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The Echo ending not only grants Maya a fresh suit and intriguing new powers, it also potentially sets up the next few years of Marvel’s street-level storytelling. On top of that, it fundamentally changes a major character in a way that could have a serious impact on everything from Daredevil: Born Again to a new Spider-Man movie.
Below, we’ll recap everything that went down in Echo episode 5 and what ramifications it could have for the wider MCU. Major spoilers inevitably follow. For more, here's how to watch the Marvel movies in order, plus news of Marvel Studios making the Netflix Defenders Saga canon.
Echo ending recap - what happens in episode 5?
Despite leaving Tamaha in episode 4, Maya is drawn back to the sleepy Oklahoman town after cousin Biscuits says Bonnie and Chula haven’t been seen. That, when coupled with the ominous arrival of a woodpecker (a reminder of Maya’s childhood lesson on the Biskinik, the idea that the woodpecker send messages to warn that enemies are nearby), sends Maya back to the communal powwow event and into direct confrontation with her ‘uncle’ Kingpin – but with one stop along the way.
When returning home, Maya sees a vision of her mother, who helps her “take the pain away”. She does that by revealing that Maya comes from a long line of “special women”, from the First Choctaw onwards. Their fire – and their spirit – is carried across generations to help them protect their people and it’s something that (as we see later) grants her supernatural strength.
Maya is also given a new red suit – designed by Chula – that pays homage to her Choctaw heritage and carries the symbols of those who went before her.
Maya arrives at the powwow and confronts Kingpin. Outside, Henry stops mid-level crime boss Zane from firing a rocket at the event by shooting him.
Kingpin holds Bonnie and Chula hostage, but Maya gifts her powers to them, allowing them to escape. Maya – flanked by her ancestors – takes down Kingpin and holds her energy over his heart and head. This forces Kingpin to start sobbing; he then relives his father violently arguing with his mother. Maya then appears, telling him to shut out the pain and the anger.
Instead of attacking his father with a hammer in the vision – as he did in the real world – he decides not to. He’s brought back from the vision a changed man, seemingly less violent. Kingpin escapes before the police arrive.
Echo ends with Maya and her family sharing a Fast and Furious-style cook-out together, with our hero seemingly finding peace in her life.
In a post-credits scene, (a more empathetic?) Kingpin is listening intently to a news report stating that the race for New York mayor is wide open and it needs someone who is a fighter and can understand its people. Might Maya’s actions have accidentally driven Kingpin’s ambitions for power in higher office?
What are Maya’s new powers?
Maya has already proven to be a skilled hand-to-hand fighter and proficient with handguns. Now, in a departure from the comics, she’s been granted powers from her Choctaw ancestors, which are shown to include super strength and some form of emotional manipulation, probably not too dissimilar to that of Mantis.
Strategy, cunning, ferocity, love – that’s what Maya’s mother described her ability as. They are traits pulled from each of the historical Choctaw women that were briefly seen in Echo.
Maya can also use her powers to force people to be more introspective or relive certain moments, as we glimpsed with Kingpin witnessing the trauma of the day he killed his father.
What does Maya do to Kingpin in Echo episode 5?
“We don’t harm living things,” Maya’s mother tells her in a flashback to begin the Echo finale. It’s something Maya takes to heart. Instead of killing Kingpin, she offers him a second chance and appears to change his personality.
In both the scene immediately following the vision and in the Echo post-credits scene, actor Vincent D’Onofrio gives Kingpin a slightly lighter, more sympathetic look – puppy dog eyes, if we’ve ever seen them. That heavily hints at Maya’s actions being one that helps work through Kingpin’s childhood trauma. Will he let go of the anger, hate, and pain? Time will tell – and we’ll likely find out if he’s continuing his crime boss ways in Daredevil: Born Again.
Why didn’t Kingpin die in Hawkeye?
Kingpin is built different, that’s why. Echo offered no real reason why Maya’s point-blank shot at her ‘uncle’ didn’t kill him, but the character – across multiple forms of media – has shown to shrug off injuries that would ordinarily kill a normal man.
In Hawkeye alone, he survives an explosive arrow blast that took down the Chitauri in Avengers. Sometimes, things don’t need to be explained: Kingpin was able to recover because he is Kingpin. He now also has a mechanical eye that not only serves as a replacement for his own, but can also interpret ASL when talking to Maya – and vice versa.
How many episodes of Echo is Daredevil in?
With apologies to those hoping to see Daredevil in several episodes of Echo. He’s only in one episode (the premiere), fighting Maya in a brief scene that was already revealed before release. It’s unknown if this scene will be referenced in Daredevil’s upcoming standalone series Born Again, nor do we know if Echo and Daredevil will cross paths again.
Will we see Maya again?
Let’s hope so! But, as of time of writing, there are no current plans for Maya to appear in the MCU again. Having said that, Daredevil: Born Again allows Maya to slide back into the wider New York crime story without too much of a leap in logic. However, she seems content and at peace at the end of Echo. If Maya’s story does end here, it’s a complete one. We just wouldn’t be surprised to see her show up again in Daredevil or a new Spider-Man movie.
Is Kingpin running for mayor?
Speaking of Spider-Man, Kingpin’s actions in the Echo post-credits scene could spell trouble for the wallcrawler, Daredevil, and more of New York’s crimefighters. If he does, indeed, run for mayor, it’ll likely have similar ramifications to the Devil’s Reign comic book run, which saw Fisk order a blanket ban on vigilantes.
For more, check out the Marvel timeline and the latest on Marvel Phase 5.
