Hawkeye: Upcoming Disney+ Show’s Villain REVEALED!

Though the year 2020 might not be Marvel’s year for lack of major releases, the multi-billion dollar studio along with the House of the Mouse has been making strides in the television industry. With the launch of Disney+ online streaming platform, upcoming Marvel shows have been rapidly making progress. With Ms. Marvel getting acclaimed writers and directors to She-Hulk confirming lead actress, Disney+ means business. And now, the Jeremy Renner starring Hawkeye has made a major revelation too.

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According to The Direct, the upcoming Hawkeye show will feature a popular supervillain from the comics. Though originally a nemesis and romantic interest of Iron Man, the character has faced off the Golden Archer and his protégé Kate Bishop a few times too. A skilled hand-to-hand combatant, Giuletta Nefaria is here to spell trouble for the archer duo. For the ones unaware, Giuletta Nefaria is more commonly known as Madame Masque.

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Though she doesn’t possess any superhuman gifts, Madame Masque has peak human conditioning and is lethal with firearms. The daughter of criminal mastermind Count Luchino Nefaria, Giuletta Nefaria was brought up by Byron and Loretta Frost as Whitney Frost.

When she attained the right age, her biological father Count Luchino Nefaria made her the head of the Maggia, a criminal organization based on the East Coast of America. An exceptional strategist, the Maggia grew leaps and bounds under the leadership of Giuletta Nefaria. As a result, she found herself at odds with the Armored Avenger.

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In the subsequent events, Giuletta Nefaria was caught in a plane crash that left her face disfigured. As a result, she wore a golden mask to hide her scars and ultimately chose the moniker of Madame Masque. The mask can deflect bullets without harming her.

In the comics, Madame Masque has had her run-ins with Hawkeye and Kate Bishop too. In the fictional Madripoor, an island located in Southeast Asia, a video of Hawkeye committing an illegal assassination was taped and made available for auction. To retrieve the tape, Hawkeye went in only to get captured. But eventually, he was rescued by Kate Bishop, who bested Madame Masque and took her identity.

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After the events of Madripoor, Kate Bishop and Madame Masque became arch-enemies. Madame Masque has tried numerous times to get rid of Hawkeye’s protégé at various locations. In Los Angeles, Kate Bishop investigated the Life-Model Decoy illegal operations of Madame Masque which was used to extend lifespan. Her discovery and the ensuing fight led to Madame Masque’s arrest by S.H.I.E.L.D. Interestingly, Madripoor will feature in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, another upcoming Disney+ show.

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The intense rivalry between Kate Bishop and Giuletta Nefaria surely paves an interesting premise for the upcoming show to explore. According to other sources, the show will also tackle the Tracksuit Mafia and Hawkeye’s brother, Trick Shot.

Previously, Whitney Frost has made her appearance in Marvel’s Agent Carter, where she was played by Wynn Everett. However, it is safe to assume that the upcoming Disney+ show will be looking for a new actress to fill that role.

With the inclusion of Madame Masque as a villain and her past history with Kate Bishop in the comics surely ensures an exciting future for the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Young Avengers. As the show will spend a lot of time in developing the Golden Archer’s protégé and uncovering a few skeletons from Hawkeye’s mysterious closet, Hawkeye can be an absolute treat for long time fans of the master archer.

Though most of the story is currently being kept tightly under wraps, sources have reported that Hawkeye will take a few inspirations from Matt Fraction’s critically acclaimed graphic novel Hawkeye (2015).

Scheduled to release somewhere in 2022, Hawkeye will enter production in a few months.