Who is Echo in the Marvel universe? Maya Lopez is a Deaf Native American superhero who was in Hawkeye. On her powers, origin story, and secret identity.
Echo is here, and with it: Echo (Alaqua Cox), staking it out on her own, and finding out what it means to be a hero.
She was first introduced in the second episode of Disney Plus’ Hawkeye, initially an antagonist to Kate Bishop and Clint Barton. It wasn’t long before Cox’s superhero was announced to have her own show — which finally premiered on Disney Plus and Hulu in January.
But is she a good guy? While she spent most of her first action-packed episode chasing our heroes, Marvel Comics readers know it’s a bit more complicated than that.
[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for Hawkeye through episode 3.]
Teased in the finale scene of Hawkeye’s second episode, this week’s “Echoes” gives the superheroine Echo her full debut. The episode opens by showcasing her backstory, in which she is played by the young actress Darnell Besaw. The daughter of a member of the Tracksuit Mafia, she lost her hearing as a child. Without the money to enroll in a school for the Deaf, Maya was forced to develop her ability to lipread in order to interact with the hearing world that wouldn’t accommodate her.
