In Summer 2023, Marvel Studios will feature Alaqua Cox in her first solo Disney+ series, Echo, after she first brought Maya Lopez to life in 2021's Hawkeye as a semi-antagonist. This series is also set to feature one of Phase 5's most anticipated big bad in Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, played once again by fan-favorite Vincent D'Onofrio.
While the series finished its principal photography in the last few weeks, Marvel just took the chance to promote Echo at its highly-anticipated panel from the 2022 D23 Fan Expo. This comes after confirmation of the Kingpin returning for his second round of MCU action, particularly considering his standing as Maya's "adoptive uncle" that was confirmed during Hawkeye.
Fans got the first look at Echo during D23, which teased the Kingpin's reunion with Charlie Cox's Daredevil after their appeared in Hawkeye and Spider-Man: No Way Home, respectively, at the end of 2021. And as part of that, D'Onofrio's Kingpin made his glorious return to the small screen in the trailer's final moments as well.
Echo Brings Kingpin Back Into the MCU
During Marvel Studios' panel at the D23 Fan Expo, the studio delivered the first look at Echo, which will premiere on Disney+ in Summer 2023.
As detailed by SlashFilm, this footage included the first look at Vincent D'Onofrio's return as Kingpin, who was last seen in the final episode of 2021's Hawkeye. He is shown with a bandage over his eye, covering the gunshot wound that Maya Lopez gave him, as he tells his surrogate daughter "It's been a long time."
This indicates that Maya likely only blinded Fisk rather than killing him, which has happened on numerous occasions in the comics. Below is one example where the Kingpin has bandages over both of his eyes, although it will likely only be over one eye in the MCU:
Although this is the simplest explanation for Fisk's survival, some wilder theories are out there that tie back to some of Echo's powers in the comics.
One shot in the trailer showed Maya looking at her hands as they glowed, which could be a nod to the Phoenix Force with Maya having been resurrected by it on the page. While the MCU likely wouldn't do the Phoenix Force specifically due to the X-Men connection, she could gain similar abilities through her Indigenous roots, which will be heavily explored throughout the series.
Two powers that Maya has with the Phoenix Force are resurrecting herself and Power Bestowal, which could be utilized in the MCU. One theory hints that Maya could use those powers to actually bring back the Kingpin if she killed him after shooting him in the face.
Echo Brings Kingpin Back to Life?
Marvel Studios is known to take some deviations from some characters' comic backgrounds, as seen recently by Ms. Marvel becoming one of the MCU's first confirmed mutants. And while this wouldn't necessarily be a change in Echo's powers that fans have seen in the pages before, it would certainly be a shocking moment to see her actually bring the Kingpin back to life.
From the moment that D'Onofrio's villain was shot in Hawkeye Episode 6, it was clear that he would be back even after suffering such a devastating injury. Seeing him come back in this footage only teases that he'll take a different direction than fans have seen in previous stories, allowing Marvel to dive even deeper into its comic lore.
The big question now is how these powers and D'Onofrio's return will play into the overarching story in Echo, which will tie back to Maya's introduction in Hawkeye along with her comic roots from her own adventures and Daredevil's alike.
Echo will premiere on Disney+ in Summer 2023
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