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In ‘Echo,’ Marvel Superheroes Come to Rural Oklahoma [1]
['Adam B. Giorgi', 'The Daily Yonder']
Date: 2024-02-08
Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in The Good, the Bad, and the Elegy, a newsletter from the Daily Yonder focused on the best, and worst, in rural media, entertainment, and culture. Every other Thursday, it features reviews, retrospectives, recommendations, and more. You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article to receive future editions in your inbox.
New York City may not be the center of the universe, but it is unquestionably the center of the Marvel Universe.
Spider-Man is from Queens, Captain America from Brooklyn. The X-Men have a headquarters in Westchester, the Avengers and Fantastic Four in Manhattan. Daredevil holds down Hell’s Kitchen, and Luke Cage covers Harlem, while the Sorcerer Supreme Dr. Strange occupies his Sanctum Sanctorum in Greenwich Village.
From top-to-bottom, the boroughs and neighborhoods of New York host more of the company’s comic book superheroes than any other place, across our Earth or the broader galaxy.
For that reason, it’s striking to see Marvel’s latest on-screen adventure, the streaming mini-series “Echo,” bring the story to the Choctaw Nation and the very small town of Tamaha, Oklahoma. It’s a welcome change of scenery, no doubt; it’s unfortunate though, that the baggage “Echo” carries from New York — and the massive Marvel franchise — can make it difficult to discern the significance of this trip.
An official trailer for Marvel Studios’ ‘Echo’ (via Marvel Entertainment on YouTube).
Homecoming
On the one hand, “Echo” is a relatively simple story. It follows Maya Lopez, a closely held associate of a New York-based criminal magnate, as she returns to her Oklahoma hometown after a violent falling out with her boss. The return forces her to reckon with the circumstances that first led to her departure and reconcile with the family she left behind.
On the other hand however, “Echo” is both a spinoff and a direct sequel to a previous Marvel mini-series, “Hawkeye,” which was itself a sequel to the most recent “Avengers” films released in 2018 and 2019. There’s no escaping that “Echo” is part of a narrative that now spans more than 30 films and nearly two dozen television series.
Viewers who come in with limited Marvel knowledge won’t necessarily be hampered by all that continuity, but watching “Echo” may feel like seeing only part of the picture. The first episode offers some solid recap, including flashbacks to relevant scenes from Maya’s earlier appearances, yet that’s precious real estate in a series that only has five episodes to introduce a whole new community of characters.
As someone who has watched almost all of those Marvel films and TV series, my biggest question is whether the core conflict of the series comes through for a general audience. The clash between Maya and her former boss, the established Marvel antagonist Kingpin, left me concerned that much of the threat and menace of the latter character is not earned here but is instead assumed, inherited from earlier appearances and prior association.
Chaske Spencer as Henry Black Crow Lopez in Marvel Studios’ ‘Echo’ (Credit: Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios).
Vincent D’Onofrio, who has played this character across multiple appearances since 2015, remains an imposing physical presence, but his relationship with Maya’s family is an enigma, and his possessiveness of Maya is conveyed but not always felt completely. Ultimately, Kingpin feels a bit out of place in Tamaha, and a cynical take might argue he’s here primarily to keep dedicated fans invested and maintain appearances for Marvel’s larger connected universe.
When “Echo” is able to break free of those connections and focus on its own setting and characters it feels like a much richer show.
Endgame
For one, “Echo” has a strong sense of place that you don’t always get in Marvel stories, which I really enjoyed. Establishing shots of Tamaha’s main street and the surrounding landscape recur throughout the series, and the spaces the characters inhabit, from an old family home to an antique shop, a bowling alley, and a Choctaw Powwow Festival feel authentic and lived-in — some providing a striking backdrop for the usual action set pieces as well.
Likewise, the cast, made up primarily of Indigenous actors, is excellent, making the most of the material. Marvel also consulted directly with the Choctaw Nation on how to represent and incorporate Choctaw culture into a superhero story of this kind. Native American filmmaker Sydney Freeland, who directed four of the five episodes, described the opportunity to improve on the comic book version of a character whose Indigenous origins were comparatively “muddled” and “inauthentic.”
Zahn McClarnon as William Lopez, Katarina Ziervogel as Taloa, Graham Greene as Skully, and Tantoo Cardinal as Chula Battiest in Marvel Studios’ ‘Echo’ (Credit: Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios).
Alaqua Cox anchors the show as Maya, and she’s a unique presence. A member of the Menominee Nation from rural Keshena, Wisconsin, Cox is deaf and has a prosthetic leg, both of which are mirrored in Maya’s story. “Hawkeye” and “Echo” represent her first work as an actor, which I would not have guessed from the performance. The cast’s extensive use of American Sign Language is another distinct feature of this Marvel story and the latest example of notable deaf representation of this kind.
It’s common practice to refer to comic books as modern-day mythology, and such framing prompts questions of inclusion and representation, that all people might be able to see themselves and share in the mythmaking process. For years, Marvel has been striving, in both its comic books and its cinematic endeavors, to elevate heroes from more diverse backgrounds, to mixed reception among some long-time, diehard comic book nerds.
“Echo” arrives at a time in Marvel’s cinematic history when it’s not entirely clear whether its association with this broader franchise is a boon or a burden. The series is perhaps not transcendent enough to convert audiences who aren’t all that interested in more Marvel media at the moment, but I hope it’s not the last time we see this type of Indigenous, rural representation in our preeminent superhero universe.
May there yet be plenty more comic book heroes to find outside of New York City.
Echo is now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
This article first appeared in The Good, the Bad, and the Elegy, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder focused on the best, and worst, in rural media, entertainment, and culture. Every other Thursday, it features reviews, recommendations, retrospectives, and more. Join the mailing list today to have future editions delivered straight to your inbox.
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