Why Daredevil's Echo Appearance Is Such A Let Down For Marvel Fans
Contains spoilers for "Echo"
Alaqua Cox stars in Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries "Echo" as Maya Lopez, whose alter ego serves as the show's title. She debuted as this character in "Hawkeye," making "Echo" a sequel of sorts. Also in its lineage is Netflix's "Daredevil," which is now MCU canon according to producer Brad Winderbaum. But while that show's Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) is a key character in "Echo," a conspicuous lack of Daredevil (Charlie Cox) disappointed a number of Marvel fans.
The expectation that Cox's Daredevil would play an important part in "Echo" was not just the result of its incorporation of "Daredevil" canon but the fact that a long, violent fight scene between Maya and Daredevil was teased ahead of the show's release. This scene did not ultimately make the final cut in its promised six-minute form, and Daredevil's role is limited to just a brief cameo in Episode 1 — quite possibly the result of what were purportedly extensive reshoots.
"Yall: DAREDEVIL!! please, I loved that he was there but he had 2 mins of Screentime, this was SUCH an amazing show dont reduce it to a Cameo," wrote @AnaisElysium on X, formerly known as Twitter, in one of many posts disappointed by Daredevil's "Echo" role.
Fans think the Daredevil cameo in Echo was a misleading marketing tactic
Some of the users online vocally disappointed by how "Echo" incorporates Daredevil are characterizing his cameo as a sort of trick intended market the show to Daredevil fans. "Bro this is 2 MCU projects in the past 2 years to have Daredevil in it for barely any time just so they could tease him in the trailer," wrote @TheImmortalRyan on the X platform. In a similar post, @McBDirect warned away fans whose interest in "Echo" stems mainly from their knowledge of Charlie Cox's return as Daredevil, promising that they'll be disappointed by his role.
Of course, some users in a Reddit thread about "Echo" also shared their feelings about Daredevil's appearance. For instance, u/WildSinatra wrote, "The Daredevil bit was an obvious bait in hindsight but I did enjoy a good bit of that."
This notion that the Daredevil cameo was satisfying in spite of deceptive marketing was a sentiment shared by u/lukastegas. "I was surprised to see Daredevil as early as we did, and it was a bit of a let down to see him used in only one scene. However, I'm also relieved that he was only included for a short time, as they did a good job with him," they wrote.
The prevailing sentiment, then, seems to be that Daredevil's involvement insufficiently pays off his advertised "Echo" role. Whether or not that's a deal-breaker, however, depends on the individual viewer.