Hawkeye: What’s hidden in plain sight in episode 5
By Mike McNulty
The return of the Kingpin
Let’s not beat around the bush anymore: Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. the Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) is back. Granted, he’s only in a photo on a smartphone, but nevertheless, he’s the “Big Guy” that Clint has been referring to all season. His presence looms so large that his silhouette even appears in the last frame of the animated closing credits. His appearance also confirms that, after having been previously phased out, Netflix’s Daredevil is once again official canon within the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.
This also raises two very pertinent questions. Considering how interconnected those Netflix series are, does this also mean that the events of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher, and The Defenders also canon within the MCU, too? That’s possible, but that depends. While shows like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage were critical and audience favorites, Iron Fist most definitely wasn’t. Like The Inhumans (the other disaster of a superhero series created by Scott Buck), it seems most fans and producers at Marvel Studios would like to forget that show even existed.
Also, while there are hardcore fans of Frank Castle, The Punisher was most definitely R-rated, which may not fit into the predominately PG-13 world that is the MCU. Then again, Daredevil got particularly violent and bloody, too, but, like Batman, it always found ways to straddle the line between superhero action and gritty urban crime drama.
The second question, and more relevant to the context of the series, is what has Kingpin been doing all this time. Last we saw of him, he was once again arrested, this time for violating the terms of his agreement with the FBI, which included having agent Dex Poindexter, a.k.a. “Bullseye” frame Daredevil for murder. We do know, thanks to flashbacks and dialogue that Kingpin did survive the Blip, as the Tracksuits reported directly to him. This suggests that during the past five years, Fisk took advantage of the Blip to not only expand and consolidate his power, but also take out any remaining rivals. Which brings up…