Does Echo Have Powers in the Comics? Explained
Marvel’s first “Spotlight,” ‘Echo’ was recently released, and we’ve seen Maya Lopez acquiring quite impressive superpowers by the end of the fifth episode. Her main superpower is ancestral empowerment, which provides her with increased strength, durability, cunning, and healing. Even before the show was released, the show’s director announced that Maya’s character would be getting a massive revamp compared to its comic counterpart, and this is why we decided to explore it in more detail. Let’s see whether Echo has superpowers in the comics.
Echo does have powers in the comics, but they aren’t as interesting as in the MCU
Echo is well known to be an expert combatant and extremely skilled when it comes to acrobatics, dancing, and other physical feats, but not because she is superhuman; it’s because she has photographic reflexes.
In this view, she is quite similar to Taskmaster, as due to these types of powers, he is known to be among the best hand-to-hand fighters in the Marvel Universe. Echo is also a master marksman and quite adept at using just about any weapon that she can get her hands on. She developed her expert accuracy after watching tapes of Bullseye’s practices and heists. Through watching Daredevil’s tapes, she developed proficiency in double billy clubs, katanas, and nunchaku.
As far as Echo’s inborn powers and abilities go, this is pretty much it; she is a regular human, and the only extraordinary thing about her is her reflexes; when it comes to the rest of her physiology, she is as human as humans can be.
Echo was at one point among the most powerful characters in Marvel Comics
In ‘Avengers’ (Vol. 8) #40, when the Phoenix Force returned to Earth, it initiated a contest for its next host, summoning Echo, among many others, to the White Hot Room. During the trials by combat, Echo faced Namor at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, where Namor’s advantage led to Echo being left for dead. The Phoenix, drawn to Echo’s resilience and adaptability, resurrected her and selected her as its host. In the final round, Echo emerged from the ocean, intercepting fights worldwide and absorbing the Phoenix Force from other contestants. Fully transformed, she relocated to Avengers Mountain to study with the Avengers.
As the host of the Phoenix Force, Maya was capable of summing the full extent of the ancient and near-omnipotent force of cosmic creation and destruction. Maya was capable of flying, interstellar travel, self-sustenance, pyrokinesis, resurrection, and power bestowal.
She was also superhuman, strong, immortal, and superhumanly durable, which is quite a drastic change.
Echo’s run with the Phoneix Force ended when she used up her reserves defending the Quarry of the Gods; soon after she lost her powers, she also left the Avengers.
What kind of powers does Echo have in the show?
During the ‘Hawkeye’ series, Echo seemingly had no superhuman powers and abilities; she was simply a highly trained mercenary, but in her own show, she learned that she could channel the powers of her ancestors. Maya is a part of a special bloodline that can be traced back to Chafa, the first created Choctaw.
Soon after “waking up,” Chafa drank from the source of the magical energy, and she saved her people made out of clay from a cave-in. They were transported to the surface world, and clay peeled off from their skin and transformed into humans. Through Chafa, Echo has access to superhuman strength, durability, and ferocity. Through Lowak, Echo has access to strategic and tactical thinking. One of her ancestory was also Tuklo, the first female Lighthorsemen in history, she was superumany talented when it comes to shooting so it’s logical that Echo can channel, through her, incredible marksmanship skills and stealth. Through her birthmother, Maya can channel the powers of love and healing, something she attempted to use to heal Kingpin’s broken mind.
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