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Draft:Wilson Fisk (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

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Wilson Fisk
Marvel Cinematic Universe character
First appearance
Based on
Adapted byDrew Goddard
Portrayed byVincent D'Onofrio
Cole Jensen (young)
In-universe information
Alias
  • The Fat Man
  • The Big Guy
  • The Head of Organized Crime
NicknameUncle (by surrogate niece and nephew)
TitleKingpin
Affiliation
Family
SpouseVanessa Marianna-Fisk
Children

Wilson Fisk, also known as Kingpin, is a supervillain portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the character of the same name created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita Sr. for appearances in Marvel Comics publications.

Fisk is introduced as a powerful businessman and crime lord whose interests in the future of Hell's Kitchen brought him into conflict with Matt Murdock, seeking to expose his activities as both a lawyer, and as the masked vigilante Daredevil.[1][2][3]

Years later, Fisk is shown to have a history with the vigilante Ronin (former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and Avenger Clint Barton) during the MCU period known as the Blip. Fisk, his partnership with Eleanor Bishop and his Tracksuit Mafia underlings, including his surrogate children Kazi Kazimierczak and Maya Lopez, come into conflict with and are thwarted by Barton alongside his new protege, Kate Bishop.

As of 2022, the character has appeared in three television series set in the MCU: The Netflix series Daredevil (2015–2018) produced by Marvel Television, and the Disney+ miniseries Hawkeye (2021) and Echo (2024) produced by Marvel Studios. The character will return in the upcoming multi-season Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again (2025).[4]

D'Onofrio's performance as Fisk was critically praised, and he was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television in 2016.

Fictional character biography

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Early life

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As a boy, Fisk and his mother were emotionally and physically abused by his father, Bill Fisk, until he killed him with a hammer. His mother, Marlene Vistain, helped him cover up the murder.

Battling Daredevil

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Fisk grew up wanting to make Hell's Kitchen a better place, where there are no people like his father, and planned to buy the entire neighborhood, demolish it, and build a new and better Hell's Kitchen. In 2015, he receives opposition from Matt Murdock both a lawyer and a vigilante. His rivalry with Daredevil and relationship with Vanessa Marianna causes his allies to lose faith in him and attempt to poison Vanessa. His assistant James Wesley is killed by Karen Page. His dealings are exposed to the FBI by a whistle-blower that Murdock protected. He attempts to escape custody but is defeated in combat by Murdock as Daredevil and incarcerated at Ryker's Island.

Incarceration

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Eight months later, Fisk works to gain control of the inmates while being visited by his lawyer Benjamin Donovan. When Frank Castle is sent to Ryker's Island, Wilson Fisk manipulates him into killing a rival inmate who happened to have knowledge of Castle's family's murder, and later orchestrates Castle's escape, after firstly having him massacre an entire cell block of prisoners.

Release and return to prison

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In 2017, Fisk cuts a deal with Ray Nadeem and the FBI to become their informant in exchange for a house arrest deal at the Presidential Hotel and for Marianna to not be incriminated for Fisk's crimes. When he starts swaying some of the FBI to his side including Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter, those in his service give him the designation "Kingpin". After a video of Nadeem posthumously testifying against him leaks at his wedding to Marianna, he gets into a three-way fight with Daredevil and Poindexter. He shatters Poindexter's spine but is defeated by Murdock. He accepts a bargain to return to Ryker's Island and not harm Matt's loved ones in exchange for Marianna's safety from prosecution.

Rebuilding his criminal empire

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Wilson Fisk was among those who survived Thanos's snap, and used this period in time to quietly rebuild the criminal empire he had lost. He rallies himself with the Tracksuit Mafia and their leader William Lopez, who has a daughter named Maya whom Fisk had met as a child some time ago. Using the Tracksuits as pawns, he reorganizes their operations and uses them to carry out further criminal activity from within a remote base of operations, doubling as an auto shop named "Fat Man Auto Repair".

Battling Ronin

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During this time, Clint Barton, a former agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. in addition to being a surviving Avenger, had lost his entire family due to Thanos' actions. Struck with grief and rage, he turned to vigilantism, taking on a new costumed identity as "Ronin", and embarking on a global effort to indiscriminately eliminate surviving criminal factions and organizations out of disgust for their survival among the casualties of the Snap. Realizing how this initiative put his reputation as New York's crime lord in jeopardy, Fisk dispatched an informant to alert Barton of the Tracksuits' operations and hideout, while excluding mention of Fisk's leadership of the group. Barton, as Ronin, infiltrated Fat Man Auto Repair and killed every residing member of the Tracksuit Mafia within, including William Lopez, which traumatized and deeply angered Maya.

Partnering with Eleanor Bishop

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Following the Blip, and the subsequent return of the deceased half of Earth's population, it is revealed by Christmas 2024 that Wilson Fisk has successfully regained his stronghold on New York City's criminal underworld that he had once held. Upon learning of Clint Barton's redemption and the return of the Ronin persona to the city, Fisk strikes a pact with Eleanor Bishop, head of Bishop Security, in order to extend his connections and strengthen his protection from having his empire compromised. Unbeknowst to Fisk, Eleanor's daughter Kate is assisting Barton in further dismantling the Tracksuit Mafia. Rattled by Barton's investigation, Eleanor attempts to blackmail Fisk to end their partnership. In response to Eleanor's threat, Fisk dispatches Kazi to have Eleanor killed later during the night of Christmas Eve, reluctantly ordering him to kill Maya as well after realizing Barton had told her of their role in her father's death. After Kazi's attempts to kill Eleanor are intercepted by the Tracksuit Mafia, Fisk arrives on the scene himself with the Tracksuit Mafia. While attempting to talk with Eleanor, Fisk is set upon by Kate, who he easily pushes aside before she sets off an explosion by his feet with trick arrows. Fleeing the scene, Fisk is confronted by Maya, having just reluctantly killed Kazi, holding a gun, before she shoots him in the head.

Making peace with Maya Lopez

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Five months later, Fisk survives being shot by Maya and recovers in a hospital, wearing an eyepatch. Fisk orders his men not to kill Maya and that same night he meets with her and offers her his empire if she will accompany him to New York. Maya tries to kill Fisk at the place where he is staying, but after telling her that he killed her father for hitting her mother and offering to kill him if that's what she needs, she rejects him. After Maya refuses to go with him to New York, Fisk kidnaps Chula and Bonnie and tells her that he will kill the rest of her family just like he did with his father. After this, Maya, Chula and Bonnie fight against Fisk's men and Maya takes Fisk to a memory of when his father mistreated his mother and asks him to return the hammer and free himself from the pain, but he rejects it and after this leaves the place.

On his return to New York, and worried about the future of his organization, Fisk observes a news story about the no favoritism of any candidate for mayor of New York, which sparks Fisk's interest.

Casting and characterization

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Vincent D'Onofrio, who was cast as Wilson Fisk in June 2014,[2] stated that he hoped his portrayal of Fisk was a new way to look at the character, and that it would be the definitive portrayal of the character.[5] "Our Fisk, he's a child and he's a monster," D'Onofrio said. "Every move that he makes and everything that he does in our story comes from his foundation of morality inside himself."[6] Cole Jensen plays a young Wilson Fisk.[7]

DeKnight detailed that "Fisk has very many different aspects so it's not all, "I want to conquer the city and make a lot of money". In our story, we tell the story of how he met his wife Vanessa and how they fell in love". He also said that "if you're looking for a juicy, multi-faceted crime drama, Wilson Fisk was the obvious choice to play the antagonist ... [he] really felt like the right yin to the yang for Matt, and for what we wanted to do this season."[8] Concerning Fisk not being called Kingpin during the first season, like he is in the comics, DeKnight explained that "I think there is a, dare I say, critical mass where things get a little bit silly. You know if in the last five minutes we went, "Oh they called him Daredevil! Oh they called him Kingpin!" It's a little too much. Also there was no real natural way to get to Kingpin. It felt a little off. There is a point down the line to get there."[9] Discussing Fisk's fighting style, compared to Daredevil's, series stunt coordinator Philip J Silvera said that, "I feel like they're almost two sides to the same coin. They're both doing things for their city. And it's a tricky thing with their two characters. I think when you get the Fisk character to a certain point, it just becomes pure rage, and all thought process is out the window. ... The brutality is just relentless with him. When he gets into this mode, he just keeps going until he's done. And that's it. He will drive for you. That is the Kingpin, that is D'Onofrio. He's a very smooth, calculating individual, but when you bring the rage out in him, he's like a bulldozer."[10]

Maslansky explained that "Wilson Fisk has a specific look. His choices reflect the man he is and the man he's become. As with Matt Murdock's costumes, I was influenced by the comics with the same stipulation that they feel authentic and modern. We dressed Fisk in current style, embracing a slim silhouette. It's classic and consistent. His clothing was custom-made by a highly skilled tailor, Michael Andrews who's well versed in modern design details." Significant props used for Fisk in the series are his father's cufflinks, on which Maslansky said, "[Fisk's father] would have bought them in the 1950s or '60s—a mid-century design. We searched for the perfect vintage cufflinks. We finally landed on a sterling silver pair with interesting negative space. We knew from reading ahead we'd need many duplicates. I redesigned them, adding more detail—a tiger's eye stone and a portion of it cast in gold. They retained a mid-century look, enhanced to become unique in the world."[11]

Critical reception

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D'Onofrio at the 2014 Toronto Film Festival

D'Onofrio's performance as Fisk received critical praise, being highlighted as one of the best-received aspects of Daredevil and Marvel's Netflix television series as a whole. Alex Abad-Santos of Vox called him "the single best thing about [the series]' first installment".[12] Jeet Heer, writing for The New Republic, described the MCU's take on the character as "Brought to life with a shy dignity and subdued menace.",[13] while Matt Patches from Esquire commented that the show "Takes time to nuance the character, unheard of for a villain in the MCU. Fisk is a romantic, an idealist, a fighter, and not terribly different than his costumed opponent.[14] Speaking on his performance in the final season of the series, Mark Hughes of Forbes wrote that the actor left him awestruck through his performance, stating that it was "A role I'd previously thought was nearly impossible to fill because I couldn't imagine any actor capturing the delicate balance between cunning villainy, secret vulnerabilities, and sheer larger-than-life presentation required to really get the character right. D'Onofrio not only proved me wrong, he actually managed to improve upon a character who already had decades of exceptional stories in the comics featuring many iconic arcs."[15]

Awards and nominations

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In 2015, D'Onofrio was nominated for a EWwy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance as Fisk in season one, at the EWwy Awards.[16] He was again nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television in 2016.[17] The actor was also nominated multiple times at the IGN Awards for "Best TV Actor" and "Best TV Villain", as well as "Best Dramatic TV Performance" in 2015 and 2018, respectively.[18][19][20]

References

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  1. ^ Thorp, Charles. "Coffee With Vincent D'Onofrio, TV's New Kingpin". Men's Journal. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Vincent D'Onofrio is Wilson Fisk on Marvel's Daredevil on Netflix". Marvel.com. Marvel Comics. June 10, 2014. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  3. ^ Thomas, Leah (March 19, 2016). "Marvel Easter Eggs In 'Daredevil' Season 2 Connect The Dots in Ways You Wouldn't Expect". Bustle. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  4. ^ Holub, Christian (July 23, 2022). "Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio will return to the MCU in 'Daredevil: Born Again'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  5. ^ Romano, Nick (August 20, 2014). "Exclusive: 'Daredevil' Star Vincent D'Onofrio Talks Kingpin, Marvel Fans and 'Defenders' Crossover". ScreenCrush. Archived from the original on August 25, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  6. ^ Gennis, Sadie (October 11, 2014). "9 Secrets the Cast of Netflix's Daredevil Revealed at New York Comic-Con". TV Guide. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  7. ^ Sava, Oliver (April 17, 2015). "Marvel's Daredevil: "Shadows In The Glass"". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on July 29, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  8. ^ Hibberd, Jane (December 29, 2014). "'Daredevil': 7 things we learned about Netflix's new series". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 30, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  9. ^ Mian, Bilal (April 24, 2015). "'Daredevil' Postmortem: Steven DeKnight on Season 1 Deaths and What's Next". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  10. ^ Mancuso, Vinnie (April 10, 2015). "'Daredevil' Stunt Coordinator on Designing a One-Shot Fight Scene for a Blind Hero". Observer. Archived from the original on April 13, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  11. ^ Kurchaski, Joe (April 14, 2015). "Costume Design for Marvel's Daredevil on Netflix". Tyranny of Style. Archived from the original on October 10, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  12. ^ Abad-Santos, Alex (October 15, 2018). "Daredevil season 3 is a return to what made the show so good in season 1". Vox. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  13. ^ Heer, Jeet (April 15, 2015). "Netflix' Daredevil Is TV's First Gentrification-Fighting Superhero". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  14. ^ Patches, Matt (April 1, 2015). "With Netflix's 'Daredevil,' the Marvel Cinematic Universe Goes R-Rated". Esquire. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  15. ^ Hughes, Mark. "Review: 'Daredevil' Season 3 Is Mighty Marvel-Netflix Excellence". Forbes. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  16. ^ EW Staff (August 11, 2015). "EWwy Awards 2015: Meet Your Winners". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  17. ^ Mueller, Matthew (February 24, 2016). "Saturn Awards 2016 Nominees Announced". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  18. ^ Best TV Actor - IGN's Best of 2015 Wiki Guide - IGN, December 11, 2015, retrieved December 17, 2021
  19. ^ Best TV Villain - IGN's Best of 2015 Wiki Guide - IGN, December 11, 2015, retrieved December 17, 2021
  20. ^ I. G. N. Staff (November 1, 2021). "Best Dramatic TV Performance of 2018". IGN. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
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