Who is Echo’s uncle? The third episode of the Disney Plus TV series Hawkeye ‘Echoes,’ introduced us properly to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s new bad guy Echo. Before we go any further, we should warn you this article’s going to go into spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the third episode of Hawkeye yet, we recommend going and watching it before reading on.
Still with us? Good, then we can crack on. Through the episode, we learn that Echo – real name Maya Lopez – was born deaf and raised by her single father, William, a member of the infamous Tracksuit Mafia. Despite his questionable choice in career, William was actually quite a good dad teaching Maya her disability wasn’t a disadvantage and teaching her self defence.
William would ultimately meet his end at the hands of a wrathful Clint Barton during his time as Ronin, and it was this act that set Echo on her dark path. Still, she had someone to look after her, a mysterious uncle whose hand we briefly see in the episode but is conspicuous by his absence for the rest of the episode. So who might this figure be?
Who is Echo’s uncle in Hawkeye?
While we don’t get a good look at Echo’s uncle in the episode we think it’s pretty clear who he is. We’d recognise those immaculately tailored shirt cuffs anywhere. It’s Daredevil’s arch enemy Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin of Crime.
We also briefly hear whoever the uncle is, give a little chuckle as he pinches little Maya’s cheek. It may be wishful thinking, but it sounds to us a lot like Vincent D’Onofrio, who played the devious criminal mastermind on Netflix’s Marvel shows.
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This ties in with the brief description we get of Maya’s boss (who we’re presuming is her uncle) as the person who really runs the tracksuit mafia and is “someone you don’t want to mess with.”
The Kingpin being Echo’s uncle has its roots in the comic books the series is based on. In the books, it was Kingpin who killed William and then raised Maya as his own daughter. Fisk soon learn that Maya is an athletic prodigy with a similar power set to Taskmaster, allowing her to copy the fighting style of anyone she encounters.
What does this mean for the MCU?
If this is indeed Kingpin and D’Onofrio is indeed playing him then it opens the door officially for Netflix’s stable of Marvel characters to enter the MCU proper.
It may also lend weight to the rumours of Charlie Cox appearing as Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Who knows what the future might hold? If Kingpin can appear, maybe Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones can appear in She-Hulk? Or maybe David Tennant’s Purple Man could come back? I can dream right.
While we wait for confirmation on who Echo’s uncle might be, be sure to check out our guide on Marvel’s Phase 4. Hawkeye is available exclusively on the streaming service Disney Plus with new episodes airing every Wednesday.