Did you watch the new Marvel show, Echo? It featured 5 episodes telling the story of Maya Lopez, a Choctaw Nation citizen pulled into the street crime community after her father was killed. He worked for the Kingpin who had manipulated her into working for him as well. We first saw her on the live action screen in Hawkeye. Maya walks with a prosthetic on one leg and is also deaf with almost no speaking ability. She communicates mostly through sign language.
In the comics Maya first appeared in Daredevil #9 in December of 1999, created by David Mack and Joe Quesada. She is known as a great fighter who even beat Daredevil after watching videos of his fighting and figuring out his dependence on his sonar like ability. She eventually was mentored by Wolverine and for a while took up the mantle of Ronin.
Spoilers ahead.
The show begins with her in a place of confusion. She knows she wants to take down the organization built by the Kingpin, but she is just jumping headfirst into a war without any help. Her uncle tries to give her advice and give her another option but she is covered in anger and is not dealing with it well. To make things worse, her relationship with her Grandma is almost non-existent and she is trying to avoid family. She won’t even go see her cousin; who seems to have been her childhood best friend.
The showrunners kept her fighting skills but added a new element of history with Choctaw women in her genealogy. She and her ancestors have a link and a mystical power. This power draws her to situations and problems but also empowers her to fight better and deal with the issues. At one point in the finale she even shares this power with two other women so they can fight. Yet it also brings stories of other women to her. A lady who fought bandits in the days of the Old West, a lady who led the Choctaw during an ancient crisis, and it reminds her of her own mom’s abilities for healing.
In the 4th episode Maya has a decision to make. The Kingpin has come to see her in Oklahoma and wants her to come back to New York with him. She isn’t stupid, having finally been made aware of his manipulation. But she has to spend time reflecting over her life, what she knows about him, and sadly doesn’t have much guidance. What she does have is this mystical connection bringing the stories of her ancestors to her mind.
How do you make decisions in life? Have you spent time laying out your worldview to give you guidelines? Do you ask a parent or friend for advice?
Scripture points us toward a few things. Hebrews 11 points us to the ancient heroes from Genesis, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel and other scriptures. Here the writer reminds us that others have faced serious adversity in the past for the Glory of God and it also warns us that some of them didn’t see the victory they looked for as it was ultimately in Jesus. Our victory stems from Him as the center of our story as His people but we also share in their victory as we and they are part of Christ’s community.
Scripture also encourages us to look for mentors and seek understanding. The book of Proverbs is full of this!
“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”
Proverbs 15:22
“Plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain guidance.”
Proverbs 20:18
Maya did reluctantly meet with her Grandma and she did learn some things about her family in that meeting. When she faced the Kingpin and his forces her family was on her side to help with the fight. The show leaves us at a point where Maya doesn’t seem to have a mentor. She is discovering new powers and changing her direction but no one is in a place of guidance. I want Marvel to give us another season where she does find a mentor.
Do you have a process for decisions? Do you have boundaries set that you go by? Do you have a person who will work with you? Do you have a team around you?