| Maya Lopez Echo | |
|---|---|
.webp) Maya Lopez / Echo. Variant cover ofWomen of Marvel vol 5 #1 (February 2024). Art by Jan Bazaldua. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | As Echo: Daredevil #9 (December 1999) As Ronin: New Avengers #11 (November 2005) |
| Created by | |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Maya Lopez |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Daughters of Liberty New Avengers The Hand Avengers |
| Partnerships | Matt Murdock / Daredevil |
| Notable aliases | Phoenix Ronin |
| Abilities |
As the Phoenix Force:
|
Echo (Maya Lopez) is a character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created byDavid Mack andJoe Quesada, the characterfirst appeared inDaredevil #9 (December 1999).[1] Lopez is aCheyenne woman, and this background as anindigenous character informs many of her arcs and storylines.[2] She is also half-Mexican-American.[3] Her Echo guise includes a white handprint that covers part of her face.[4] She is one of the fewdeaf comic book characters.[5] She has also adopted theRonin codename and was a host of thePhoenix Force.[6]
Maya Lopez is the adopted daughter of thesupervillainKingpin.[7] She is also a supporting character of thesuperheroMatt Murdock / Daredevil.[8] The character has been a member of theAvengers and theNew Avengers at various points in her history.[9]
Alaqua Cox portrays Maya Lopez in theDisney+ /Marvel Cinematic Universe, debuting in the television seriesHawkeye (2021), and starring in her ownspin-off seriesEcho (2024).
WriterDavid Mack created Maya Lopez to mirror Daredevil, saying, "Daredevil deciphers much of his world from sound instead of sight. Echo grew up not having access or understanding of this "audible world" and therefore learned to decipher all of the visual cues of the world as a language that she pieced together by an acute pattern recognition."[10] He was influenced by hisCherokee uncle who told him Native stories as a child to develop the character.[11] Maya Lopez usesAmerican Sign Language to communicate with others.[12]
TheRonin identity was an attempt byBrian Michael Bendis to create a mystery after the apparently male character was depicted on several comic book covers, including issues ofThe New Avengers and oneThe Pulse issue. Fan speculation was high, with the most common guess that Ronin wasMatt Murdock; Bendis eventually revealed this to be the original intention despite initially denying that this was the case.[13] The decision to depict Maya Lopez as Ronin was initially supported by David Mack.[14]
Maya Lopez debuted asEcho inDaredevil #9 (December 1999), created by writerDavid Mack and artistJoe Quesada.[15] She later debuted asRonin inNew Avengers #11 (November 2005), created by writerBrian Michael Bendis and artistDavid Finch.[16] She appeared in the 2021Phoenix Song: Echo series, her first solocomic book series.[17] She appeared in the 2022Marvel UnlimitedMarvel's Voices Infinity Comic series.[18] She appeared in the 2023Daredevil & Echo series.[19]
Maya Lopez was still a young girl when her father Willie "Crazy Horse" Lincoln was killed by theKingpin (Wilson Fisk). Crazy Horse dies, leaving a bloody handprint on Maya's face and a last dying wish: that the Kingpin raise Maya well. Kingpin honors his dying wish, caring for her as his own daughter. Believed to be mentally disabled, Maya is sent to an expensive school for people with learning disabilities. There, she manages to completely replicate a song on the piano. She is subsequently sent to another expensive school for prodigies.
Maya is sent by the Kingpin to prove Matt Murdock's weakness, telling her that Matt believes Fisk is a bad person and that she is the only way to prove him wrong. As Maya believes Fisk, it would not appear to be a lie when she tells Matt.[20]
Murdock and Maya soon fall in love. She later takes on the "Echo" guise to hunt down Daredevil. On her face, she paints a white handprint, similar to the bloody handprint left by her dying father. Maya proves more than a match forDaredevil, having watched videos of Daredevil andBullseye fighting. After several failed attempts, noticing that Daredevil can easily move through the dark, Maya easily figures out Daredevil's weakness and exploits this by having a fight in a place where Daredevil's heightened senses are useless. Maya easily takes down Daredevil and nearly kills the vigilante, refusing only when she finds out Matt and Daredevil are one and the same. Matt manages to expose the Kingpin's lies. In revenge, Maya confronts and shoots Fisk in the face, blinding Fisk and starting the chain of events that lead to the man's eventual downfall (Kingpin later partially recovered eyesight through reconstructive eye surgery).[21]
After realizing the horror of her actions and the lies with which she has grown up, Maya flees the United States to do some soul-searching. When she comes back, she tries reuniting with Murdock, only to find out Matt is now with ablind woman and that the Kingpin is still alive (despite Maya's attempts). Leaving Matt, Maya visits the Kingpin in prison who tells her that he does not blame her for what she did, and (that despite all that had happened) the Kingpin still loves her like a daughter. Unsatisfied and still needing peace, Maya turns to the Chief (her father's old friend) noted for wisdom. The Chief sends Maya on avision quest to calm her soul. On her quest, she meets and befriendsWolverine who helps her recover and passes on knowledge of Japanese culture and Japanese organized crime. Soon enough, Maya makes peace with her past and is back doing performance art.[22]
After a recent identity crisis and feeling unable to join theNew Avengers due to a refusal to tarnish the reputations of heroes by working alongside them, Maya dons a suit that conceals her identity as well as her gender and rechristens herselfRonin (Japanese for "wanderer", a class of masterless samurai).
Daredevil recommends Maya toCaptain America to aid theAvengers in seizing theSilver Samurai inJapan.[23] After joining the Avengers, Maya returns to Japan to keep an eye on dangerous assassinElektra Natchios rumored to be leading theHand, check on the Silver Samurai from time to time, and hopefully solve the conflict between The Hand and Clan Yashida. Around the conclusion of theCivil War between the pro-registration and anti-registration factions in America, Maya fights Elektra and is killed, but is soon resurrected by the Hand with the same process used to raise Elektra. Maya is taken captive with the intent of turning her into an assassin for The Hand.Luke Cage,Spider-Man, Wolverine,Doctor Strange,Spider-Woman,Iron Fist, and the new Ronin rescue her and escape, leaving Elektra to furiously send the Hand after them. During a brief lull in the fight with the Hand in which Luke tries to negotiate with Elektra to buy time, it is revealed that the Hand has been successful in brainwashing Maya, as she subsequently stabs Dr. Strange with a sword given to her by one of the Hand.[24] She continues to fight the New Avengers until Dr. Strange is able to release an astral form withWong's help, and frees Maya from the brainwashing. Maya then charges straight for Elektra (who is fighting Luke) and stabs her, revealing that Elektra is aSkrull in disguise.[25] They return to New York, after Spider-Woman's apparent betrayal of stealing Elektra's Skrull impersonator's corpse.[26] The Avengers hide in a hotel room (Strange's magic making it appear that Maya is the only person in the room) before returning to Strange'sSanctum Sanctorum. Maya officially hands the Ronin identity over toClint Barton after they arrive.[27] After Strange confirms their identities by casting a spell that shows everyone their true nature - Maya appearing dressed in a female variation of Daredevil's costume - the team heads toStark Tower to stopthe Hood's attack on the building. There, they encounter theMighty Avengers locked in battle with an army of invadingsymbiotes, one of which latches on to Maya beforeIron Man manages to cure those infected.[28]
Echo attempts to defendRick Jones fromHiroim andElloe of the Hulk's Warbound during their attack on the Sanctum Sanctorum to capture Doctor Strange. She is defeated and captured, along with Iron Fist and Barton.[29]
During theInvaders' appearance in the present due toD'Spayre's manipulations acquiring aCosmic Cube, Echo proved vital in defeating the villain as her deafness meant that D'Spayre was unable to manipulate her emotions.[30]
After the defeat of the Hood's criminal organization,[31] Echo remains on the team as Doctor Strange departs to theastral plane to heal himself, setting up base in a building owned by Iron Fist's company but technically leased toSamuel Sterns for the year.[32] After a brief run-in with a Skrull disguised as Daredevil, Barton admits being attracted to her, and the two sleep together.[33]
Echo goes with the rest of the New Avengers to the Savage Land when a Skrull ship crash lands. When the ship opens, it reveals various superheroes in outdated outfits. Echo joins with the Mighty Avengers and New Avengers to fight the "old" heroes from the Skrull ship. The battle is then broken up by a dinosaur causing everyone to split up.[34] Later, she encounters "Spider-Woman" who is actually theSkrull Queen and the force behind the Skrull Invasion. "Spider-Woman" incapacitates Echo by repeatedly blasting her with venom blasts and then slams her into a nearby tree trunk.[35] Echo helps the other Avengers kill all the other Skrull impostors, then heads to New York and confronts an army of Super Skrulls along with various other heroes and villains.[36] She is invited back toCaptain America's apartment by Iron Fist but does not show up.[37]
Following the reformation of the New Avengers during theHeroic Age, Cage andJessica Jones seek a nanny for their child; Echo is one of several respondents to the offer, but declines and then angrily asks if Cage even remembers that she used to be a member of the Avengers.[38]
Echo appears in the fourthMoon Knight series, where she worked undercover in a strip club inL.A., until she blew the cover saving Marc Spector.[39] Moon Knight later proposes that they join forces against the West Coast Kingpin, and invites her to dinner.[40] Moon Knight is obviously attracted to Echo and it is suggested that Echo feels the same,[41] despite punching Moon Knight in the face for kissing her.[42] When she meets up with Moon Knight, they are attacked by the Night Shift.[43] Although Echo and Moon Knight beat them, the police arrive, and attempt to apprehend the duo as well.[44] Echo is killed byCount Nefaria, the man trying to be the new West Coast Kingpin.[citation needed]
Mysterious circumstances later lead to Maya's resurrection. During her first team-up with Daredevil since her return, she helps save New York from a sonic virus created byKlaw.[45]
Echo later aidsCaptain Marvel and her friends againstRadioactive Man.[46]
During the "Enter the Phoenix" storyline, Echo is chosen by thePhoenix Force to participate in her tournament alongside many other heroes and villains to decide her next host. Along with the other champions, Echo is empowered by a spark of the Phoenix's cosmic fire and is pitted againstNamor in an underwater match. Due to the vast disadvantage, Echo is soundly defeated by Namor, presumably eliminating her from the tournament and losing her portion of the Phoenix's power. However, despite her loss, Echo's despair and refusal to die draws the Phoenix to her, making her the new host of the entity. After taking the Phoenix's power from the remaining participants and brutally beating Namor as payback for her earlier defeat, Maya declares herself as the newThunderbird and fully bonds with the entity. Maya is telepathically congratulated by the Phoenix's previous host,Jean Grey, who also gives her advice on controlling its power.[47]
Maya Lopez is an Olympic-level athlete.[48] She possesses "photographic reflexes" or the ability to perfectly copy other people's movements.[49] While watching other people, she has become a concert-level pianist, a strong martial artist, a highly skilled acrobat, and a gifted ballerina (and on one occasion even piloted aQuinjet for a few minutes).[50] In addition, she has also gainedDaredevil's acrobatic abilities andBullseye's aim after watching tapes of their fights.
Her absolute reliance on visual cues renders her helpless in the dark, and her ability to communicate by reading lips prevents her from taking oral commands and communicating with people who are wearing masks or are not in direct visual contact; when she initially meets the Avengers,Captain America has to repeat all ofIron Man's questions for her. Notably, she has been incorrectly depicted as able to hear and respond to voices despite not seeing the person's mouth when standing away from them or the person talking right behind her. It has since been established that Maya Lopez can read lips from some distance or with the corner of her eye even if the talker is wearing a mask if the mask is thin enough (as the rather simple fabric masks used byClint Barton andSpider-Man), and relay their conversation to closer individuals. She still retains her inability to communicate with people wearing sturdier or thicker masks or fully covering their mouths.[51]
Additionally, Maya Lopez has been a host of the Phoenix Force.[52]
Cian O'Luanaigh ofThe Guardian stated Maya Lopez possesses an emotional backstory unlike the majority of deaf characters in literature, calling her a "superhero like no other."[53] Dais Johnston ofInverse said Maya Lopez made a "resounding splash" since her introduction, calling her a "great female role model and foil to the blind Matt Murdock."[54] Deirdre Kaye ofScary Mommy called Maya Lopez a "role model" and a "truly heroic" female character.[55] Beaty Drew ofScreen Rant named Maya Lopez one of Marvel's most notable Native American heroes, saying, "Maya's inclusion among the publisher's most well-known and minimally flawed heroes reads as honest and realistic."[56] As well as Indigenous, Echo is half-Mexican-American. Comics scholar Frederick Luis Aldama describes Echo as "one of the most fascinating and compelling Latina superheroes to date."[57]
Maya Lopez has been described as Marvel's firstdeaf andindigenous superhero.[58] She is the first deaf, indigenous, andamputee character portrayed in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).[59] Her own miniseriesEcho became the first Marvel television show centered on a deaf Native American superhero.[60]
According toDiamond Comic Distributors,Phoenix Song: Echo #1 was the 59th best selling comic book in October 2021.[61]
Dustin Hilland ofComic Book Resources calledPhoenix Song: Echo #1 an "enthralling first issue that sets the stage for a thrilling and complex new series," stating, "Phoenix Song: Echo #1 introduces several sources of tension in Echo's life and hints at the beginnings of a few different confrontations of epic proportions. But this comic's strength lies in the intimidating and fascinating character that Roanhorse and Maresca are developing in Echo. Her struggle to maintain her identity while harnessing the power of the Phoenix Force seems to be propelling this series into new and exciting directions."[62] Matthew Aguilar ofComicBook.com gavePhoenix Song: Echo #1 a grade of 3.5 out of 5, writing, "If Phoenix Song: Echo continues the momentum of this issue's second half and delivers on the promise it holds, we could have an amazing series on our hands. If it stays at the surface, it could still be enjoyable, but it won't come near to what it could be. Here's hoping the former is true because all of the elements are here for Phoenix Song: Echo to be something truly special."[63]
An alternate universe variant of Maya Lopez from Earth-12121 appears inDaredevil: End of Days. This version became a college professor after leaving theAvengers.[64]
An alternate universe variant of Maya Lopez appears inHeroes Reborn. This version was empowered by thePhoenix Force and imprisoned inRavencroft beforeBlade andCaptain America break her out to help them restore reality.[65][66]
An alternate version of Maya Lopez from Earth-1610 makes a cameo appearance inUltimate Spider-Man #122.[67]
The studio also was looking for an actor to play the child version of Cox's character... asked if she had any child relatives that looked like her.
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