Highlights
- Daredevil’s return: Daredevil is back in his iconic red costume and will continue to be the formidable character he was in the Netflix series.
- Selective canon: The MCU is choosing which elements from the Netflix shows to incorporate into its universe, but some things remain canon.
- Echo’s transformation: Echo’s show reveals that she possesses new powers inherited from her ancestors, elevating her from a street-level hero to a more powerful figure in the MCU.
Marvel Studios recently changed the format of its Disney+ MCU shows with the release of Echo. Not only were all episodes of the five-episode limited series released at once under Marvel’s new Spotlight banner, but the show also has a mature rating. This means that the show is much more gritty and violent than the other MCU shows that fans have seen so far.
For the most part, Echo is a very self-contained TV show that mainly sticks to the streets of New York. Despite this, there are still a few things that this show can tell fans about the future of the MCU.
5 Daredevil Gets His Red Costume Back
Matt Murdock Is Done With Yellow For Now
Charlie Cox makes his third appearance as the blind vigilante, Daredevil, in Echo. His appearance is only small, but it does tell fans a lot about what they can expect from the character in the franchise moving forward.
The last time Daredevil appeared in the MCU, it was in the comical show, She-Hulk. This Disney+ show was more light-hearted in tone than Echo, which gave the producers the chance to debut this version of Matt Murdock in his classic yellow costume. However, many fans were left to wonder when they would see him in his iconic red outfit. Fortunately, viewers didn’t have to wait long, as Echo confirms that Daredevil is now back in red and that he is going to remain as the bruiser he was in his Netflix series.
4 Some Netflix Material Is Canon
The MCU Is Free To Take What They Want From Previous Incarnations Of Its Street-Level Heroes
When it was announced that both Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio would be reprising their roles from the Daredevil Netflix series, fans of the franchise were left with a lot of questions. Firstly, is everything that happened in that series canon to the MCU? Also, would any of the other actors be reprising their roles in the franchise? While Kingpin’s super-strength in Hawkeye seemed to suggest that this was an entirely new continuity for these characters, it seems that some things will remain as canon.
For example, Kingpin gets flashback to his father’s death in Echo and even tries to gift the heroine with the hammer he used in that series. However, there are still some discrepancies. For instance, surely The Avengers would have shown up or at least referenced the dragon bones in New York that were the central plot element in Netflix’s The Defenders. The Echo show seems to confirm that Marvel is cherry-picking some things from the Netflix shows that they want to use as canon in the MCU and disregarding the rest. However, the franchise will need to take time to highlight anything that remains canon.
3 Echo Is More Than Just A Street-Level Hero
The Character Gets A New Power Set In The Show
The Echo character from the comics, and the one set up in Hawkeye, is a very grounded hero who has no superpowers. Instead, the character uses her martial arts prowess and grit to defeat her enemies and help out New York. As such, many fans of the MCU assumed that Echo would remain a street-level hero and that she would only ever appear to fight small crimes alongside other vigilantes, like Daredevil.
However, Echo receives a huge upgrade to her power set in her own show. During the series, Maya constantly has flashbacks to her ancestors in the Choctaw tribe. These interactions serve as more than just backstory, as Echo soon learns that she can use any of the abilities of her ancestors when in need. These abilities include healing others and increased durability or strength. Therefore, Echo has been upgraded from just a normal vigilante to someone more powerful, and she may be filling some bigger shoes in the MCU at some point in the future.
2 Kingpin’s Reign In New York
The Villain Now Has A Bigger Goal
Wilson Fisk may get taken down by the titular hero in the Echo finale, but that does not mean that the Kingpin of crime is ready to give up his chase for power just yet. The mid-credits scene at the end of the show sees Fisk watching the news announce that New York is ready to receive new candidates for the next mayoral election.
As many comic readers know, Kingpin has become mayor of New York before. In his run as mayor in this series, Fisk has outlawed all vigilantes in the city and generally makes life a lot harder for the heroes in the Marvel universe. Since the MCU seems to be looking at adapting this story, Kingpin could soon be elevated to be a villain as feared and iconic as Thanos.
1 Kingpin And Spider-Man Could Clash
The Web-Head May Have A New Challenge In His Next Movie
So far, much of the speculation surrounding the fourth Spider-Man movie in the MCU seems to suggest that the hero will be returning to his street-level roots. This notion was hinted at by removing the hero’s identity at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Marvel Executive Producer, Kevin Feige, seemingly confirmed as such.
With Kingpin now running for, and likely to become, Mayor of New York, this appointment could spell trouble for Spider-Man. Kingpin started out as a villain to Peter Parker before he appeared in Daredevil, so it would make sense for the pair to clash in the MCU.
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