Marvel Studios’ Echo saw Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez take major steps in her journey as a hero and featured her reconnecting with her family. At the same time, it also deepened her relationship with her surrogate father, Wilson Fisk a.k.a. Kingpin, who’s portrayed by Vincent D’Onofrio. The two characters have a complex bond to say the least and, if you were like me, you may have been wondering whether Fisk truly has and does love Maya. CinemaBlend posed that question to Cox herself, and she provided some honest thoughts.
Wilson long watched out for Maya whose father, William, was the leader of Fisk’s Tracksuit Mafia. Kingpin eventually orchestrated a situation that allowed Clint Barton (during his “Ronin” era) to track down and slaughter members of the group, including William. Maya, who became a top enforcer herself, learned this information on Hawkeye, leading her to shoot Fisk in the eye. The two eventually reunited on the spinoff, with Wilson offering Maya the chance to join forces with him again. Though she ultimately rejected his offer and, following their confrontation during the finale, the New York bigshot seemed freaked out by his surrogate daughter’s new abilities.
While Fisk did come to blows with Maya, he notably did express (what appeared to be) true affection for her on multiple occasions. However, while watching Echo (which is streamable with a Disney+ subscription), I couldn’t help but wonder if he truly loved her or felt something that he believed was love. With that in mind, I had to get Alaqua Cox’s take on the matter when I spoke to her in promotion of the series. And her answer to my question isn’t so cut and dry:
I think Fisk truly loves Maya. I just don’t think he loves her enough to learn ASL, because he has the capability of signing with her. I do believe that he loves her, but in his own way. Fisk wants people to serve him. He hires interpreters to communicate with him and Maya, and he uses the contact lenses as a form of an interpretation to talk to [Maya]. So yeah, I think that Kingpin does love her but in [his] own way.
So, in the actress’ opinion, the iconic baddie does love his Maya – but not in the traditional way. She also makes a fair point that’s been brought up by others, which is that Wilson doesn’t seem to love Lopez enough to learn ASL so he can communicate with the heroine, who’s deaf. Alaqua Cox’s comments definitely have me rethinking my position, though I do think it was reasonable for me to question Fisk’s sincerity. After all, as history has shown, he’s only truly cared about a handful of people in his life. Some of the characters on that select list include his mother, his wife, Vanessa, and late assistant James Wesley.
As for Fisk’s relationship with Maya, it’ll likely never be the same, especially now that he knows she’s a metahuman. When or how the two former “family” members might meet up again is a mystery right now. Alaqua Cox told me she’s looking to get details on her future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and admitted that “waiting is driving [her] nuts.” She also mentioned that she hopes Maya will eventually pop up on the upcoming series Daredevil: Born Again. That show will notably see her co-stars, Vincent D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox, reprise their roles as Fisk and Matt Murdock, respectively.
Fans can only hope that Alaqua Cox’s character is added to an upcoming Marvel movie or TV show. She’d be perfect for Daredevil: Born Again, considering the Kingpin connection. Also, I don’t know about all of you, but I’d love to see the Lopez/Fisk relationship explored even more.
You can stream Echo now on Disney+, and keep checking the list of upcoming Marvel shows for information on what’s coming down the line.
