Kingpin (character)
| Kingpin | |
|---|---|
 Kingpin as depicted in Invincible Iron Man #9 (August 2023). Art by Juan Frigeri. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Amazing Spider-Man #50 (July 1967) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) John Romita Sr. (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Wilson Grant Fisk |
| Place of origin | New York City |
| Team affiliations | Hydra The Hand Emissaries of Evil Thunderbolts Sinister Six |
| Partnerships | Vanessa Fisk (first wife) Typhoid Mary Fisk (second wife) Butch Pharris (son; successor) |
| Notable aliases | Kingpin |
| Abilities |
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The Kingpin 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). Introduced as an adversary of Spider-Man, he later became the primary antagonist of Daredevil under Frank Miller, beginning in 1981, and is regarded as one of that character's two archenemies, alongside Bullseye.
Kingpin is the persona of Wilson Fisk, who presents himself publicly as a businessman and philanthropist while running New York City's criminal underworld from behind that cover. He has no superpowers. Most of his bulk is muscle rather than fat, and he has trained in unarmed combat disciplines, including sumo wrestling. A network of lawyers, charitable donations, and carefully managed public appearances has allowed him to operate while law enforcement agencies, from the New York City Police Department to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, have tracked him for years without producing a successful prosecution. He is the father of Richard Fisk and the former guardian of Maya Lopez. He was married first to Vanessa Fisk and later to Typhoid Mary.
Kingpin has been part of defining Daredevil and Spider-Man stories, including "Born Again", the story most associated with the character's maturation into Daredevil's defining villain. In it, Karen Page sold Daredevil's secret identity to Fisk's organization, and Fisk responded by using political and legal contacts to disbar Matt Murdock, freeze his assets, and destroy his apartment before Murdock eventually recovered and exposed Fisk's criminal network. Other major storylines involving Fisk include the "Gang War" arc in The Amazing Spider-Man following "Born Again", the "Fall of the Kingpin" in Daredevil #300, and the "Back in Black" arc in which Spider-Man tracked him through the criminal underworld after a Fisk-ordered sniper attack left Aunt May hospitalized. One of his largest arcs saw him elected as mayor of New York City on an anti-vigilante platform, subsequently outlawing superhero activity, before losing office during the "Devil's Reign" event. While his primary antagonists are Daredevil and Spider-Man, Fisk has also come into conflict with the Punisher, Echo, and street-level heroes including Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Jessica Jones.
Kingpin has been listed as one of Marvel's most notable villains. The character has been adapted across film, television, and video games. John Rhys-Davies portrayed Wilson Fisk in the television film The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989), and Michael Clarke Duncan played the character in the 2003 feature film Daredevil, gaining forty pounds for the role. Liev Schreiber voiced an alternate-universe version in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). Vincent D'Onofrio has portrayed the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe across Daredevil (2015–2018), Hawkeye (2021), Echo (2024), and Daredevil: Born Again (2025–present).