The New Daredevil Just Made Her Biggest Mistake Yet | Screen Rant
Warning: spoilers ahead for Phoenix Song: Echo #1!
In Marvel's new Phoenix Song: Echo series, the new Daredevil just made a huge mistake. With Matt Murdock in prison, Elektra Natchios has agreed to take his place as the Woman Without Fear. Elektra's hoping that by helping Matt, she'll convince him to help her fight the return of the Hand, which she knows is an imminent, world-threatening problem. However, she just missed a chance to recruit a far more powerful ally when the new Phoenix host Maya Lopez, aka Echo, came to Hell's Kitchen.
After the Avengers' Phoenix Tournament that saw heroes and villains from all over the Marvel Universe being pitted against one another to become the next host of the Phoenix Force, Maya Lopez' Echo was chosen. Resurrected after her battle with Namor, the Phoenix chose Maya as it was drawn to her suffering and adaptability. However, while Echo has been with the Avengers since then, this new series from writer Rebecca Roanhorse and artist Luca Maresca sees Maya on her own, yet to gain full control over her powerful and potentially devastating abilities.
Phoenix Song: Echo #1 begins with Maya in Hell's Kitchen, where she loses control of the godlike entity within her. Not only does she brutally burn and kill two thieves she was trying to stop, but she also sets the apartment complex they were in ablaze. As she leaves distraught and at a loss for how she's supposed to control the Phoenix, she's approached by Elektra's Daredevil. Elektra is the furthest thing from understanding, unwilling to offer her support or help. Instead, she tells Echo to leave Hell's Kitchen, and she even threatens to fight Maya if she has to, making herself a rival to the Phoenix rather than an ally. Given Elektra is a master of the kind of training Echo needs, and that she's currently preparing for a major threat to life on Earth, sending the reality-warping powerhouse away feels like a huge missed opportunity.
Seeing as how Matt Murdock has thus far refused to help Elektra prepare for the coming of the Hand, why wouldn't she be on the lookout for any opportunity to make new allies? In this situation, it seems as though Elektra could have extended more grace and support in a bid to gain Maya's help when the Hand inevitably arrives. With the power of the Phoenix by her side, the Hand wouldn't stand a chance, as even their eldritch magic can't compare to the cosmic firebird's power over reality. Instead of offering to train her in the self-discipline and absolute physical mastery that is Elektra's calling card, the new Daredevil makes herself a rival to Maya. It's not only a failure to combine against a major evil, but a risky maneuver to provoke the Phoenix, especially since Elektra has no personal objection to killing criminals.
Now, Elektra will have to continue her attempts to convince Matt to help against the Hand. She's already made it clear in past issues of Daredevil that she won't be able to face them on her own, and that her intended plan may kill her or Matt, making her cold interaction with Maya even more of a poor choice. Elektra's Daredevil should have leaped at the chance to help the new Phoenix, gaining the only ally she would ever need against the coming ninja clan.