As the first series under Marvel Studios' new Spotlight banner, there's a lot riding on Echo. Not only is the series hoping to herald a new era of darker, more mature stories for Marvel but also looks to bring attention to a lesser known character from the comic books.
Having made her debut in the delightful Hawkeye, Maya Lopez aka Echo – Alaqua Cox – gets her own series where she looks to wage war against powerful crime boss Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio).
The first two episodes, directed by Sydney Freeland, set out the table early doors. This is going to be a grounded story, more inline with what audiences of the Netflix series got – which helps given there's a hefty dose of Daredevil lore in it. It's also a story about disability with Maya being both an amputee and deaf, as well as dealing with Native American culture. The cast are a feast of Native actors including veteran Academy Award nominee Graham Greene.
The cast are great, especially Greene and Tantoo Cardinal as Lopez' grandparents. Offering a kind of cultural warmth that feels both specific and universal. While Cody Lightning as Maya's cousin Biscuits is on hand to offer comic relief.
The most interesting element that looks to be explored is the history of the Choctaw and their connection to Maya. While the first episode is a lot of set up, running through the history of Maya and her connection to Fisk, the second offers an opening in which the Choctaw take part in a sporting event in the early 1200s which makes you wish you were watching a historical epic about those people. All of this is to say that the series grounded take pays off many fold when action becomes central.
The slow building crime war offers plenty for Cox to do, and she carries the show with her stern performance as Lopez. She commands the screen even when playing opposite someone as impressive as D'Onofrio, and offers an insight into the emotional connection she has with her estranged cousin Bonnie (Devery Jacobs).
The action is slick and brutal, a punch-up with another costumed hero and some thugs is particularly good, giving a feeling of pain and space, and Cox is more than prepared for the role. But it's the shows quieter moments where she peels back the layers of Lopez' isolation, how she can't connect to her own family, not because of language but because of pain.
This is where the series looks to be at it's strongest, examining what it means to be someone who is isolated, who has cut off both found family and blood family, and despite the superhero trappings, the series looks to continue forth examining what a Native Woman with disabilities means in the modern world. It's a fantastic start to a new chapter.
Echo is now streaming on Disney+
