The future of a fan-favorite character takes a drastic turn in the latest issue of Avengers from Marvel Comics. After months of fighting over the Phoenix Force, the “Enter the Phoenix” storyline has reached its fiery conclusion.
For those not caught up with the storyline—the Phoenix has once again returned to Earth. Seeking out its newest host, the entity gathered warriors from all over the world gave them each shards of her power. Pit against one another by the entity into fighting in a tournament, only six combatants, including Captain America, the Black Panther, and Namor, remained. Now, Avengers #44 by Jason Aaron, Javier Garron, and David Curiel has finally answered the question, “Who is the next Phoenix?”
[SPOILER WARNING]
As the remaining warriors battle around the world, a seventh fighter joins the fray. Seemingly defeated by Namor issues ago, this new fighter proved herself worthy of the Phoenix through her suffering. She moves across the globe, absorbing every shred of Phoenix from the others, along with their power. As the ash clears, this new host is revealed to be Maya Lopez, also known as Echo.
WHO IS ECHO?
A former enemy of Daredevil, Lopez is a master martial artist and ninja. Born deaf, she has the ability to mimic the fighting styles of anyone she sees—like Taskmaster from this summer’s upcoming Black Widow film. She later turned over a new leaf, working with Daredevil and even joining the Avengers for a short time.
Along with this fiery new development in the comics, she’s appearing later this year in Hawkeye on Disney+. She also has a rumored spinoff series of her own to go along with it, according to Variety. Whether that spinoff takes off or not, it’s clear this won’t be the last fans see of Maya Lopez.
