Kingpin (character)
The Kingpin (Wilson Grant Fisk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #50 (cover-dated July 1967).[6] The "Kingpin" name is a reference to the crime lord title in Mafia slang nomenclature.
Not to be confused with Kingpin (Alexander Bont) or Kingpin (Matt Murdock).Kingpin
The Amazing Spider-Man #50 (July 1967)[1][2]
Stan Lee (writer)
John Romita Sr. (artist)
Wilson Grant Fisk
HYDRA
The Hand
Emissaries of Evil
Power Elite
Vanessa Fisk (1st wife)
Typhoid Mary Fisk (2nd wife)
Butch Pharris (son; successor)
- Criminal mastermind/tactician
- Peak human strength and durability
- Highly skilled martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant
- Wears Kevlar armor
- Use of a laser gun-equipped cane and a hollow ornamental diamond stick-pin filled with sleeping gas
One of the most feared, dangerous and powerful crime lords in the Marvel Universe, usually depicted as New York City's crime overlord, the Kingpin was introduced as an adversary of Spider-Man, but later went on to be the archenemy of Daredevil,[7] as well as a recurring foe of the Punisher, and his adoptive daughter Echo. He was married to Vanessa Fisk, who frequently expressed her disapproval of his criminal activities, and later to Typhoid Mary Fisk, and is the father of Richard Fisk and Butch Pharris, the latter of whom succeeded him as the Kingpin following his retirement. His traditional attire consists of his signature white suit jacket and cane, though his appearance has been changed over the years. Across all iterations, the Kingpin is depicted with an extraordinarily heavyset appearance and a bald head. The character is not simply obese but also heavily-muscled (like a sumo wrestler) and a formidable hand-to-hand combatant. Despite this, his size has been regularly mocked, especially by Spider-Man.
The character has been adapted from the comics into various forms of media, including feature films, television series, and video games. The Kingpin was portrayed by John Rhys-Davies in the 1989 television film The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, and by Michael Clarke Duncan in the 2003 feature film Daredevil, who also voiced the character in Spider-Man: The New Animated Series. Vincent D'Onofrio portrays Wilson Fisk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise, having appeared thus far in the Marvel Television Netflix series Daredevil (2015–2018) and the Marvel Studios Disney+ miniseries Hawkeye (2021) and Echo (2024), and will reprise his role in Daredevil: Born Again (2025). Liev Schreiber voiced the Kingpin in the animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). In 2009, the Kingpin was ranked as IGN's 10th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.[8]
Publication history[edit]
The Kingpin first appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #50 (July 1967), and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita Sr.,[9] who based his physical appearance on actors Sydney Greenstreet[10] and Robert Middleton.[11]
In his debut story arc in The Amazing Spider-Man #50–52, the Kingpin is portrayed purely as a crime lord, albeit one who tends to be unusually hands-on in his criminal dealings.[12] In his subsequent appearances, also written by Lee, he becomes more of a typical supervillain, employing fantastic devices to further his criminal capers.[12] In the early 1980s, the character evolved further. A series of appearances in Daredevil by writer/penciler Frank Miller depicted the Kingpin as a scheming, cold-blooded crime lord who consistently stayed beyond the reach of the law. This remained the character's dominant form for decades[12] as the Kingpin became widely regarded as Daredevil's archenemy.[7] He continues to be a recurring opponent of Spider-Man, Daredevil, Echo, and the Punisher.
Skills, abilities, and equipment[edit]
While the Kingpin has no superhuman powers, he is incredibly strong and significantly more durable than the average human, possessing remarkable strength concealed by his extremely corpulent appearance. Most of his body mass is actually muscle that has been built to extraordinary size, much like a Super Heavyweight sumo wrestler, or some Olympic weightlifters and powerlifters but at greater strength levels. He has been shown to be strong enough to hurl large men across a room,[17] and leave imprints in concrete walls after punching them.[98] Defying his size, the Kingpin is a master of many forms of armed and unarmed combat, especially sumo wrestling. His signature move is the bear hug. His skill is such that he has once fought Captain America to a standstill in hand-to-hand combat.[17] His daily workout typically consists of simultaneously overcoming five or more trained martial artists with his bare hands,[99] and he stores his valuables in a custom-built safe which has no lock, only a door which is so heavy that only the Kingpin himself is strong enough to open it.[100]
He typically wears Kevlar armor under his clothing. Fisk sometimes carries an "obliterator cane", a walking stick that conceals a laser weapon that can vaporize a handgun or a person's head at close range. He typically wears an ornamental diamond stick-pin that conceals compressed sleeping gas that is effective if sprayed into a victim's face. Due to his wealth and intellectual acumen, Kingpin could use far more advanced defensive gadgets, but he prefers to use such things only as a last resort. As Fisk became less Spider-Man's enemy and more Daredevil's, he was portrayed more as a naturalistic mafioso than a comic book criminal mastermind, and depended less on science fiction–like weaponry.[22]
Although state and federal authorities are aware of the Kingpin, they have never been able to prove his involvement in many crimes, and while Fisk has occasionally been incarcerated or put under investigation, his formidable legal resources and knowledge of the law have always protected him from any serious consequences. Members of the government have worked with him when necessary (even while describing him as "the devil"), such as when they needed his help to dispose of a Manhattan office building that the Beyonder turned into gold.[101]
The Kingpin is intellectually formidable and is a master tactician and a highly skilled planner and organizer. He is self-educated to university graduate level in the field of political science, and is extremely skilled and knowledgeable in the organization and management of both illegal and legal business operations, allowing him to outsmart and outlast his enemies time and time again. The Kingpin's willpower is so great that he can resist even the Purple Man's mind control.[102]
Other versions[edit]
"Age of Apocalypse"[edit]
In the "Age of Apocalypse" storyline, Wilson Fisk is known as Dirigible, a wealthy businessman who bought his way into the Marauders, a human terrorist group serving Apocalypse that makes up for their lack of mutant powers using technology which allows them to fly and emit explosive blasts.[107] Dirigible is clearly the leader of the group, as he is seen giving orders to his three teammates. Alongside Red (Norman Osborn), the Owl, and Arcade, he attacks the human refugee camps of Wakanda. However, Dirigible is killed by Gwen Stacy.[107]