WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the first two episodes of Hawkeye, now streaming on Disney+.
Trailers for Hawkeye ahead of its debut on Disney+ teased that the titular character would end up attending an unlikely reminder of his past glories -- namely, a musical dedicated to the life of his former teammate, Captain America. But not even those trailers could have prepared audiences for the sheer over-the-top nature of the in-universe production.
Rogers: The Musical is one of the goofiest concepts to ever appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe -- and should be incredibly polarizing in-universe, considering the horrific subject matter that it reimagines as poppy Broadway show tunes.
During the first episode of Hawkeye, Clint and his three children -- Cooper, Lila and Nathaniel -- spend time together in New York City to celebrate the holiday season. Along the way, they end up checking out a Broadway show -- specifically, Rogers: The Musical. Teased in trailers for the series, the theatrical production is as ridiculously cheesy and casually demeaning as it could possibly be. Only one musical number is shown to the audience, recreating the climactic Battle of New York from the first Avengers. The actors rush around the stage in simplified versions of the superheroes' costumes, singing along with background dancers while acting out the battle and openly annoying the former Avenger in the audience.
Notably, the musical seems to have taken some liberties with the events of the battle. The Avengers are shown hopping around the stage and avoiding much of the death and destruction that defined that conflict. Hawkeye is more or less treated with the same level of importance as one of the background dancers, drawing attention to how the heroic archer was more or less an afterthought to the world at large compared to the likes of Captain America, Thor and Iron Man. Black Widow cartwheels on stage to a lyric about how she's the team's "eye-candy" -- severely underplaying the important role she played during the overall conflict against Loki and the Chitauri Army. Meanwhile, Ant-Man is seen on stage as one of the "Avengers" who saved the day, despite Scott Lang not even being Ant-Man yet.
What makes this goofy, over-the-top show so strange is how the Battle of New York has otherwise been portrayed in the history of the MCU -- a horrifying event similar to the 9/11 attacks. The conflict was a major source of PTSD for heroes like Iron Man and set the stage for figures like the Vulture to become more fearsome forces. The Battle of New York was a crisis that led to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damages across New York City, resulted in numerous civilian deaths and was the first true sign that aliens exist and could invade at any point, suddenly forcing the entire world to reevaluate their place in the universe. And now, there's a goofy musical about that infamous day that features an actor painted green who gets to crush goofy blocks.
It makes sense that the Battle of New York is a foundational moment in the in-universe history of the MCU, it's just surprising to see aspects of it recreated as part of a silly musical. It also speaks to the strange place the Avengers find themselves in within this world, as multiple background gags throughout the first two episodes of Hawkeye -- extending from theatrical posters to television commercials, with children even attending the show in-costume as the Avengers -- suggest the musical is a smash on Broadway. The idea of an entire musical dedicated to Captain America is a ridiculous concept all on its own, but the fact that it's seemingly beloved in-universe while trivializing one of the world's most horrifying events adds another bonkers level to the entire proceeding.
To see Rogers: The Musical in all its ridiculous glory, the first two episodes of Hawkeye are available to stream on Disney+.
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