Marvel Studios' Echo: Breaking the Avengers Mold

Echo's Unique Approach

Marvel's Echo series has proven that the studio has avoided a long-lasting Avengers issue that impacts every new character in the franchise. Interestingly, avoiding this Avengers issue was not the only thing Echo did differently for Marvel Studios. By Echo's climactic ending, it became clear that the show is vastly dissimilar to other MCU projects. This was largely due to Echo's status as a Marvel Spotlight project which focuses on more grounded, lesser-known characters.

Maya Lopez and Kingpin in Echo with Thanos' Snap in Avengers Infinity War

Aside from a few MCU Easter eggs found in Echo, the story of the show was majoritively self-contained and featured a fascinating exploration of the Choctaw nation. This allowed Echo to stand apart from the rest of the convoluted, ever-expanding MCU crowd and tell its own story with intriguing characters, none more so than Alaqua Cox's Maya Lopez. Through the new ways to explore a character found through Maya's journey in Echo, Marvel Studios actually avoided a common Avengers issue that often plagues every new MCU character.

Echo wearing her sun logo jacket

Echo's Ending and Future

As of the ending of Echo, the titular character has committed herself to protecting her family and community. The community is not centered in a huge U.S. city like New York or Los Angeles nor does it hold any connections to other MCU characters. Therefore, Echo thankfully avoids the question of whether Maya will eventually become an Avenger or a Thunderbolt, to name a few of the MCU's teams.

Most new MCU characters face this very question after their debut. This was the case for the likes of Shang-Chi, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk to name but a few superheroes introduced in the MCU's Phase 4. With Echo though, the story gives the character a well-rounded, earned ending as the protector of her community, avoiding the Avengers question that has impacted so many MCU character debuts.

Echo's Impact on the MCU

Echo avoiding the Avengers question makes it so that the character's future in the MCU is not necessary, something that makes for a refreshing change of the status quo for the franchise. Rarely is it the case with Marvel Studios that characters are introduced, their stories are told, and they are left to have a happy ending. Usually, characters only appear if they are expected to play big parts in the franchise going forward be it through their own solo series of films or their continued appearances in crossover movies.

With Echo, however, the opposite is the case. Marvel Studios saw the opportunity to tell a different story with the character of Maya Lopez, one that spun out of an important MCU story like Hawkeye but does not need to go any further. In a franchise filled with hints regarding where and when characters will appear next, Echo's story is the complete opposite and does not tease at major things for the character's future, a reality that is a welcome change of pace for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.