All five episodes of Echo have dropped, and episode 1 contains a scene everyone was waiting for: Maya’s (Alaqua Cox) first fight with Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), a.k.a. Daredevil.
This article contains mild spoilers for Echo episode 1.
Lately, Marvel has developed a bad habit of shoehorning cameos into its films and shows that don’t have any obvious payoff, or make any sense in the story. However, with Echo, the studio seems to be course correcting, with the appearances of Daredevil, Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) in episode 1 making perfect sense.
That’s why it’s so satisfying when, during her first mission for Kingpin, Maya runs into Daredevil and holds her own against him. Kingpin sends Maya out with a couple of his other guys to deal with a rival crime organization. She manages to take out several of her opponents, but just as she and Kingpin’s men think their job is over, Daredevil bursts in and attacks them. “I’ve been watching them all night,” he says. “And then you guys show up, and screw everything up.”
What follows is one of the best fight scenes we’ve seen in Marvel in a long time. Here’s why that scene is so satisfying!
Daredevil’s cameo in Echo is world-building, not fan service
When Echo gets involved in Kingpin’s criminal empire, she takes on all the problems that go with it. All those rival gangs? Now they know who Maya is. Not only that, but the street-level heroes in the Marvel universe now have Maya on their radar. Maya’s fight with Daredevil establishes not just her personal stakes, but the larger world in which she’s operating. Kingpin also tells her afterwards that she did better in the fight than most of his other men. There’s something special about Maya.
There’s another reason why it makes sense to put Daredevil’s cameo at the beginning of Echo, instead of making fans wait for it. It’s hard to focus on a relatively new character when you’re excited for the return of an old favorite. Getting it out of the way early, though, means that we get the scene we were waiting for, and now we can focus fully on Maya’s story instead of holding our breath for a Daredevil sighting.
We don’t know who to root for: Maya or Matt?
Maya is the star of the show. She’s a deeply sympathetic character. We want her to win this fight, even though we know it puts her on a destructive path.
But we also want Daredevil to win! He’s the good guy! He’s the hero! And he’s also deeply sympathetic—at least, if you know his backstory from the Netflix Daredevil series.
That’s what makes this fight scene so complicated and fascinating. It’s not just a matter of a hero taking out a parade of anonymous goons (although those fight scenes can be great, too). These are two characters we like and care about, and the fact that they’re wailing on each other is agonizing to watch. In a good way. Now I want to watch Captain America: Civil War again.
The Maya/Daredevil fight is an homage to the best parts of Daredevil on Netflix
The Daredevil series on Netflix was known for its long takes and exquisitely choreographed fight scenes. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, on the other hand, is known for its liberal use of camera cuts and VFX to create lackluster and fake-looking fights.
Echo gives fans another much-needed course correction by embracing the filmmaking techniques that made Daredevil so riveting. Maya’s fight with Matt looks real. You can watch, in real time, each lightning-fast decision that each character makes: Maya lunging for a gun, Daredevil dodging her blows, Maya winding up before a kick, Daredevil bringing a shelf down on top of her. They use the tools around them. They get distracted by the lingering chaos of the preceding fight scene. It’s just really, really well done.
Marvel obviously can’t give all of its shows and films mature ratings, so I know future projects won’t be as bloody as Echo. But I hope the Marvel higher-ups learn something from this scene’s success. You don’t have to make your fight scenes gory, but you should strive to make them realistic, complicated, and engrossing to watch.
(featured image: Disney+)
