Warning - This article contains spoilers for Episode 5 of Hawkeye.
Throughout Marvel's inaugural year on Disney+, the studio has brought in characters both old and new, ranging from Sam Wilson and Wanda Maximoff to Agatha Harkness and Loki's Sylvie. Even though Hawkeye is the MCU's final show of the year, it's continuing the tradition with Clint Barton and Kate Bishop; however, the series has also managed to bring in a single character who manages to be both at the same time with Wilson Fisk's Kingpin.
Much of the buzz surrounding Hawkeye has centered on the potential presence of Marvel villain Kingpin, who was played by Vincent D'Onofrio in the Marvel Netflix series Daredevil.
In addition to D'Onofrio teasing the possibility on social media, Hawkeye has also hinted at Kingpin's presence, including a moment in Episode 3 where Maya Lopez' mysterious "Uncle", wearing a large dark suit and cufflinks, pinched her cheek; however, since that moment, fans have been left with questions than answers.
As Hawkeye approaches its season's conclusion, Episode 5 finally hit the target in showing audiences who's truly behind it all and the MCU's vision moving forward.
Hawkeye Reveals Kingpin's Weapon for the MCU
The final scene of Hawkeye's Episode 5 finally confirmed the existence of Wilson Fisk's Kingpin within the MCU, played by none other than Vincent D'Onofrio. In addition to the reveal, this first look at the MCU's Kingpin contained something else.
The last moments of the episode show Kate Bishop receiving a string of texts from Black Widow's Yelena Belova, including a cell phone photo of D'Onofrio's Kingpin with Kate's mother Eleanor Bishop:
While the fact that Eleanor hired Yelena to kill Clint and has connections to Kingpin is shocking, for Marvel fans, what Kingpin is leaning on in the fuzzy shot is just as surprising:
Yelena Belova's photo appears to show Fisk leaning on a black cane that Marvel fans have seen before, but not on Netflix's Daredevil:
In the comics, Wilson Fisk sported a diamond-tipped black cane that wasn't just a piece of his personal style, but also part of his arsenal. However, in Netflix's Daredevil, D'Onofrio's version of the character didn't use a cane:
Still, a number of Marvel projects have shown Fisk with his accessory, including 2003's Daredevil movie starring Michael Clarke Duncan as the formidable crime boss:
Throughout Fisk's run in the comics, the cane was often used as a weapon capable of disintegrating the crime boss' enemies, which could spell trouble for Barton, Kate, and whoever else the villain happens to meet in his MCU story:
New Cane, New Kingpin, New Threat
D'Onofrio's Kingpin isn't the only Netflix Marvel character coming to the MCU. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige recently confirmed that Daredevil himself, played by Netflix's Charlie Cox, would also be appearing in the MCU at some point.
However, since the MCU is diving headfirst into the Multiverse in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the question has been whether the Netflix characters are from another timeline a la No Way Home's Doc Ock or Green Goblin, or simply the MCU version of the characters, but played by the same actors.
While there are still a number of questions and possibilities, the cane appears to confirm that Hawkeye's Kingpin is from the MCU timeline fans know, just played by D'Onofrio - and the fact that Marvel Studios chose to utilize that telling accessory in the villain's MCU debut is likely a message to the fans that is a new Kingpin.
Now the question is whether this cane is a weapon similar to that of the comics, or just a walking stick fashion statement?
Since Hawkeye opened with an underground, black market auction of items from Avengers Headquarters, it's possible that Kingpin is interested in the Avengers and potentially the MCU's original billionaire and philanthropist Tony Stark and Stark Tech. Maybe Fisk has found a way to weaponize his cane in a similar fashion as the OG Avenger?
If so, it will be interesting to see how the MCU's cast of characters deals with Wilson Fisk, not only in regard to his powerful position, but also in terms of his strong weapon.
Now that the villain has been revealed, it's possible that fans will see more of him in Hawkeye's final episode... and since the show and Spider-Man: No Way Home takes place in the same city around the same time, possibly in the upcoming film as well?
New episodes of Hawkeye debut on Wednesdays on Disney+.
