Marvel’s first television series of 2024, Echo, sets up an epic confrontation between mentor and mentee. Alaqua Cox returns as Maya Lopez, a young woman who is used by Wilson Fisk aka the Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) to his advantage. In Echo, Maya fights back and tries to regain her power. But his enemy is a clever opponent. The five-episode series will premiere on January 10 on Disney+ Hotstar.

Echo: Narrative

The early episodes of the series explore Maya Lopez’s past in both Oklahoma and New York. She moves from tragedy to tragedy, losing her mother and then her father before joining the Kingpin’s crew. The move creates a rift in the already estranged family, especially between Maya and her grandmother Chula (Tantou Cardinal).

While Marvel’s Echo is a series about Maya’s revenge, it is also about her return home as she reconnects with her Choctaw roots. The stubborn young woman does not listen to others, even family, and continues to work alone. The first three episodes see Maya Fisk attempting to take down the Empire and discovering she still has more work to do.

Echo: Writing and Direction

The original series is the first series in the Marvel universe to receive a higher adult rating with TV-MA. While Maya is still young, she goes up against some formidable rivals whom she fights in hand-to-hand combat and with guns. Working with the Kingpin’s entourage, there’s often a trail of bloodshed and bodies, and the series doesn’t shy away from violence.

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With the main character being deaf and using American Sign Language (ASL), the battle sequences utilize sound design to enhance Maya’s perspective, switching between silence and sound. There’s also a terrifying little robbery on a train, where Maya comes close to death, but gets help at the last moment.

Echo: Performances

Alaqua Cox is both powerful and impressive in this drama. She conveys the emotions and physicality of the role very well. The supporting cast of Chaske Spencer, Tantu Cardinal, Devery Jacobs, and Zane McClarnon give genuine performances as Maya’s family, while Cody Lighting and Graham Greene provide a little comic relief to the show.

But so far, D’Onofrio’s Kingpin isn’t enough and the much-hyped fight scene with Daredevil (Charlie Cox) just feels like a tease for something to come later. Like most Marvel fare, it’s a setup that could pay off in another series down the line.