Marvel’s Kingpin is a pretty complicated character. At various times he’s been the main antagonist to either Spider-Man or Daredevil. He’s always been a dark cloud hanging over New York and over anyone who would dare thwart him, be they heroes or small-time criminals looking to make a quick buck in Hell’s Kitchen.
Kingpin rules over most of the organized crime racket in New York, meaning he frequently comes to blows with a number of Marvel characters. Fans looking for a deep dive into this villain will soon discover there’s more to the Kingpin of Crime than meets the eye.
Updated on May 26, 2022 by Scoot Allan: Fans were excited by the return of Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. The character appeared in the Hawkeye series on Disney+, which teased the return of other Netflix characters like Daredevil to the MCU. Fans have jumped back to the comics following Kingpin’s Hawkeye return to learn more about Wilson Fisk. Questions like “does Kingpin have powers?” and more can be answered by exploring the criminal’s comic history.
13 He Might Seem Bulky But It’s All Muscle
Anyone who sees Kingpin’s power without knowing much about him might be quick to assume he’s a big, slow hulk who has all of his underlings take care of business for him. That couldn’t be any further from the truth.
Don’t let Kingpin’s appearance play its classic mind tricks. While he doesn’t necessarily have any kind of superpowers, Kingpin has pretty much as much strength as a human could physically have. Every single bit of Kingpin’s mass is nothing but pure muscle, giving him his odd and square-like strength.
12 He Grew Power-Hungry As A Result Of Bullying
Wilson Fisk, the child who would one day grow up to torture Daredevil, Spider-Man, and many others, grew up both overweight and in poverty. This gave the local bullies tons of ammunition for making fun of him.
Kingpin pretty much had an innate impulse for trying to make his adverse surroundings work for him. Becoming more physically fit, Wilson forced the kids who used to bully him to join a gang he was forming. The rest of Kingpin’s life and history has been thoroughly explored in several of Marvel comics.
11 His Influence Stretches Much Farther Than New York
Fans familiar with Kingpin through comics like Daredevil, Spider-Man, or some of the darkest stories from The Punisher might think the Kingpin is a small-time villain living in New York. However, the more one reads, the more one discovers the true extent of his reach.
Kingpin’s base of operation is in Hell’s Kitchen, but he also has his hands in various cookie jars all across the globe. One of those connections is the multinational super-evil organization known as HYDRA. If kingpin needs someone taken care of, he can work with them to make it happen.
10 He Has Given Powers To Characters Like Black Cat And The Spot
While Kingpin doesn’t have any powers of his own, he’s facilitated the empowerment of a few characters over the years for his own purposes. When Black Cat decided she needed powers to continue working with Spider-Man, Kingpin anonymously supplied the scientists who gave her “bad luck” abilities. He used this information to manipulate her on more than one occasion.
The Kingpin also employed Dr. Jonathan Ohnn as one of his scientists who hoped to discover the secrets of Cloak’s teleportation abilities. Instead, Dr. Ohnn was transformed into The Spot, making Kingpin indirectly responsible for his criminal career as well.
9 He’s More Conflicted About His Crimes Than He Might Appear
While it’s easy to assume Kingpin is a big, unfeeling oaf, he’s not just extremely smart, he also has a side to him that’s rarely seen. For a time, he had completely given up his life of crime so that his love Vanessa would feel comfortable, and because even he himself had second thoughts about his lifestyle.
This was short-lived, however, as Kingpin went completely broke and turned back to his life of crime to recoup the losses he had endured at the hands of Daredevil. Because of his criminal career, Fisk has a number of regrets in his dealings with his wife, his son, and his enemies.
8 His Son Richard Fisk Created His Own Villainous Identity As The Rose
Wilson Fisk had a troubled relationship with his son Richard over the years. Once Richard discovered his father was the Kingpin, he began scheming to topple the crime-lord and take what he felt he deserved. Richard first debuted as the Schemer before ultimately creating the masked identity The Rose.
Richard Fisk also took on the role of Blood Rose in order to take down an imposter. Richard eventually gave up his Rose identity. However, he tried again to take his father’s criminal organization which ultimately led to his death. Wilson Fisk recently had his son resurrected to work at his side as The Rose once more.
7 He Was Blinded After He Was Shot By Maya Lopez/Echo
The Kingpin got a taste of his own bad medicine when he was shot in the head by Maya Lopez/Echo. She was taking revenge on one of the men who raised her after she learned Fisk was responsible for her father’s death.
Kingpin had led Echo to believe Daredevil was responsible for her father’s murder, and he guided her training to make her a weapon. As a result of the gunshot, Kingpin was blinded like his greatest enemy. Fisk eventually got back his sight, but it was a definite wake-up call for the Kingpin.
6 His Appearance And Personality Were Based On Two Actors
Kingpin has appeared in Film & TV more than most people would assume. He landed roles not only in the live-action Daredevil film and Netflix series, but in a few others as well. The actual visage of Kingpin, with his white suit and cigar in hand, comes from Old Hollywood.
According to Stan Lee and other writers, one of the biggest influences on Kingpin’s visual appearance was Robert Middleton, a man who actually looks very much like the Kingpin fans see today. Middleton played tons of mafiosos and villains in general, making him a great basis for the character. The other inspiration was Sydney Greenstreet, perhaps his biggest role being Casablanca.
5 He Majorly Influenced Some Depictions Of Lex Luthor
One of the biggest criticisms comic readers have seen of Lex Luthor, specifically in certain iterations of the character — namely the post-Crisis On Infinite Earths version by John Byrne — is that in the words of Neil Gaiman, he’s just become “a skinny Kingpin.”
While some people might disagree and while Lex Luthor has gone through a decent amount of changes since then, it’s definitely a valid criticism. Kingpin is a cool villain, but that doesn’t mean the writers for Lex Luthor should prevent their character from pulling on Fisk.
4 He Could Have Been Just Another Wacky Silver-Age Villain
There was a time back in the early days of Kingpin’s comic career where instead of being the juggernaut fans know today, he experimented with science-fiction type weapons — making him feel like more of a Batman villain.
Fortunately for the characters the Kingpin frequently interacts with, this cartoony type of character design was dropped pretty quickly in favor of the more grounded and ruthless Kingpin who’s become famous today.
3 Many People Perceive Him As A Legitimate Businessman
One thing people frequently fail to realize about organized crime is that it’s very much in their favor to appear to be legitimate businessmen. This is something the Yakuza frequently makes sure to do, having both legitimate business fronts like rental companies and property management to hide their more illicit businesses like drug and gun-running.
Kingpin follows this practice as well, commonly making sure that his business associates are none the wiser to his nefarious workings in the background. Heroes like Daredevil and Spider-Man have worked tirelessly to expose Fisk’s criminal actions over the years, but the Kingpin was almost always able to hide behind his legitimate front.
2 He Was Legitimately Elected As The Mayor Of New York
During the Secret Empire event, HYDRA attempted to cut New York City off from the rest of the country to exile a number of superheroes there. Kingpin used the opportunity to his advantage, building up his public perception.
Kingpin helped keep the city safe during HYDRA’s attempted takeover, which allowed him to use his new public support in his campaign for mayor. Much to the surprise of heroes like Daredevil and Spider-Man, Wilson Fisk won the election legitimately and became the Mayor of New York City. He briefly set his sights on becoming the President of the United States during Devil’s Reign.
1 He Has An Illegitimate Son Who Has Taken Over As The New Kingpin
Matt Murdock had previously used a fake twin brother named Mike Murdock to cover his secret identity in the past. However, through a series of mystical events, Mike was made real and had his past retroactively created alongside his brother Matt. Mike’s new history saw him befriend a neighbor named Byron “Butch” Pharris.
Butch became Mike’s best friend and eventual accomplice. Butch eventually revealed he believed himself to be the illegitimate son of Wilson Fisk, a fact he used to position himself as a crime lord in Hell’s Kitchen. However, when Wilson Fisk left the city after Devil’s Reign, he left his son with his name and a story that would set Butch up as the new Kingpin.
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