Charlie Cox’s Daredevil Crashes the First Episode of ‘Echo’ on Disney+

**Spoilers for Echo Episode 1, now streaming on Disney+**

Disney+‘s newest Marvel series Echo gets a welcome jolt of crossover energy when Daredevil (Charlie Cox) shows up suddenly in the very first episode. Echo, which is the first “Marvel Spotlight” series — meaning it’s technically more about exploring a grounded character than setting up a new Phase of the MCU — follows the breakout Hawkeye character Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) as she continues her fight against former mentor Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio). The series fills in gaps in the character’s backstory and reunites her with her extended family in Oklahoma. However, the moment that Marvel fans are likely to get the biggest kick out of is the arrival of Charlie Cox’s Daredevil. The fan favorite character has already popped up a few times in the MCU, but his brief battle with Echo is nothing short of exhilarating. It’s not cool because it sets up a future storyline, but because it lets both characters — Daredevil and Echo — shine.

Echo is a five-episode-long series digging into what makes deaf superhero Maya Lopez, aka the eponymous Echo, tick. We first met Maya in 2021’s Hawkeye. She had it out for Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) because she believed that he murdered her criminal father (Zahn McClarnon) during his blip years as Ronan. Eventually it was revealed that her beloved “uncle” was behind her father’s death. So Hawkeye ended with Maya shooting Kingpin in the face…only he didn’t die! He survived!

So, yeah, Echo deals with the fallout of Maya turning on Kingpin, but before we can get into the meat of that story, we have to learn just how she started working for the crime boss in the first place. Using a combination of new footage and clips from Hawkeye, we piece together the character’s backstory. After her mother was killed in a accident caused by one of her father’s rivals cutting out the family car’s breaks, Maya moves to New York City with Daddy. While he works for the Kingpin, she learns how to become an ace martial artist despite her deafness and prosthetic right leg. Through it all, Kingpin looks out for her. So much so, he offers her an outlet for her grief-induced rage following her dad’s death: she’ll work for him as a hitman.

What follows is then Maya’s first brush with murder. She joins two long-time henchmen on a job to eliminate competition. As soon as Maya gets a taste for violence, she takes to it, snapping necks and drop-kicking dudes left and right. The job is almost done when the vigilante superhero Daredevil drops in via a window. According to him, she ruined his opportunity to take the same guys down.

The thing about the Echo and Daredevil fight is that it’s not just fan service, although it’s certainly that, too. Echo, of course, first appeared in the Daredevil comics. She was the Kingpin’s adopted daughter and she fell in love with Matt Murdock without realizing the blind lawyer was her father’s superhero nemesis, Daredevil. So seeing these two characters fight onscreen is naturally goosebump-inducing for fans of Marvel comics. However, this fight sequence rules simply because it’s brilliantly choreographed.

In recent years, the MCU has justifiably gotten flack for its over-reliance on CGI in action sequences. The result has been messy, pixelated fight scenes that look more like animation than hardcore battles that would leave a hero bruised. It’s a huge difference from the early years of the MCU — specifically Netflix shows like Daredevil — which were highlighted for their inventive fight choreography.

Well, Daredevil’s entrance in Echo certainly harkens back to the electrifying hallway fight or stairwell sequence that made the show, and Charlie Cox’s performance, so popular with fans. The two “street-level superheroes” inventively use their surroundings to spar, resulting in a rare even match for Daredevil. It’s not just fun to watch, but establishes Echo as a formidable fighter. So much so, it draws Kingpin’s attention.

As television goes, Echo is a mixed bag. Its plotting feels jilted, its place in the MCU remains confused. The one thing the new Disney+ series definitely has going for it is incredible action sequences, starting with Daredevil’s arrival on the scene. It’s reason enough to queue up the first episode of Echo on Disney+ today.

All five episodes of Echo are now streaming on Disney+.