The MCU's Weakest Avengers Hero Is Marvel Zombies' Most Terrifying Character
This article contains spoilers for "Marvel Zombies" season 1.
Early on "Marvel Zombies," it becomes clear that superhero zombies are no ordinary undead. While some, like Captain America, are basically just very fast, strong, and tenacious versions of your typical zombie, there are others who manage to visually resemble classic George Romero undead when it comes to their mannerisms – but who nevertheless seem to retain every talent they had when they were alive. The end result is truly terrifying stuff, best exemplified by a surprising character: Zombie Hawkeye.
On, say, "The Walking Dead," someone like Hawkeye would be just another walker. In the "28 Days Later" film series, he'd be a very fit and fast rage virus zombie, but nevertheless just a rage virus zombie. Even on "The Last of Us," he'd be just another mushroom dude. But on "Marvel Zombies," he looks and behaves like a run-in-the-mill zombie yet still retains all of his skills. He can shoot arrows just like he did when he was alive, has enough intelligence and instinct left to seek out great vantage points, and can calculate angles well enough to send an arrow around the corner with at least three ricochets and still aim it accurately at a running character.
These aren't superpowers that function without him thinking, because Hawkeye has no superpowers in the first place. He simply seems to have every single skill he had while he was alive, only now he's dead, difficult to kill, and likely very eager to bite people.
Hawkeye is in a class of his own on Marvel Zombies
Sure, yeah, there are plenty of zombies here who are technically quite a bit more powerful than Hawkeye. However, pretty much all of them are either mindless powerhouses (who essentially behave like standard fast zombies) or possessed and evil versions of their usual selves puppeteered or otherwise controlled by Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), this universe's Queen of the Dead.
This makes Hawkeye stand out even more, because he's clearly a zombie zombie, with guttural undead growls and all. Yet, he remains in full control of all his well-honed archer-slash-spy-slash-assassin skills, which opens a whole can of terrifying, existential worms. How aware must Clint Barton be of his predicament to be able to function much like he did when he was alive, only with less dry humor? Surely, some semblance of remaining sentience would be necessary ... and also terrifying, considering that he's now a rotting husk of a human being.
The master archer isn't the only often overlooked hero "Marvel Zombies" puts in a spotlight, as the show also recasts Mahershala Ali's Blade with Todd Williams and makes him a major heroic character. Still, it's fitting that Hawkeye is the first superhero zombie the show introduces, and seeing him do his usual trick shots while also behaving like a standard zombie is a chilling sight that the series can't quite replicate no matter how many mindless powerhouses like Abomination and Namor it rolls out.
"Marvel Zombies" season 1 is now streaming on Disney+.