Echo

Available on Disney+

It’s unfortunate that Marvel’s efforts to make their cinematic universe more inclusive has coincided with audiences becoming fatigued with their product. Echo, a spin-off from the 2021 mini-series Hawkeye centred on the deaf protagonist of the same name, is the latest such attempt and is, for the most part, a solid show. Alaqua Cox builds effectively on her debut performance in Hawkeye and delivers a Maya Lopez that is always compelling, a vigilante that is every bit as vulnerable as she is dangerous. Opposite her is MCU fan favourite Vincent D’Onofrio, an actor that was seemingly born to play the gargantuan crime lord Kingpin.

Head writers Amy Rardin and Marion Dayre build Echo on the concept of family, with Maya seeking to absolve herself of her adopted patriarch and reconcile with her bloodline, who are of Choctaw descent. Dayre’s work on Better Call Saul can be detected not only in how Echo diligently depicts Native American culture, but also rural America, with virtually all of the show being set in a sleepy town in Oklahoma.

This, along with the respectful incorporation of ASL, differentiates the show from what we have typically come to expect from Marvel, although its actual events are nothing out of the ordinary. At the very least, you come away from it wanting to see more of Maya and Kingpin, which is more than I can say about a lot of other recent MCU products.