A spin-off series starring industry newcomer Alaqua Cox, a Menominee deaf actor, was first rumored long before she debuted as Echo in Disney+’s Hawkeye in November 2021. A few weeks after Hawkeye’s successful premiere, Marvel Studios officially confirmed Cox’s Maya Lopez, a deaf Indigenous vigilante, would be leading her solo series Echo at Disney+ Day 2021.

The Indigenous, deaf, and female hero made her Marvel Comics debut in 1998’s Daredevil #9 by David Mack, Richard Isanove, Joe Quesada, and Jimmy Palmiotti, giving herself the moniker Echo as a tribute to her murdered father. Because she can sense the physical vibration of sound through the floor, which helps her in hand-to-hand combat, she is one of the most skilled fighters in the Marvel Multiverse. Similar to Taskmaster, Maya can perfectly copy another person’s fighting style just by watching her opponent in combat.

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With Echo finally beginning production next month, it seems an as good time as any to break down everything the Marvel Cinematic Universe fan needs to know ahead of the upcoming series and how her Marvel Comics history fits into her MCU future.

Plot: Everything We Know So Far

     Marvel Comics

It’s safe to assume Echo will take place after the events of Hawkeye, following Maya Lopez as she finds her way in the world. Concerning Lopez, the Disney+ series skewed reasonably close to her comic book history, including the sixth episode cliffhanger — and that means the story of Cox’s Echo is just getting started. By the end of the Hawkeye series, Maya still hadn’t taken the moniker of Echo.

Like in Hawkeye, Wilson Fisk murders Maya Lopez’s father (a Kingpin enforcer) when she is a child in the comics and then promises to raise her himself. As she grows up, he manipulates her into believing Daredevil (played by Charlie Cox in Daredevil on Netflix and in Spider-Man: No Way Home) is responsible for her father’s death, eventually vowing to avenge her father’s death. Basically, he treats her how Wilson Fisk would treat a daughter, using nice gifts to manipulate her into helping him with his nefarious schemes and calling it love. So, just like Hawkeye, Echo starts as an antagonist and enforcer for Kingpin but eventually has a change of heart. Bang bang, she shot the Fisk-y down… Or did she?

In the comics, she eventually falls in love with Daredevil, albeit she doesn’t know it’s him because he’s wearing his Abogados at Law disguise. Significantly to the streaming series, it’s during Maya’s relationship with Murdock that she takes on the alias of Echo. With Daredevil coming back to the MCU and Maya’s relationship with Clown done, Marvel may adopt a version of this story for the series, especially since Daredevil plays such a large role in Echo becoming an Avenger in New Avengers #11 by Brian Michael Bendis, Frank D’Armata, David Finch, and Danny Miki.

Cast: Who We Expect to See?

     Disney+

Although Marvel has announced that Cox is reprising the role of the titular Echo, no one else in the cast has been confirmed. Although not yet confirmed by Marvel, Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) that series will likely feature the criminal mastermind, and D’Onofrio himself would also like to see his character return. He told Collider, “I think it would be great. I remember the comic run. It was one of my favorites, the father-daughter relationship between Maya and him, and I would love the opportunity to do that.”

In addition to Kingpin, Daredevil, and The Avengers, Maya frequently crosses paths with Moon Knight in the comics. So fans might see another appearance from Cox’s Maya in Moon Knight, or Steven Grant may appear in Echo when it finally hits the Disney+ streaming service. However, until there’s more news about casting, the best guess is the return of Kingpin.

In Daredevil #15, Maya confronts her fake Pa, blinding him with a gun before fleeing the country to process her trauma. Indeed, it happens a lot like it did in Hawkeye, and Kingpin survives his injuries (however, he does end up incarcerated). Eventually, Echo returns to New York and tries to reconnect with people from her past. Reuniting with Kingpin, Maya’s father tells her that he still loves her as a daughter, but she is no longer willing to play his games and goes on a soul-searching journey.

Maya ultimately finds a new purpose in life by fighting the Hand. In the comics, this is all sorts of complicated. But there is one character from Netflix’s Iron Fist who should really make a comeback. If Jessica Henwick is not too busy, then maybe it’s time for Colleen Wing to come out of retirement.

Expected Release Date

Currently, Echo doesn’t have a set release date. However, Marvel recently got the permits to film in Georgia in April and mid-May. If Marvel Studios stays on track with that filming schedule, Echo should arrive in 2023.

Everything Else We Know

In March 2021, Variety reported Etan Cohen (Men in Black 3, Holmes & Watson) and Emily Cohen, a Jewish Native-American comic creator of An American Indian Guide to the Day of Atonement, had signed on as the writers and executive producers of Echo. But at the time, the rest of the writers’ room was being assembled.

In January, it was announced Marion Dayre (Better Call Saul) had joined the series as lead writer, and the writers’ room would also include Shoshannah Stern (Supernatural) and Bobby Wilson (Reservation Dogs). Additionally, The Punisher’s Ken Kristensen had signed on as a writer, who wrote “Virtue of the Victorious,” the first season’s tenth episode, and from season two, “Trouble the Water,” the third episode, “Flustercluck,” the ninth episode. Also, in the writers’ room is another Netflix Marvel series writer, Dara Resnik, who wrote the eighth episode of Daredevil season three, “Upstairs/Downstairs,” and co-wrote the third season’s eleventh episode, “Reunion.”

Given that Echo’s Marvel Comics’ history is intimately tied to stories of both Daredevil and Kingpin, the inclusion of these writers in the room for the first season of Echo could suggest these characters will continue in the new Disney+ series.