Marvel’s Echo is not only the first Marvel Disney+ series to kick off 2024, but it’s also the first one to be TV-MA (rated for 18 years and above) and to be under the new Marvel Spotlight banner. What makes Echo different from other previous Marvel series and is it worth watching? Read on to find out.

Rise Of Echo

(L-R): Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin and Darnell Besaw as young Maya Lopez in Marvel Studios’ ECHO, releasing on Hulu and Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2023 MARVEL.

Disney+ provided us with three out of the five episodes in the first season. It was enough to paint a picture of what this series is like. Most of the first episode concerns itself with showing us what happened from when Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) was a child until the moment we left her at the end of 2021’s Hawkeye series. Despite being a more mature series, Echo’s TV-MA isn’t that prominent. There are no F-bombs or major swearing, and there’s only a bit more blood than usual, which is nowhere near as gory or violent as something like Prime Video’s The Boys franchise. It is sort of closer to the level of blood that was featured in the Marvel Netflix shows.

Echo explores Maya’s past and backstory, including her ancestors (which are a part of the ongoing narrative). A unique element in Echo is that some scenes take place from Maya’s perspective as a deaf person, so sounds become muted during certain dramatic moments. These most often happen during intense fights or action scenes. Echo goes the authentic route for Native American representation, featuring flashback scenes with Maya’s ancestors, who speak Native American languages such as Cherokee or Choctaw. These flashback scenes also feature unique cinematography and cinematic styles. For instance, one of them is stylized as a retro black-and-white silent film.

Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez in Marvel Studios’ Echo, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.

Echo is much more grounded compared to previous Marvel shows. There are still moments of comedy and comic book easter eggs but these are far and few in between. Of course, it’s always great to see Vincent D’Onofrio return as Wilson Fisk AKA Kingpin and he’s brilliant as usual. There are one or two surprises but overall the series focuses more on grounding the story on Maya Lopez. Still, not much happens in the first three episodes of Echo, so unless you’re really invested in Maya Lopez herself as a character, there’s not much here to entice the typical MCU fan but it’s not different enough not to be another MCU show either.

That being said, Echo is definitely not being portrayed as a conventional “hero”. She’s not afraid to kill and she doesn’t exactly have “good” intentions (to say more would be touching on spoilers). That certainly makes for a different MCU protagonist than we’re used to. However, it’s too early to say if Echo will turn out to be an interesting enough character. With only five episodes in its first season, Echo doesn’t feel draggy and that’s a good thing. It’s something that other streaming services like Netflix should emulate, not stretching one season to eight or ten episodes just because they can.

A Different MCU ‘Hero’

Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin in Marvel Studios’ ECHO, releasing on Hulu and Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2023 MARVEL.

Echo is a decent series to kick off the new Marvel Spotlight banner and it’s a good example showing the potential of what the MCU can be if they stop being too formulaic. We’ll have to wait and see if the final two episodes of Echo will be able to stick the landing. The overall vibe and tone feel in-between that of the Marvel Netflix shows and Marvel shows like Hawkeye. I don’t think Echo is as gritty or dark as some fans would have wanted, and a lot of it still feels familiar if you’ve seen Hawkeye or The Falcon And The Winter Soldier.

FINAL SCORE: 60/100

We received an early screener of the first three episodes of Marvel’s ECHO Season 1 courtesy of Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia. All five episodes of Marvel’s ECHO Season 1 is slated to premiere on Disney+ Hotstar on 10 January 2023.