Say what you like about Echo, and fans and critics certainly have, but it actually seems to have been a solid success for Marvel, with the five-part series sailing to the top of the charts for both Disney Plus and Hulu in the wake of its dual release in January. Clearly, people came for the Daredevil crossovers and stayed for the exploration of Alaqua Cox’s tough-as-nails anti-heroine.
I mean, that has to be it considering that Daredevil’s role in the story is over in a couple of minutes flat in the first half-hour of the show’s opening episode. When the beloved vigilante showed up for a brief clip in the trailers, we weren’t expecting that to be a life-size preview of his cameo. And yet actor Charlie Cox argues that there’s a hidden layer to the character’s all-too-brief scene which adds some depth to the dynamic between Maya Lopez and Matt Murdock.
Speaking about the cameo in The Making of Echo, now streaming on Disney Plus, Cox added some context to what’s going on in Daredevil and Echo’s heads during their tussle in a flashback scene. According to Cox, the two characters are actually more alike than either of them realize and they are able to read some personal truths about the other in the midst of their battle. As Cox put it:
“The way that these characters operate is as as they are in combat with someone they’re learning about the other person. They’re learning a lot about their training and what they’re capable of. What’s really interesting with these two characters is that, as they’re fighting, they’re discovering that both of them have a disability.”
In the comics, Daredevil and Echo have a rich history, and have even been romantically linked, but their relationship in the MCU has been boiled down to this single moment of combat. The fight sequence has come under a lot of flak from the fandom for being over quicker than a sprint from Quicksilver, but clearly everyone involved in bringing this meeting of the Marvel icons to life tried their best to make it as rich as possible… all 98 seconds of it.
Will Daredevil and Echo meet again in the MCU?
Clearly, there’s a rich dynamic to mine between the pair, but will Matt and Maya ever cross paths ever again? Unfortunately, if they will, it probably won’t be in an Echo season 2 as cinematographer Kira Kelly has heavily indicated that a renewal is unlikely. If only there was another show involving Daredevil that could find room for Echo to turn up… Yes, I’m looking at you, Daredevil: Born Again. The revival of the Netflix series is currently shooting, as of February 2024, and is expected to premiere on streaming in early 2025. With so many other familiar faces featuring in the show, surely it wouldn’t be a stretch to find room for Kingpin’s own adoptive niece who deserves a place among the Defenders.