Fan speculation was high, with the most common guess that Ronin was Matt Murdock; Bendis eventually revealed this to be the original intention despite initially denying that this was the case.

[14] Maya Lopez debuted as Echo in Daredevil #9 (December 1999), created by writer David Mack and artist Joe Quesada.

[15] She later debuted as Ronin in The New Avengers #11 (November 2005), created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist David Finch.

[19] Maya Lopez was still a young girl when her father Willie "Crazy Horse" Lincoln was killed by the Kingpin (Wilson Fisk).

When she comes back, she tries reuniting with Murdock, only to find out Matt is now with a blind woman and that the Kingpin is still alive (despite Maya's attempts).

Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Doctor Strange, Spider-Woman, Iron Fist, and the new Ronin rescue her and escape, leaving Elektra to furiously send the Hand after them.

[27] After Strange confirms their identities by casting a spell that shows everyone their true nature - Maya appearing dressed in a female variation of Daredevil's costume - the team heads to Stark Tower to stop the Hood's attack on the building.

There, they encounter the Mighty Avengers locked in battle with an army of invading symbiotes, one of which latches on to Maya before Iron Man manages to cure those infected.

[28] Echo attempts to defend Rick Jones from Hiroim and Elloe of the Hulk's Warbound during their attack on the Sanctum Sanctorum to capture Doctor Strange.

[30] After the defeat of the Hood's criminal organization,[31] Echo remains on the team as Doctor Strange departs to the astral plane to heal himself, setting up base in a building owned by Iron Fist's company but technically leased to Samuel Sterns for the year.

[38] Echo appears in the fourth Moon Knight series, where she worked undercover in a strip club in L.A., until she blew the cover saving Marc Spector.

[47] Along with the other champions, Echo is empowered by a spark of the Phoenix's cosmic fire and is pitted against Namor in an underwater match.

[48] Due to the vast disadvantage, Echo is soundly defeated by Namor, presumably eliminating her from the tournament and losing her portion of the Phoenix's power.

After taking the Phoenix's power from the remaining participants and brutally beating Namor as payback for her earlier defeat, Maya declares herself as the new Thunderbird and fully bonds with the entity.

Maya is telepathically congratulated by the Phoenix's previous host, Jean Grey, who also gives her words of advice on controlling the entity's power.

[52] While watching other people, she has become a concert-level pianist, a strong martial artist, a highly skilled acrobat, and a gifted ballerina (and on one occasion even piloted a Quinjet for a few minutes).

Her absolute reliance on visual cues renders her helpless in the dark, and her ability to communicate by reading lips prevents her from taking oral commands and communicating with people who are wearing masks or are not in direct visual contact; when she initially meets the Avengers, Captain America has to repeat all of Iron Man's questions for her.

She still retains her inability to communicate with people wearing sturdier or thicker masks or fully covering their mouths.

[55] Cian O'Luanaigh of The Guardian stated Maya Lopez possesses an emotional backstory unlike the majority of deaf characters in literature, calling her a "superhero like no other.

"[56] Dais Johnston of Inverse said Maya Lopez made a "resounding splash" since her introduction, calling her a "great female role model and foil to the blind Matt Murdock.

"[57] Deirdre Kaye of Scary Mommy called Maya Lopez a "role model" and a "truly heroic" female character.

Comics scholar Frederick Luis Aldama describes Echo as "one of the most fascinating and compelling Latina superheroes to date.

[62] Her own miniseries Echo became the first Marvel television show centered on a deaf Native American superhero.

Her struggle to maintain her identity while harnessing the power of the Phoenix Force seems to be propelling this series into new and exciting directions.

She was empowered by the Phoenix Force and imprisoned in Ravencroft Asylum before Blade and Captain America break her out to help them restore their reality.

[70][71] After eventually defeating the Squadron, Lopez and Star Brand use their powers in conjunction with the Pandemonium Cube to restore reality to how it was previously.