YMMV / Echo (2024)

• Alternative Character Interpretation: How much of Wilson Fisk's love for Maya was genuine? We see that they had a genuine rapport when she was working for him before the events of Hawkeye, and he was fiercely protective of her in her early years. Even when she rejects him and goes on the run, Fisk is seemingly understanding, and tries to be polite as he attempts to repair their relationship. On the other hand, he did call for her father's death through Ronin, and when she crosses him too many times, he resolves to try to kill the rest of her family out of spite.
• Awesome Music:
  • The choice of "Burning" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs for the series' opening sequence is a solid winner.
  • Rob Zombie's blood-pumping hit "Dragula" blasts through the skating rink's stereo system as Maya picks off Zane's thugs in the laser tag arena, making the already badass sequence even more exciting.
• Continuity Lockout: Despite what Brad Winderbaum has said about avoiding this trope under the Author's Saving Throw entry on the trivia page, there are still some connections to past MCU series that are required watching to appreciate the characters and their motivations:
  • Hawkeye is essentially required watching to get the full impact of Fisk and Maya's relationship, not to mention this is technically a Sequel Series to it since Hawkeye is where Maya was first introduced to the MCU.
  • Daredevil is also considered canonical to the wider MCU as of this series airing, so watching at least the first series of that show will better display what Fisk was like when he was young, it stars Daredevil in his old suit using his older, more brutal fighting style in The Oner format, and also includes Fisk's attack on his father this series never shows, but heavily implies (but the trailers do oddly).
• Friendly Fandoms: With What If...?, specifically "What If... Kahhori Reshaped the World?" due to both having Native American female leads. It helps that Kahori's voice actress Devery Jacobs also appears in the show as Maya's cousin Bonnie.
• I Knew It!: Almost nobody actually believed Fisk bit the bullet at the end of Hawkeye, primarily because of his death being conveniently shown offscreen, but also because of the popularity of D'onofrio's interpretation of the character would make it unwise to kill him off so soon after re-introducing him into the MCU. Sure enough, he shows up alive and well here (albeit with an eyepatch).
• Improved Second Attempt:
  • In general, Marvel Studios has received criticism over the years for deliberately avoiding in trying to adapt more adult-oriented material, with any violent or hardcore elements being toned down to make it adhere to PG-13 standards. This show is explicitly advertised as being TV-MA and is co-released on Hulu to reflect this, with the trailers emphasizing the Bloodier and Gorier nature compared to previous Marvel Disney+ series, and later trailers even explicitly show footage from Daredevil, and the gorier parts of the series.
  • Daredevil's costume in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law received mockery for attempting to depict the character's infamous yellow costume from his first comic book appearance in live-action, which many fans found to be too silly and flashy. Considering even that series has She Hulk make fun of the costume (comparing it to yellow mustard), one suspected it was an Intended Audience Reaction. In this series, Daredevil appears in a flashback set during the time of the Netflix series and is wearing his old costume from that era, fitting with this series Darker and Edgier tone.
  • Relatedly, a lot of people didn't like how Kingpin was portrayed in Hawkeye, with criticisms mounted at him getting personally involved in a situation that wasn't necessary, his inability to take Kate Bishop head-on in a fight, and for tonally clashing with the Lighter and Softer nature of the series. This series helps reaffirm Fisk's Manipulative Bastard tendencies through his complicated relationship with Maya Lopez, and reestablishes how powerful and far-reaching his criminal empire is, bringing him much closer to his portrayal in Daredevil.
• Just Here for Godzilla: A number of fans watched the series either for Kingpin, Daredevil, or for it being Marvel Studios' first TV-MA series.
• Memetic Mutation
  • The MCU is dead! ^Explanation A Variety article painting Marvel Studios as a chaotic mess was published mere days before the first trailer, causing some fans and Marvel's detractors to declare that the MCU was dead. The very well-received trailer caused many people to mock this declaration. To further knead mustard into the wound, a mere day after the trailer premiered, multiple outlets and creatives involved with Marvel, past and present, thoroughly debunked the article, not helped by the author's extensive history of multiple MCU hit-pieces.
  • Marvel's Andor ^Explanation This is what the Darker and Edgier Secret Invasion was called before its poorly-received finale resulted in people using the phrase ironically. The phrase was later used unironically by fans after the well-received trailer of Echo.
• One-Scene Wonder: Daredevil only appears in the show's first action sequence in Episode 1, which takes place entirely in a flashback. However, his fight against Maya is certainly one of the show's best highlights, with Charlie Cox bringing back the Netflix series' intensity in their one-on-one battle.
• Spiritual Successor:
  • While picking up where Hawkeye left off makes it a Sequel Series to that, it also works as this to Daredevil in terms of tone, rating and other thematic aspects.
  • With the focus on a minority culture, particularly mystic elements that were Real After All, it's also a Darker and Edgier Ms. Marvel.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: Some comic fans weren't happy to see Maya's powers changed from mimicking others' abilities to having a more Magical Native American-style powerset. While it's meant to be a reimagining of her Echo alias via inheriting generations of her family's abilities, some feel that it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
• Watched It for the Representation: Some fans of this show are interested in watching it due to it providing representation for Native American culture (Choctaw, in specific) in the MCU.

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