Marvel Studios has a long way to go to revive the dying MCU. Their Avenger style storytelling doesn’t always work and the goof ups that Disney did with the storytelling is a big gap to fill in. Ever since the announcement from Marvel Studios came in to bring back Daredevil in the MCU main storyline, our hopes were too high. Daredevil: Born Again is scheduled to be released sometime in 2025 and Marvel has a lot of shows coming in between to fill the gap.

Hawkeye and Echo are two of the most grounded shows that Marvel has given us so far to set the theme for Daredevil. The recent announcement regarding the return of all the characters from Defenders does set things in the right direction too. Now, Marion Dayre and Kevin Feige’s Echo is a continuation of the mini series Hawkeye starring Jeremy Renner. Alaqua Cox reprises her role as Maya Lopez or Echo from the series Hawkeye. For all the grounded shows that MCU has, the character of Kingpin is indeed its central theme. This miniseries too based its storyline on how Wilson Fisk AKA Kingpin treats her adopted niece Maya to get her involved in his crime world.

However, the storyline does offer more than that. Maya’s connection to her native American ancestors and how the mysticism of her generation echoes through her is in fact the crux of Maya’s character. Though the initial few episodes might appear to be a bit stretched and prolonged, the entire runtime of the mini series still doesn’t bore you. Unlike, She-Hulk, where the character Daredevil had to plunge in somehow in the storyline, the miniseries Echo doesn’t require that. The short cameo of Daredevil in the first episode still seems to be enough for Maya’s storyline. Her ability to not speak or listen and yet perform fist fights are very well handled by the action directors.

The better aspects of the show are also its weaker aspects. The fact that the storyline is not too dark and complies with what Disney offers in general is in fact one of the biggest drawbacks of this show as well. Though the Kingpin storyline still shows his own darker past, you never feel that you will ever dive deep into the character of Maya Lopez irrespective of whatever mysticism her storyline has to offer. Also, the character driven story appears to be superficial only. It doesn’t delve more into childhood trauma. The fact that Echo is not a complete villainous character, a deeper storyline of building her character would have worked wonders for the show. But, in totality, you won’t notice this if you’re okay with the superficial touch given by Disney.

I expected at least a storyline that pushes her to be her alter ego Ronin by the end of the series as that could have paved a way for the New Avengers and a more decent crossover with Daredevil and Spider-Man. Even if you look at the short cameo by Daredevil in the first episode, the show could have explored the angle of how she was able to give a good fight to Daredevil. There was only a passing judgment made by Kingpin regarding that.

The introductory theme music is catchy and good. Overall, the show Echo is not a bad one to watch. It still gives a refreshing take on what the supporting cast of Daredevil can take and turn it into a miniseries.