Kingpin

"The underworld will now be run like a business.. and the Chairman of the Board will be .. The Kingpin!"

- Kingpin

The Kingpin is a major Marvel Comics villain that originated in the Spider-Man comics and media. He has since then gone on to be a major enemy of Daredevil as well as a recurring villain for the Punisher. In recent years he has been revised as being more of Daredevil's enemy rather than Spider-Man's and has appeared in more mature, realistic and adult-themed comic appearances.

Personality
In recent years Kingpin has evolved from a typical Mob boss and comic-book villain to a complex and conflicted character. He has attempted to retire from crime life and has even spared Spiderman's life after promising his fiance to no longer be a criminal. However while he is a caring family man, as a crime boss Kingpin is ruthless. He is willing to murder traitorous goons with his own bare hands and has a bad temper, especially when fighting Superheroes. But as a planner Kingpin is calm and clever, willing to take as much time and sacrifices needed to fulfill his goals.

Powers and Abilities
Although The Kingpin appears overweight this is actually muscle, making him an individual who, while not super-humanly strong, is at peak human physical condition. Kingpin has been seen multiple times killing people with only his strength, which is why Kingpin never needs a weapon and rarely uses guns. He is also surprisingly fast for his size, at times even faster than Dardevil and can quickly disarm the gun-weilding Punisher. While Spiderman is obviously superior physically, Kingpin is still able to match Spiderman in a fight and has even defeated him single-handedly. Kingpin is so strong that he normally uses furniture as a weapon in most of his fights. Kingpin trains every day in his gym and can fight multiple karate blackbelts at once, showing his unmatched skill and experience in combat. He also carries around a cane which has trick gadgets within it including a gun, taser and knock out gas. Kingpin is a master strategist and uses both his power and intelligence to dominate the criminal underworld. His wealth also gives him nearly unlimited resources and has been able to manipulate the political world, allowing him to stay out of prison even after committing the worst crimes.

Origin
Growing up as Wilson Fisk the Kingpin grew up in poverty and was tormented by his classmates for being overweight. Tired of being bullied, he began to train himself in physical combat. When he gained a powerful physique, he forced his former tormentors into joining his gang, and thus, his desire for absolute control began. Later on in life, he met a crime boss named Don Rigoletto. At first, he fostered an alliance with Rigoletto, but then, betrayed him and murdered him. The Kingpin, then, took over Rigoletto's gang, and took Rigoletto's place as the most powerful crime boss in New York City. He would later join the international terrorist syndicate HYDRA and become a prominent figure as one of their heads of operations.

The Daredevil grudge
Although Kingpin started off as a Spider-Man villain, it's thanks to Frank Miller that Wilson Fisk is now the arch-nemesis of the Man Without Fear. It was in Miller's storyline, Born Again, that the Kingpin earned this title; using information from a drug addicted, porn starring Karen Page, Kingpin slowly began to ruin Matt Murdock's life, destroying his home, lose his sanity and leaving him a derelict. It was only thanks to his mother that Matt regained his confidence to fight again, and the Kingpin was exposed as a criminal, being given a taste of ironic justice.

Spiderman: TAS
 The Kingpin is the main antagonist in the 1994 series, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, also the most recurring villian. Voiced by the late Roscoe Lee Browne

This Kingpin is fairly close to the comics version, but he is often occupied with manipulating superpowered characters to do his bidding. In addition, as opposed to just being a crime lord in New York, Kingpin has a global criminal organization; his headquarters is simply located in New York (in the Chrysler Building, which he dubs "Crime Central"). His physical abilities are generally depicted the same as his comics counterpart, except in one instance when he toppled a huge robot. His bodymass is stated in this continuity as being only "2% fat", a statement followed by the declared possession of "350 pounds of muscle". He's the mastermind behind the creation of the Spider-Slayers and is responsible for the creation of the Insidious Six, the animated equivalent of the Sinister Six.

He's also involved in a power struggle with crime boss Silvermane. Initially, he operated behind the scenes until the "Framed/The Man Without Fear" two-part episode, where his identity was revealed to Spider-Man with the help of Daredevil, who was seeking revenge for his father's murder at Kingpin's hands. The Kingpin's main associate here was at first Alistair Smythe, but after Smythe nearly betrayed the Kingpin because he believed Kingpin was going to kill him for placing his son in jail during the Daredevil two-parter, Dr. Herbert Landon replaced him. Kingpin remained at large throughout the series, although an alternate dimension's version was arrested in the series finale. Another alternate version was shown to be the lawyer of that dimension's Peter Parker, though he proved just as underhanded as his counterparts. The Kingpin has proven to be more than a match for Spider-Man, eluding capture and even capturing Spider-Man on occasion. This series also described an origin for the Kingpin as seen in "The man without fear," somewhat different than the comic book version. As a boy, Wilson Fisk was influenced by his father, who sought employment as a mob criminal. When older, Fisk assisted his father in robbing banks and jewelry stores, culminating in one robbery where his father escaped but Fisk, hampered by his already-considerable weight, was captured by police. Fisk did not name his father at his trial and was sentenced to prison, where he resolved to survive. In adulthood, Fisk emulated his father's goal and climbed to a position of seniority within the mob, adopting the alias "Kingpin". He has had his police file destroyed, removing all record of his earlier arrest – effectively making his former life "cease to exist." He then exacted revenge against his father, who was implied to have been killed by the Kingpin's henchmen. It was also revealed that his real name was Wilson Moriarty. He maintained a strained relationship with his wife Vanessa, who was well-aware of his activities and wanted him to let it all go. Though he loved her, she eventually left him after being briefly kidnapped by Silvermane.

His son, Richard, works for him until he was arrested at the end of the Daredevil saga and contemplates how long until his son takes his revenge on him like he did with his father. His final appearance in in the Spider Wars saga.

Daredevil (Film)
Main article: Kingpin (Daredevil)

The Amazing Spider-Man Video Games
Main article: Kingpin (The Amazing Spider-Man Video Games)

Trivia

 * Kingpin's design is inspired by Kasper Gutman from The Maltese Falcon and his actor Sydney Greenstreet.