Marvel’s ‘Echo’ Was a Huge Letdown
Echo is a good show; it’s just not the one Marvel needs right now.
The Disney+ series represented so much coming out the gate as a spinoff from Hawkeye, the first entry in Marvel’s new Spotlight imprint, as well as a springboard for everyone’s favorite hero from the Netflix regime, Daredevil, before Born Again. More importantly, its focus on a deaf and physically handicapped villain of Native American descent looked as though it would be a more grounded, criminal underworld affair, steering away from the MCU’s current storylines filled with complicated multiverse stories and the usual superhero fare.
Then, the episode opens with an ancient, supernatural figure underground, surrounded by other supernatural figures.
We love how Maya Lopez’s (Alaqua Cox) powers and their origin run parallel to her heritage (these underground beings), as it ties into the series’ overarching themes of family and Choctaw tradition. But at the same token, it takes away from the grounded approach viewers expected. Originally in the comics, Echo’s supernatural abilities were of a mimic, which ties into her overcoming her disabilities and making them into super skills. Now that her power is connected directly to her heritage, you lose a lot of the realism and relatability of overcoming hardship, stepping more into the fantastical audiences are fatigued from in their current superhero media. What’s worse is that these superpowers don’t develop until our character needs them most, like a deus ex machina.
The latter could have been explored and delivered in a more developed way if the story hadn’t been undercooked to only five episodes. Although we love the short-form storytelling and the binge method of dropping all the episodes at once, this story could have used another episode or two to explore her developing abilities and how that’s making Maya feel.
That’s another thing: Maya’s always been part of an ensemble, whether that was as a side character in Hawkeye or the central figure of all these different personalities we meet in her hometown of Oklahoma (where much of the series is set). As such, we still don’t know much about who Maya is as a person outside of her abilities and disabilities, what makes her tick, or what her personality is outside of her goals or the strained relationship with her family. How does she even feel developing these powers? The show never tells us.
Marvel Studios is in a slump – one that even the most dedicated fan can’t deny at this point. With the lackluster response from audiences on the film offerings Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania & The Marvels, as well as on the streaming front with Secret Invasion, a lot was riding on Echo coming into 2024.
Although Echo was never going to be the property to turn things around, it was supposed to signify a step in the right direction for the studio instead of the drop in the bucket it turned out to be.
Sure, it was the number one show on Disney+ and Hulu thanks to its joint drop, but it’s also because it’s the beginning of the year, and not a lot is out to watch, let alone a show that can be watched in a single afternoon. So that’s not saying much.
During Disney’s 100th anniversary last year, the company faced one of its most challenging years to date. Despite this, Marvel delivered some notable titles, such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Loki Season 2, which served as bookends for beloved existing franchises. Echo, positioned under the new Spotlight banner, aimed to demonstrate that prior knowledge was unnecessary to enjoy the show. However, it ended up inundating viewers with exposition from Hawkeye and deviated from its promise of grounded storytelling. On paper, Spotlight seemed like Disney’s response to the gritty Netflix Marvel shows, but in reality, it merely delivered more violence with an undercooked main dish.
Did you love Echo? Go in the comments below and try to change our minds.
Echo, Streaming Now, Disney+ and Hulu
