Daredevil once announced that he was the Kingpin.
The title “Kingpin” has been used by multiple Marvel Comics characters. Of course, the first person that comes to mind is Wilson Fisk. Parker Robbins (The Hood), Diamondback (Defenders by Brian Michael Bendis), and others have called themselves Kingpin, too. While they’ve made the claim, none of them were as successful as Wilson Fisk. Too bad even the best get beaten. In this case, Wilson Fisk was defeated and embarrassed by his lifetime nemesis, Daredevil.
The Man Without Fear and Wilson Fisk have a rivalry that will never end. In Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis, Fisk pushes his nemesis too far. He hires Bullseye to kill Matt Murdock out of costume. In the process, the assassin almost kills Matt’s girlfriend. This is soon after he killed Matt’s ex-girlfriend Karen Page. A death he hadn’t gotten over. After defeating and nearly killing Bullseye, Daredevil goes after Fisk with a rage we’ve never seen from him.
After a hard-fought battle, Daredevil comes out on top. But he wasn’t finished. He strapped the unconscious Wilson Fisk to the hood of a car and drove the vehicle through the side of a bar full of criminals. Matt takes his mask off in front of them and gives them a message. He tells them to either get their lives together or leave New York. After threatening everyone in the bar and saying to tell everyone what he did, Daredevil had one more announcement.
"“I am here to say: If you people so badly need some sort of kingpin, someone to lord over you–well, from now on…it’s me. I am not protecting this city anymore. I am running it.”"
You can read the entire speech in Marvel Comics Daredevil No. 55 by Brian Michael Bendis.
Daredevil: Kingpin of New York
This was a major move. No hero has ever made a declaration like that. Not only that, Matt did it by making an example of his adversary. After this, crime was down in New York, especially in Hell’s Kitchen. Criminals were too scared to defy Daredevil. As good as that is, Matt’s friends were concerned. They felt like Matt was spiraling out of control. This led to Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Dr. Strange, and Reed Richards staging a superhero intervention.
Matt felt attacked. He couldn’t believe that his peers were telling him he was wrong despite the results. He even called Peter foolish for coming outside of costume. He said now more people knew his secret identity and it won’t end well. Just as Luke is explaining why this was a mistake, Matt took it a step further. He tells them that they should do what he did. Each of them should take the city or town they reside in and declare it their territory. When his friends didn’t agree, he turned his back on them.
The Yakuza came in and tried and take his territory by force, attempting to attack Matt on the street. They outnumbered him, had more weapons, the element of surprise, and were on Mutant Growth Hormones. And yet, they still failed. But not before injuring Matt so bad that he needed medical attention.
Eventually, Matt apologized to Luke Cage. After accepting his apology, they (along with Iron Fist and Spider-Man) helped Daredevil get the Yakuza out of the city. Matt was still saying he was kingpin, but that didn’t last too much longer.
Kingpin for Marvel Studios?
During Marvel’s Netflix shows, Luke Cage became the Kingpin of Harlem. A move that made zero sense. Luke isn’t the kingpin type. All of the fancy suits, running a club, and accepting that crime would happen isn’t like him. He doesn’t give up the fight to take the easy way out. This isn’t just in Marvel Comics. It seemed like this would remain true for the Netflix version as well. That was the biggest lesson he took from Pops before he died. As bad as this was for Luke Cage, it could work for Daredevil in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Daredevil doesn’t take the easy way out, but he’s always been driven by his emotions. If Fisk went too far, Daredevil would absolutely do what he did in the comics. It’s shocking he didn’t kill Wilson Fisk in season 3 of Daredevil. It would have made sense and made for amazing TV. Especially the speech. Charlie Cox would deliver it and it would be unforgettable.
Marvel Studios has been looking to the source material to improve their movies and shows. With Kingpin Daredevil being a big and popular part of Matt Murdock’s recent history, why wouldn’t they use it? Plus, it would shock people who don’t know Daredevil’s comic book history.
No one would think Marvel/Disney would be bold enough to go this route. However, seeing his rise to power as kingpin, his eventual fall, then rising again to defeat his enemies would be great. It would provide viewers with a perspective on the MCU and, more importantly, it would be entertaining.
What do you think, readers? Should Marvel Studios use this Daredevil story in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Let us know in the comments below.