Will Marvel's 'Echo' Set Up A Love Triangle?
Daredevil fans are more than familiar with the leading ladies who have been in and out of Matt Murdock’s life in both the comics and on the small screen over the years, the most recent being Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk. The upcoming Echo series coming to Disney+ later this year, along with confirmation that Charlie Cox will reprise his role in the series, has caused fans to wonder if Echo will set up a love triangle between the three. Given that Maya and Matt have an intertwined history and Jen and Matt have a brief romance in the comics and most recently hooked up in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, the question certainly has merit.
All superheroes have facets of their story that resonate. These serve to ground them in their humanity which helps fans connect with them. All our beloved superheroes have had connections with one another at some point, either in print or on the screen. Romances certainly go with the territory there; many times, however, when romance ends, friendship often remains. Maya and Matt have a complicated past together – sometimes, they are romantically linked, but they are always in each other’s corner no matter what. Ironically, what brought them together was the mutually shared and complicated relationship they had with Kingpin, aka Wilson Fisk.
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Maya, as Echo, is a deadly assassin. This heroine can duplicate any move an opponent makes. If she did not have a heart, this would make her unstoppably dangerous. Unfortunately for Kingpin, his hold on her waned when she learned the truth about who really murdered her father. When she figured out that Matt Murdock and The Man Without Fear were one and the same, she realized that he could not have killed her father. Upon learning the truth, Maya turned on Fisk and fell in love with Matt.
Fisk, being the mastermind that he is, knew that if the alter egos were to meet that they’d have chemistry. While simultaneously puppeteering their relationship, he also informed Echo that Daredevil had murdered her father. The pair fought twice. The first round was a clear win for Echo, yet just when she was about to pull the trigger, a group of kids showed up. Echo’s desire to not harm any of the children saved Daredevil to fight another day. The second fight ended with Daredevil revealing his identity to her. His age simply cleared the confusion. He could not have killed her father as he was too young to have done the deed at the time of his death. Fisk not only lost the allegiance of his highly trained hitwoman but gained her as an enemy. She shot him point blank in the face causing him to lose his eyesight. The romance with Matt, unfortunately, died at the scene as Maya needed time to learn who she really was. While she was in rediscovery mode, Matt moved on romantically.
While not a romantic gesture, Murdock later pulled strings for his old flame to join the Avengers. After all, Daredevil knew firsthand the level of heart that Echo carries, including her loyalty and refusal to harm innocents in an altercation. He could have kept this information to himself but instead shared it with Captain America. This action paved the way for Echo to join the Avengers alongside some of Earth’s mightiest heroes and do good in the world. The two do appear together again further down the road, several times while demonstrating time after time that chemistry is always a present force; although they do not appear to get back together, they remain friends. For fans who love these characters, the first issue of Daredevil & Echo (2023) came out on May 24, 2023.
So where does Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk, fit in? Excellent question; so glad you asked. Fans loved these two on-screen together in the Disney+ limited series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law in October of 2022. These attractive young people who share an interest in preserving law and order would have chemistry, and in the same vein as the rest of the limited series, their hook-up was written in a fun, light-hearted way, walk of shame and all. By contrast, in the comics, they don’t have a huge romantic interlude. However, they did enjoy powerhouse couple status under Scarlet Witch’s reign over the House of M.
Scarlet Witch used her chaos magic to alter the reality of numerous major players in the MCU. On the one hand, she gifted them their innermost desires. During this time, Jen and Matt entered a more flirtatious period that blossomed into a romantic relationship, indicating the possibility that these two characters may truly belong together. Unfortunately, when the heroes put an end to Wanda’s spell, it hard-stopped her parallel universe canceling out found love for many of the MCU’s finest. The devastation hit our favorite heroes where it hurt the most, including Jen, as she remembered the time together, while Matt didn’t. In the comics, these two occasionally interact in the courtroom and, a few times, side by side as their alter egos. Rarely do fans see them on opposite sides, as both their mindsets are to protect the innocent. Sadly, they have not yet made it back together as a couple.
The Disney+ miniseries have all offered a unique opportunity to see favorite MCU heroes in more depth. As such, we loved Echo in Hawkeye. We loved Daredevil in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. And chances are we are going to love Daredevil in Echo, and if we are lucky, we will get to see Echo and She-Hulk return in Daredevil: Born Again. Given the stats, it is safe to say we will love them any chance we get. Will there be a triangle? Doubtful, but not out of the question. One thing is for sure – these heroes will respect each other and ultimately make the right choices. One burning question remains, will they find love? Only time will tell, but we are here for it and are patiently, impatiently waiting for the release dates. Speaking of release dates, Echo is expected to be available for streaming on Disney+ starting on November 29, 2023!
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