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This page is about Ekko, one of the characters in the main Arcane universe. For the alternate universe version of this character, please see Ekko/Alternate Universe.
Sometimes taking a leap forward means... leaving a few things behind
Ekko to Powder, Pretend Like It's the First Time
Ekko is a major character appearing in Arcane. One of many children who grew up in the Lanes. Upon the death of his adoptive father and the disappearance of his friends, Ekko finds a way to survive on his own and help others fight back against Silco's reign over their home.
Biography[]
Early life[]
In his youth, Ekko worked for Benzo at his shop and often eavesdropped on several of his more private conversations even when the man would send him away. This made him privy to certain transactions and secrets that he would sometimes share with his friends: Vi, Mylo, Claggor, and Powder.
Growing up, Ekko looked up to Vi and played with her younger sister, Powder. Vi taught him some fighting moves,[3] He would sometimes go to the junk heap with Vi, who would then hose him down when he got too dirty.[1]
Season 1[]
While working at Benzo's one day, a man from Piltover came into the shop and bought items from him.[3][4] Ekko was easily able to charge him twice the items' normal price and then followed him. Thinking his friends could make quick cash off the man, Ekko told Vi about the workshop. The plan backfired when Powder accidentally caused an explosion in the man's home, initiating an investigation that led Enforcers to Benzo's to confront Vander.
Despite being kicked out by Benzo prior so he and Vander could speak privately, Ekko listened in through a contraption he'd built above the room and found out that Vander had a deal with the Sheriff,[3] which he later told Vi with some hesitation.[4]
Ekko later witnessed Benzo's murder in the hands of a Shimmer-affected Deckard under Silco's orders. He saw Silco and his men take Vander away and later tearfully told Vi where to find them — Silco's Shimmer factory. Shortly after, multiple explosions at the factory resulted in multiple deaths and Vi's disappearance,[5] leading him to assume that she had also perished. Meanwhile, Powder was taken in by Silco, causing the two to be estranged.
Forced to find a means to survive, Ekko eventually came to live in hiding with a group of other children, building their base in a rare space that housed one of the very few trees—if not the only tree—to survive in Zaun. The group called themselves the Firelights, after the glowing insects found in Zaun,[1] and began sabotaging Silco's shipments of Shimmer in hopes of hindering its damage to their city.[6][1]
Season 2[]
Characteristics[]
Personality[]
By the end of the series, Ekko is only twenty years old, but he acts and gives off this feeling of being very world weary because he feels like he's been around a lot longer than he actually has been. He's seen a lot, been a part of a lot, and it's affected him, despite the fact that he's still very young.
When Ekko was younger, he had a carefree and goofy attitude, he quickly made best friends with Powder due to how playful both were. He was very enthusiastic about fighting hand to hand and looked up to Vi like an older sibling. However, once Benzo was killed, and when he presumed that Vi perished in the explosions, his relationship with Powder also deteriorated as she joined forces with the same people who killed Benzo.
Ekko matured considerably, taking charge as the leader of the Firelights. Despite all the trauma inflicted on him, Ekko chose to fight for the people and focus on helping addicts and victims affected by Silco's Shimmer operation. While he does retain his enthusiasm for his inventions and fighting, he is more reserved around people he's not familiar or comfortable around.
Because Ekko was born and raised in Zaun, the lower city, he has a biased negative opinion on Piltover residents, shown notably with his interactions with Caitlyn. He does seem to respect Heimerdinger, despite him being a former-council member at the time of their meeting.
Although Ekko keeps a tough exterior, it's clear that he keeps a lot of his emotions bottled inside. When he put up a front and acted cold against Vi, she was able to see right through the act, and embraced him, leading him to start crying.
Ekko is also particularly morally responsible when it comes to tough choices, as when he had the opportunity to stay in the alternate universe where Piltover and Zaun were both independent nations, both being on good terms with each other, Powder was his girlfriend, and where every character who died in the original timeline is alive (with the exception of Vi dying during the workshop heist). Instead of falling to the temptation of what was essentially a utopia, he chose to leave it so that he could go back to his universe to help and protect his city and his people, as he told Heimerdinger from the very beginning when he got into an alternate reality.
Appearance[]
Ekko is of average height with a wiry, athletic build. His skin is a rich dark brown, contrasting sharply with his thick white hair. He styles his hair into bundled locks on top of his head, with the sides buzzed short.
His dark brown eyes, once soft and round in childhood, now carry a sharper, more intense expression. His eyebrows are straight and slightly angled downward, and his wide nose complements his defined facial structure. High cheekbones taper into a pointed chin, giving his face a sharp and distinct profile.
Ekko’s attire reflects his life in Zaun and his leadership of the Firelights. He wears an oversized dark green jacket covered in neon graffiti-like scribbles, paired with baggy, off-white pants. An orange bandana tied around his neck is a signature part of his look. During combat, he often wears a white tank top for ease of movement.
His most distinctive feature is the white hourglass symbol painted across his face, stretching from his forehead to the tip of his nose.
Abilities[]
- Hand-to-hand combat: Ekko is an excellent combatant in close quarters and possesses borderline super-human agility, being capable of evading Jinx’s bullets.
- Leadership: Ekko shows great skill in leadership and coordination, organizing the Firelights as resistance against Silco and managing the haven.
- Inventor/Genius Intellect: Ekko has always been adept at building inventions, and has impressed the likes of Heimerdinger, who has considerable knowledge as an immortal being. Ekko was also able to develop the Z-Drive (while collaborating with AU Powder and Heimerdinger) and it's time abilities by inverting Jayce's Acceleration Rune, showing that he can grasp Arcane topics almost as well as Jayce. He also shows a high degree of ingenuity since, thanks to the limited time he spent with Jayce in his lab, he was able to recreate / innovate on the scientific formulas of hextech completely from scratch while trapped in an alternate universe where hextech was never created. Ekko liked his earrings in the alternate universe so much so that he got them pierced in his own universe.[7][8]
- Time Rewind: After being shunted to a parallel universe by the Hexgate Anomaly, Ekko and Heimerdinger were trying to develop a way back - in this, they managed to create a tiny anomaly contained in a device dubbed the Zero Drive. By pulling on the Z-Drive's chain, Ekko can manipulate time by rewinding the world, returning him to a previous position and granting him a "do-over". He is capable of returning up to 4 seconds unharmed, but attempting to rewind further can cause harm against his surroundings, but strangely not Ekko himself. During the battle against Viktor, Ekko overclocked the Z-Drive, causing the anomaly to destabilize and explode - finally injuring Viktor.
Gallery[]
See Ekko/Gallery
Relationships[]
Appearances[]
| Season One appearances: 8/9 | ||
| "Welcome to the Playground": Appears |
"Some Mysteries Are Better Left Unsolved": Appears |
"The Base Violence Necessary for Change": Appears |
| "Happy Progress Day!": Appears; eclipsed |
"Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy": Absent |
"When These Walls Come Tumbling Down": Appears; eclipsed |
| "The Boy Savior": Appears |
"Oil and Water": Appears |
"The Monster You Created": Appears |
| Season Two appearances: 4/9 | ||
| "Heavy Is the Crown": Absent |
"Watch It All Burn": Appears |
"Finally Got the Name Right": Appears |
| "Paint The Town Blue": Mentioned only |
"Blisters And Bedrock": Absent |
"The Message Hidden Within The Pattern": Absent |
| "Pretend Like It's the First Time": Appears |
"Killing Is a Cycle": Absent |
"The Dirt Under Your Nails": Appears |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Boy Savior, 1x07
- ↑ Timeline
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Welcome to the Playground, 1x01
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Some Mysteries Are Better Left Unsolved, 1x02
- ↑ The Base Violence Necessary for Change, 1x03
- ↑ Happy Progress Day!, 1x04
- ↑ Pretend Like It’s the First Time, 2x07
- ↑ The Dirt Under Your Nails, 2x09
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