In the comic books, Maya Lopez is an Olympic-level athlete who possesses "photographic reflexes," a.k.a. the ability to perfectly copy other people's movements, similar to that of Taskmaster.
She need only watch a recording of someone to be able to imitate their movements but Hawkeye made it clear Marvel Studios wasn't heading down that route (the skill was hinted at but not a key part of her arsenal). The Echo TV series did give Maya superpowers, though they were somewhat vaguely defined and passed down to Maya from her Choctaw ancestors.
Now, newly revealed concept art by Andrew Kim confirms Maya was once going to receive the ability to foresee her opponents' actions, bringing the anti-hero more in line with her comic book counterpart.
"I had A LOT of fun on this keyframe for [Echo]," Kim writes. "At the time of doing this concept, the idea was that she has the power of foreseeing the opponents' movements and reacting accordingly to avoid their hits/tackles. Hence she'd have choices to choose from to make her next moves. In the actual show, I didn't see any of that so I guess that part was cut but still, I had a blast painting this one."
Big chunks of Echo were cut, with the Disney+ series even losing an entire episode. There were even plans for Maya to get her face markings from the comics, but those were CGI'd out, something confirmed by a behind-the-scenes photo shared by Alaqua Cox's stunt double.
Overall, Echo received a positive response from fans and critics and, based on what we've heard, was a hit in terms of viewers. There's been no word on plans for a second season but we are expecting Maya to make an appearance in Daredevil: Born Again.
Check out this new concept art in the Instagram post below.
Echo spotlights Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) as she is pursued by Wilson Fisk's (Vincent D'Onofrio) criminal empire. When the journey brings her home, she must confront her own family and legacy.
The five-episode streaming event also stars Chaske Spencer (Wild Indian, The English), Graham Greene (1883, Goliath), Tantoo Cardinal (Killers of the Flower Moon, Stumptown), Devery Jacobs (FX's Reservation Dogs, American Gods), Zahn McClarnon (Dark Winds, FX's Reservation Dogs), Cody Lightning (Hey, Viktor!, Four Sheets to the Wind) and Vincent D’Onofrio (Hawkeye, Godfather of Harlem).
The series is directed by Sydney Freeland (Navajo) and Catriona McKenzie (Gunaikurnai).
All five episodes of Echo are now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.