Well, now that we've been watching the Hawkeye show for a couple of weeks, it's time to talk about a big fan theory that has a certain segment of Marvel TV fans buzzing. While it is unfortunate that Yelena Belova (who appeared in Hawkeye episode 4) is not in the show, this rumor has some tension on the bowstring.

Spoiler alert: This piece discusses a major plot point in Hawkeye episode 3.

If you didn't know, there is a theory that the Kingpin will return to Marvel TV and make his first appearance in a main MCU episode. And, not to be a spoiler, but Hawkeye episode 5 gets us excited for MCU Phase 4.

Yes, a short time after Wander Vision teased that Fox's Quicksilver would appear in the MCU, fans are thinking that Netflix's Kingpin will make an appearance. When news broke that Daredevil, played by Charlie Cox, would appear in the MCU, the rumor gained even more truth.

And by our logic, he could be a key figure in the upcoming Marvel series.

Ever since Marvel and Netflix went their separate ways, there have been requests to bring "Daredevil," "Jessica Jones," "Luke Cage," and (yes, really) "Iron Fist" to the MCU. Yes, the actors who played them will be on the screen.

Believe me: I often talk to one of the biggest fans of the "#SaveDaredevil" school, and his passion is real.

And while these folks have been starving for a while, they got a bite to nibble on the first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home. There, while Peter Parker was being interrogated, the above moment was seen, with evidence being placed in the police station office by someone fans wanted to believe was Matt Murdock.

Does Parker have a public defender from Hell's Kitchen, as the IMAX trailer revealed was not the case in this scene, but that has not lessened the demand from fans eager to see the "Defenders" series character return to the MCU . This naturally led to conversations of people wondering when Marvel would reclaim the contractual rights to these characters.

After relations with Netflix soured, Marvel had to wait until it could legally use the characters in its TV shows; ComicBookMovie's Josh Wilding cracked all the dates. The rights to use the Daredevil characters, including the Kingpin, were officially made available by Marvel starting in November 2020.

Then, on September 14, the day after the first Hawkeye trailer hit, Vincent D'Onofrio tweeted a poem about dogs, surprising fans by asking if he was referring to Hawkeye's pizza dog Lucky.

However, D'Onofrio's November 17 tweet quoted and tweeted a 20-second clip of the show posted by the Marvel Studios account, saying, "This is going to be fun," revealing that he was talking about the Marvel and Disney Plus "Hawkeye" show. I love this @Marvel series."

Yes, this is not even close to confirmation, but it is doubtful that he would directly admit all of this when his role in the Marvel television world is no longer publicly known. Perhaps he likes to build up fans' anticipation (GamesRadar "liked" the actor's tweet with messages such as "The King returns to Hawkeye!" ), or maybe he actually does.

But as any Marvel Comics fan will tell you, the reason to believe that the Kingpin is coming to the MCU is the arrival of Echo/Maya Lopez. Echo, played by Alacqua Cox (Darnell Besaw in the young Maya scene), is the leader of the tracksuit mafia who has been fighting Ronin long before Kate Bishop came on the scene.

In episode 3, as we learn more about Echo, her story and dialogue hint at the existence of an unseen figure that even she fears. There seems to be an "uncle," according to Kazi, and we find out when she and Lopez are talking in the back.

It is implied that it is probably the same uncle who drove young Maya home after her martial arts class, the shadowy figure who touched her cheek. It is definitely not her father, William Lopez, who was killed by Ronin. And fans think they know who he is.

In the comics, Kingpin/Wilson Fisk killed Willie "Crazy Horse" Lincoln (renamed Maya's father on the show), who asked Kingpin to raise Maya before he died. And he did. With the money, Kingpin nurtured Maya's talents in a way her father never could.

And fans had reason to believe that Kingpin was Echo's "uncle" in the MCU.

But things got even more interesting when Clint Barton told Kate Bishop that there was a man at the top and he would do anything to make the operation bigger. After Kate asked for more details, he said, "No, there is someone above Maya. It's someone you don't want to mess with."

Of course, fans caught those references and that moment between Maya and the unseen forces of her childhood.

And we wait. How long will it be before the identity of Maya's uncle is revealed? Is it the kingpin? Is it someone else? Is it Jack Duquesne (the villainous Swordsman in the comics)? We will all find out together.

Marvel Studios broke the news on Disney Plus Day that the Echo series is coming to Disney Plus. Will this be the place for D'Onofrio to further his power as Wilson Fisk? Only time will tell.