Daredevil: Born Again brings back one of the MCU's most iconic villains ever in Wilson Fisk, better known as the Kingpin, but with some important changes.
After being regarded as one of the best comic book villains ever in Netflix's Defenders Saga, D'Onofrio was brought back to reprise the character in Born Again. Reuniting with Charlie Cox's Daredevil for the first time in seven years, this marks D'Onofrio's third Multiverse Saga entry following Hawkeye and Echo.
Part of what makes Wilson Fisk so intimidating, along with his unbridled rage, is the size and power D'Onofrio brings to the role at 6'4" tall. However, as he returns to the role for this 2025 series, fans have noticed one intriguing change to his look.
What Happened to Kingpin? Major Changes Explained
Warning - the rest of this article contains minor spoilers from Daredevil: Born Again Episodes 1 and 2.
While Vincent D'Onofrio returned to the MCU as Kingpin for Daredevil: Born Again, he did so looking considerably lighter weight-wise than he has in his past appearances.
In Marvel Comics and with other iterations of Wilson Fisk, he is known for his overwhelming size and strength, usually dwarfing almost everybody around him on screen. However, this is not the case in Daredevil: Born Again.
This series features a much slimmer Wilson Fisk than what fans have seen in more recent MCU appearances like Hawkeye and Echo. Although this may make him a less imposing figure to some viewers, his demeanor is still largely the same as what D'Onofrio has put forth in the past.
D'Onofrio spoke about this weight loss at Dragon Con in August (via Inverse), saying that he now leans towards wearing a prosthetic suit to make him look bigger rather than putting the weight on himself.
He also explained how, during Echo, he got "very close to [his] original shape again" with a lower weight, which took longer due to him being at an older age now.
Who Shot Wilson Fisk?
Also notable about Wilson Fisk's return in Daredevil: Born Again is that he has both of his eyes intact once again, which comes as a shock to some who may not be caught up with his full MCU history.
While Fisk returned to the MCU in the last two episodes of Hawkeye, his future was put in question when Maya Lopez/Echo shot him in the head to close out the season. Thankfully, after being confirmed for a role in Echo, fans learned Fisk would be back with a vengeance after recovering from a usually fatal wound.
Due to Fisk having access to the best medicine and technology money can buy, he was able to repair his eye and get his vision fixed with not much more than scarring around the injured eye. This allowed him to get rid of the eyepatch he started Echo with, although his relationship with Maya Lopez was fractured.
In terms of the bigger picture, at the end of Daredevil Season 3, Fisk returned to jail after an ultimate battle with Matt Murdock and remained there until the events of Hawkeye. Now, he has successfully been elected as the Mayor of New York, putting the Big Apple in a new round of serious danger.
The first two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again are now streaming on Disney+.
