Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton and Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop ran into a lot of trouble during their time together on Hawkeye, and one of their more notable opponents was Maya Lopez, a.k.a. Echo. Created by David Mack and Joe Quesada, Echo has been a major player in the Marvel Comics space for more than two decades, and long before Hawkeye premiered to Disney+ subscribers, we knew the MCU’s version of the character had a bright future ahead of her. That’s because in March 2021, it was revealed that Echo was getting her own spinoff show.
Echo was slotted in the Phase 5 lineup and premiered on both Disney+ and Hulu on January 9, 2024, though it's leaving the latter service in April. The series saw Maya returning to her hometown in Oklahoma following the events of Hawkeye to, as the official plot synopsis from Marvel says, “come to terms with her past, reconnect with her Native American roots, and embrace her family and community.” That's just one of the handful of other things we know about Echo, including Better Call Saul’s Marion Dayre attached as the head writer, Sydney Freehand and Catriona McKenzie being among the show’s directors, and more importantly in this case, the actors who are making up the cast.
On that note, let’s go over who’s in this lineup, including Alaqua Cox reprising the title character and Vincent D’Onofrio returning as an important figure in Maya’s life, albeit not in a good way.
Alaqua Cox
Like her comic book counterpart, Alaqua Cox’s Echo is deaf, but rather than being able perfectly copy another person’s movements (similar to Taskmaster), the miniseries gave her the ability to call upon the skills and powers of her ancestors. Cox, who is also deaf and has a prosthetic leg, made her acting debut bringing Maya Lopez to life in Hawkeye, with the character leading the Tracksuit Mafia and seeking revenge on Clint Barton for the death of her father, William Lopez.
By the end of the series, Maya learned the full story behind William’s demise and carried out her revenge on the person who orchestrated the hit. Maya finally got to take center stage in the Echo miniseries over two years later and embark on a personal journey that saw her reconnecting with people from her past and dealing with threats both new and familiar.
Zahn McClarnon
During the Blip, i.e. the five years between when Thanos wiped out half of all life in the universe and Smart Hulk undid the genocide, William Lopez was killed by Clint Barton, who was murdering criminals as Ronin during that time and had been tipped off about the Tracksuit Mafia’s operations in New York City. William, who raised Maya to be observant and had her trained in martial arts, urged her daughter with his dying words to flee before she met the same fate as him.
Reservation Dogs and Westworld’s Zahn McClarnon reprised William in the Echo series, with the bulk of his new screen time showing the circumstances behind why he and Maya moved from Tamaha, Oklahoma to New York City when Maya was a girl.
Vincent D’Onofrio
Three years after Daredevil Season 3 premiered on Netflix, which was followed shortly thereafter by the show’s cancellation, Vincent D’Onofrio returned as Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin, in Hawkeye. Kingpin was first teased as Maya’s “uncle,” and in the show’s penultimate episode, the crime boss was outright identified as the man in cahoots with Kate’s Bishop’s mother.
By the Hawkeye finale, we finally saw D’Onofrio in the flesh again as Kingpin, and along with him trying to kill Eleanor Bishop for betraying him, it was also revealed that he orchestrated having Clint Barton kill William Lopez. Maya Lopez learned about this and confronted Uncle Fisk with a gun pointed at his face, and as the camera panned away from them, a shot was heard.
Fans of the character can take comfort this wasn’t a kill shot, as D’Onofrio returned for Echo, albiet with his eye badly damaged. We won't get into spoilers about Fisk factored into the story (aside from getting a better look at how he was once a father figure to Maya), but suffice it to say that where we leave off with him at the end of Echo miniseries sets up nicely where we'll be positioned as a leading member of Daredevil: Born Again's cast.
Charlie Cox
December 2021 was a big month for Daredevil fans, because in addition to Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin’s returning in Hawkeye, Spider-Man: No Way Home featured a cameo from Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock, who Peter Parker and his Aunt May hired as their attorney after his secret identity was leaked to the public. Matt is next set to appear in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law both interacting with Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters as a civilian and teaming up the title hero as Daredevil, though his costume has a different color scheme these days.
Charlie Xox also appeared in Echo, although minor spoiler alert, he isn't around for nearly as long as what was expected prior to the miniseries' premiere. In any case, following his brief appearance, Daredevil and Kingpin will clash again in Daredevil: Born Again. It's also worth noting that in its goal to "lean in" to a mature rating, Echo was inspired by the Netflix Daredevil series.
Chaske Spencer
Now we come to the fresh faces who’ve joined Echo. Starting off, there’s Chaske Spencer, who’s arguably best known for playing Sam Uley in all of the Twilight movies except the first one. If you’re more of a TV buff though, you may recognize him for his roles on shows like Banshee, Sneaky Pete and Blindspot. Additionally, along with co-starring alongside Jesse Eisenberg and Kate Bosworth in Wild Indian, Spencer also already has a little Marvel experience under his belt from playing Jace Montero in two episodes of Jessica Jones’ final season.
In Echo, he's playing a character named Henry "Black Crow" Lopez, Maya's uncle, William's brother and a cog in Kingpin's criminal empire. Although he's initially not receptive to Maya's plan to overthrow Kingpin, certain events eventually lead to her needing to help her out in this chaotic chapter of her life.
Tantoo Cardinal
Tantoo Cardinal has been in the acting business for almost 50 years, with some of the older entries on her resume including Dances with Wolves, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Legends of the Fall and Moccasin Flats. More recently, Cardinal has either recurred or had guest roles on shows like Longmire, Outlander and New Amsterdam, she was a series regular on the short-lived ABC series Stumptown, and she took part in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, which is playing in theaters and will later be available to stream with an Apple TV+ subscription.
Cardinal's Echo character was Chula, Maya Lopez's maternal grandmother. Although the grandmother and granddaughter start out estranged in the miniseries, the former later becomes integral to the latter figuring out her strange abilities.
Devery Jacobs
Devery Jacobs kicked off her acting career in the late 2000s with roles in The Dead Zone and Assassin’s Creed: Lineage, but in terms of widespread recognizability, she’s is best known for her leading role as Elora Danan in the Hulu show Reservation Dogs. As such, she already has experience working with Zahn McClarnon. You may also remember Jacobs for playing Sam Blackcrow in Starz’s American Gods.
Her Echo character, Bonnie, was initially described as a "strong willed and resilient" person. The miniseries revealed that she is Maya's cousin, with the two of them having been like sisters to each other when they were kids, before Maya moved away. In the present day, Bonnie works as an EMT. This is Devery's second MCU role, as she also voiced Kahori in What If... ? Season 2.
Cody Lightning
In 1998, five years after he made his acting debut in the TV movie Geronimo, Cody Lightning played the young Victor Joseph in Smoke Signals, which scored him a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actor. Then in 2007, he starred in Four Sheets to the Wind, and he won the American Indian Film Festival for Best Actor for his performance as Cufe Smallhill.
Lightning appeared in Echo as Cousin Biscuits, Maya's "well meaning" cousin who's ends up getting dragged into some of her illegal exploits as a sidekick of sorts. Mainly though, he acts as a sort of comedic relief during the miniseries.
Graham Greene
One of Tantoo Cardinal’s co-stars in Dances with Wolves was Graham Greene, who played Kicking Bird in the 1990 movie and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Greene’s other notable film credits include Die Hard with a Vengeance, The Green Mile, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Wind River and Antlers, while on TV, he’s appeared in Being Erica, Defiance, Longmire, Goliath, American Gods, the Yellowstone spinoff 1883. and HBO’s The Last of Us.
Echo saw him playing Skully, who used to date Chula. While they're no longer together during the show's present day events, he still serves as a grandfather-like figure to Maya when she returns home, and he's also a valued member of the community with his pawn shop that also serves as a place where people can get things repaired.
After you've watched all five Echo episodes remember to keep your eyes peeled on CinemaBlend for updates on the upcoming Marvel TV shows.
