Hawkeye is aiming to make his mark on a new corner of the Marvel Universe.
A young version of the hero will debut on Friday’s episode of the children’s animated series Iron Man and his Awesome Friends, and The Hollywood Reporter has the first look at his introduction.
Actor Nick A. Fisher voices Hawkeye in the episode, “The Tale of Hawkeye,” which introduces the hero to help catch a mysterious thief. It will air on Disney Jr. Friday, before bowing on Disney+ on Nov. 12.
Animated series have long been key entry points for Marvel as it seeks to recruit young viewers, who ideally, will grow up to be lifelong fans, and could even become future creators. It’s not unheard of for Marvel to meet with filmmakers and writers who cite 1990s animated X-Men and Spider-Man series as touchpoints, for example. Those series in turn helped pave the way for the popularity of the live-action X-Men and Spider-Man movies of the early 2000s.
Iron Man and His Awesome Friends debuted in August and is Marvel’s second pre-school aged show, following Spidey and His Amazing Friends.
In a July roundtable with reporters, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige revealed that Avengers: Endgame and Spidey and His Amazing Friends were the two most popular Marvel properties on Disney+. “Kids know these characters from that — and they grow into them,” Feige said of the show, noting Marvel’s stories can traverse ages. That’s how you can have the Green Goblin building Snowmen on the Spidey show, and killing Aunt May in the PG-13 movie Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Iron Man and His Awesome Friends centers on Iron Man (Mason Blomberg), Ironheart (Kapri Ladd) and Iron Hulk (Iron Hulk). It hails from executive producers Sean Coyle and Harrison Wilcox and features a theme song from Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus.
