Is 'Hawkeye' Teasing the MCU Introduction of the West Coast Avengers?

Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers through Episode 2 of Hawkeye.

Who are the West Coast Avengers, and will they appear in the Marvel streaming series Hawkeye? There was a clever West Coast Avengers Easter egg in Episode 2 of Hawkeye. Eagle-eyed fans of the Marvel comics wondered if the Easter egg was foreshadowing the eventual appearance of the West Coast Avengers in the MCU.

In Episode 2 of Hawkeye, Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) takes Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) to her aunt Moira Brandon's apartment so they can hide after a run-in with the Tracksuit Mafia. Moira is a former movie star in the comics. She ends up selling her Los Angeles home to the West Coast Avengers, who turn it into their headquarters.

Many of the original Avengers were kidnapped during the events of the first Marvel Comics crossover event, The Secret Wars. Hawkeye was one of the first veteran Avengers to return to New York City after surviving the events of that arc. Hawkeye's fellow Avenger, Vision, had sensed that a new threat was on the horizon, and he felt it was vital to create a second team of Avengers. Vision appointed Hawkeye as the leader of the second Avengers team, which became known as the West Coast Avengers.

According to the Marvel Database, Hawkeye was responsible for finding the other founding members of the West Coast Avengers. They included Hawkeye's Marvel Comics wife Mockingbird, Tigra, Wonder Man, and Iron Man. Scarlet Witch would later join the team, as well as other characters like Spider-Woman, Moon Knight, Quicksilver, and more.

At one point during the tenure of the West Coast Avengers, the U.S government stepped in and appointed U.S. Agent (yes, the same U.S. Agent from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) as the new leader of the team. Hawkeye understandably quit as a result. After years of in-fighting and constant team change-ups, Captain America determined that the West Coast Avengers should be disbanded for good, per a report from IGN.

Given that Kate Bishop reassembled her own team of West Coast Avengers later on in the comics, we feel like Hawkeye could possibly tease the introduction of the team before the series ends. Jeremy Renner told BBC Radio via Comic Book Resources that he'd love for the West Coast Avengers to arrive in the MCU as well.

"[Clint Barton] was the head of the West Coast Avengers ... Like, I would personally love to see him be in that sort of Captain America leader role actually, which I think he would succeed in. Like calling the shots and doing these type of things, right?"

To quote a certain deceased and dusted mad Titan, a West Coast Avengers MCU introduction seems inevitable at this point. The big question is, will the team be led by Clint or Kate? We don't have all the answers yet, but while you're waiting, you can stream the first three episodes of Hawkeye on Disney Plus. New episodes drop Wednesdays.