Supervillain Spotlight: Top 10 Kingpin Stories!

This article was altered on 7/9/23.

 

Hello once again, stupendous Crawlspacers! Welcome to a new series called “Supervillain Spotlight”! My goal here is to place some focus and respect on one of Spider-Man’s many rogues by talking about their greatest stories (in my opinion anyway).

When Sony’s Venom movie came out this year, we (rightfully) had multiple in-depth, well-written articles pop up around the Crawlspace discussing the character at length. While those articles were a lot of fun and paid tribute to one of the webhead’s most popular villains, I was a little stunned at the lack of love a certain Kingpin of Crime received when the excellent third season of Marvel’s Daredevil came out.

Well I say it’s time to remedy that!

Created by Stan Lee and John Romita Senior in 1967, The Kingpin a.k.a. Wilson Fisk was originally intended solely as a Spider-Man villain, but proved to possess too much potential to remain confined to only one superhero. After all, when you control all crime in New York City, you’re bound to butt heads with more than a few of the long-underwear types.

Since his inception, Fisk has gone toe to toe with the likes of Spider-Man, Daredevil, The Punisher and even Captain America. He’s been a fierce crime lord, a shady businessman, an on-the-run fugitive, a devoted husband, a controlling father and most recently, the mayor of New York City! The Kingpin is undoubtedly one of the most versatile villains Marvel has ever created, which has lead to many great tales featuring the character. So let’s countdown his ten greatest! Note that any story featuring The Kingpin is fair game for this list; even if it doesn’t feature Spider-Man.

 

10.) Learning Curve

by Brain Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley

One of the earliest outings in the Ultimate universe actually saw a young, inexperienced Spider-Man attempt to expose the secret Kingpin of New York City: Wilson Fisk. However, he waltzes into Fisk’s building completely unprepared and is quickly defeated and unmasked by his much more experienced adversaries. After barely escaping with his life, Spidey becomes more determined than ever to show The Kingpin that he messed with the wrong teenager and begins planning on how to expose the devious mobster for the threat to society that he truly is.

Aside from being a strong lesson for Peter Parker as he realizes he can’t simply rush into danger half-cocked, this is easily one of the best interpretations of The Kingpin. Artist Mark Bagley draws Fisk as a larger-than-life, truly imposing figure who looks as though he could snap the much smaller Spider-Man in half with little effort. Learning Curve also contains one of The Kingpin’s most sadistic moments, as he places a Spider-Man mask onto the head of one of his underlings and then proceeds to crush his skull with his bare hands.

 

09.) Return of The King

by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark and David Aja

A recent dealing with Matt Murdock has caused Wilson Fisk to retire as The Kingpin of Crime and move to Spain. Still grieving over the loss of his wife Vanessa, Fisk becomes very close with a woman he meets named Marta, along with her two children. Despite his skepticism, Fisk soon comes to love his new family and for the first time in years, he is happy. Sadly, this is not meant to be as The Hand has their own plans for Fisk. This forces him back to New York as he strikes up an uneasy alliance with Daredevil to bring The Hand down once and for all.

While the entire arc is great, it’s really the prologue issue that truly makes this one of the greatest Kingpin stories ever made. Never before has Fisk been more sympathetic as we see everything from his point of view while he tries his best to settle down with his new family. Even though we all know it won’t last, a part of us actually wants to see Fisk succeed in his second chance at life.

 

08.) Midnight Massacre

by Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard and Jim Mooney

After being given an ultimatum from his beloved wife, Vanessa, Wilson Fisk has only 24 hours left as the Kingpin of crime before his wife leaves him forever. With the hours ticking down, the Kingpin sets out to settle his score with Spider-Man once and for all in a brutal fight to the death.

Aside from an entry we’ll discuss further down this list, this is easily one of the best battles Spidey and Kingpin have ever had. Both opponents come at each other with everything they have, with the web-slinger being at a distinct disadvantage due to having a broken arm from a previous encounter with the Black Cat. But what truly makes this one of Wilson’s best stories is the ending. Without spoiling it, this comic’s conclusion truly demonstrates that Vanessa is more important to Wilson than anything else in his life.

 

 

07.) The Autobiography of Matt Murdock

by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee

After a recent ploy from The Shroud leaves all of Matt Murdock’s loved ones at great risk, our protagonist is left with no other choice than to make a deal with the devil as he goes to Wilson Fisk to bargain for help. He agrees, but as one might expect, a deal with The Kinpin never goes well and Matt soon finds himself in a fight to the death with one of his most lethal enemies.

This story really demonstrates just how far The Kingpin is willing to go to gain leverage and power over his most hated foe. And when I say “hated”, I mean utterly despised. Fisk’s art gallery truly showcases the crime lord’s obsessive antipathy towards The Man Without Fear.

Top that off with riveting action sequences and you have a superb Daredevil/Kingpin tale.

 

06.) Last Rites

by D.G. Chichester and Lee Weeks

After years of Wilson Fisk constantly destroying Matt Murdock’s life, the shoe is finally on the other foot. Once Daredevil gets wind of The Kingpin’s recent dealings with Hydra, The Man Without Fear proceeds to manipulate and pit the two against each other until Fisk’s entire criminal empire begins to slowly crumble. This all culminates in a violent fistfight between the two heated foes as The Kingpin futilely tries to salvage what’s left of his organization.

D.G. Chichester’s Daredevil work isn’t exactly fondly remembered by fans (and for good reason), but he absolutely nailed it in this arc. Up until this point, readers had never seen Fisk so vulnerable and desperate, making for a surprising turn of events. Plus, it’s immensely satisfying to see Daredevil finally turn the tables on The Kingpin after endless arcs of the latter ruining the former’s world. This is the first time that Fisk is completely defeated in every way imaginable, with nothing left except his will to survive and his desire for vengeance.

 

05.) Back in Black

by J. Michael Straczynski and Ron Garney

After Peter Parker foolishly reveals his secret identity to the world in an effort to comply with the Superhero Registration Act, The Kingpin (currently in prison) wastes little time in hiring a sniper to eliminate his long-term rival. Unfortunately, it’s Aunt May who winds up on the receiving end of the sniper’s bullet. Enraged like we’ve never seen him before, Spider-Man goes on a brutal (but still non-lethal) rampage through the criminal underworld as he slowly makes his way to Wilson Fisk himself. What follows just might be the most thorough and vicious beat-down of the wall-crawler’s entire career.

Never has it been more personal between Spider-Man and The Kingpin than in this story here. Our hero is almost unrecognizable (in a compelling way) as he shows absolutely zero remorse for the criminals, no matter how petty, he hospitalizes. Fisk soon learns the hard way that he might have pushed Spidey too far this time.

 

04.) Kingpin

by Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon

Deciding that The Punisher needs to be taken out once and for all, the New York gangs (what’s left of them) decide to lure the murderous vigilante into a trap. They set up Wilson Fisk, a low level bodyguard for the mob, as “The Kingpin of Crime” in order to draw Frank Castle to them. However, Fisk has his own goals and plans about making the fictional Kingpin a reality.

Jason Aaron’s re-imagining of Wilson Fisk for the much more violent MAX imprint is absolutely brutal, sadistic and engrossing. Fisk is determined to become the crime lord of all New York and he won’t let anybody stand in his way–including his own family. The new backstory Aaron crafts for Fisk is both chilling and captivating.

 

03.) The Kingpin Must Die

by Frank Miller

After retiring from crime and moving out of New York City, Wilson Fisk plans to give incriminating evidence to the district attorney that will put away the remaining members of his old crew. Refusing to go down without a fight, Fisk’s crew kidnap his wife Vanessa in order to lure the former crime boss back to New York so they can silence him for good. This leads to a violent gang war that only becomes more chaotic once Daredevil and Bullseye both get involved–but for entirely different reasons.

This is the story that begins The Kingpin’s official transition from B-list Spider-Man villain to A-list Marvel villain. Fisk is at the top of his game here as he demonstrates both his brawn and brains by either defeating or outsmarting everyone who crosses him. The Kingpin would never be viewed the same way again after this arc.

 

 

02.) Hardcore

by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev

After barely surviving and losing his criminal empire to a recent assassination attempt, The Kingpin returns to New York with a vengeance. Vowing to regain everything he lost, The Kingpin realizes he must first eliminate (or at least distract) his largest obstacle: Daredevil. To do this, Fisk sends two of his deadliest foes, Typhoid Mary and Bullseye, right to Matt Murdock’s doorstep (literally). Upon defeating both of them, Daredevil tracks Fisk down, swearing that the muscled mobster’s Kingpin days are over. This leads to a brutal battle between the two and a significant turning point in The Man Without Fear’s career.

Kingpin’s ruthlessness is on full display here as he immediately takes charge upon returning to New York and refuses to let anyone stand in his way. He expertly plays everyone against one another like chess pieces as he gets closer and closer to regaining control. His brawl with Daredevil at the end is superb as it highlights their long, violent rivalry and how horn-head is through letting him run amok in New York. Possibly the single best Daredevil/Kingpin fight of all time.

 

 

01.) Born Again

by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli

After discovering that Daredevil is secretly Matt Murdock, The Kingpin proceeds to use all of his resources to absolutely burn Matt’s life to the ground. He freezes all of his assets, gets him disbarred, ruins his reputation and bombs his apartment. While Kingpin initially relishes in his foe’s torment, he soon comes to learn that a man without hope is a man without fear.

This right here is the comic that forever cemented Wilson Fisk as not only Daredevil’s arch nemesis, but one of the greatest villains in the entire Marvel universe. The Kingpin has never been more terrifying than he is in this story as he demonstrates just how vast his influence really is. He controls that entire city and can use it to his advantage in any manner he pleases. The sadistic pleasure he takes in slowly breaking Matt is truly unnerving and makes us root for the vigilante like never before. This is not only the greatest Kingpin and Daredevil story of all time, it’s one of the greatest stories Marvel has ever published.

 

So what did you think? Did I not include enough Spider-Man stories? Are there any you think should have been on here? And what supervillain should I spotlight next? Let me know in the comments below!