While there has been a lot of talk about Kate Bishop leaping into live-action with the Hawkeye series on Disney Plus, another major Marvel hero is also making her debut in the six-part series.
Screen newcomer Alaqua Cox has been cast as Echo in the comic book drama, a superhero with the ability to perfectly mimic people’s movements in a similar manner to misunderstood villain Taskmaster from the recent Black Widow movie.
She is the second deaf superhero to be introduced by Marvel Studios following the Eternals‘ resident speedster Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), as well as the first Native American to be prominently featured in an MCU storyline.
Read on to find out more about what you can expect from Maya Lopez in the Hawkeye series.
Who is Maya Lopez?
In the comic books, Maya is the daughter of Willie ‘Crazy Horse’ Lincoln, an associate of crime lord Wilson Fisk (aka Kingpin), whose photographic reflexes make her skilled at fighting as well as many artistic pursuits.
When she was young, Fisk had her father killed, but adopted the orphaned Maya and enrolled her in some of the world’s finest schools, before inducting her into the family business.
This meant it was only a matter of time before she crossed paths with New York City vigilante Daredevil, who Kingpin falsely claimed was responsible for her father’s death.
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However, she soon discovers this isn’t true and turns her back on his crime empire, becoming an ally to the heroes of the Marvel Universe.
Maya takes on the Ronin identity when she joins the New Avengers as she does not want her chequered past to sully the team’s reputation, but later reverts back to her Echo moniker.
It’s unclear whether this origin story will be changed for her live-action debut, with Vincent D’Onofrio not expected to appear in Hawkeye, despite playing the role of Kingpin in three seasons of Netflix’s Daredevil (which is supposedly set in the MCU).
It is intriguing, however, that her introduction to the MCU comes at around the same time as Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is rumoured to feature a cameo appearance from Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock (take that with a pinch of salt).
What are Echo’s powers?
Echo has photographic reflexes similar to those of Taskmaster, meaning that she can mimic a person’s movement perfectly just by witnessing it for a short time.
This has allowed her to not only become lethal in various fighting styles, but also to pick up a variety of other talents including piano and ballet.
In the MCU, Taskmaster’s powers are derived from a technologically advanced suit whereas Echo’s are natural to her, so that should help the characters stay distinct despite their ability being more or less the same.
One of Taskmaster’s opponents, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), will be appearing in Hawkeye, so it will be interesting to see if she crosses paths with Echo at any point and acknowledges the link.
The film ended with Taskmaster – who turned out to be Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko) – being freed from the clutches of her evil father, with scope for her to be reappear reformed in a future Marvel project.
When is the Echo spin-off series on Disney Plus?
It has been confirmed that Marvel Studios is developing a Hawkeye spin-off series centred on Echo, which will delve deeper into the character’s story.
No release date has yet been given, but given the sheer number of upcoming Marvel TV shows on Disney Plus, it’s possible the series won’t arrive until as late as 2023.
Hawkeye premieres on Disney Plus on Wednesday 24th November. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.