Why Echo's New MCU Superhero Suit Is Being Roasted On Twitter

A costume can make or break any superhero adaptation. In the lead-up to the release of Marvel's "Echo" on Disney+ and Hulu, Maya Lopez's (Alaqua Cox) outfit has some raising eyebrows. On X, formerly known as Twitter, @DDevilUpdates shared a photo of the titular character in costume for the Marvel Cinematic Univers's newest series, and people have had a field day roasting it. 

Critics of the attire believe it's too convoluted, especially compared to Echo's clothing in the source material. X user @venom0804 wishes it was a more straightforward design: "What was wrong with her comic look, which was literally just a tank top with a sun on it and a handprint on the face." The handprint marking is a major component of Echo's aesthetic missing from the photo, but there's always a chance she could acquire it later.

Of course, as is the case with social media discourse regarding any superhero project, there are bound to be bad-faith actors and trolls who bash something for the wrong reasons. But when it comes to this, many people seem to agree with @Nero7783, "Yeah, they're definitely doing too much."

Echo's MCU costume also draws unfavorable comparisons to a work of superhero satire. On "The Boys" Season 3, A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) gets a new, more colorful outfit to connect to his African roots, resulting in an overly-designed garb called out within the show. People in A-Train's life tell him the suit is a surface-level attempt to appear as though he cares about minority rights when he doesn't actually do anything for the Black community. 

On social media, people were quick to point out supposed similarities and make jokes, including @ScratchAE__, "They got her in this s*** I'm crying." They even included a clip from "The Boys" episode where A-Train stars in a tone-deaf commercial while wearing his infamous suit.

However, such comparisons may be unfair. X user @NkondePenjani criticized people making fun of Echo's costume, "The A-Train costume was made with the intention of being ironic and s***** and satirical, but the Echo suit was designed with the input of the Choctaw community to be a proud representation of their culture." When @CanWeGetToast posted a photo of the suit on a mannequin in November 2023, they confirmed the outfit's significance: "The costume will be traditional Choctaw pow-wow attire made by Maya's grandma. The vest on the right goes over the costume on the left. It originally belonged to Maya's mother." With that in mind, Maya's clothing may not resemble what she wears in the comics, but it could create a compelling character that brings greater diversity into the MCU.

When people think of social media platforms that promote nuanced discussions regarding minority representation in media, Reddit probably doesn't come to mind. However, many users there spoke highly of Maya's costume. Redditor u/cbekel3618 posted in a thread, "I think it looks cool. I wonder how she ends up getting it in the show. Since her ancestors seem to play a part in the series, maybe it's passed down from them or made of different artifacts from them."

Other Redditors hope Echo gets the facial handprint at some point on the show, but a common sentiment is that they need to see the suit in action to get a more informed opinion. That mindset could help maintain a more refined discussion on potentially politically charged topics like this. Marvel fans can talk about Ant-Man's (Paul Rudd) costume until the cows come home and whether it looks good. It's just a red suit that lets him shrink. But Maya's outfit draws from Indigenous influences, and, depending on the show's context, it could have valuable meaning for her. 

A blurry photo posted on X isn't a great representation of anything. While some of the roasting seems good-natured, others may cross a line. For now, it might be best to hold off on opinions until watching all five episodes of "Echo."