8. Hawkeye (Disney+: 2021)
Hawkeye hasn’t had the reality-shifting implications of WandaVision or Loki, or the heavy weight of responsibility hanging over its head like The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. But it’s found its own way to be fun and relevant in the increasingly crowded Marvel section of Disney+ by embracing what makes its eponymous Avenger work in the movies: not necessarily lower stakes, but human stakes faced by a guy who is very much a human. Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) knows that what he does is dangerous and silly, but he does it because it’s his duty as a good guy (even when he’s not an especially good guy). That’s a lesson that he inadvertently passes down to his new ward/partner/best friend Kate Bishop, played with delightful enthusiasm by Hailee Steinfeld, who—in her own journey to become one—reminds Clint what being a superhero means. (And that’s all without mentioning the show’s exciting nods to Netflix’s Daredevil.) [Sam Barsanti]
