understood. But when Kate rejected the dress her mother chose for her in lieu of that black tux, I whooped out loud.

Earlier this week, the Hawkeye season finale made us laugh, made us cry, and made us express extreme opinions about that post-credits scene. And with all six episodes of the series fully aired, I can’t help but wonder… Did the writers intentionally write a wildly-relatable queer home-for-the-holidays story?

Kate Bishop is a Queer Fan-Favorite

In the comics, Kate is categorically straight. In many storylines, she’s a casual-sex queen, and all of her partners are men. But her close, intimate friendship with legendary comic book lesbian icon America Chavez has many fans sailing under the AmeriKate ship flag.

MCU characters are frequently different from their comic book counterparts. And that’s good. A fresh take on a character is often exactly what’s needed to bring a new level of magic to the screen.

While many aspects of Kate’s relationship with her mother are comic book canon, certain details of the show were pretty unique. Like Kate’s affinity for tuxedos and suits.

In the first episode of Hawkeye, Eleanor greets Kate as soon as she arrives home for the holidays. The two do some back-and-forth, discussing Kate’s most recent incident of acting out. She then tells Kate that there’s a red dress to match her own laid out on the bed.

In this scene, we immediately see that Eleanor has some performative expectations from her daughter, Kate. And when Kate arrives in an all-black tuxedo, we get the feeling that her mother’s expectations come with some gender baggage, too.

This is confirmed in a later scene when Kate wears a suit-jacket and her mother asks, “What are you wearing?!” Yikes. I’ve been there, Kate.

Eleanor & Kate Bishop’s Relationship

Performance seems to be a big theme for this mother and daughter. From the go, it’s apparent that the two are lying to each other. Kate hides her hero activities with Clint, and meanwhile, Eleanor lies to Kate about her criminal activities.

As the investigation into her mother’s fiancé intensifies, Kate feels compelled to come clean with her mother. And while Eleanor’s initial reaction seems to be acceptance, Kate will soon feel betrayed when she realizes that it was her mother doin’ big crime all along.

Dynamically, this struck a queer cord with me. It’s not uncommon for LGBTQ children to come out to their parents and be told that they are accepted and loved. But when it comes time for their kids to outwardly express their sexuality or gender identity, a parent’s bias can start to show. Eleanor’s lip service feels very reminiscent of this experience between some parents and their queer children.

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

Queer Kate Bishop & Her Found Family

Another aspect of Kate and Eleanor’s relationship that stood out to me was the contrast between Kate with her biological family and Kate hanging out with Clint in episode 4.

As Jack and Eleanor get cuddly, there’s almost a genuine moment of family bonding between Kate and her mother. In fact, Kate seems to be happy– for a moment. But she’s still detached from the affection that’s happening around her. And when Jack suggests they play a game as a family, the scene cuts, giving the impression that talking about family brought to mind a person Kate isn’t related to at all.

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

So Kate shows up at her aunt’s house where Clint and Lucky are laying low. She brings Christmas movies and other fun games, and the two share some frozen boozy drinks and quality family time.

Found families are a really common thing for queer folks. For those who feel misunderstood or shunned by their biological family, forming a “logical” family with friends is incredibly common. Hawkeye makes it clear that Clint and Lucky are Kate’s logical family. In fact, the season finale ends with Kate joining Clint’s family for their Christmas celebration.

And after the professional-level gaslighting Eleanor lays on Kate as she’s being arrested, it’s clear that Kate’s family instincts are stronger by the end of this story arc.

“Is this what heroes do, arrest their mothers on Christmas?”

Oof. Eleanor could write an instruction manual on narcissistic parenting.

Will Kate Come Out? Or is the MCU Just Queerbaiting?

This section has spoilers for ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’. If you haven’t seen it yet, I am surprised you’re even on the internet. Get thee to a theater!

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

As far as Kate’s sexual orientation goes, Hawkeye doesn’t leave much room in the script for romance. Still, that didn’t stop sparks from flying between Kate Bishop and Natasha’s little sister, Yelena Belova. All it took was some delightful banter and one delicious pot of mac n’ cheese for fans to ask Marvel to give these two gals a chance at love.

And after more than 25 movies and several popular series, the MCU is finally showing some LGBTQ representation. In The Eternals, Phastos and his husband shared Marvel’s first on-screen gay kiss. And the introduction of America Chavez during the No Way Home end credits has fans hopeful that the teenager will be the MCU’s first lesbian hero.

In the first season of Loki, Tom Hiddleston’s trickster god confirms that he’s bisexual, although it’s just mentioned in passing. And while Loki’s story has some pretty forward-thinking parallels of its own, it doesn’t speak to any deeply queer experiences.

Not the way Kate’s story does, anyway.

We won’t know if Kate Bishop’s queerness will be acknowledged and explored until trailers for season 2 start coming out. Her arc in the first season made plenty of space for her atypical expression of gender– again, grade-A suit game, Kate. But this story didn’t leave a lot of room for a queer romance.

But for season 2? Season 2 better see some Kate and Yelena smoochy time.

Representation matters. I know representation matters because Kate’s character arc spoke to me. And at a time of year that can be really difficult for displaced LGBTQ folks, seeing my own experiences reflected in one of my favorite Marvel shows was a gift to me. And I’m willing to bet was for other LGBTQ fans, too.

This holiday season can be a rough time for LBGTQ kids. If you want to help, consider donating to The Trevor Project, which provides mental health support for queer kids in crisis.

Author: Danni Danger

Danni is a staff writer and editor whose expertise lies in comic books, superhero movies, science fiction/fantasy, horror, and cheesy dad jokes. They spent 8 glorious years working at Austin Books & Comics, and created content for almost 15 years. They've written for the Daily Dot and made YouTube content with the Weirdlings. Danni currently does all the things for BoLS, Screen Fanatic, and TheStreet.