Echo Repeats Marvel's Longest-Running Villain Problem

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Hawkeye episode 3, "Echoes."

While Hawkeye has debuted the MCU's Echo, a.k.a. Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), the new character repeats one of Marvel's longest ongoing problems with their villains. Occurring much more often with its villains than with its heroes, Marvel is much more liberal with how it adapts its foes from the comics to the MCU. As an example, while a key moment from Maya's comic book backstory is translated over for her MCU origins, there doesn't seem to be any payoff in the present.

Marvel's Hawkeye episode 3 reveals Maya Lopez's childhood. Despite being deaf, Echo has no trouble in school or her karate classes thanks to her photographic reflexes, an ability she likewise has in the comics and uses to great effect. However, during Thanos' Decimation, a masked assassin appearing to be Clint Barton's Ronin massacred members of the Tracksuit Mafia, including their leader, Maya's father. As such, Maya's father was seemingly killed by Ronin and he died in Maya's arms, leaving his bloody handprint on her face which is a moment taken directly from the comics that she carries into becoming the Marvel villain, Echo.

However, the problem is that there doesn't seem to be any sort of payoff from that moment with Alaqua Cox's present-day version of Echo. In the comics, Echo has a white handprint on her face, a symbolic reminder of her father's death that the MCU Maya Lopez doesn't have in Hawkeye. As a result, it seems as though Maya joins the trend of several other Marvel villains who aren't as comic-accurate as they could be in the MCU. While there are references and nods (such as the handprint), Marvel Studios has often elected to take their characters in new directions, presumedly allowing them to have greater creative freedom. Sometimes, this is necessary in order to make something work better in the medium of live-action, but at other times, it seems like an unnecessary change that undermines an MCU villain's origins.

The same is true of many Marvel movie titles such as Captain America: Civil War or Avengers: Age of Ultron. While they bear the same names as events from the comics, they're not direct adaptations by any means. However, the core narratives and certainly the themes are largely still there. Civil War is still about the Avengers being divided thanks to government interference. Age of Ultron is still about Ultron seeking to replace humanity, even though the MCU version wasn't created by Hank Pym. Likewise, the current MCU version of Echo in Hawkeye still depicts the core of who the comics version is and was before she becomes a hero. While she might not have the white handprint or be the MCU's first Ronin as she is in the comics, her journey is still hitting the same core beats.

While Echo and other Marvel villains or events might cause problems in terms of not being 100% comic-accurate and having deviations, it's ultimately a good thing for the MCU overall. A direct adaptation of any given character or story from something that's already been seen before would be boring. At the same time, Marvel Studios can't go too far in the other direction either as the characters need to still be recognizable. It's a delicate balance that the MCU is constantly playing. Despite not having the white handprint, it does look as though Echo is off a strong start as Hawkeye continues.

More: How Hawkeye Changed Kate Bishop's Marvel Comics Origin Story

Hawkeye releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.