Marvel’s Fan/Critic Divide On Rotten Tomatoes Flips For Echo

Reviews of Marvel Studios’ new Disney+ TV series Echo have begun to come in, and so far,critic ratings have a slight edge over audience ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. The show marks Marvel’s first Marvel Spotlight installation, with the intention that even viewers new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) could enjoy it without catching up on recent films and movies. Despite that, Echo still fits into the MCU timeline, and that may have impacted viewers’ expectations regardless of its ‘Spotlight’ label. Echo’s main character, Maya Lopez, previously appeared in Hawkeye, and other familiar faces from that show, including Kingpin, likely set expectations high for the new series.

Echo is not currently poorly rated on Rotten Tomatoes, but it isn’t performing exceptionally well, either. Critic ratings currently stand at 73%, and audience ratings fall slightly behind at 69%. Among concerns raised about the series are the brevity of the show and the lack of connection to the larger MCU timeline, suggesting that, at least for some, the Marvel Spotlight plan didn’t pay off. The series is short, but not significantly shorter than other MCU shows. Where Hawkeye (2021) and Loki (2021) had six episodes, Echo’s first season has just five, each less than an hour long. Given that it isn’t a major deviation, other factors must be at play.

Why Marvel’s Echo Has A Higher Critic Than Audience Score

It’s always possible that shows will get review-bombed for various reasons, but the reviews in this case may have more to do with audience expectations or current sentiments about the MCU. Recent MCU additions, such as the 2023 film The Marvels, had similar reception, and responses to Echo may have more to do with general frustration. Changes to Marvel Studios such as Marvel Spotlight suggest that the franchise is attempting to address viewer concerns. It may be that Marvel Spotlight backfired or will take more time to catch on; viewers looking for stronger connections to previous characters and events in the MCU would have found that missing in Echo.

Other MCU Movies With A Higher Critic Than Audience Score

Several MCU films have also received higher critic scores than audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes, but the pattern seems to hold steadier with the MCU’s Disney+ TV shows. One of the films with the biggest gap is Captain Marvel (2019), which jumps from a 79% critic rating to a 45% audience rating. This, like Echo, could be suffering from review bombing due to the film having a leading woman. Black Panther (2018), although not as low, also shares a large gap, with a 96% critic rating but a 79% audience rating. Films like Avengers: Endgame (2019) have minimal differences (a 94% critic rating versus a 90% audience rating).

Recent Disney+ TV shows, however, have ratings similar to Echo, particularly in the critic/audience divide. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022) took a much harder hit, with a 77% critic rating and 32% audience rating. Secret Invasion (2023) came in the lowest of these for critics, with a 53% critic rating and a 47% audience rating. Ms. Marvel (2022) did better, with a 98% critic rating and an 80% audience rating; Hawkeye (2021) and What If…? (2021) received similar scores. Shows like Loki (2021), The Falcon and the Winter Solider (2021), and WandaVision (2021) had minimal differences between critic and audience scores and performed well.

Key Release Dates