In Just 10 Days, Disney+’s New Marvel Series Hit 549.6M Minutes Watched, but This Unexpected Rival Hits Harder

1 week ago 11

Published Feb 20, 2026, 6:09 AM EST

Collier Jennings is an entertainment journalist with a substantial amount of experience under his belt. Collier, or "CJ" to his friends and family, is a dedicated fan of genre films - particularly science fiction, fantasy and comic book adaptations, not to mention all forms of animation animation. This stems from a close bond with his father, who introduced him to these genres via copies of X-Men comics and reruns of the original Ultraman series. Using his near-encyclopedic knowledge and bottomless love of genre, he's been able to tackle a wide variety of articles.

Wonder Man might be one of Marvel Television's biggest success stories. It's garnered rave reviews on par with Loki and X-Men '97. It eschews the traditional superhero narrative for meta commentary on Hollywood culture, and succeeds thanks to a poignant performance from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams. Wonder Man even had a healthy audience; in its first 10 days on Disney+, it's amassed 549.6 million minutes watched, per Luminate. That chart also reveals that another Marvel series beat Wonder Man in its initial run, and it's none other than Echo.

Echo shares a lot in common with Wonder Man. Both shows fall under the "Marvel Spotlight" banner, meaning they can tell stories different from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Echo also dropped its entire batch of episodes in a single day for fans' binge-watching pleasure. Surprisingly, it gathered a whopping 731 million views in six days. It's not surprising: since Echo was only six episodes long, it made for an engaging watch. It also serves as a well-crafted character study for its titular heroine,Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox).

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Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez in Marvel's Echo

Echo follows Maya as she returns to her hometown of Oklahoma, grappling with the revelation that her "uncle"Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) — aka the Kingpin of Crime — was responsible for the murder of her father. This results in a series that is wholly different from previous MCU TV shows: while other shows mainly served as connective tissue or setup for future movies, Echo stands on its own and doesn't require a deep dive into previous MCU projects, even though it's technically a spinoff of Hawkeye. This was by design, as producer Brad Winderbaum wanted the Marvel Spotlight banner to be an entry point for new and lapsed MCU fans.

“Marvel Spotlight gives us a platform to bring more grounded, character-driven stories to the screen, and in the case of Echo, focusing on street-level stakes over larger MCU continuity. Just like comics fans didn’t need to read Avengers or Fantastic Four to enjoy a Ghost Rider Spotlight comic, our audience doesn’t need to have seen other Marvel series to understand what’s happening in Maya’s story.”

Another reason why Echo stands out is in the way it honors its protagonist's background. Maya, though a skilled fighter, is deaf; so is Alaqua Cox, who frequently uses sign language throughout the series.Echoalso makesMaya's Native American heritagepart of its story, with its cast and crew mostly Indigenous, particularly head directorSydney Freeland.This level of craft elevates Echo beyond being just another superhero show and aligns with Marvel's ethos of being "the world outside your window". That world features people from all walks of life, and Echo is a reminder that more shows with diverse viewpoints are needed.

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One of Echo's biggest moments happens in its first episode, "Chafa": during her time as Fisk's lieutenant, she encounters and battles Daredevil (Charlie Cox) in an intense one-shot sequence. While Cox previously appeared as Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, his appearance in Echo hewed far closer to Netflix's Daredevil series. Echo also sets the stage for Daredevil: Born Again, as Fisk decides to run for New York's mayor after his final confrontation with Maya; his wife, Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer), continues to run his criminal empire in his absence.

Despite the setup for Daredevil: Born Again, Echo was largely treated as an afterthought. That could change with the upcoming second season. Thanks to a series of crafty moves, Fisk has enacted martial law in New York City and outlawed vigilante activity, forcing Daredevil to form an army to take him out. Said army includes other vigilantes, such as Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) and The Swordsman (Tony Dalton), making Maya a perfect fit. It could also follow up on her personal ties to Fisk, which would result in the character drama that made Echo thrive.

Echo, much like its titular character, is a series full of surprises. Despite everyone writing it off, its viewership proves that a great character-driven story is what will help the superhero genre thrive.