Marvel‘s Echo is the story of the MCU’s first Indigenous hero, or anti-hero. Alaqua Cox returns as Maya Lopez, adopted daughter of Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), also known as Kingpin from the Daredevil series. In the Echo premiere episode, “Chafa,” we learn more about Maya’s background and how she became Kingpin’s deadiest weapon. This episode is directed by Syndey Freeland (Diné). Writing credits go to Steven Paul Judd (Choctaw/Kiowa).
Episode one begins with an origin story. In this creation story, the Choctaw People once lived in a cave, deep in the Earth. These people were made of clay. One day, a woman emerged from the clay. As several others stood behind her, she drank from a fountain that made her hands glow. A woodpecker arrived and sat on her hand. Minutes later, the cave collapses. The woman uses her power to save her people and they reappear above ground, on the green grass. The clay disappears and the people appear human. The woman tells them to follow her. She was the first Choctaw person, named Chafa (Julia Jones).
TAHAMA, OKLAHOMA, 2007
Maya’s origin story starts her childhood home, Tahama, Oklahoma, where she lived with her parents Taloa (Katarina Ziervogel) and William (Zahn McClarnon). Taloa and Maya (Darnell Besaw) are deaf, so the entire family communicated through American Sign Language. Maya was close with her cousin Bonnie (Wren Zhawenim Gotts), calling her sister.
RELATED: Read Maya’s introduction to the MCU in our Hawkeye recaps!
One night, Maya’s grandmother Chula (Tantoo Cardinal) and step-grandfather Skully (Graham Greene) visited with Maya’s parents while Maya and Bonnie camped out in the backyard. When Chula and Skully left, Chula saw a woodpecker on the mailbox and it caused uneasy feelings. The girls were forced to go into the house when it started to rain. Maya asked for hot chocolate, but they were out. Taloa agreed to go to the store and asked Maya to go with her. Along the way, Taloa discovered the brakes on her truck weren’t working. An SUV hit the truck on the driver’s side, severely injuring Maya and killing Taloa.
Maya’s injury caused her leg to be amputated. William informed Chula and Skully that someone cut the brakes on their truck. Chula was distraught and blamed William for Taloa’s death. She told him to leave before someone else got hurt. William’s brother Henry found him a job in New York. Soon after, William and Maya left Oklahoma.
NEW YORK CITY
William and Maya settled in at their new home. Maya went to public school and was put into a regular class. One night, Maya asked her father if dragons were real and could come to our world. He answered that coming into our world would make them strong. Like the dragons, Maya has to learn to walk in two worlds, by watching others. William put Maya into martial arts classes. He said he wanted her to have a better life than he did. And he was able to give her a better life. William worked for Wilson Fisk. Maya didn’t ask questions about his job. She liked Fisk. He was nice to her.
RELATED: Marvel’s Echo Trailer – Kingpin, Daredevil and Plenty of Gore
Maya grew up learning to fight. She became really good at it. One night she went to meet her dad and witnessed Ronin (Jeremy Renner) kill him. Ronin got away before Maya could get into the room to save William. William died shortly after in Maya’s arms. After William’s death, Bonnie reached out to Maya but she ignored her calls and texts. Instead, Maya lashed out in anger, stealing and hurting people.
One night, as Maya was being arrested, Fisk walked up and took her. The cops didn’t protest. They just let him take her. Fisk employed an interpreter so he could communicate with Maya. He told her she wasn’t alone. His own father was killed when he was a kid and he understood her pain. Fisk asked to help Maya release her rage in a more constructive way. By working for him. He told her to take her pain and make it into something useful.
(L-R): Zahn McClarnon as William Lopez, Katrina Ziervogel as Taloa Lopez, Tantoo Cardinal as Chula, and Graham Greene as Skully in Marvel Studios’ Echo, releasing on Hulu and Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2023. All Rights Reserved.
RUN IN WITH THE DEVIL
The night of Maya’s first assignment, she showed Kingpin’s men how resourceful and useful she was. Maya single handedly beat up several men that Kingpin sent his guys to kill. She also encountered a man dressed in red – Daredevil (Charlie Cox). Daredevil said he was watching the same guys. Maya and Kingpin’s men screwed up Daredevil’s plans. Maya fights off Daredevil, but it’s not easy for either of them. The fight ends with Daredevil pulling a shelf down on Maya and disappearing.
RELATED: Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio Will Reunite for Marvel’s Echo
Kingpin was impressed that Maya was able to match Daredevil’s endurance and strength. He offered her a place and a purpose and she was satisfied with the experience. Fisk declared them family and Maya thanked him. From then on, she was his weapon. He promised that he was dedicated to finding William’s killer and bringing him to justice. Maya asked that she be the one to bring Ronin to justice.
In the Marvel series Hawkeye, Maya found Ronin and discovered that he was actually the Avenger Hawkeye, aka Clint Barton. The two finally faced off. Barton was able to fight her off, but did not kill her. Instead he said they are the same. Their rage blinded him and allowed someone else to manipulate them. Barton said Fisk wanted William dead. He’s the one who paid Ronin to kill William. That’s when Maya decided to turn on Fisk. She met him in an alley and shot him in the head.
PRESENT DAY
Five months after shooting Fisk, Maya is on the run because there is a bounty on her head. She rides to Oklahoma and back to the house she lived in as a child. The house is exactly the same. Maya sews up her wound with dental floss before going to sleep.
RELATED: Marvel’s Echo Teases 5 Days ‘Til Kingpin With New Teaser and Poster
Maya dreams of different women, including Chafa. She wakes up abruptly and sees a shadow in the window. Maya pulls out a gun and goes to the door to find her cousin Biscuits (Cody Lightning) on the other end. Biscuits is excited to see her and remembers to use ASL to talk to her. Maya doesn’t want anyone to know she’s in town and asks Biscuits not to tell anyone.
Maya rides through town and sees Bonnie (Devery Jacobs) playing basketball. Then she heads to the Black Crow skating rink where her Uncle Henry Lopez (Chaske Spencer) is the manager. First she encounters a man called Vickie (Thomas E. Sullivan) at the skate counter. Vickie is evasive until Henry comes in. After Maya leaves the counter, Vickie texts someone saying he has information about the king killer, hoping to collect the bounty.
Maya tells Henry that she’s been shot. Henry calls in the mortician Gretchen (Dakota Ray Hebert) who helps get the bullet out of Maya’s stomach. Once she is patched up, Maya and Henry go to a water tower and look through a telescope. Henry tries to encourage Maya to see Bonnie, but Maya isn’t interested in seeing family.
Henry works for Wilson Fisk at the Fisk Shipping yard. Maya asks for access to one train car so she can send a message to Fisk’s men. She says Kingpin had his run … It’s time for a queen. Henry doesn’t want to bring a war to Tahoma and refuses to help Maya. Back in New York City, Kingpin is alive.
Echo is available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu.
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
