The Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to be off to a great start as its first release this year proves to be a fighter with Echo bouncing back with a strong score on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Marvel's Echo is the very first TV-MA rated series of the MCU and the first one under the new MCU banner Marvel Spotlight. So far, the series continues to show promise after getting a "fresh" score from both the critics and the audiences.
Marvel's Echo marks a lot of firsts for the MCU being its first release of the year, the first TV-MA rated series, the first project under the Marvel Spotlight, and the first show that released all its episodes at once. With all these factors, Marvel brings a new taste of what the franchise could do in their next releases. Insofar as being under the Marvel Spotlight, the MCU promises to introduce standalone contents which would not require the audience to watch other projects to be understood. As per Echo's release pattern, all the episodes were released at once which is part of the experiment on the release strategy on Disney Plus.
That being said, these factors could have contributed to how the show is being perceived by the audience and the critics. On the popular review aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes, Echo did not start as strong but when it finally came out, it got a "fresh" score which means that there must be something that Marvel Studios or Disney Plus must have done right.
What is Echo's Rotten Tomatoes score?
As of the time of writing, Marvel's Echo has a "fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes with 70% from the critics and 74% from the audience. Here are some of the reviews of Echo:
Molly Freeman of Screen Rant says that Echo may have started slow but it became "one of Disney+'s most thrilling MCU offerings." Bradley Russell of Total Film reveals that Echo "feels like high-end Marvel." Hanna Flint of IGN Movies applauds Alaqua Cox for delivering an "antihero worth rooting for." Echo is recognized by Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone as "one of the stronger MCU shows overall."
From these positive reviews, Echo also had its fair share of negative ones:
From CNN.com's Brian Lowry, the critic says that the pacing of the show is "uneven" and that the "stakes feel small." The "underwhelming groove" of the MCU remains in Echo as per Ed Power from Daily Telegraph (UK). According to Alistair Ryder of Looper.com, Echo is "too entwined with earlier series to stand on its own." Nick Schager of The Daily Beast calls Echo "a third-rate snoozer" and he says that the show "waters down" the brand of the MCU.
Echo follows Maya Lopez on her journey back to her native town to be able to confront her present and deal with her future. The series also features Wilson Fisk a.k.a. Kingpin who aims to bring back Maya to his side following their fallout in Hawkeye, and the return of Matt Murdock a.k.a. Daredevil after his appearance in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law.
All the episodes of Echo are now available to stream on Disney Plus.
