Marvel‘s shows on the Disney+ platform have been divisive amongst fans – many applauding the characters getting their own shows and the initial ambition and diversity in their styles… but equally the shows have a tendency to start strong and finish weak, perhaps showing their role as ‘filler’ between Marvel movies.
However, the upcoming Echo series – due to drop all its episodes on Disney+ on 10th January – looks to more emulate the style of the harder and more brutal Netflix shows (Daredevil, The Punbisher, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders etc) that existed prior to the Disney+ deal. It will carry the TV-MA (a ‘Mature Audiences’ rating, a first for a Marvel / Disney+ series thus far). The trailer certainly looks more brutal than recent offerings.
Though one expects that the first episode will set out its stall and some of the mythology, it might rely on the viewer having some prior knowledge of the character. A quick catch-up: ‘Echo’ is Maya Lopez, a deaf woman with extraordinary fighting skills. She grew up under the mentorship of Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin and for a long time believed that Fisk was a true benefactor and that her father’s death (when she was a child) was down to the vigilante Daredevil. In the Hawkeye series – which introduced her in to the MCU – she learned that the truth was far more complex. Yes, Matt Murdock’s Daredevil had been involved in her father’s demise, but that her father’s role in Fisk’s empire had placed a target on his back and that Fisk was far more responsible for Maya’s woes than anyone else. She turned on him and in the finale of Hawkeye appeared to shoot Fisk or at least gravely injure him. We see from the new trailer that Fisk, as somewhat expected, survived, though he has lost his sight in one eye. Now Maya must decide her fate for herself, workign out if she’s hero, villain, both or neither… exploring her past, her heritage and the forces still rallied against her…
Alaqua Cox, who is also deaf in real life, returns in the role of Echo (making this the first show to feature both a deaf and Native American actress in a lead role) and Vincent D’Onofrio reprises his acclaimed role as Fisk. As sharp-eyed viewers will note, Charlie Cox will also be seen as Matt/Daredevil.
