After months of rumors and teases, Hawkeye has finally revealed Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk. The Kingpin of crime is back. Surprisingly, his first proper MCU sighting happened to be in a low-resolution JPEG on Kate’s phone; who would’ve known? Many might have thought his debut would be a bit more grandiose, but Marvel sure does love its curveballs.
This incarnation of the famous Marvel Comics villain was introduced in Netflix’s Daredevil, playing a part in all three seasons. His popularity was right up there with Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock.
Fans can now rejoice that they get to spend more time with the big guy. With how big a character Wilson Fisk is, there is next to no chance that next week's Hawkeye finale will be the last time the crime boss shows up.
So, where could he show up next?
Fisk Hears an Echo
Given that Wilson Fisk has such a deep connection to Alaqua Cox’s Echo, it’s a safe bet that he will show up in her solo project. In fact, with his appearance in Hawkeye, it’s basically a guarantee.
It could go two ways. The first is that Fisk could be a mentor to the character; obviously, he would bring up some ethical difficulties. But, unfortunately, he’s not the best role model, which will likely play into her eventual shift into operating on the heroic side.
The second could see the show start with Maya questioning her Uncle (especially depending on how Hawkeye ends) right out of the gate. This could lead the entire plot of her show towards trying to either completely disconnect from his influence or try to take him down entirely.
Either way, there’s no way that Echo isn’t going to focus on Maya’s relationship with her uncle.
Fisk Fights the Blind
With Daredevil on Netflix, viewers fell in love with not only Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin but also Charlie Cox’s Daredevil. That series was founded on their rivalry. So with both characters potentially coming back, it would be a safe bet Marvel Studios will want to see those two back at each other’s throats.
Currently, Daredevil is potentially set to appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, She-Hulk, and Echo before he gets his own project—something which has also been rumored to be on the docket. This means that a focused conflict between the Devil of Hell's Kitchen and the Kingpin of crime could still be a ways out.
It’s also worth noting that the continuity between the two will likely be a soft rebooted, with the duo probably only alluding to having had conflict in the past. It’ll be a fresh start.
It’s hard to nail down what his exact goal during the show would be, besides running underground crime, of course. However, the project could take cues from the recent comic storylines which involve Fisk running for Mayor of NYC; now, that would be a twist in their dynamic.
Fisk’s Employee of the Month
Something that Fisk could be tied to is Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Val and her team of shady individuals. Kingpin could have even been the one behind Yelena’s order to kill Clint Barton.
After all, somebody has to be pulling her strings. Seeing as Echo and the Tracksuits aren’t doing the best of jobs when it comes to taking down Ronin, he could opt for the next best thing.
While he’ll have theoretically only used one member of the team by the end of Hawkeye, Fisk could be the big boss for Val’s team; one which doesn’t have a name just yet. Given the roster, it’s likely they are meant to be a version of either the Dark Avengers or Thunderbolts—maybe a mix of both.
There’s been lots of talk about Avengers Tower and its ownership. That landmark would be the perfect place for Wilson Fisk to run his operations, from The Tracksuit Mafia to Val’s team of misfits—and a potential meeting ground for Spider-Man.
It’s a significant power move that would make perfect sense if the MCU makes the character into one of their cinematic universe’s biggest threats, at least on the street level.
Wilson Fisk Gets Caught in A Web
It's been rumored recently that Sony has plans for Peter Parker’s wall-crawler to star in a new trilogy, one based during his college years. This could position Tom Holland’s web-crawler into a more mature storyline, one which would be perfect for such a “Fat Man” (as coined by Spidey himself).
Who better to bring in than the Kingpin of crime. After all, the two go way back in the comics. It would be a shame to have the two co-exist in the same city but never see each other face-to-face.
Fisk could be one of the big players in the new trilogy. He may even potentially be the person behind any other villains who may cross Spidey’s path.
Who better to fund a new Scorpion-inspired suit for Mac Gargan—a villain who has been waiting for payoff since Spider-Man: Homecoming—to aim him at a troublesome bug.
An out-of-the-box idea? Kingpin uses all of his money to fund scientific research into cloning, where he could possibly end up creating Peter Parker clones. Why? Well, he could use them to completely cripple Spider-Man’s name in the public eye, assuming it’s gotten better by the time credits roll for No Way Home.
Kingpin Vs. The Young Avengers
One of the biggest stories that Fisk could appear in would be the rumored upcoming Young Avengers project. With Kate Bishop theoretically getting her first dose of Kingpin in Hawkeye, it could be a glimpse of what’s the come for the character.
With characters like Billy, Tommy, Cassie, and Kate Bishop all being introduced around the same time, there’s no other conclusion than to say that the team of young superheroes is teaming up sooner rather than later.
For so many heroes, they’ll need a big threat. Vincent D’Onofrio fits the bill both metaphorically and literally. This would also be an excellent avenue to have the villain bankroll other antagonists to go after the team of young do-gooders; Wrecking Crew, anybody?
Netflix is Re-emerging
Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin is far from the only former Netflix Marvel returning to the MCU. Rumors have been strongly persisting that not only with Charlie Cox’s blind vigilante show up in Spider-Man: No Way Home, he’ll also have notable roles in She-Hulk and Echo.
Plenty of other actors have also spoken out about the possibilities of coming back into the fold. Kristen Ritter is on record saying how she’d love to become Jessica Jones again, and Jon Bernthal is more than happy to return as The Punisher—provided Marvel Studios do Frank Castle correctly, of course.
However, it’s probably safe not to place bets on all of them returning. The more critically panned ones, like Iron Fist, are likely to get a complete reboot. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige clearly has the ability to cherry-pick from the former Netflix show. Still, he likely won’t want to be beholden to days worth of continuity that he had nothing to do with—especially if he doesn’t like their quality either.
While fans will have to wait to see who else joins the MCU proper, they can at least start by watching Kingpin’s new journey begin in next week’s finale.
Hawkeye airs new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.
