Does Marvel need fixing? That depends on who you ask. What isn’t up for debate, however, is that the MCU is in the most uncertain state it’s been since its inception in 2008.
Avengers: Endgame was the end for many of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and, it seems, was also the jumping off point for a portion of the audience’s interest.
Box office numbers are down, new heroes aren’t capturing the imagination in the way they once did and, in Kang the Conqueror, Marvel is setting up a Big Bad that is not only steeped in controversy, but also caught in the messy, tangled web of the multiverse – a concept that already feels overplayed and leaves many of its characters feeling disposable or acting as nostalgia bait.
Now, Echo may not be the savior Marvel Studios requires – and it certainly isn’t perfect – but the new Disney Plus series certainly offers a way out of the turmoil the MCU finds itself in.
Echo, on streaming at least, offers the chance for Marvel to get back to basics. Instead of variants and years’ worth of setups with little payoff, we are given a complete character arc with a focus on family, ancestry, and – that rare thing – a happy ending.
Kingpin may still be at large and has his eyes on a bigger prize, but everything here felt sufficiently complete without feeling too much like a project that was only there to set up movies from Phases 5 and 6.
Everything from the good (Loki season 2), the bad (Secret Invasion), and the in-between (Hawkeye, ironically) juggled too much. Those three alone set up Avengers movies, young Avengers, Echo, The Marvels, and Armor Wars. It’s a connected universe, sure, but does it need to be this connected all time?
Return of the King(pin)
Most of all, the creatives behind Echo were quite clearly keen on making a good television show that just happened to be in the Marvel universe. Madripoor namedrop aside, there’s very little to point towards any sort of fan service taking precedence over telling a well-rounded story. Marvel Studios would do well to remember that in the coming years.
Yes, Kingpin is gunning for mayor now – but served up another of Echo’s parting gifts: giving Marvel’s new street-level dramas a guiding star that everything can gravitate around. Right now, there’s Daredevil: Born Again and, potentially, a new Spider-Man movie that could operate in Kingpin’s New York. Instead of something like Kang’s defeat being the end point, it’s infinitely more interesting to see how these more down-to-earth heroes will be affected by a change in leadership at City Hall.
It’s rich, fertile ground well worth tapping into. Now that Defenders shows have been re-integrated back into the MCU, there are several popular characters ready to be treated in the same way as Maya Lopez – aided by the considerable presence and aura of Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin looming large. There’s also a chance it can recapture the magic and goodwill of those who loved the likes of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage on Netflix.
In many ways, the opportunity for focused, tight storytelling is the antithesis of what we've got on the multiverse side of the picture. With Jonathan Majors out, Kang the Conqueror will either need to be recast or pushed to one side.
If the character stays, it sits at the top of a convoluted saga filled with multiple Kangs, absurdly OTT stakes involving Fox and Sony Marvel properties, and – let’s face it – a whole lot of stalling until we get to the main event of Secret Wars. This is the perfect time for a refresh and a renewed focus elsewhere.
It may have also passed you by that Echo is the first Marvel Spotlight show. A cynical rebrand? Maybe. Yet, the focus – at least what they’re saying in-house, anyway – towards more character-based, grounded drama is promising and packed with potential.
The beginning of the Marvel Spotlight era will also have a considerable (and considerably positive) knock-on effect for the movies. Before, many of the Disney Plus series felt like features stretched across six episodes. The Spotlight can instead shine on something worth our time and attention as a TV show – while leaving the flashy effects and world-ending stakes in their rightful habitat: in cinemas.
Does Echo offer all the answers? No, but it’s a start. The series kicks off 2024 with a blueprint for Marvel Studios to follow: more character-led serials, more complete stories that meaningfully affect our heroes, and less time devoted to something years down the line that isn’t the very thing you’re putting in front of viewers right now.
For more on the MCU's future, check out our guide to upcoming Marvel movies. Still playing catch up? You'll need to know how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
