Hawkeye: Marvel Studios To Cast Echo For Disney+ Series

The year 2020 has been quite uneventful for Marvel fans. However, these past few weeks have been a period of major revelations as Marvel Studios has been dropping new information regarding the upcoming shows on Disney+. After the first trailer reveal of WandaVision, Ms. Marvel has also added four new characters to the show. And now, Hawkeye has revealed a brand new piece of information for Marvel fans across the world.

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Yesterday, The Direct had revealed that Madame Masque will feature as the villain for the Jeremy Renner starring show. And now, another major character has been confirmed to appear in the upcoming Disney+ show. According to The Illuminerdi, a new hero would be joining Hawkeye and Kate Bishop in their adventures.

After several rumors, The Illuminerdi has confirmed that the new ally of the archer duo is Echo. Making her debut in the MCU, Echo will be making her appearance in the Disney+ show Hawkeye. The first Native American hero to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Echo is also one of the few heroes with a hearing disability.

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The rumors of Echo joining the show were started back in June. But now, it is safe to assume that the Native American hero will be making her grand appearance in the show alongside Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye and Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop.

The daughter of Willie ‘Crazy Horse’ Lincoln, Maya Lopez was taken under the care of Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin after her father’s murder by the villain. Raised by Fisk as his daughter, Maya Lopez is taught in a school for gifted prodigies.

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Raised by Kingpin, Maya Lopez is sent by him to find Daredevil’s weakness. However, the two fall in love. Unbeknownst to Maya Lopez, Matt Murdock is Daredevil. Similarly, Matt Murdock is too unaware of Maya’s Echo identity. As Echo is tasked to take down the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, she is initially bested by him.

In their second meeting, Echo levels the field where Daredevil’s superhuman senses fail to help him in fighting her. As a result, she gains the upper hand and beats him. Having watched several videos of Daredevil and Bullseye, Echo accurately remembered their fighting techniques. She could even copy Bullseye’s lethal aim just by watching his videos.

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Gifted with a photographic memory, Echo can memorize any task within minutes, which is quite similar to Taskmaster’s ability. Echo is a highly skilled acrobat who possesses peak Olympian athlete fitness. She can also read lips with ease, which alleviates her hearing disability.

In the comics, she befriends Wolverine for a brief period of time during which he teaches her about Japanese culture and Japanese organized crime. As a result, Echo has also taken the title of Ronin, which was taken by Hawkeye in Avengers: Endgame.

Echo has also briefly partnered up with another Marvel hero, Moon Knight. In the comics, she joins forces with Moon Knight to take down the West Coast crime gangs. Interestingly, Echo has had a run-in with Count Nefaria in the comics, the father of Madame Masque. Madame Masque has been confirmed to appear in the upcoming Hawkeye show.

Also see: Moon Knight: Upcoming Disney+ Series Details Revealed

According to The Illuminerdi, the casting call is under the name “Malia,” with the description of “deaf, Native American, First Nations, Indigenous and/or Latina, independent, athletic and bright”. The audition scene’s dialogue is also set to be signed in American Sign Language.

As Hawkeye is yet to enter production, most of the plot details are being tightly kept under wraps. As Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye will go into retirement, he will pass the mantle to Kate Bishop. It will be interesting to see Hawkeye also mentoring Echo in the show alongside Kate Bishop. As the MCU is finally taking representation seriously, the first Native American and specially-abled hero making her grand appearance in the show is a huge win for inclusivity and the spirit of comic-books.

Hawkeye is set to start filming this October.