On Jan. 9, Disney+ and Hulu released Marvel Studios’ “Echo,” featuring Maya Lopez. Unlike the other Disney + shows, all episodes were released at once instead of weekly.
Marvel Studios dipped into a mature and violent tone in “Echo” by making it the first Marvel live-action series to be rated TV-MA. If your only interest in watching this show is the TV-MA rating, this is not the show for you. This is not to say that “Echo” is not violent; there are scenes of intense violence. However, the gory or bloody scenes are only shown in a quick shot or just slightly out of frame. It seems like Marvel wanted to draw in viewers, so they made the show TV-MA as an ill-executed afterthought. Due to that, it feels like any typical Marvel show. Even the storyline is immature. In some ways, they still have the comic relief side character which feels like it was added so kids could laugh at something, even though the show is not geared toward children. To me, that comes off as slightly annoying and a little confusing.
“Echo” also promised to be completely standalone, but it does not stand on its own in any way. It actually heavily relies on past experiences from “Hawkeye” and its major plot elements. Granted, they do show clips from “Hawkeye” in the first episode, but if someone has not seen “Hawkeye,” they would be confused. The post-credits scene also sets up a future plot point for the main villain of the series, Kingpin.
There are, however, lots of things to like about this series. Marketing for “Echo” clearly shows that Vincent D’Onofrio is back portraying the role of Kingpin as he did in Netflix’s “Daredevil.” He plays the part perfectly, as though he never left the show. His connection to Maya is one of the best aspects of the series. Daredevil shows up, as shown in the trailers, and he has an impressive fight scene with Maya, but that’s all he does in the show. So, you can skip this show if you are watching just for him.
Maya Lopez is portrayed by Alaqua Cox who plays the character serviceably. Her performance never wowed me, but it was never bad either. What is impressive is that she is deaf in real life which makes her performance more realistic. Most of the cast on the show are Native American and the representation of their culture and history is done in a way that I find quite interesting, especially the scenes with Maya’s ancestors and how they all connect to her and her family.
While the story does take more time than it needs to when building on the family drama and does feel a little slow at times, it is some of the best of any Disney+ show. Especially Maya’s first assignment under Kingpin in the first episode.
Overall, “Echo” is fine. If you are a fan of Marvel Netflix shows, you’ll enjoy when Kingpin is on screen and even when he’s not I think there’s just enough there to engage you in the story. On the other hand, if you’re not into any of these characters, this certainly won’t change your mind.
