Alabama plays an important role in “Echo,” a new Marvel miniseries that’s streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

That might be surprising for folks who haven’t watched the five-episode series, which focuses on a fierce antihero named Maya Lopez who’s channeling some pretty awesome powers bestowed on her by a line of Native American ancestors.

“Echo” is mostly set in Oklahoma, the main character’s hometown, where Maya (played by Alaqua Cox) returns to raise a ruckus, fight a criminal kingpin and fulfill her destiny as a modern-day Choctaw warrior. Maya is mighty, although conflicted about her family and her past, and she has ample opportunity to display a host of impressive skills and talents. These include building weapons on the fly, running along the top of a moving train, kicking butt with martial arts moves and more.

And, believe it or not, that’s where Alabama comes in.

Episode 2, titled “Lowak,” begins with an intense game of Choctaw Stickball (similar to lacrosse) that shows one of Maya’s ancestors winning a key victory. Her name is Lowak and she is formidable, powering through the rough-and-tumble contest and flipping through the air like a ninja. In this case, the fate of Lowak’s tribe is at stake, and she uses powers derived from her female ancestors to win the day.

The character’s palms begin to glow (that’s got to be magic, right?) and as a vision of other Choctaw warriors overtakes her, Lowak becomes a kind of superhero. No flowing cape, no fancy gizmos — just guts, grit and a little mystical help from relatives in the past.

As it turns out, the first three episodes of “Echo” introduce three of Maya’s Choctaw ancestors, all of whom channel powers via their glowing palms and eventually transmit these amazing abilities to her. (Stay with us here; the Alabama connection is coming.)

At the beginning of Episode 2, a label appears on the screen, telling viewers we’re watching a flashback set in Alabama in 1200 A.D. Lowak, it appears, lives in an ancient Native American civilization, and huge earthen mounds are a distinctive part of the landscape.

The specific location of the “Lowak” flashback isn’t revealed — and the episode appears to be using some fancy CGI to create the ancient community — but it’s reasonable to assume “Echo” is taking inspiration from Moundville.

That is, the crucial stickball scene appears to be set in a famous prehistoric Native American settlement in Hale County. Today, tourists, school groups and other visitors know the site as Moundville Archaeological Park.

“Located on the Black Warrior River 13 miles south of Tuscaloosa, the park preserves 326 acres where, 800 years ago, Mississippian people constructed 29 massive flat-topped earthen mounds, arranged carefully around a vast central plaza,” the Moundville website says. “The mounds served as elevated platforms for civic and ceremonial structures and the homes of nobles.”

Here’s more information on Moundville, courtesy of the Encyclopedia of Alabama:

“Once a thriving ceremonial and political center of Mississippian culture, the prehistoric Moundville site was occupied for more than three centuries until it was abandoned in the sixteenth century. The present-day park encompasses the original site, with its large earthen mounds arranged around an open plaza.”

Of course, we’re not the only ones who’ve noticed that “Echo” appears to be giving a shout-out to Moundville.

“It was awesome to see what is presumably the Moundville Archaeological Site be recreated in such an elaborate fashion,” said Christopher Chiu-Tabet in a story for Multiversity Comics.

Matt Peeples, an archaeologist and associate professor of anthropology at Arizona State University, also weighed in via social media. “I watched the first couple of episodes of Echo yesterday and there was a scene set in Alabama, ca 1200 CE (Moundville?) showing stickball,” Peeples said on X (formerly Twitter). “It was cool to see a high budget depiction of this time and place even if they put a random 16th century looking European dude in the crowd.”

Let’s not get sidetracked by the “random 16th century looking European dude,” who’s also mentioned in the Multiversity Comics story. We’re talking about Alabama here, and its link to “Echo,” which is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Lacrosse Network posted a video clip from the opening scene of “Lowak” on TikTok, noting the Alabama connection. Also, TikTok user Philip Frady (@pf88keys) offered an “lol” for the stickball scene, employing a music clip from “Sweet Home Alabama.”

From what we can tell, the character of Lowak is a constant on “Echo,” returning in visions with other ancestors to help Maya Lopez combat her foes and make use of those glowing palms. And this is one more example of Alabama making its mark on pop culture, albeit in an unexpected way.

If you watch: All five episodes of “Echo” are streaming now on Disney+ and Hulu.