Marvel's Avengers Kate Bishop, Hawkeye, and what you need to know about Taking AIM

The first War Table livestream since the Marvel's Avengers early access launch gave us our first taste of what the game's post-launch missions might look like.

While weekly events like the raid-like Secret Lab and the survival-focused Mega Hives were shown off, the livestream also offered a surprising reveal for an upcoming Operation called "Taking AIM." This is the first post-launch Operation that includes new story-focused missions that also introduces new characters into the mix.

Here's everything you need to know about the Taking AIM Operation in Marvel's Avengers, including the game's first post-launch playable hero.

Who is the first Marvel's Avengers DLC character?

Taking AIM will introduce the first post-launch characters to Marvel's Avengers. While Hawkeye was previously teased as the first DLC character in the pipeline, it's actually his protege Kate Bishop that will be playable first.

Taking AIM will kick off when Kate Bishop visits the Avengers in a new faction location called SHIELD Substation Zero.

That makes her the first post-launch hero in Marvel's Avengers. The press release revealing Taking AIM teases that Kate Bishop "comes with distinct Heroic Skills and takedowns that only an Olympic-caliber gymnast and master archer like Kate can pull off." For those unfamiliar with the character, Kate Bishop is Hawkeye's protege who first popped up alongside the Young Avengers in the mid-2000s.

She's playful, but a bit more mature than the easy-going Clint Barton. These two characters were extremely important to Matt Fraction's comic book run on Hawkeye, which Crystal Dynamics has previously said it is drawing a lot of inspiration from, so it makes sense that she would play a major part as Hawkeye is introduced to Marvel's Avengers.

What is the Taking AIM story?

Kate Bishop asks for help from the Avengers in tracking down what happened to Hawkeye, who entered a mysterious portal for AIM after he was caught investigating the whereabouts of Nick Fury and a mysterious Tachyon project. This Operation directly follows up the narrative from the core Marvel's Avengers campaign and is the first part of a new narrative that will gradually introduce new heroes, regions, and even a new villain after MODOK.

"Taking AIM" and the next post-launch Operation that will add Hawkeye are essentially a two-part story, with Crystal Dynamics calling "Taking AIM" the first half of that larger story about the two Hawkeye characters. Overall, this plot will also "lay the groundwork for what’s next" as the post-launch story of Marvel's Avengers continues.

When is the Marvel's Avengers Taking AIM release date?

While Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix didn't share a specific date, a press release did give a window for when players can expect Kate Bishop and Taking AIM to be added. This new Operation will kick off in late October, so players will have some time to work their way through all of the story content that's already in Marvel's Avengers.

Taking AIM is only the first half of the Hawkeye story arc apparently, and Square Enix has already teased that Hawkeye's Operation and release will happen sometime in November. As Marvel's Avengers is coming out for PS5 and Xbox Series X, it wouldn't be surprising if Kate and Clint's story concludes around the same time as the release of the next-gen consoles.

How much will Taking Aim and Kate Bishop cost?

For those that have already bought Marvel's Avengers, Operations like Taking Aim and new heroes like Kate Bishop will be free. While the game does feature microtransactions, Square Enix has ensured that post-launch additions will cost $0. That said, one kind of microtransaction is tied to Kate Bishop.

Every hero has a Challenge Card, which works like battle passes you'd find in Call of Duty or Fortnite. Players complete objectives to earn Credits, nameplates, and other cosmetics based on the character they are playing. While these Challenge Cards are free for all six heroes in the base game, the Challenge Cards for post-launch characters will cost 1,000 credits, which costs about $10.

If you don't spend credits on anything else in-game and play the game enough, you should have enough to pick up Kate Bishop once she is added. Those who don't hoard their Credit may have to spend some more money if they want to get the Challenge Cards for new characters, however.

Marvel's Avengers will be released on September 4, 2020.