Is Echo Really a Villain in Hawkeye?

With only two episodes left, Hawkeye still has a lot of questions to answer especially with the arrival of Yelena Belova in their latest release, definitely rising the stakes for Clint Barton to clear out the slate so he could finally come home to his family and spend Christmas. One of these is whether Echo, or Maya Lopez, is a villain or not.

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Hawkeye! Read at your own risk!

Is Echo Really a Villain in Hawkeye?

Credit: Marvel Studios

One of the major players in the canon series, Hawkeye, is none other than Maya Lopez, a.k.a. Echo, who debuted as the head of the Tracksuit mafia and is really persistent in finding Ronin as a way of revenge for the death of her father in the hands of the vigilante who cleared the criminal underground in various places as a way of coping up.

Yes, we all know that Hawkeye held the title of Ronin and exacted revenge on all criminals he could possibly kill as a means of coping up with the loss of his family in the blip and with Kate Bishop accidentally wearing the Ronin suit, resurfacing after a black-market auction that the Tracksuit mafia blasted for a certain watch retrieved from the rubble of the Avengers compound, Maya’s search intensified.

However, it remains a question whether she is really a villain or not. Her comic book counterpart was a pawn of Kingpin, even became the first one to bear the title of Ronin, and after realizing that her boss, Wilson Fisk is a real baddie, she switched sides and went on to do good.

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Now that Jack Duquesne has been tied up to the Tracksuit mafia as the CEO of the shell company, Sloan Ltd., doubts on Maya being a villain rises. She may just be on the high for vengeance on the death of her father but even Clint Barton sees beyond her stern façade. Behind those fiery eyes is a girl who lost one of the most precious people in her life, one who is caught up in the criminal underworld since childhood.

Her upbringing tells a lot about her and that maybe, if her father hadn’t been involved, she wouldn’t be, either. She’s a heroine of her own, an inspiration to many, especially to amputees and deaf people. Possibly, she has something good in her that if Hawkeye cannot answer, could be highlighted in her upcoming solo series which has been announced early on.

See more of Echo in Hawkeye, now streaming on Disney Plus.