EntertainmentTVAction ShowsMarvel TV ShowsEchoMarvel’s Echo shows the right way to fix the MCU – and it’s not with multiverses and ConquerorsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
EntertainmentTVAction ShowsMarvel TV ShowsEchoMarvel’s Echo shows the right way to fix the MCU – and it’s not with multiverses and ConquerorsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)
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: Endgamewas 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,Echomay not be the saviorMarvel Studiosrequires – and it certainly isn’t perfect – but the newDisneyPlus 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 bethisconnected all time?
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Return of the King(pin)
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)
Most of all, the creatives behind Echo were quite clearly keen on making a good television show that justhappenedto 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.
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 andSonyMarvel 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.
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)
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 toupcoming Marvel movies. Still playing catch up? You’ll need to knowhow to watch the Marvel movies in order.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
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Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
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Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1
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2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2
Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3
Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
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5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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1
Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now”
2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2
Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3
Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4
Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”