Echo, a new Marvel miniseries that focuses on the story of Maya Lopez, dropped on Disney+ this week and critics are calling the show a triumph - not only for its engaging backstory and fearless anti-hero, but also its ability to navigate challenging themes and give representation to marginalised communities in the Marvel Multiverse. Adam Barnhardt of ComicBook.com is calling it 'one of the best things Marvel Studios has created in the past few years'.
Disability representation is nothing new within the Marvel universe and its characters; Daredevil (played by Charlie Cox) was blinded by a radioactive substance, and Professor X of the X-Men franchise uses a wheelchair. Eternals also featured the MCU's first deaf superhero, Lauren Ridloff. Echo is the first story to focus on a deaf indigenous American lead character - Maya Lopez, who is played by Alaqua Cox.
This is what you need to know about Echo, the new Marvel instalment that's receiving high praise from critics, plus everything you need to know about the show's plot, cast and where you can watch it.
The response to Echo on Disney+
Critics have praised Echo for its ability to address both the character's disability and indigenous background authentically. As Ethan Anderton at Slashfilm explained: "It’s the links between Maya’s evolution as a character and her Choctaw ancestors that contain the richest story elements." While Dan Fienberg at The Hollywood Reporter said: "The effort it puts into making the character’s deafness, Indigenous heritage and prosthetic limb integral is impressive and entertaining at once."
The production team collaborated with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, an indigenous American territory, to accurately reflect and represent the realities and cultural nuances. Echo's writer and director Sydney Freeland said (via Q) she wanted to focus on Echo's story 'because there's so little Native American representation, you kind of hear about every character [who's Native American],' before adding: "The response from the Choctaw Nation has been overwhelmingly positive".
Freeland said of working with a deaf actor portraying a deaf character, that while she found the experience initially 'terrifying' it was ultimately 'exhilarating'. She explained to Cinema Blend during a recent press conference: "I think for myself, it was terrifying initially and then exhilarating to find out how do we portray this? How do we go about with a lead character that doesn't speak, you know? And, I think the more we got into it, the more excited we got."
There were additional considerations made to include the deaf community when filming. Freeland explained that while many TV shows use close-ups, Echo's shots were reframed to be more inclusive by also showing characters' hands for the use of American Sign Language (ASL). "ASL was something that was extremely important to everybody there and having the deaf perspective and experience represented," Freeland explained.
"I'm also not deaf. So, one of the things we all did, is we [our department] took ASL classes. For myself, it was important that I just had some basic language where I could talk to her and look her in the eye and say ‘that was nice, again’ or ‘more emotional’ - just some basic words for her."
As well as championing inclusivity, Echo has also been praised as signifying a new direction for the Marvel franchise, with Chase Hutchinson at Collinder explaining: "What’s fascinating is that Echo, while slow to start, is one of the more intriguing entries in the MCU in quite some time and could represent a potential new direction for Marvel." Dais Johnson at Inverse.com praised its nostalgic feel, writing: "Echo is the antidote to Marvel malaise. The series brings the franchise into a new future by calling back to a brutal, neck-snapping era of TV that makes Echo feel like it’s lifted straight from the early 2000s."
What is Echo's power in Marvel?
Echo tells the story of Maya Lopez, the adopted daughter of the Kingpin and a supporting character to Daredevil. After causing havoc in New York City, Maya (also known as Echo) travels back to her hometown of Tamaha, Oklahoma. In the comics, Echo's power is the ability to copy anyone's fighting style, from Captain America to the Black Widow. But show writer Sydney Freeland decided to switch this up for the films, telling Variety: "Her power in the comic books is that she can copy anything, any movement, any whatever. It’s kind of lame."
In the Disney+ show, Maya draws from the abilities of her ancestors in the Choctaw Tribe in order be become a supremely skilled fighter. She also draws upon her late mother's ability to heal others. Cassondra Feltus of Black Girl Nerds comments that the beauty of Echo's story is that her disabilities are a source of strength, writing of the show: "Alaqua Cox delivers another beautifully nuanced performance as Maya Lopez, a culturally rich, badass villain whose perceived disabilities are her superpowers."
Who stars in Echo?
Alaqua Fox stars as Maya Lopez, the central character in Echo. We were first introduced to the actor in Hawkeye, which marked the screen debut of Alaqua Cox. Echo is her second role ever. Alaqua said of the role (via Variety): "Maya is a mix of both a villain and an antihero; I’d like to be able to do different kinds of roles. I have been asked to be in a few, but most of them are always the bad guy roles, and I don’t want to be the bad guy all the time."
She also praised the production team for their approach to accommodating her needs due to her disability, explaining: "They were able to hire deaf people behind the camera who helped me out. I had an ASL consultant who was deaf on set, and he helped me with the translation of English into ASL of my lines. I told [Marvel] that I would like to be able to have one-on-one conversations with them, instead of going through an interpreter. And they actually made it happen."
Is there a trailer for Echo?
Yes, you can watch the trailer for Echo from Marvel Studios below.
How can I watch Echo?
All episodes of Echo are available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ now.
