Origin
Wilson Grant Fisk never had a normal childhood because of his overweight appearance and was known to be unpopular among other children. Fisk quickly became nothing more than a mere target for bullies and pity because of his pathetic status. Fisk would live his young life in reclusive who was forced into witnessing the normal lives of others, because of this Fisk would develop a unique perspective by using others to meet his own needs. This was the very first step towards Fisk’s criminal career that followed him throughout his entire life. Dedicated to be the best there was, Fisk would find himself committing his first murder at the age twelve and strongly believed that brute strength was the only way to become successful within the criminal underworld. Instantly Fisk trained himself in body-building and sumo to build his body and strength that eventually turned the young Fisk into a massive force of brute strength for his young age. Fisk would also build his education by learning from various stolen books and taking a strong interest within Political Science. With the combined strength and knowledge, Fisk quickly became a dominating force over the local gangs who intimidated other unwilling children and bullies into joining his gang. Displaying uncanny leadership abilities and organization skills has found itself earning Fisk the nickname known as “Kingpin of Crime”, a title that he gained as a teenager.
Fisk’s brutal and successful reputation would finally catch the attention of other well-known crime bosses within New York City. After finding himself impressed with Fisk’s gained reputation, crime boss Don Rigoletto recruited Fisk to serve as his personal right-hand man. But Fisk’s dedication to be the best eventually found Fisk killing Rigoletto and taking over his gang as his own. Fisk now became the most feared and successful crime lords within New York City.
Wilson Fisk is known to many as a ruthless and accomplished businessman. To others he is a common criminal beneath contempt. But those who truly know and fear him he is the Kingpin, powerful overlord of every criminal activity in New York city. The Kingpin’s power is not only figurative.
Successfully building his gang into an army, Fisk carefully planned and plotted his goals behind scenes and further away from the laws reach. As Fisk’s reputation began to grow with wealth, influence, and power, so did the competition with other well-known gangs, mostly the Maggia. Later Fisk decided to hide his criminal campaign by investing his wealth as a legitimate businessman after investing in spice from the far east. With crime slowly building up within the streets, nobody would ever suspect that the humbled spice dealer was the actual leader of the events and that the business helped Fisk increase his wealth to take down other competitive gangs. It would be during this time where Fisk met the young Vanessa and both Fisk and Vanessa would instantly fall in love and later be married. Fisk would be emotionally moved by Vanessa to where he was finally at peace from his struggle for power. A year later Vanessa would give birth to Richard Fisk, who desperately tried to hide the child from his father’s criminal activities. With Richard growing up in a life where his father constantly despised him because of how he saw him weak and pathetic, Vanessa would send Richard to Europe to attend schooling and further avoid him from her husband’s abusiveness and criminal lifestyle. It would be after Richard graduated from school where he remained in Europe and faked his death in an attempt to cease his connections with his family. After receiving news of his son’s death, even though Fisk suspected foul play, he still hid the news from his wife.
As a businessman, Fisk found himself in competition with one his own partner who was a Cheyenne known as Willie Lincoln A.K.A. Crazy Horse. Killing the man in order to advance in his position, Fisk would adopt Crazy Horse’s daughter, Maya Lopez as his own child after recognizing her display of photographic reflexes. Fisk would later find himself sending Maya to a special school where she would spend great portion of her life under Fisk’s distant supervision. As Fisk’s influence began to rise, so did the costume heroes that would later be a threat for Fisk’s reputation. Almost encountering Spider-man after hiring a mutant girl to sabotage a construction side, Fisk would see an opportunity with the rising heroes. Recognizing how careless their battles with villains are when destroying valuable property and possessions, alongside with Tony Stark and Anne-Marie Hoag, all three would form the government operated Damage Control. Stark would later sell his share of the company after feeling uneasy with partnering with Fisk after learning his secret reputation. Later Fisk would drop out from Damage Control and take his share with him, leaving Anne-Marie as the sole founder.
Creation
Kingpin would make his first debut in Amazing Spider-Man #50. With Spider-man battling various crime bosses such as Big Man, Crime-Master, and even the Green Goblin himself, Stan Lee wanted a character who would treat crime as if it was nothing more than a mere business. Wanting a villain who would successfully unite crime into a massive army under his command and be the boss of all other crime bosses, both Stan Lee and artist John Romita would gain their idea from the movie actor known as Sydney Greenstreet and create Wilson Fisk, also known as the King of Crime.
In Amazing Spider-man #70, Stan Lee decided to add more to Wilson Fisk’s character by “humanizing” him. Revealed to be a married man, Fisk would show readers that aside from his life of crime, he would be a devoted husband who cared for his family as much as he cared for his title as the Kingpin of Crime.
Character Evolution
Silver Age
When making his first debut within the Marvel Universe, Kingpin became a unique and major threat for Spider-man on several occasions. Seen as a massive overweight man who displayed himself as a business man, Kingpin would successfully unite all crime within New York City. Sometimes foiled by Spider-man, both Kingpin and Spider-man would gain numerous victories over each other several times that ended with Spider-man successfully foiling Kingpin’s plans to take over New York City. His hatred for the meddling wall-crawler would develop to where Kingpin would focus on gaining his revenge against Spider-man and become much more of a threat to Spider-man. At the end of the Silver Age, it would be discovered that Fisk was a married man to an unknown woman.
Originally Fisk would be seen as a basic criminal mastermind taking a direct role in his schemes, later Kingpin would become more of a corrupted businessman who secretly operated behind his desk.
The Bronze Age
The Bronze Age became a major highlight within Kingpins character as his wife Vanessa and his son Richard Fisk are introduced. Displayed as a dysfunctional family because of their struggles with Kingpin’s criminal lifestyle, Kingpin would also find himself battling Captain America when he managed to become the Supreme HYDRA in Las Vegas. After both Kingpin and his son faced near-death experiences, Vanessa vowed to leave Kingpin if he chose not give up his career as the Kingpin of Crime. Giving her husband twenty-four remaining hours as the Kingpin, Fisk almost killed Spider-man if not for his wife’s time limit.
Supposedly retired, Fisk would be forced into his role as the Kingpin when his wife was kidnapped by local crime-lords in retaliation to Fisk giving valuable evidence that could send them to jail. Believing his wife died in an accident, the events managed to capture Daredevil’s attention where both Kingpin and Daredevil would fight for the first time in their long and enduring battle with each other. Reunited with his found wife, Fisk would see Daredevil as a major threat to his position when the hero successfully began to foil his plans of ruling New York City. As Kingpin continued becoming a major threat for Spider-man and Daredevil, the Punisher would later make his attempt against the Kingpin, which normally ended with the vigilante’s defeat.
The Modern Age
The Modern Age would be one of the most darkest chapters in Daredevil’s career because of the Kingpin. After obtaining information that proved Daredevil was Matt Murdock, Kingpin would ruin the life of one his most formidable enemies and make an example of him. However, Fisk’s attacks backfired when the struggling hero exposed Fisk’s criminal lifestyle to the public and later lost his fortune because of a competitive terrorist organization that was dedicated to see Fisk’s downfall. Eventually Fisk rebuilt his criminal empire only to find himself nearly dying from several attacks and assassinations that was even orchestrated by his own son. Still hounding Daredevil with his obtained knowledge, Fisk would eventually be arrested for a murder he committed years ago.
Even behind bars Fisk proved to be more of a threat when manipulating Daredevil, the FBI, and even Iron Man into doing his bidding. It would take his dying wife Vanessa to convince Daredevil to set her husband free. Doing so, Daredevil managed to fulfill Vanessa’s dying wish and released her husband from captivity only if he revoked his citizenship and left the United States.
Briefly retiring, Fisk would be forced into returning to the US when Lady Bullseye and the Hand attacked him. Telling Daredevil that his fight with the Hand would be his last, secretly Fisk decided to take over the Hand and rebuild his lost criminal empire. Unsuccessful because of Daredevil acceptance of the offer to become the leader of the Hand and opportunity to change the organization from within, Fisk would wait for the right moment to strike at Daredevil and take over the Hand for himself.
After seeing Daredevil’s display of vigilantism, Fisk took great pride as to how the events would possibly turn for the better for him. As predicted, Daredevil would find himself forced into fighting his fellow friends and other urban level heroes. Knowing that the Hand influenced and slowly possessed Daredevil, Fisk responded to this by reviving Ghost Rider to do his bidding, which was to take down Daredevil and his army. Managing to do so, Fisk finally took what remained of Daredevil’s army and accomplished his first step on to becoming the Kingpin of Crime once more.
Major Story Arcs
In the Clutches of the Kingpin
Aside from Tony Stark and possibly Anne-Marie Hoag, the public would see Fisk as a wealthy and legitimate businessman who occasionally donated to charities and was viewed as a generous man. After witnessing other crime bosses fail on uniting all crime within New York, Fisk would realize that his greatest threat was Spider-man seeing how it was he who ended all the attempts. After laying low and waiting for the right moment to make his move, Fisk would finally get his wish after reading the Daily Bugle article that claimed Spider-man to be retired from crime fighting. Instantly Fisk would force all crime to unite and rule the streets of New York City in Spider-man’s absence, causing one of New York’s biggest crime waves. However, Fisk would finally find himself confronting the returned Spider-man after Kingpin’s men kidnapped Daily Bugle owner J. Jonah. Jameson.
Even though the hero managed to foil Fisk’s crime wave again, Spider-man was unprepared for Fisk after mistaking him for a simple overweight criminal. Easily besting Spider-man in combat and knocking him out, Kingpin would order the deaths of both Jameson and Spider-man by drowning both in a sealed room. Escaping Kingpin’s death trap and saving Jameson’s life, Spider-man tried to take down the Kingpin again. But before Spider-man would fight the Kingpin, the hero would be sidetracked while Kingpin made his escape. Even though Fisk knew that Spider-man came very close in ending his built career and reputation, he also knew that both the hero and Jameson had little proof of Fisk’s criminal activities and that him and the name “Kingpin” weren’t the same.
The Brand of the Brainwasher
As Fisk found himself cautiously rebuilding his reputation as both a legit business man and a crimelord, Fisk took a new approach on having New York City under his control after secretly recruiting an Osborn employee known as Dr. Gerhard Winkler who specialized in brainwashing techniques. Funding Winkler’s services who was also obtaining his equipment from Oscorp Industries and secretly opening a dance club known as Gloom Room A-Go-Go to disguise his operations, Fisk now hid behind a different alias known as the Brainwasher. The main objective that Fisk tried to accomplish was to mostly use the club as a way to brainwash important characters within New York City and have them under his control as an easier way to rule New York City. Mary Jane was hired as a singer for the bar, unaware of the club’s true intentions to hypnotize New York City’s top officials. Fisk successfully managed to brainwash Captain George Stacy into secretly working for him. However, Fisk’s activities were discovered by both Spider-man and MJ, but Spider-man’s attempt to stop Fisk only found himself defeated and later escaping from being another brainwashed victim.
Unaware of Fisk’s whereabouts, Fisk continued to use Captain Stacy as his own pawn and have Winkler continue his brainwashing techniques by moving his equipment to Osborn Industries. With Spider-man knowing about George’s current status, as Peter Parker he attempted to confront George at his home which only provoked him into attacking Peter and forced him to leave his house. Notifying Fisk about Peter discovering his secret plans, Fisk ordered his men to kill Peter Parker at his home and at the Daily Bugle, which proved unsuccessful twice. Luck would turn for the worst when Winkler’s employer Norman Osborn would discover Fisk and Winkler’s secret activities as well as Spider-man finally discovering Fisk’s whereabouts at Osborn Industries. As Spider-man managed to defeat Fisk, Osborn would cause Winkler to accidentally destroy his brainwashing machine and freed George Stacy and anybody else who was under Fisk’s control. With Winkler killed by the impact of the exploding machine, Fisk managed to elude authorities by escaping with one of Osborn’s private helicopters.
Crises on the Campus
Upon learning that a petrified clay tablet being held at Empire State University (ESU) that possibly contained valuable secrets, Fisk would be influenced into obtaining the tablet for himself. Taking an advantage of the nearby protest, Fisk and his men broke into ESU and single handily took the tablet. With Spider-man quickly entering the scene, both Fisk and the hero fought each other until Fisk successfully managed to create a distraction in order to make his escape. Knowing that Spider-man would follow him, Fisk took the advantage to rid him of the wall-crawler who’s started to become the only obstacle for Fisk’s goals. As predicted, Fisk battled Spider-man once more and gain the upper hand over Spider-man. However the hero managed to cause Fisk’s laser cane to backfire against him and knock the Kingpin of Crime unconscious. Defeating the Kingpin and seeing him finally be taken into police custody, Fisk managed to convince the cops that Spider-man was working for him and caused authorities to hunt down Spider-man as he was about to return the stolen tablet.
Imprisoned, Fisk promised his escape was at hand and slowly worked on bending the bars of his jail cell with his brute strength. As Spider-man handled difficulties with both law enforcement and his personal life, Fisk managed to successfully escape. Seeing Spider-man’s death as a main priority, Fisk would develop another plan to attract his enemy and finally take him out once and for all. Staging a hijacking in the streets of New York, Fisk successfully managed to attract the hero into battling him once more. As the two fought each other in the streets, Fisk realized that he was bound to be defeated once more in the hands of Spider-man. It would take the interruption of J. Jonah, Jameson and Ned Leeds that distracted Spider-man long enough to have Fisk make his successful escape with a nearby car driven by his wife Vanessa Fisk. Realizing that his recent actions have managed to gain attention from the authorities, Fisk would go into hiding with his wife until tensions decreased.
His Ill-gotten wealth is supplemented by legitimate business ventures. The Kingpin has slowly amassed a large fortune and a gang of henchmen that have included, Bullseye, The Bushwhacker, and Elektra. Being the all power Kingpin of New York’s criminal underworld, he made enemies with not only the heroes, but with other gangs such as the Maggia and Hydra. The two groups teamed up to bring Kingpin down and would eventually succeed. This forced Wilson to leave America in which he would travel to Japan. Now poor and powerless, Wilson began a spice business to try and get rich again. Eventually Wilson would gain enough money and returned to New York. Back in New York he triggers a gang war in order to bring the Maggia down. In the midst of all the chaos, Kingpin rook control of the criminal underworld again.
Meeting Vanessa was now one of the most powerful crime lords again, Wilson decided to disguise himself as a honest business man and donates a lot to charities. This caught the eye of a woman named Vanessa, whom Wilson would hook up with and would eventually marry and became Mrs. Vanessa Fisk. The couple would conceive a son and named him Richard. Vanessa was unaware of his criminal career when she married him but upon finding out, she threatened to leave him if he did not give up his criminal lifestyle. Wilson would give in to Vanessa’s demands and would temporarily retire as a crime lord. The entire family moved to Japan to live peacefully, but when a gang war erupted again in New York City, it caught Wilson’s eyes.
The Secret of the Schemer
As Fisk was forced into hiding and struggling to hold his criminal career, Vanessa would discover an article of her son’s death and suspect that Richard committed suicide after discovering his father’s criminal life because of how Fisk withheld this information from her. Matters would turn for the worst when a new self-proclaimed crime lord who called himself the Schemer took an advantage over Fisk’s status and crippled what remained of his empire. In retaliation, Fisk would secretly cover his identity and place an add within the Daily Bugle newspaper that offered five thousand dollars for the capture of the Schemer. As Schemer and his gang penetrated Fisk’s forces and his mansion, he also attracted Spiderman who was on his trail in hopes of gaining the reward money for Schemers capture. With Schemer confronting Fisk at his home, Vanessa recognized who the Schemer really was. As Spiderman entered the scene, both Fisk and the hero would fight again as the Schemer would flee from the scene with Vanessa. Fisk would later make his escape after causing Spiderman to lose his balance during the fight and tried to locate his wife.
Instantly reunited with Vanessa, who was distasteful from the dangers of Fisk’s criminal lifestyle. Spider-man would finally capture the Schemer and take the villain to the address that offered the reward money. However Spider-man would realize that it was a ruse from the Kingpin who captured both Spider-man and Schemer in a steel net. Knowing that his wife suspected something about the Schemer, Fisk forced the Schemer to tell the truth about himself and discovered an angered Richard after removing his mask. Revealing that he regretted using his fathers crime money throughout most of his growing life and personally wanted to see his fathers criminal empire come to an end. This would cause Fisk to go into a catatonic state, while the on looking Spiderman felt that his involvement with Fisk and his family issues weren’t needed as he left them to their own fate.
The Big Sleep in Las Vegas
Richard would later regret his actions when he had no intention of harming his father in any way. Feeling guilty for his actions as the Schemer, Richard would join the terrorist organization known as HYDRA and quickly rise through the ranks claiming the title known as the Supreme HYDRA. Using HYDRA’s resources and equipment to revive his father, Richard would repay his debt to his father by handing him the organization. Seeing this as an opportunity to rule the city of Las Vegas and then the world itself, Fisk wasted no time on controlling HYDRA’s operations and army to do his bidding. Capturing the attention of Captain America and Falcon, Fisk would be defeated by both heroes before realizing the truth of his involvement within HYDRA. Discovering that the Red Skull who was the true leader of HYDRA manipulated him. Fisk and his son would form an alliance with both heroes as they defeated the Red Skull’s attempt on destroying Captain America and Las Vegas with his revived Sleeper robot. Even though Fisk succeeded on helping Red Skull’s defeat, his son Richard would suffer major injuries that forced Fisk to keep him contained in cryogenic stasis. After this event, Fisk realized that goals pertaining world domination was hopeless and unrealistic and strictly continued his career as a crime lord.
Deadline
After the events in Las Vegas, Fisk returned to hiding and found himself facing a devastated wife after learning Richards condition. Dedicated into reviving his dying son, Fisk would change his alias as “The Boss” and instantly chose his enemy Spiderman as the perfect candidate to trade life forces with his son. Carefully watching his tracks and planning every step to ensure his involvement is kept hidden, Fisk hired the villains Sandman, Tinkerer, and several hired men into capturing Spider-man. Using his hired men into having Spider-man follow them to his hideout, Spider-man would eventually trace Fisk’s henchmen to an abandoned movie studio where an awaiting Fisk would successfully capture the unprepared hero.
As Fisk strapped Spider-man into a machine along with his dying son, he successfully transferred Spider-man life force onto Richards. Despite her disagreement with Fisk’s methods of restoring their son, she set aside her differences after seeing her son fully revived. With Spider-man weakened and left with six hours to live, Fisk had his men toss Spiderman’s weakened body onto streets from a speeding car. However Spider-man managed to get help from Dr. Conners with an energy-siphoning machine before tracking down Kingpin and his family in a Navy Yard. Even though Spider-man successfully restored his life energy, Richard was already fully rejuvenated. Having a brief battle with Fisk, the Kingpin would accidentally fall to his seemingly death. Even though Vanessa believed that she lost her husband, she still gave Spider-man thanks for his unwilling help on restoring her son’s health and promised him that she and Richard wouldn’t be threat for Spider-man or New York City ever again.
The Last Twenty-Four Hours
Believed to be dead, Fisk managed to survive from the underwater wreckage after his fight against Spiderman. Temporarily Fisk became amnesiac from the fall and wanders aimlessly within the streets. Another competing crime-lord known as Silvermane would learn of this and instantly placed a hit and run on Fisk. Almost killing Fisk, Silvermane’s hired henchmen failed as Fisk was taken to a nearby hospital that treated his injuries from the hit and run attack. Slowly regaining his memory, Fisk returned home to a shocked Vanessa. Growing tired of living in a dangerous lifestyle and possibly losing a loving family member, Vanessa forced Kingpin into making a choice between herself or his career as the Kingpin. Realizing that surrendering such a position would take time, Vanessa would give Fisk twenty-four hours to make his choice and finish whatever he needed to do as the Kingpin of Crime.
As six hours remained on Fisk’s time clock, Fisk decided to end his career with the death of Spider-man. Easily having his men abduct Spider-man and bring him to his home, Kingpin would face Spider-man in their last fight to the death. Both Spider-man and Fisk would battle each in a dragged-out fight that took itself throughout Fisk’s mansion. Managing to gain the advantage over Spider-man, Fisk pummeled the defeated hero. As Fisk was about to give Spider-man a killing blow, Vanessa interrupted him because his timeline was up and now he had to choose. As Fisk pleaded with Vanessa to spare him a few more minutes, she forced him to spare Spiderman’s life as he chose to end his criminal career and move to China with his wife.
The Kingpin Must Die
Briefly retired in Japan with his wife, Fisk would be offered a deal with an Attorney General to hand over files of incriminating evidence that would place the remaining crime-lords in New York into custody. Strongly influenced by his wife to proceed with the deal, clear his name, and offer the hefty reward for his troubles, Fisk agreed to the attorney’s offer. However, a legal representative was needed and Fisk’s wife would return to New York City to hire Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson to represent their case. However, the remaining crime-lords learned of Fisk’s current goals and anticipated this by kidnapping Vanessa in exchange for the files. Forced back into New York City to proceed with the exchange, Fisk would easily anticipate an attack orchestrated by the crime-lords that found himself returning to his role as the Kingpin of Crime, promising that the city would suffer from bloodshed if Vanessa was harmed or killed.
As Fisk returned to his role as the Kingpin of Crime with the help of his new right-hand man named Lynch, Fisk’s operation would find itself being infiltrated by Daredevil who was disguised as a henchman named “Shades”. Fisk would eventually discover Daredevil’s infiltration, and both would fight for the very first time in a darkened vault. Even though Daredevil had the advantage over Fisk, it would take one blow to Daredevil’s head that made Fisk the victor of the fight. Ordering his men to dispose of Daredevil, Fisk would next attempt to bargain with the crime-lords in order to rescue his wife. However, unknown to Fisk his right-hand man Lynch would cause the exchange to go horribly wrong when he caused an accident that convinced the Kingpin that his wife was dead.
Unable to find her body, Fisk was convinced that Vanessa was officially dead. Instantly, Fisk planned to gain his revenge against the crime lords for the cause of his wife’s death by anticipating their attempt to have him assassinated by Bullseye. Knowing that Bullseye would strike at his meeting with the crime lords, Fisk would make a higher offer to Bullseye by promising him a career and a reputation as the greatest assassin in New York City, an offer that Bullseye couldn’t refuse as his chief assassin. Bullseye killed the crime lords under Fisk’s first assignment and was next ordered to kill a new threat arising towards Fisk, which was Daredevil. However, Bullseye proved unsuccessful and was defeated by Daredevil while Fisk witnessed the entire fight. Offering the victorious Daredevil a career as his chief assassin, the hero refused Fisk’s offer swearing that he would put an end to Fisk’s activities.
The Deal
With Fisk returning to his role as the Kingpin of New York City, he was unaware that Vanessa survived the attack and was hidden underground as a servant of a diabolical massive man who resembled Fisk and was known as King. With her psych fragile and unbalanced after the series of traumatizing events, Vanessa would be fully unaware of her being and would believe that King was indeed her husband. Daredevil and Ben Urich would discover this and Daredevil would venture into New York City’s underground where he successfully defeated King and rescued Vanessa from his clutches. Elsewhere Fisk would attempt to have New York City in his control when appointing his agent Randolph Cherryh to be the next mayor of New York City. With Daredevil realizing Kingpin’s plans, he would visit Fisk with proof that his wife was still alive and that if he wanted to see her again he would have to remove Cherryh from office. Angered as to how Daredevil would get the better of him, Fisk disbanded his attempt to appoint Cherryh as mayor and was reunited with his wife once more.
Kingpin’s Chief Assassins
In retaliation towards Daredevil foiling his scheme, Fisk would send his new chief assassin Elektra to kill Foggy Nelson. But she would decline the contract when Foggy recognized her as Matt Murdock’s former lover. Elsewhere Bullseye desperately tried to regain his position as Kingpin’s chief assassin and brutally murdered Elektra so that he could easily reclaim the title. Fisk would reconsider Bullseye’s reemployment when he claimed that the blind lawyer Matt Murdock and Daredevil were the same man. Even though Fisk slightly believed Bullseye, he demanded that Bullseye show proof of his claim before Fisk would consider him as a chief assassin. With Bullseye ultimately defeated by Daredevil and unable to show any proof, Fisk would find himself believing that Bullseye’s services were no longer needed.
Rising of New Threats
As time went on, new threats began to arise for the Kingpin. Starting by recruiting the maniacal cult leader known as Micah Synn. Knowing how Micah’s reputation has proved useful against Daredevil and could help Fisk’s criminal career, Fisk would bring up Micah’s barbaric interest with women, especially those who are married. Fisk personally warned Micah that these actions towards any man’s wife were unacceptable and not tolerated within his organization (an action that Fisk would violate later on within his career). Ignoring this, Micah would attempt to kidnap the wife of Foggy Nelson at a local Christmas party. With Daredevil intervening, Micah would gain the upper hand until Fisk got involved to ensure Daredevil’s victory.
Because of this, Micah became a major threat to Fisk’s organization when he and his tribe were hijacking illicit shipments from Fisk. With Micah becoming a major problem for Fisk, he would anticipate Micah kidnapping his wife Vanessa by having an actress disguised as Vanessa. Assisting Daredevil in bringing down Micah’s reign of terror, the hero managed to overcome Micah’s forces and drive the madman into hiding where Fisk would constantly hunt him down.
Fisk would later be involved with Daily Bugle when he learned that the sleazy publisher Milton Farr carried valuable evidence that could bring down Fisk’s operation. Managing to send his hired men to destroy the evidence, Fisk would also see to it that Milton would meet his death for his unsuccessful attempts against the Kingpin. Fisk next assisted Spiderman in taking down the mysterious Hobgoblin because of how he would prove to be a potential threat for Fisk’s organization.
Crime and Punishment
With Doctor Octopus dedicated to destroying New York City with an Activator that was in Fisk’s possession, Fisk anticipated this with a fake one for Dr. Octopus’s hired men to steal. However, the well-famous cat burglar Black Cat would see the value of the item and steal it for herself. Eventually, the real Activator came into Dr. Octopus’s possession and almost destroyed the city. Later the vigilante known as Punisher would be drugged by Jigsaw into causing chaos in the streets and eventually find himself going against the Kingpin himself. Easily besting the vigilante in combat, Fisk left the unconscious Punisher to Spiderman and the arriving authorities. Discovering how Dr. Octopus managed to obtain the real Activator, Kingpin would desire revenge against Black Cat for her selfish and careless actions.
As Vanessa frequently went into psychotic episodes because of the prior traumatic experiences she went through, Fisk was dedicated to restoring his wife to full health. Taking notice how one of his longtime agents Aaron Nicholson had the unique ability to solve just about every problem, Fisk would empower Nicholson in attempts of helping Fisk handle the current problems that proved to be too difficult for Fisk to handle alone. Secretly Fisk used the same machinery to embed Black Cat powers of having bad luck for those who posed a threat to her. Even though she did this because of how she wanted to be a better crime-fighting partner for Spiderman, Fisk would reveal his identity and attempt to have Black Cat work for him in return for the powers. Accepting Fisk’s demands, Black Cat strictly told Fisk that she would do what he asked of her only if it doesn’t involve harming Spiderman.
The Answer
With Nicholson taking the costumed identity known as the Answer, he would serve as an advisor for Fisk in his multiple plots against Spiderman and Black Cat. Advising and helping Fisk on obtaining Silvermane’s lifeless robotic to be used as a potential assassin, Answer would also recommend that the powers of the vigilante known as Dagger could restore Vanessa to full health. However, the lifeless Silvermane would reclaim his lost lifeforce from Dagger and successfully escape, leaving little hope for Fisk’s wife returning to normal. Kidnapping Dagger, the loyal Answer sacrificed his life-forces into her so that she could restore Vanessa’s health. However, Dagger ignored Kingpin’s persistence and refused to help Vanessa. Fisk would find himself blaming both Spiderman and Black Cat for this because of how they meddled in his plans and proudly reveal the true nature of Black Cat’s powers. Revealing that those around her would risk their lives because of her bad luck, even Spiderman. Believing that he was the cause for their separation, it would be because of Spiderman’s concerns for their relationship that would be the cause for their break-up
Born Again
Desperate on saving his wife, Fisk forced psychologist Dr. Paul Mondat’s assistance when Fisk kidnapped his wife. However this plan turned against Fisk when Mondat managed to not only restore Vanessa’s mental health, but also made her loyal only to him and that Daredevil managed to rescue Mondat’s wife from Fisk’s captivity. Forced into admitting defeat after seeing his wife afraid of him, Fisk allowed Mondat to take Vanessa to Europe for further treatment. Angered as to how his attempt to save wife turned against him because of Daredevil, Fisk would finally get the revenge he long desired against the hero when his former girlfriend Karen Page traded Daredevil’s secret identity in exchange for drugs.
Now believing that the blind lawyer Matt Murdock was indeed Daredevil, Fisk would completely destroy Murdock’s life when Fisk caused Murdock to lose his career and private lifestyle. Forcing the hero into the streets, the angered Daredevil tried to take his revenge against Fisk only to find himself brutally beaten and nearly dying from a staged death. Kingpin would later suspect that Daredevil was alive and hired a psychopath to take Daredevils identity and kill Nelson and Page to draw out Daredevil to be sure that Matt Murdock was indeed killed in the local river. As predicted, Daredevil was alive which caused Fisk to proceed with his next plan, which was to use his connections with the government.
Using his recommended status to gain favors from the government, Fisk would hire one of their greatest soldiers-of-fortune Nuke (who was secretly used and manipulated for corrupt reasons) to draw out Daredevil. Sending Nuke to cause property damage in Hell’s Kitchen and successfully drawing out Daredevil, the hero managed to defeat Nuke only to see him be taken into custody by the Avengers. With Fisk realizing how this plan backfired against him was killing off innocent civilians, matters would turn for the worst when Nuke successfully escaped to create more chaos and attack the Daily Bugle. With both Captain America and Daredevil trying to stop Nuke, the government would kill Nuke in an desperate attempt to cover their tracks. However Nuke would be Daredevils revenge against Fisk when he finally exposed the Kingpins true nature with the public and force the Kingpin to step down from his position and go into hiding.
The Rose
Prior to Fisk’s attempt on ruining Daredevil’s life, his son Richard would learn of the events that recently happened to his mother and return to his goals of seeing his father’s organization fall while taking a new identity known as the Rose. Even though Rose’s attempts proved unsuccessful and was more strongly against Spiderman, Fisk deduced Rose’s identity and continued to let Richard take the disguise under a watchful eye. After Fisk disappeared, his son Richard attempted to claim his father’s position as the Kingpin of Crime, only to find that Hammerhead, Silvermane, the Blue Boys, and other gang leaders and crime lords also wanted the position as well. Becoming the very start for a massive gang war that later drew attention from other villains, heroes, and even the Punisher, chaos ran amok in the streets that claimed the lives of innocents bystanders and law enforcement.
Gang War
Elsewhere, Kingpin would learn that his wife Vanessa would be endangered in Europe and ordered her to return to America to be kept in close supervision and in care of the appointed Dr. Zachar. Even though Fisk was hidden in unknown location and that Vanessa’s condition was improving, he would realize that Dr. Zachar heavily drugged and scolded Vanessa. When the government contacting Fisk in a desperate attempt to have him reclaim his position, Fisk proudly made his return.
First thing that Fisk did was ensure that Dr. Zachar died for his abuse against Vanessa, next part of his plan was to eliminate his lieutenants that he saw to be ineffective. Knowing that the meddling heroes Daredevil and Spider-Man would be involved in his plans, Fisk decided to use them as an advantage when both heroes sent Fisk’s lieutenants to prison in an effort to save them. Secretly Fisk did this in order to have his wife Vanessa returned to Europe safely and have more control of what was left of his organization. Fisk would still be angered and blaming Spider-Man for having his power shared with both Hammerhead and Chameleon.
Eventually, Fisk was arrested for his crimes and fled into the sewers after being bailed out by a former crony.
Stark-Fujikawa
Following his fall from grace, Fisk resurfaced in Hong Kong as part of the Stark-Fujikawa company. Taking advantage of a power vacuum in the Asian underworld following the death of the notorious Fu Manchu, Fisk used his position to reestablish himself as a force to be reckoned with in the world of crime. This also led to Fisk gaining the services of the Si-Fan, Fu Manchu’s former army of personal assassins, a technological clan called Cyber Ninjas was created. He also came into possession of the Elixir Vitae, the potion Fu Manchu had used to prolong his life for many years. This eventually caused the Kingpin to clash with the X-Men and Shang-Chi, who had arrived in Hong Kong to find the Elixir Vitae, which they believed could potentially be used as a cure for the Legacy Virus. The encounter ended with Storm destroying the Elixir to make sure Fisk could not exploit it for his own ends.
Losing the Empire
Later Kingpin would lose his entire criminal empire when he was stabbed in the back due to one of his employees working for his son Richard. Vanessa would kill Richard and flee the country with Wilson’s remaining fortune. All this happens while the Kingpin was recuperating in a European country. He would later come up with a plan that will free him from the FBI and regain his fortune. He would reveal to the FBI proof that Matt Murdock was really Daredevil. While he was staying in prison, Fisk had many enemies and would constantly be under the attack by someone. However, Fisk succeeded in forcing the FBI to wound Daredevil in which he would be taken to the Night Nurse. Fisk would meet with Ben Urich and force him to tell the FBI where the Night Nurse is or go to jail.
The FBI was able to successfully arrest Matt Murdock but betrays Wilson at the same time and arrested him instead of letting him free. They would place Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk in the same jail hoping that the two would kill each other. However, during a riot that was aimed to kill both of them, the two would team up in order to survive the riot. When Wilson wanted to free Bullseye, Matt refused to let that criminal free. Then Bullseye would shoot Wilson in the knees but was actually trying to shoot Matt.
The Murdock Papers
While incarcerated Kingpin offers to make a deal with the police. He claims that he had paper documenting the history as Matt Murdock as Daredevil. He is willing to trade for a reduced sentence. It turns out that no papers actually exist, but the hunt for them does lead to the capture of Matt Murdock. While imprisoned Fisk is sent to the same prison as Murdock. Fisk makes a deal with Matt to escape, but in the end Matt betrays Fisk and sides with the Punisher instead.
Civil War
During the Civil War Wilson Fisk offered a deal to Iron Man that he will give him the location of the Secret Avengers if Iron Man will set him free. However, Fisk gave him the information of the base of a group of villains that were gathering that were planning to create a new criminal empire ran by Hammerhead. Recently Wilson puts a hit on Spider-Man and his loved ones. The sniper was able to hit one of them, Aunt May When Peter gets to “persuade” the sniper to tell him who put the hit on him and his family, He went to the prison giving Fisk a severe beating who is unable to defend himself from Spider-Man’s fuel-raged, brutal attacks and threatens to cut off Fisk’s air supply with his webbing, but lets him live. With the other inmates watching in awe, Peter warns everyone that he will kill anyone whoever harms his family again. When Matt dropped the charges against Fisk, for him to leave the country and his citizenship at the request of Vanessa.
Matt also delayed the case long enough for Fisk to miss his wife’s funeral, but he would later go to her grave and mourn for her death. Fisk left America and went to Spain where he fell in love with a local woman and he moved in with her and her kids. After Daredevil refused to take the role as leader of the Hand, Lady Bullseye and her group of assassins murdered Fisk’s new love and her family. She told him that he was going to help her convince Daredevil to lead the Hand. Fisk comes back to America and offers Daredevil his help in destroying the Hand. When asked what he plans to do after they take out the Hand Fisk replies that he doesn’t plan on surviving. Daredevil accepts the offer and Fisk returns to the criminal underworld with his new assistant Turk to recruit soldiers for their war, he then has his men go out and start killing members of the Hand across the city. Fisk breaks the Owl out of police custody during transport and has him hire Lady Bullseye for reasons yet to be revealed.
Shadowland
Kingpin and Lady Bullseye confront Luke Cage & Iron Fist at a soup kitchen owned by Danny Rand. He tells them that Daredevil needs to be taken down.
Later he and Lady Bullseye summon the Ghost Rider using some stolen scrolls from the Hand, causing DD to think that his hero friends were distracting him while Ghost Rider attacked Shadowland’s dungeons.
Powers & Abilities
Kingpin has many extraordinary skills and abilities. As a human he has a unique physique that he proudly displays as a simple overweight man. Though he physically has an overweight appearance, Kingpin’s body mass is mostly composed of pure muscle rather than fatty tissue. Kingpin is also extremely fast, agile, and incredibly strong for a man his size and weight. Capable of easily lifting a full –sized oak desk and using it as a weapon, and able to stand toe-to-toe with super-powered individuals, Fisk’s physique makes him an extremely dangerous opponent for others. Aside from his physical capabilities, Fisk’s padded body also protects him from several lethal attacks, such as stab wounds and occasionally gunshots to non-vital areas.
Since childhood, Fisk has dedicated himself in training the martial arts of sumo, hapkido, and others. These were combined with his physical prowess to create his own fighting style. Over the years Fisk has also adapted other fighting styles such as wrestling, street fighting, and other more. On a daily basis, Fisk trains himself with at least six hired martial artists; some armed with weapons and with instructions to never hold back their attacks against Fisk. Throughout his career, Fisk has bested other well-known martial artists and fighters like Daredevil, Punisher, Spiderman, Captain America and the notorious villain known as the Red Skull.
Even though Fisk participates within the fields of business for illegal means, he’s a very skilled financier, planner, and a successful founder of several companies that’s under his name. Aside from his life of crime as the Kingpin, Fisk has helped New York City on several occasions by opening businesses to increase New York City’s status and funding several charity campaigns to increase a positive view from the population. Because of this, many people find it difficult to believe that Fisk is responsible for the crimes he’s accused of and that he’s a victim of vigilantism from heroes like Spiderman, Punisher, and Daredevil.
Even though Fisk has barely involved himself with politics and electoral campaigns, he’s also experienced within the fields of political science and other government funded activities. Aside from his knowledge as a major figure within the world business, Fisk is also a skilled criminal mastermind. However Fisk later preferred to refrain himself as a mastermind such as the likes of Dr Doom and Red Skull seeing how his goals were unrealistic and almost ended his long built career.
Mostly Fisk physically refrains from his criminal activities and strictly acts through his criminal proxies and hired assassins to do his bidding. It’s very rare for Fisk to be physically involved in attacking his enemies unless he’s provoked, confronted, or prefers to handle an opponent himself. Having connections with government agencies, businesses, specialists, scientists, henchmen, pushers, law enforcement, criminal gangs, terrorist groups, villains, and heroes who all served Kingpin through fear, dedication, and manipulation.
Mentally skilled and disciplined, Fisk is also immune to hypnotism or anything that results him losing his will. Even the will-sapping Purple Man found himself unable to control Fisk or have the him under his influence.
Kingpin of Crime
The title known as “The Kingpin of Crime” first began as a simple nickname that was given to Fisk during his teenage years and later became a self-proclaimed title that was feared throughout the East Coast. Even though several crime bosses were unsuccessful on forming a massive coalition under their control, Fisk’s self-proclaimed title became legit after managing to form almost all of gangs and organizations (non-Maggia) under his command. As a title that was instantly desired by competing crime lords and villains, Fisk would be the only man who successfully controlled the title and the power within the criminal underworld. As the Kingpin, Fisk would position himself as a man who controlled almost all crime within New York at a standard balance. Meaning that if he was removed from his position, an all out gang war would most likely breakout, as other leaders would compete each other for the title.
Even though Fisk was later removed from his position, other people would later claim the title for themselves. People such as Alfredo Morelli who later couldn’t handle the position as the Kingpin, Parker Robbins who used the title after forming a massive army of super-villains, and even Daredevil on an desperate attempt to have the title end with him. But out of all the men who held the title, only Fisk would dedicate his life to the dangers and responsibilities as the Kingpin of Crime.
Weapons and Equipment
During the Silver Age and early Bronze Age of comics, Fisk carried concealed weaponry that he mostly kept on himself and other funded equipment that involved brainwashing or draining one’s life force.
Obliterator Cane
Fisk usually carried a walking stick that acted as his main weapon for offensive purposes during the Silver Age of Comics. Inside the stick is a charge that compresses and stores energy within the stick, which is only released from a hidden button located on the upper portion of the stick. Bottom portion of the stick consists of a rare metal that steers the blast in the desired location. Depending on the amount of energy is stored within the stick, the blast could range from simply knocking out a person to vaporizing anything it hits. The glass head of the stick conceals compressed knockout gas that can be released from a separate button on the upper portion of the stick. However the knockout gas can only be used for close encounters due to it’s short range after being released. Third feature is how the stick acts like a remote for various traps, equipment, or other appliances that the Kingpin owns.
Kingpin also carries a diamond stick pin on him that sprays knockout gas for close encounters.
After Frank Miller began writing for Daredevil, Kingpin’s use of science-fiction related weaponry was decreased and rarely seen, still Fisk carries these weapons that he strictly uses as a last resort against his enemies.
Alternate Universes
Ultimate Kingpin
In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, the Kingpin is almost identical to his 616 counterpart. He is seen as a gigantically large man, with a bald head, and wears a white suit with a cane. His skin tone is a little darker but that is the only difference. The Kingpin is a corporate crime lord that uses murdering and bribing to get what he wants. He has employed Electro, Elektra, and the Enforcers to battle his enemies. He has also encountered Spider-Man and Daredevil, and also seems to have a vendetta against Black Cat. Vanessa Fisk is shown to be in a coma that the Kingpin is trying to cure with an ancient tablet that he stole. However, the Kingpin lost the tablet due to the Black Cat stealing it for revenge.
He faced the Ultimate Knights, but when Iron Fist betrayed the team for the life of his daughter, the Kingpin systemically begin to defeat them per individual. He was only stopped when a vengeful Daredevil threatened to break Vanessa’s neck that was prevented by Spider-Man. the Kingpin was later arrested while attempting to flee the country, thanks to Moon Knight, who went to the police and told of his activities, at the cost of his secret identity being compromised.
During the first issue of the Ultimate Comics Ultimate-Spider-man series, The Kingpin returned and resumed his rightful throne as Kingpin of Crime. Unfortunately, he was greeted by an unexpected visitor. Mysterio threw the kingpin out the window into the streets of New York City, saying it would be good for his resume.
Earth 295: Age of Apocalypse
Known as Dirigible in this alternate reality, Fisk was a member of the Marauders, along with teammates Arcade, Owl, and Red (this universe’s version of Green Goblin). The four villains were sent by Apocalypse to destroy the land of Wakanda, where there are human refugee camps. Though they were able to murder Black Panther and destroy much of the land, Dirigible’s life was cut short by Gwen Stacy, who reduced him to ashes with a blast of her plasma gun.
Dirigible, as in the regular Marvel 616 universe, had a genius level I.Q. and increased agility out of proportion to his size. He also was equipped with wrist weapons and “air-steppers”, boot attachments that allowed him near-flight.
Amalgam Universe
Known as The Big Question, The Kingpin of Riddles, or Big Q, E. (Edward) Nigma Fisk is an amalgam of Marvel’s The Kingpin and DC’s The Riddler. He is the Mayor of New Gotham City as well as its crimelord.
MC2
In this universe, the Kingpin tried to kill Kaine, but instead killed Daredevil, who took the shot for Kaine. Next, the Kingpin is seen in prison, with Foggy Nelson as his defense attorney. Kaine would take his revenge to Wilson, but was stopped by Spider-Girl. Later Kaine asked Foggy why he was representing the man that kill his best friend. Foggy was not aware of Matt’s death (it is not implied that he knew Matt and Daredevil are the same). With this knowledge, he have refused to represent Wilson anymore. The Kingpin was subsequently killed by a bomb in a middle of a gang war.
Spider-Man: Reign
The Kingpin is on a vegetative state and has not eaten solid food for the last ten years. How he came into this was not revealed.
Zombie-verse
He is seen talking with the Punisher during the start of the zombie outbreak and said they were in the same side at the moment, that it was a matter of survival. The Punisher however said they would never be in the same side and then shot him and his henchmen. He managed to survived however but was later infected. He later attacked Galactus when he came to Earth but was defeated by the cosmic powered zombies. Despite being seemingly killed again, he managed to survive and once the cosmic powered zombies left Earth, he created an empire, developing a system to clone uninfected humans in order to have unlimited flesh and food for himself and the other remaining zombies on Earth. He was strong enough not to eat his wife and hid her. The food offerings, that, the zombies gave to him in exchange for eating the clones were for her. He and the other zombies had the objective of spreading the virus and attempted to invade Earth-616 through Zombie Deadpool who launched the attack on Earth-616 and Zombie Morbius who kidnapped his 616 counterpart, pretended to be him and thus infiltrated the interdimensional defense agency A.R.M.OR. However their plans failed and Machine-Man from Earth-616 destroyed all of their cloning machines and killed Jackal depriving them of food. He then ate his wife due to being upset.
Earth-Charnel (Earth-9939)
In this reality, Fisk is having an argument with Doctor Octopus on who should be the lieutenant of their leader, Doctor Doom. Fisk lost the fight and his life battling Doc Ock, Doom and Octavious didn’t have better fates though, as they were killed soon after by Death Metal
What If?
In this reality where the Punisher has the Venom Symbiote in his possession. the Kingpin hired Tombstone and Typhoid Mary to stop the Punisher. Eventually, they failed and Fisk is killed.
Punisher MAX
In the final Punisher MAX story arc, a badly aging, scarred, and battered Punisher decides it’s time to tear down Fisk’s criminal empire once and for all but whereas it may seem impossible to do much else besides terrorizing and taunt Fisk from outside his impregnable fortress while diminishing his business, Fisk’s own greed and selfishness is in danger of doing the job for the lethal vigilante.
As a result of his own employees and clients beginning to smell his fear and after suffering humiliation after humiliation, Fisk first employs Bullseye to assassinate Punisher. But this version of Bullseye is so much a psychopath that, rather than hunt him down and attempt to kill Frank Castle, who the NYPD are now apprehending after the torture and murder of a corrupt cop, he tries to get into the Punisher’s mind and drag him into a psychological war in order to weaken him. After this war ends in Bullseye being left in a coma and Punisher in the prison infirmary, Punisher starts to lose his mind.
Escaping from the prison during a mass riot, Punisher kills Bullseye while he lies in his coma. By now, Kingpin has been given Elektra as his bodyguard, courtesy of the Hand. But while he is busy being angry about the state of his business and sleeping with hookers, Elektra begins a lesbian affair with his wife, Vanessa Fisk, and it becomes apparent that the Hand wants to move in on Fisk’s criminal empire.
In a daring twist, Elektra is sent after Punisher and gravely wounds him, stabbing him repeatedly with her Sai, but Punisher draws her into a surprise attack, forces her to call Fisk, and tells him she has failed, after which he shoots her in the head. But it turns out she is not dead. Instead, she is paralyzed and left begging for mercy before the Hand has her executed.
The Punisher broken, injured, homeless and penniless – at the end of his rope – has Fisk come out to meet him face to face. Kingpin going after Punisher takes several of his men. Punisher comes out guns blazing and takes several bullets to the body while killing Fisk’s men before the two go head to head in a bloody and agonizing hand to hand battle, leaving both of them near dead.
Later we see Fisk returning to his tower but his own guard tells him he cannot open the door for the battered and dazed-looking Kingpin of crime by orders of his wife. Left alone in the dark outside, the Punisher appears behind him to deal the killing blow before eventually dying of blood loss himself.
Punisher’s final days and his funeral are investigated and then dealt with by Nick Fury who honors Punisher’s lifelong war by fixing up his loose ends, namely burning his war journals and then murdering the new Kingpin, Vanessa Fisk!
Other Media
Television
Spider-Man (1967)
Kingpin would make his first debut in television in the 1967 cartoon show known as Spiderman, appearing in only two episodes where each episode closely resembles Fisk’s activities as the Brainwasher and when Foswell was secretly working with him.
Spider-Woman (1980)
Kingpin would make an unusual appearance within one episode in the Spider-Woman cartoon show despite the fact that he had no involvement with Jessica Drew in comics.
Spider-Man (1981)
Voice acted by Stanley Jones, Kingpin would make his appearance within two episodes that slightly showed him as a crime lord resembled in the Daredevil series and a skilled manipulator.
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981)
Voice acted by Walker Edmiston, Kingpin would appear as a major villain in one episode where he successfully brainwashed Captain America and Iceman as his pawns.
Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994)
Voice acted by Roscoe Lee Browne, Kingpin would have a major role in the 1994 version cartoon of Spider-Man. Strictly following the comic book version of the Kingpin, Kingpin would be the mastermind behind super-powered criminal threats such as the Spider-Slayers and the Insidious Six (alternate version of the Sinister Six). Rarely seen in any confrontation, Kingpin would be displayed as a legit businessman who gained public favor from New York City and kept his worldwide criminal organization hidden and operated on the top of his building. Kingpin’s last role in the series was when he would attempt to frame Daredevil, which backfired against him and forced him underground, with a vengeful son Richard Fisk after him.
Spider-Man: The New Animated Series
Kingpin is once again African-American and voiced by Michael Clark Duncan. He appeared in one episode for the series “Royal Scam” during which he managed to manipulate Spider-Man into stealing a powerful microchip by utilizing false FBI agents. Ultimately Spider-Man deduces the truth and thwarts his plans, and surrenders him into FBI Custody.
Daredevil (2015-2018)
Kingpin appears as the main antagonist of the Daredevil Netflix series, which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is portrayed by Vincent D’Onofrio.
In the series, Fisk is introduced as the anonymous head of Union Allied Construction, a company tasked with helping rebuild New York City after the destruction caused by Loki and the Chitauri during The Avengers. Fisk uses his position to gain a stranglehold on the city’s organized crime scene and clashes with Daredevil repeatedly.
Flashbacks reveal that as a child, his father would often verbally abuse and berate him while physically abusing Wilson’s mother. One day, Wilson snapped after seeing his father savagely beating his mother and killed him with a hammer. This led to his eventual path to villainy, as well as his belief that his violent deeds are for a noble cause, rather than pointless cruelty like those of his father. At the end of the first season, he is defeated and sent to prison.
Following a brief guest role in Season 2, Fisk returns in a major role in the third season, which was loosely based on the “Born Again” storyline. After agreeing to work with the FBI, Fisk is freed from prison and placed under house arrest. Seeking to repair his reputation, he begins to manipulate an FBI agent named Benjamin “Dex” Poindexter, who is the show’s version of Bullseye, whom he plans to use as part of a scheme to turn the public against Daredevil. When he learns that Jesper Evans is going to expose the fact that Wilson Fisk’s shaking in Ryker’s Island was staged so that Kingpin could be placed on house arrest, Kingpin has Bullseye kill Evans and massacre the New York Bulletin while pretending to be Daredevil. Bullseye succeeds and Kingpin uses the New York Bulletin massacre to vilify Daredevil. After the massacre, Karen Page and Foggy Nelson start learning that Fisk was violating the terms of his house arrest. Foggy uses this in his stump speech for his mayoral run. Meanwhile, Karen confronts Wilson with this information and tells him that she killed James Wesley. Kingpin is furious and has Bullseye kill Karen. However, Daredevil prevents Bullseye from doing so and Bullseye ends up killing Father Lampton instead. After the massacre at the church, FBI Agent Ray Nadeem agrees to testify before a grand jury that Wilson Fisk violated the terms of his house arrest and that he was running his criminal operations in secrecy. His wife Venesa, has Dex kill Nadeem so he doesn’t interfere with their wedding plans. However, Bullseye learns that Kingpin had Julie Barnes, the woman he loves, killed. Bullseye plans to massacre Fisk’s wedding. Daredevil plans to bring down Kingpin at the same time. The three men fight each other. Kingpin breaks Bullseye’s back before Daredevil savagely beats him before coming shy of killing Kingpin. Daredevil forces Kingpin to turn himself in and if he doesn’t do so he’d inform the authorities that Venesa had Dex kill Nadeem. That’s why Kingpin agrees to turn himself in.
Hawkeye (2021)
Vincent D’Onofrio reprises his role as the Kingpin in the Disney+ Hawkeye series. He is alluded to several times throughout the the series, before officially being revealed as the true antagonist in the penultimate episode. The series establishes that he was once the illicit business partner of Derek Bishop, but that after Derek’s death during the Chitauri invasion of New York, Fisk forced his widow Eleanor into a partnership. As in the comics, it’s also established that Fisk has a close relationship with Maya Lopez, whose father was another of his criminal associates. During the finale, the Kingpin attempts to kill Eleanor after she backs out of their arrangement, but is defeated by her daughter Kate. He is then confronted by Maya, who, after learning that Fisk arranged for her father’s death at the hands of Ronin, seemingly shoots him.
Video Games
The Punisher 1990
Kingpin made his very first appearance within video games in The Punisher for NES. A first-person shooter that took Punisher through various locations within New York City. Kingpin is to be the final boss of the game. In the Gameboy version, Kingpin would be replaced by Jigsaw as the final boss.
Spider-Man: The Video Game (1991)
Kingpin would participate as the third boss in Sega’s coin-operated beat-em-up style video game. Within the game, Kingpin would be secretly working with Dr. Doom and battle Spiderman along with three other selectable heroes twice.
The Amazing Spider-Man vs The Kingpin (1990,1991,1993 various release dates)
Kingpin made his major appearance within the Spiderman video game franchise as the final (and most difficult) boss in The Amazing Spiderman vs The Kingpin. Kidnapping Mary Jane, Kingpin would publicly announce that Spiderman was a menace who placed a bomb within New York City, Spiderman would be forced to find the keys to disarm the bomb, foil Kingpin’s plan, and save Mary Jane. The game was highly praised by various players for its display of Superior graphics and that various systems changed and alternated endings and certain characters.
The Punisher (1993)
In the beat-em-up style game known as The Punisher, Kingpin would act as the final boss of the game who was also responsible for the deaths of Punisher’s family. The game would receive criticism for its display of harsh violence and nature and bad sound graphics.
Daredevil
Kingpin is to be the final boss in the video game adaptation of the Daredevil movie for Gameboy Advance.
The Punisher (2005)
Kingpin would make his cameo in the 2005 version of The Punisher. With Punisher tracking Kingpin believing that he’s responsible for the events within the game, Fisk would be guarded by his chief assassin Bullseye, who acted as one of the bosses in the game. Managing to disarm Punisher in a movie cut-scene, Fisk informed Punisher that it was the Yakuza he was after. In the ending credits, Fisk would angrily toss the defeated Bullseye out of the window of his office and swear vengeance against Punisher for the embarrassment he caused for the Kingpin. Kingpin was voiced by David Sobolov.
Spider-Man: Battle for New York (2006)
Kingpin would act as the final boss in the Nintendo DS version of Spiderman: Battle for New York, the strictly followed the same concept as Ultimate Spiderman.
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Kingpin would make his appearance as a boss in the movie adapted game known as Spider-Man 3. In one of the selectable missions, Fisk is seen as the man who’s responsible for various gangs causing chaos within New York City. Eventually facing against the Kingpin at his penthouse, Kingpin would be seen falling to his death but with nobody to be found.
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (2008)
Kingpin becomes a major character with Spiderman: Web of Shadows who’s strictly involved with many of the events in the game.
Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011)
Kingpin makes a cameo in Chun-Li‘s ending where the Street Fighter heroine successfully apprehends him, ending his criminal empire once and for all.
Spider-Man (2018)
The Kingpin appears as the opening boss character in the PS4 Spider-Man video game from Insomniac Games. At the start of the game, Spider-Man heads to Fisk’s building after hearing that it is currently under siege from the NYPD, who now have enough evidence to arrest him. Trying to minimize the loss of life, Spider-Man infiltrates the building in order to take down Fisk once and for all. The two have a pitched battle, which damages much of Fisk’s office. Spider-Man ultimately emerges victorious and captures the Kingpin. While being hauled off to prison, Fisk issues a dire warning, saying that he kept New York’s criminals in line and that without him, anarchy will reign. True to this prediction, Fisk’s absence gives rise to the Inner Demons, a dangerous gang led by a new supervillain called Mister Negative.
The Kingpin was voiced by Travis Willingham.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order (2019)
The Kingpin appears as an enemy in the third Ultimate Alliance game, voiced by Tim Blaney. After seemingly coming into possession of the Power Stone, one of the legendary Infinity Stones, Fisk is faced as the boss character in the Shadowland stage. With the gem affixed onto his cane, he is much more powerful than usual but is eventually defeated after Daredevil manages to steal the cane away from him. However, upon closer examination, Star-Lord determines that the gem is actually an Iso-8 crystal rather than an Infinity Stone.
Film
The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989)
Wilson Fisk is very different from the original. David Banner (the Hulk’s name in the film) is unjustly arrested after interrupting an attack on a New York subway by two men in the employ of Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin. Attorney Matt Murdock agrees to represent him, planning to use proof obtained from Banner to bring down Fisk’s company. Banner and Murdock eventually learn about each other’s secret lives as the Hulk and DD respectively. The pair is able to thwart Fisk’s plans, but the Kingpin himself escapes. He was played by veteran actor John Rhys-Davies.
Daredevil (2003)
Kingpin appears as an Afro-American who was raised in the Bronx and started out as an enforcer for a mob boss named Falon and had to kill Jack “The Devil” Murdock for winning against a boxer of Falon’s. Later he became the legendary Kingpin and tried to frame Nikolas Natchios for his own crimes and hired Bullseye to kill his daughter Elektra too. He was defeated by DD in his office and sent to prison willing to take his revenge knowing that a blind man had beaten him. He was played by Oscar nominee, Michael Clarke Duncan.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin appears as the main antagonist in the animated Spider-Verse film, voiced by Liev Schreiber. In the film, he creates a particle accelerator to access the Multiverse, hoping to find a way to reunite with his wife and son (who died in a horrible car accident). When Spider-Man attempts to stop the machine, he is killed by Fisk. Spider-Man’s death inspires a young boy named Miles Morales to take on the mantle in order to stop Fisk and save New York, which is in danger of being destroyed if the accelerator is activated again.
Merchandise
- In the 90s, ToyBiz released a Kingpin figure based on his appearance in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
- The Kingpin was featured in The Classic Marvel Figurine Collection from Eaglemoss Publications.
- ToyBiz released a Kingpin figure as part of their Marvel Legends Face-Off series. The figure came in a two-pack with a figure of Daredevil.
- The Kingpin was featured in the Minimates line from Diamond Select.
- Bowen Designs released a Kingpin statue as well as a bust.
- The Kingpin was the subject of a Marvel Legends Build-a-Figure wave from Hasbro, which could be completed after purchasing each of the six corresponding characters that contained a piece of Fisk. A repainted version was later released under the Spider-Man Vintage banner.
- The Kingpin was featured in Hasbro’s Into the Spider-Verse line.