Kingpin (Marvel)
Kingpin is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Wilson Fisk
It was noted that he came from a poor household with there being little money for food and rent. This often led to arguments between his parents as his mother told his father off for not working. These led to his father shouting loudly with the young Wilson remembering his powerful footsteps. Every night, he would wake up to his father's footsteps as he returned from his second shift of the day with him later passing out on the couch from exhaustion. Meanwhile, at school he was often picked by the other children who called him fat and picked on him due to his weight. Meanwhile, the family still struggled for money where this led to them having no heating one day. As a result, his pet mouse Benjamin Franklin came to freeze to death leading to him having a desire to get money and looked to make some for himself. He was 12 years old when a Union man offered him $15 to start a fire when he was confronted by a maintenance worker leading to Fisk killing him by setting him on fire. Fisk also became more aggressive at school where he decided to hit back on the children that used to pick on him. After hitting back, he began to get a reputation among the younger kids and began to turn his obesity into an intimidation factor leading to the smaller kids paying their lunch money as a protection fee. In this time, he spent his time alone at the library that helped him open his eyes to the wider world leading to him developing a vision for his life. (Daredevil v2 #15)
At some point, Vanessa bore him a son who was named Richard Fisk. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #83)
Kingpin of Crime
A new threat emerged though from the Red Skull who unleashed the Sleeper with the intention of destroying Las Vegas. This forced the Kingpin to ally with Captain America and the Falcon against a common foe. This saw him calling all his subordinates where they worked with the heroes against the Red Skull. (Captain America v1 #148)
Return of the King
He later came to operate as the Chief Operating Officer of Fujikawa Enterprises where he became their representative in Hong Kong. Fisk during this time took control of the fractured remains of Fu Manchu's criminal empire and lay claim to the mastermind's Elixir Vitae. (X-Men v2 #63)
While in Japan, Fisk manipulated his adoptive daughter Maya Lopez into thinking that Daredevil killed her biological father even though Wilson himself was actually responsible for the murder in order to incite Daredevil's death (Daredevil v2 #10) However, his plan backfires when Daredevil convinces Maya of the truth, and Lopez shoots the Kingpin in the eyes in retaliation, rendering him blind. (Daredevil v2 #15) Fisk eventually loses his criminal empire to Samuel Silke who was one of his employees that worked with his son Richard where the man was involved in a bloody assassination bid, using the Kingpin's new status as a blind man to rally supporters. (Daredevil v2 #30) In the aftermath, Vanessa killed Richard and fled the country with Fisk's remaining wealth whilst the Kingpin recuperated in an unnamed East European country, broken and alone. He was given an eye transplant which restores his eyesight. (Daredevil v2 #46) He eventually confronted Silke and fatally crushed the man's head, almost manages to regain his empire through sheer will, but was defeated by Daredevil who had declared himself the new Kingpin. In the aftermath, Fisk came to be sent to prison as a result of his crimes. (Daredevil v2 #50)
He later hatched a scheme to be freed and regain his wealth by giving the FBI proof in the form of the non-existent Murdock Papers that Murdock was Daredevil. Having made so many enemies in prison, Fisk was constantly under attack from the Hand, HYDRA, and any number of criminal organizations with which he had had dealings. The U.S. government was hard-pressed to get rid of this expensive, dangerous, legally clean master criminal, and Fisk succeeded in manipulating the FBI into gravely wounding Daredevil and providing them a sample of Daredevil's DNA. (Daredevil v2 #78)
Freedom
During the Civil War, he offered a deal to Iron Man — consideration on his sentence in exchange for information about Captain America's Resistance base. However, as his status in prison was threatened for collaborating with Stark, he betrayed him. He first set up Iron Man by revealing a gathering of supervillains by Hammerhead to create a new criminal empire, claiming it was a base of Captain America's, and gave information to the Secret Avengers instead. (Civil War: War Crimes v1 #1)
At some point later, after Matt Murdock returned to America with his name cleared, he completed Vanessa Fisk's last wish and took on Fisk's case, getting all charges dropped in exchange for Fisk leaving the country. Fisk visited his wife's grave. (Daredevil v2 #93)
However, Fisk returned to New York to settle some 'old business' and met with the Runaways, who were on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D. He offered them protection from the government if they promised to steal a special artifact for him. After the teens ran into a winged monster and the Punisher, they decided not to give the artifact to Fisk but were attacked by his army of ninjas. They escaped by using the artifact, which took them back in time. (Runaways v2 #25)
Shadowland
During the time, Daredevil got control over The Hand which was when Fisk decided to meet with former Heroes for Hire, Luke Cage and Iron Fist, to discuss how they were going to deal with Daredevil. When they refused, Fisk used a scroll in order to summon the Ghost Rider. (Shadowland v1 #3)
After Daredevil's fallout, Kingpin became the new leader of the Hand, with Lady Bullseye, Typhoid Mary, Montana, and Hobgoblin as his henchmen, using the group for his criminal purposes. (Daredevil v1 #512)
Shadowland was eventually brought down by Otto Octavius acting as Spider-Man. Fisk arranged for a body double to be found in the rubble of Shadowland, faking his death until such a time as he could reform his empire. (Superior Spider-Man v1 #14)
With his power over New York gone, Fisk set up shop in San Francisco, with the intention of rebuilding his empire there. However, the vigilante known as the Shroud acted first, taking control of the local gangs and kidnapped the Owl, who also relocated his operations to San Francisco. He transformed Owlsley into a super-computer capable of taking control of all wifi signals in order to locate his ex, Julia Carpenter. (Daredevil v4 #15) During this time, Daredevil revealed his secret identity, taking a positive approach to it this time and moved to San Francisco to practice law and continue his superhero career. (Daredevil v4 #1) Fisk began to make moves against both of his enemies, hiring the assassin Ikari to kidnap Foggy Nelson and Murdock's new girlfriend, Kirsten McDuffie, and having his men look for Julia to have leverage against the Shroud. (Daredevil v4 #17) However, the Shroud and Murdock came into conflict when Murdock and Jubula Pride, the Owl's daughter, attempted to free Owlsley. The Shroud then released a cache of private information on Matt Murdock's legal clients. (Daredevil v4 #15) Murdock went to Fisk and offered him a deal: he would use his resources to fix his situation and assure Foggy and Kirsten are safe, and in exchange Murdock would fake his death and get a new identity only Fisk would know, giving Kingpin back the power to destroy Daredevil, which he lost when he went public. (Daredevil v4 #16) However, Fisk went with his original plan instead and Ikari kidnapped Nelson and Kirsten. Meanwhile, the Shroud, Pride, and Murdock crashed when they attempted to get Julia at an airport, allowing Kingpin's goons to take her. Fisk presented his hostages when Murdock confronted him and had him fight Ikari to the death, with Fisk killing one of them if Murdock won. The fight took them to the streets, where the Shroud saved Murdock and killed Ikari. (Daredevil v4 #17) Improvising, Matt took Ikari's costume and claimed to have killed Daredevil while the Shroud had the Owl bring to light all of Fisk's operations in exchange for his freedom, ruining his criminal career. While Kingpin and Daredevil fought, the feds stormed his building. Daredevil beat down the Kingpin when he tried to flee and rescued the hostages, leaving him to be arrested. (Daredevil v4 #18)
He attended the meeting of the Universal Bank consisting of the richest and most influential forces on the planet where they had come to discuss the secret actions of Dario Agger. The head of Roxxon Energy Corporation had forged an alliance with the Dark Elf King Malekith the Accursed allowing him to plunder the resources in the Ten Realms of Asgard. Upon learning of this, the Bank had asked him to explain his actions but he refused to do so as he wanted to have a sole claim for his newfound wealth. This resulted in Shingen Harada challenging Agger by first staging a corporate attack against Roxxon before turning into the Silver Samurai to fight. With Dario distracted, he was ambushed by Exterminatrix with her and Silver Samurai departing the meeting with the captive Agger. (Mighty Thor v2 #8)
Mayor Fisk
One of his henchmen stole a USB drive containing encrypted documents in an attempt to blackmail Fisk. This led to the Kingpin dispatching Bullseye to recover the drive where he killed Nicky but not before he passed the information to Old Man Logan who, in turn, passed it to a reporter Sarah Dewey. She was injured by the assassin who recovered the drive but Old Man Logan defeated him and confronted Fisk who revealed that the USB only contained pictures of Wilson's dead wife Vanessa that he kept to remember fonder times. He blackmailed Old Man Logan by threatening to destroy the life of Sarah Dewey unless he backed away with Logan reluctantly agreeing of walking away but warned Fisk that he would be watching for him to make a mistake. (Old Man Logan v2 #37)
The critically wounded Fisk was taken for surgery to the hospital for treatment where he was expected to make a full recovery except he needed time to rest. City's Hall charter led to the line of succession falling to the Deputy Mayor with Matt Murdock thus becoming Acting Mayor. Fisk's aide Wesley Welch attempted to oppose the appointment but was fired by Murdock whereupon he was kicked out of City Hall. (Daredevil v1 #601)
He next attempted to call his favour on Boomerang who had been a mayoral pardon for his past crimes due to his aid to the superheroes against the global takeover of the nation by Hydra. However, Myers felt he was not getting respected by Wilson Fisk and shut the phone on him. Thus, Mayor Wilson secretly sent out a bounty on Boomerang that was high enough to cause the supervillains gathered at the Bar With No Name to turn on Myers even though there was a rule of no fighting within the building. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #6)
During the War of the Realms, the forces of the Dark Council invaded the Earth with New York City falling to the invaders. Malekith the Accursed then had Mayor Fisk captured where he wanted to interrogate him to find a weakness in Daredevil who had acquired the sword of Heimdall thus taking over his role as guardian of the Bifrost. The Dark Elf intended to find a means of defeating Daredevil with Fisk instead offering a deal whereby Malekith gave him a magical Elf-hammer and would personally fight the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. They drew out Daredevil with Fisk battling him though Wilson had no intention of killing his foe as he simply wanted to be seen on cameras protecting the city thus securing his powerbase among the civilian populace. (War of the Realms: War Scrolls v1 #2)
Fisk later came to embark on a plan to gather the Tablet of Life along with the Tablet of Death and Entropy. This was part of a plot by him in order to resurrect his deceased wife Vanessa. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #41) The latter item was in the possession of Mister Negative with Mayor Fisk allowing him control over Chinatown and the Lower East Side in exchange for it. He then went about tasking the local crime lords with acquiring the Tablet of Life and Destiny from Spider-Man and Boomerang. Thus, this saw the likes of Black Mariah, Crime Master, Diamondback, Hammerhead, Madame Masque, Owl, Silvermane, and Tombstone all of whom looked to acquire it so that they would win a favor from Mayor Fisk. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #59) After getting both tablets, Fisk used their power to revive his son Richard Fisk after coming to the realisation that Vanessa would not be happy with her resurrection. This was also done as an act of redemption for both himself and Vanessa. (Giant Size Amazing Spider-Man: King's Ransom v1 #1)
With Daredevil seemingly dead, Fisk came to find that he was much more content in his life and decided to distance himself from being the Kingpin of Crime. Thus, he decided to dissolve his criminal empire and scatter its resources though retained being Mayor where he had the crime bosses continue to pay him for continued operations in New York so long as their activities were at a manageable level. (Daredevil v6 #7)
Devil's Reign
Hellfire Club
Overview
Personality and attributes
It was his mother who gave him the name of two Presidents with one of them having been a General. (Daredevil v2 #15) As a mob enforcer, he came to be known by the name of the Undertaker. (Spider-Men II v1 #3) Later on, he came to be known as the mysterious Brainwasher. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #59)
Fisk had noted that he did not have pleasant memories of school. At the time, the other children used to pick on him due to his weight leading to him crying. He had noted that conflict, horror, fear and isolation were his enemies. This was until one day when something changed in him and he turned them into his friends which were the only friends he had in his life. He came to change his life in this time where he spent most of his days in the library that opened his mind to the wider world and helped in him developing a vision. (Daredevil v2 #15)
He kept a USB filled of pictures of his wife Vanessa as he missed her and looked at them to remember happier times. (Old Man Logan v2 #38)
As a child, he saw his father as being a large man and remembered his powerful footsteps. Wilson remembered him for being a hard worker and often tried to try them on before going to school as he noted they were big shoes to fill. (Daredevil v2 #15)
His mother urged him to study where she said he could become a President one day. Later in life, Wilson came to believe that his mother only talked about U.S. Presidents so much because their names and faces were on money because they were poor. (Daredevil v2 #15)
Money came to be an important symbol to him due to coming from a poor household. (Daredevil v2 #15)
When he was a young crime enforcer, Fisk's life was saved by Miles Morales and became forever in his debt with the two becoming longstanding friends as a result. (Spider-Men II v1 #3)
With Vanessa, he had a son named Richard Fisk with the Kingpin believing that no son of his would be weak or spineless. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #83) It was noted that he once had an affair with Stella Farris leading to the birth of an illegitimate son named Butch Pharris. (Daredevil Annual v6 #1)
It was shown that he adopted the daughter of one of his mob enforcers named William Lincoln. After the man failed him, Fisk killed him but agreed to care for his infant child named Maya Lopez. (Daredevil v2 #10) He came to adopt the daughter of a former associate who he was the ginger haired Princess Fisk. (Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur v1 #32) Wilson considered the girl's biological father a low-life and never knew what her mother saw in him but he had made a promise to the girl's dying mother to care for her leading to him adopting Princess. (Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur v1 #33)
One of his ancestors was a noted Russian businessman named Anatoly Fyskov who had immigrated to Chicago by 1885. (Two-Gun Kid: Sunset Riders v1 #1)
As a child, he used to keep a pet mouse that he named Benjamin Franklin due to him being on the $100 bill. (Daredevil v2 #15)
Powers and abilities
As a child, he came to develop his mind whilst he read material at the library. (Daredevil v2 #15)
He was able to achieve the peak level of human strength through intense exercise and fitness. Such was his skill that he was was shown to be capable of defeating 8 men from the finest martial art schools within 17 seconds. (Daredevil v1 #170) Wilson's strength was shown to be enough to crush a man's skull without much effort. (Savage Wolverine v1 #6) Despite his large frame, he was shown to be quite fast and nimble in a fight. (Captain America v1 #147)
The Kingpin once had access to brainwashing equipment that made use of a lightbulb with hypnotic qualities. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #59)
Fisk had an assistant by the name of Wesley who had assisted him in his operations. (Daredevil v1 #227) One of his agents was a middleman who went by the name of the Arranger and acted on behalf of the Kingpin of Crime. He was responsible for assembling operations and supplying weapons to agents. (Marvel Team-Up v1 #138)
At some point, he became a member of the prestigious Century Club where he was among the various rich patrons that made up the group. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #249)
His power and wealth meant that he was a member of the Universal Bank that consisted of the biggest corporate forces on the planet. (Mighty Thor v2 #8)
Notes
- Kingpin was created by Stan Lee and John Romita, Sr. where he made his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man v1 #50 (July, 1967).
- In Civil War: Battle Damage Report v1 #1 (2007), the character received an entry in the guidebook where it was noted that he was a descendant of Russian businessman Anatoly Fyskov.
Alternate Versions
- In Daredevil 2099 v1 #1 (2004), an alternate version of the Kingpin appeared in a reality designated as Earth-2992 in the Multiverse. On this Earth, Wilson Fisk was successful in killing Daredevil with this being regarded as the Fisk Family Triumph. By the year 2099, he had a grandson named Samuel Fisk who grew up on stories of the Kingpin's achievement and was disgusted at the killing of a superhero. By adulthood, Samuel was married to his wife Elaine with the two having a nine year old child named Sebastian. Samuel sought to undo the actions of his crime lord grandfather and used the family fortune to build an advanced battlesuit and operated as Daredevil 2099 as he secretly fought crime in the city.
- In Marvel Universe Vs. The Punisher v1 (2010), an alternate version of Kingpin appeared in a reality designated as Earth-11080 in the Multiverse. On this world, a plague turned the planet's population into cannibals with the Kingpin being one of the many infected. The infected survivors divided and formed their own tribes with Fisk forming his own territory where he changed his name to the King of Death.
- In Armor Wars #½ v1 (2015), an alternate version of the Kingpin was shown to inhabit the Technopolis domain on Battleworld in a reality designated Earth-15513 in the Multiverse. This version like most of the inhabitants of that Earth were forced to wear armour to protect them from a virus in the atmosphere that killed those without the Iron Man Armor systems. Fisk was shown as being the Kingpin of the criminal underworld where he was secretly allied with Arno Stark.
In other media
Television
- In Spider-Man, the Kingpin made regular appearances as an antagonist in the 1990s animated television series where he was voiced by actor Roscoe Lee Browne. This version was originally born as Wilson Moriarty who was the son of a lowly criminal who wanted to join the mob. 'Willy' had longed for his fathers approval but often found himself as an obstacle in the criminal ventures he participated in partly due to Wilsons large physique. One day, they performed a robbery and were trying to escape with 'Willy' unable to flee from a fire escape ladder. His father left him to be caught by the police and was present in 'Willy's' trial to make sure that his son did not reveal anything to the authorities. This led to Wilson being sent to jail where he decided that in order to survive he had to rely on himself and from here he improved himself. Eventually, he was released and took the name Wilson Fisk where his newly acquired tech skills allowed him to mastermind a series of crime leading to him becoming the Kingpin. As a shadowy crime lord, he had his father killed to ensure no one knew of his past whereupon publicly he appeared as a wealthy philanthropist who came to have a son of his own he named Richard Fisk.
- In Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, the Kingpin appeared in the animated television series in the episode "Royal Scam" where he was voiced by actor Michael Clarke Duncan. This version was a black male who became the head of a major criminal organization with vast resources. He became a highly respected individual among criminal. At some point, Kingpin learned of the TX1 super-chip, designed to decrypt the confidential satellite transmissions that drive the world's financial markets. However, the chip was held in a highly secure facility. He realized that the superhero Spider-Man was capable of entering the facility to get the chip. He hired an actor to pretend that he was an agent working for the FBI. The actor told the hero that he needed to steal it for national security. Spider-Man believed the man and succeeded in retrieving the chip and handed it over to the Kingpin who was waiting inside his limosine. Kingpin was talking to his henchmen about how rich they would become from stealing the chip, but Spider-Man found out that he had been tricked. The hero tried to stop them. Kingpin's driver stopped in an alley. Kingpin ordered his men to shoot the webslinger, but Spider-Man easily defeated them. The crime boss activated a high powered laser from his cane, but Spider-Man yanked the cane out of his hand. When he tried to capture him, Kingpin punched him. He activated his laser again and destroyed the limousine as a distraction for the him and his men to escape in the smoke. Later, Kingpin held a meeting with some potential clients, showing them the list of banks that they could rob after installing a satellite uplink to decrypt the financial markets. He assured them that the chip would be ready in twenty-four hours. That night Kingpin and his men were making the final adjustments to the uplink, but were interrupted by Spider-Man. They all tried to attack him and nearly succeed until the real FBI appeared and preceded to place them all under arrest. Kingpin responded by activating gas from his cane and made his escape in his helicopter, leaving his henchmen behind. Spider-Man attempted to capture him, but the crime boss tried to shake him off. When Spider-Man finally reached the cockpit, Kingpin tried to attack him with his cane again. The web slinger grabbed it and tossed it down to the street below. While they were fighting, Spider-Man yanked Kingpin out of his seat after he saw the helicopter crashing into a tall tower. Kingpin's weight made it hard for Spider-Man to hold onto him and a large part of the tower broke loose. Spider-Man lost his grip on Kingpin and he fell down to the street below with the broken tower seemingly falling on top of him. Later, Kingpin was found imprisoned under the broken tower, stuck behind a crate and covered in Spider-Man's web angrily trying to get out. He was arrested by the FBI and not seen again.
- In Daredevil, Wilson Fisk appeared in the live-action Netlfix television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where he was portrayed by actor Vincent D'Onofrio.
- In Hawkeye, Wilson Fisk appeared in the live-action Disney television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where he was portrayed once again by actor Vincent D'Onofrio. Fisk became involved with Eleanor Bishop, whose late husband Derek owed him money prior to the Battle of New York, and rebuilt his criminal empire over the course of the Blip. He is revealed to be behind the Tracksuit Mafia. When Eleanor tries to break off their partnership however, Fisk attempts to have her killed, only to be foiled by her daughter, Kate. He escapes being arrested once more, but his surrogate niece Maya Lopez confronts Fisk at gunpoint after learning he orchestrated the murder of her father.
- In Echo, Wilson Fisk appeared in the live-action Disney television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where he was portrayed once more by actor Vincent D'Onofrio.
Films
- In The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, Wilson Fisk appeared in the 1989 live-action television film where he was portrayed by actor John Rhys-Davies.
- In Daredevil, the Kingpin appeared in the setting of the 2003 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Michael Clarke Duncan.
- In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the Kingpin appeared in the setting of the animated film where he was voiced by actor Liev Schreiber.
Video games
- In Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, the Kingpin appeared in the setting of the video game where he was voiced by actor Gregg Berger. During the story, New York City became infested with Symbiotes that started possessing people leading to a crisis with a quarantine. The Kingpin attempted to leave the city but was stopped at the blockade where he claimed he intended to go to his country estate but was barred from leaving via the bridge with him returning to his office.
- In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, the Kingpin appeared in the setting of the Facebook video game.
- In Marvel Heroes, the Kingpin appeared in the setting of the MMORPG where he was voiced by actor Jim Cummings.
- In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the Kingpin appeared in the setting of the video-game tie-in to the live-action film where he was voiced by actor JB Blanc.
- In Marvel: Future Fight, the Kingpin appeared as a playable character in the mobile video game.
- In Marvel: Contest of Champions, the Kingpin appeared as a playable character in the mobile video game.
- In Marvel's Spider-Man, the Kingpin appeared as an early boss level antagonist where he was voiced by actor Travis Willingham.
- In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, the Kingpin appeared as a boss level antagonist in the setting of the video game. He came to acquire the mysterious cosmic material known as Iso-8 which he used to increase his own strength. The heroes of the world mistakenly believed he had acquired one of the Infinity Stones that had scattered across the planet. This saw them attacking his territory in Shadowland and battling the Hand before they had a confrontation with Fisk himself who was ultimately defeated.
- In Marvel: Future Revolution, the Kingpin appeared in the setting of the mobile video game. He was an inhabitant of New Stark City following the Convergence where he sought to regain control of it from Tony Stark. His plans were discovered by Omega Flight but by this point the Kingpin had formed with an alternate reality Ultron. The pair looked to evolve the human race leading to them merging together where they came to be known as Kingtron. The merged supervillain came to be defeated by heroes with the process being reversed leading to the Kingpin returning back to his human self.
Appearances
- Amazing Spider-Man v1: #50 (1967)
- Daredevil:
- X-Men v2:
- Daredevil v1:
- Daredevil v2:
- Savage Wolverine v1:
- Old Man Logan v1:
- Thor:
- Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur v1:
- Amazing Spider-Man v5:
- Daredevil:
- Captain America:
- War of the Realms: War Scrolls v1:
- Amazing Spider-Man v5:
- Giant Size Amazing Spider-Man: King's Ransom v1:
- Daredevil v6:
- Devil's Reign v1:
External Links
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