Marvel’s ‘Echo’ Series Is More Important Than Just Reintroducing Daredevil

Yesterday, Marvel shared the first image and plot synopsis for the upcoming Echo series for Disney+. A spinoff of the character introduced in Hawkeye, the series will follow Alaqua Cox’s Echo/Maya Lopez as she reconnects with her Native American roots. The series is an exciting development, since Cox was amazing in Hawkeye, but when the cast was announced, a huge chunk of the internet focused on only one thing: Daredevil.

It was leaked back in April that Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil would return in the Echo series, so when the image was released, #Daredevil started trending on Twitter. When clicking on the topic, there are was even one person saying “we’re only here for matt murdock lol” and plenty of folks wanting to see Murdock interact with not only Echo, but fellow lawyer Jennifer Walters in the She-Hulk show.

I want Daredevil to be back as much as any Marvel fan. Charlie Cox was great in the Netflix series, and I think that, despite some missteps (cough Defenders cough), those Netflix series especially seem more compelling in the face of some of the middling current Disney+ Marvel stuff—except Iron Fist, obviously. But that doesn’t mean he should overshadow this show’s title character. Echo will be the first Marvel show focusing on a Native American, deaf lead character, not to mention Alaqua Cox is also deaf and an amputee doing her own stunts. She was fantastic on Hawkeye and, in her debut role, brought so much charisma and power to the performance.

Maya Lopez, in the comics, is the adoptive daughter of Kingpin, of the Cheyenne Nation, and also deaf. The character first appeared in Daredevil #9 back in 1999 and was created by writer David Mack and artist Joe Quesada. Maya is an Olympic-level athlete and can use her “photographic reflexes” to copy other fighting styles, perfectly echoing other people’s skills. This has included Bullseyes’s aim and Daredevil’s acrobatic abilities after studying tapes of the two. Basically, she’s a human badass who manages to even become the new host of the Phoenix Force at one point.

From what has been shared by Marvel, there will be a lot of Native talent involved in this project, and considering the constant infringement on Native rights, hopefully, this can shine a light on some of those issues. This is Maya/Echo’s show, and I’m so excited to see how much ass she kicks. Marvel has a poor track record of appreciating female talent, but I hope this will be different.

Streaming exclusively on Disney, the origin story of Echo revisits Maya Lopez, whose ruthless behavior in New York City catches up with her in her hometown. She must face her past, reconnect with her Native American roots and embrace the meaning of family and community if she ever hopes to move forward. Echo also stars Chaske Spencer (Wild Indian, The English), Tantoo Cardinal (Killers of the Flower Moon, Stumptown), Devery Jacobs (FX’s Reservation Dogs, American Gods) and Cody Lightning (Hey, Viktor!, Four Sheets to the Wind), with Graham Greene (1883, Goliath) and Zahn McClarnon (Dark Winds, FX’s Reservation Dogs).

Episodes of the series are directed by Sydney Freeland (Navajo) and Catriona McKenzie (Gunaikurnai). Executive producers are Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, Stephen Broussard, Richie Palmer, Marion Dayre, and Jason Gavin (Blackfeet). Co-executive producers are Amy Rardin, Sydney Freeland, Christina King (Seminole), and Jennifer Booth.

Echo is scheduled to be released in 2023, and if you are that hungry for Daredevil, there are three seasons streaming on Disney+.

(via Marvel, image: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)