Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez | Credit: Marvel Studios (Echo)

This review was made possible due to an advance copy of Echo, episodes 1-3, provided to Streamr by Marvel Studios for review. All episodes of Echo stream on Disney+ and Hulu on January 9, 2024 at 9pm EST/6pm PST.

After being announced at San Diego ComicCon in 2022 as a spinoff of Hawkeye, Echo is finally releasing today! With some epic action scenes, exciting cameos, GREAT soundtrack (that main theme!!!), and a perfect opportunity for representation, this next installment in the MCU is a gritty story full of both heart and a dash of vengeance. If you want a more compact story with a punch, this new series is for you!

A SPECIAL CORNER OF THE MCU

With smaller stakes, scope, and setting, Echo proves to be a more intimate portrait of life than any previous installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Mainly revolving around the life of Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) following the events of Hawkeye, the show examines the jaded anti-hero’s personal life, from her tumultuous upbringing to her present relationships with family and community. Having taken down her “Kingpin” uncle Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), Maya seeks to take down his kingdom by becoming queen of the criminal enterprise. However, when this mission leads her to the Choctaw Nation Reservation, she must reckon with the conflict of her criminal lifestyle and the ghosts of her past.

By giving further background into Maya’s childhood and the state of her broken family, the first episode of the series serves as a great setup for the rest of the show, working to give an understanding context to the character’s tough and distrustful demeanor. Though the episode is mostly recap from scenes previously shown in Hawkeye, I do appreciate this as many Native and Deaf audience members who don’t follow the MCU’s other 33+ projects can quickly jump into the series. In episodes 2 & 3, however, the charm of Echo begins to shine with many new and exciting characters, carving out a unique space in the MCU.

A NATIVE COMMUNITY: BEHIND & IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA

In a story where family and community are the plot’s main focus, Indigeneity is a vital backbone of the Echo series. From the journey of reconnecting to a heritage once separated from (an all too common story given colonization), to the connection between a tight-knit community, Echo‘s attention to this personal aspect of Maya Lopez’s character is truly admirable. Given the MCU’s scale, production value, and reflective budget, it’s exciting to see Native artistry be given such a mainstream spotlight – even premiering at the Choctaw Nation powwow! Due to this, I very much felt at home watching the series, finding a wonderful comfort in this part of the MCU.

Especially due to Native Americans’ cultural erasure in the United States (so much so that a 2018 survey showed that only 40% of Americans believed that we still exist!), these last couple of years have been big for Native television and film. From shows like Reservation Dogs, Rutherford Falls, and Dark Winds, to Lily Gladstone’s Golden Globe-winning performance in Killers of the Flower Moon, Native audiences are finally feeling seen in Hollywood. As such, Echo is truly a HUGE celebration of Native culture, being helmed by Navajo director Sydney Freeland, displaying an AMAZING cast of Native actors (and cameos), and featuring the brands and music of many Native artists!

PAH!: A STORY OF ACCESSIBILITY

In addition to representing the Native (specifically Choctaw) community, Echo also shows extraordinary care in representing the Deaf and amputee communities. From fitting prosthetics to using light-based doorbells, the attention to focussing on Maya’s accessibility aids is super heartening to see! Though these aids may not be stereotypical when thinking of a superhero character, Maya only proves herself to be more of a tough cookie in superbly navigating violent fight scenes with a makeshift prosthetic leg and silent perception of her enemies.

Since I have Deaf loved ones, I was definitely excited to engage with the show through my fluency in American Sign Language (ASL). With some nuanced details only revealed through signing and certain Deaf expressions being employed (like PAH!), it definitely adds to the show to understand Maya’s language. Seeing favorite actors of mine also engage in ASL made me smile, loving the earnest and great signing from talents such as Chaske Spencer and K. Devery Jacobs. My only concern regarding this facet of the show is that of the camera’s framing, cutting off lots of the signed dialogue. Though this issue has improved since Hawkeye, one would think that the effort in showing accessibility and representation would also extend to showing all signing.

ECHO: FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall and from the first three episodes, I have immensely enjoyed Echo! Though I do wish that the ASL signing could be further featured in the series, I fell head over heels for the show’s meaningful story of family and am so thankful for the Native Representation it brings to the Hollywood table. As such, I’m looking forward to the next couple of episodes and hope to see Echo continue elsewhere in the MCU. And while some may be disappointed at the amount of screen time a certain Devil of Hell’s Kitchen may receive (I love him too!), it’s definitely a comfort to know that he’s getting his own series. Until then though, it’s cause for celebration to see the Choctaw hero Maya Lopez have her own show!

Check out the trailer for Echo below:

Interested in another action series? Check out our review of ‘The Brother’s Sun’ here!

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‘Echo’ (Review)