Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) has been living in Venice Beach, Los Angeles since the 2016 Hawkeye series in which she was the headline star with Hawkeye (Clint Barton) sometimes joining her. She ran HawkEye Investigations, and its office became the HQ of the newest version of the West Coast Avengers in their 2018 series, which included both Hawkeye's. Clint has since gone his own way with another of his own mini-series and apps with the likes of Avengers and Black Widow.
Now her old Young Avengers comrades America Chavez and Cassie Lang are nagging her to return to New York (where she began superhero-wise in YA), but she's putting off agreeing by investigating an attempted break-in. However their insistent calls alert her targets and she has to fight several balaclava'd baddies with normal pointy arrows as well as the odd trick shot like a bolo arrow. While athletically leaping around she considers that she's already loosened her ties to LA because her boyfriend Johnny Watts has downgraded to just friends. An extra complication is that her friend, Johnny's sister Ramone, was also America's girlfriend.
As she often does Kate's inserted herself into a case being investigated by Det Rivera of the LAPD. The cops are watching the target building but on a hunch Hawkeye had checked the gang weren't breaking in from the building next door. They've rigged explosives to blast a hole in the wall, and in an attempt to disarm the device with an arrow she accidentally sets it off. She quickly traps the gang with net and adhesive arrows and leaves a note for Rivera.
She texts America to say she's coming to NY but she's going via a detour to handle another case which she's just decided to take. Back at HawkEye Investigations she picks up the invitation from the Resort Chapiteau on Long Island to the Honourable Kate Bishop, which she figures is a trap. But she'll take Lucky (the dog she 'inherited' from Clint) and see what happens. She leaves a note for Ramone & Johnny but they catch her outside and give her a personal send-off.
On the flight she gets messages of welcome from America, Cassie, Clint and Jessica Jones. America tells her to forget the case, and Jessica offers her work in Alias Investigations. Kate tells them about Resort Chapiteau just in case it *is* a trap.
She arrives at the luxury hotel in the Hamptons with swimming pool and tennis court. She has to leave her bag with the greeter to run after Lucky who's chasing a ball which turns out to be thrown by Kate's sister Susan Bishop. Susan wanted to talk to her alone. She'd arranged the invite without signing it because Kate might not have wanted to see her. Their estrangement dates all the way back to the Young Avengers who interrupted Susan's wedding (to save them from armed robbers). She never approved of her sister becoming a superhero, and turned a blind eye to their father's shady business practices.
We learn that Susan's now divorced after she took over their dad's business. She came to the resort 2 weeks ago for a needed break. But when she left 3 days later she had scratches and her clothes were a little charred and she can't remember how that happened. And it took her a week to realise that her signet ring had been replaced with a plain brass 1. Now she tells her sister that it's vital she gets the ring back.
They are approached by 2 menacing bouncers and a top-hatted juggler. Susan quickly fastens a bracelet on Kate's wrist (and we notice that she's wearing 1 like it). The goons back off when they see the wristband which obviously signifies that Kate's a guest. When they're gone her sister tells her its a fake (which will presumably be significant later).
Then they hear a scream from a woman who says her little daughter Kennedy has gone. Her jacket is stuck on a railing around the estate. Kate leaps up to check it out. But when staff arrive they act roughly, pushing Susan to the ground. Kate displays her PI license. And we see blood on Kennedy's sleeve.
A female is watching the proceedings via security cameras. She has a bracelet threaded through several rings. (Narrativium of course decrees that 1 of them is Susan's.) Someone asks her if she wants to continue with the experiment. She tells them to keep going, and welcomes Hawkeye to the 'circus'.