Kingpin is a brilliant Marvel villain, but his first official appearance during the MCU proper in Hawkeye lost some of what made him such a powerful foe. Vincent D'Onofrio previously portrayed Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin, in Daredevil on Netflix, a Hell's Kitchen-based crime boss who repeatedly when toe-to-toe with the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil (Charlie Cox). While other smaller villains were featured throughout Daredevil's three-season run, Kingpin was always a looming shadow in the background and often the man pulling the strings. After Daredevil's 2018 cancelation, D'Onofrio made the move to Marvel Studios, making his first appearance as Kingpin in Hawkeye on Disney+.

In Marvel Comics, Kingpin started out as an adversary to Peter Parker, a.k.a Spider-Man, but soon took on several other street-level heroes, most prominently Daredevil. Marvel Studios made the smart decision to have Cox and D'Onofrio move to the MCU as Daredevil and Kingpin, since their dynamic in Daredevil had been one of the best aspects of the series. Even so, Kingpin's introduction in Hawkeye was disappointing in a way, seemingly forgetting what made the villain such an interesting and entertaining enemy on Netflix, but his planned appearances in Echo and Daredevil: Born Again in the MCU's Phase 5 can fix these mistakes.

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Why Kingpin Was Such An Iconic Daredevil Villain

vincent d'onofrio as wilson fisk aka kingpin in daredevil on netflix

Daredevil introduced the world to a grounded and gritty investigation of New York's criminal underworld, while still taking place in a world of superheroes, and in the wake of Thanos and Loki's attack on New York in The Avengers. Kingpin was the perfect villain to pick for this storyline, since he embodied the psychological trauma that was felt by Matt Murdock, and was not only a huge physical threat, but also provided a moral and ethical challenge for Murdock. The question over whether Daredevil would break his moral code to take down Kingpin was prominent in Daredevil through all three seasons.

It was this psychological challenge for Daredevil that made Kingpin such a brilliant enemy and made for some intellectual and thoughtful moments during Daredevil. That's not to say that the pair didn't regularly engage in physical battles, which were thrilling thanks to Fisk's grand stature and Murdock's supreme skill at hand-to-hand combat, but the mental challenges that Daredevil's characters faced were arguably what made the series so popular. Many hoped that this would continue with the characters' introductions into the MCU proper, but Hawkeye delivered a very different version of Kingpin.

The MCU Failed To Recapture Kingpin's Magic

hawkeye debuted kingpin as a villain in the mcu

Vincent D'Onofrio debuted in the MCU proper as a background character in Hawkeye, the father figure to Alaqua Cox's Maya Lopez, a.k.a. Echo, who will return again in her own series. While the focus of Hawkeye wasn't on Fisk, Marvel Studios did make several changes to the character for his appearance in the Disney+ series, not least of all the enhancement of his physical strength. He seems to be able to take arrows to the chest and be hit by cars as though they're nothing and has already been confirmed to have survived Maya's final gunshot in the Hawkeye finale.

Instead of making Hawkeye a psychological threat to Clint Barton and Kate Bishop (Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld), Marvel Studios put all the emphasis on Kingpin being a physical threat instead. D'Onofrio himself considered the role a continuation of his portrayal of Fisk in Daredevil, simply amassing more power as Kingpin over the five-year Blip in Avengers: Endgame, so it could have been assumed that his mental challenges would have continued. It was a shame to lose this side of the character in Hawkeye, but it's possible that Kingpin's future MCU appearances could gloss over these missteps.

Related: How Kingpin Survived Being Shot In Hawkeye

Can The MCU Fix Its Kingpin Mistake?

kingpin as a villain in the future of the mcu

D'Onofrio is set to make his next MCU appearance in Echo, which is scheduled for release on Disney+ in late 2023. This series will delve deeper into Wilson Fisk as a character, his relationship to Maya, and his new motivations in the MCU, so Echo should help to fix a lot of Hawkeye's mistakes. In a way, this works better for the MCU, as these important characters can be introduced over a longer period of time and more projects before becoming huge threats in their own right. After Echo, 2024 will see the release of Daredevil: Born Again, which will see Kingpin and Daredevil battle each other once again.

The fact that Daredevil: Born Again is set to play out over 18 episodes suggests that there will be plenty of time to rebuild the intense relationship between Fisk and Murdock, while also developing other, smaller storylines and villains. It will also do a world of good to expand on Kingpin's MCU journey more during Echo, as Marvel fans didn't take too well to the character of Echo, so seeing her grow alongside Kingpin, a fan-favorite villain, will help to boost her reputation and purpose in the MCU. Despite the previous changes and mistakes, Marvel Studios can revive the character and bring back Kingpin as a powerful MCU enemy.

More: Daredevil: Born Again Can Set Up MCU's Next Thunderbolts Leader

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