- NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of Kingpin from the 2003 film. The mainstream version can be found here: Kingpin.
| “ | Wesley, did you know? Back in ancient times, they would cut the tongues out of their bodyguards their first day on the job? You think that's horrible don't you? 'Cause you don't like the physical stuff. I do. | „ |
| ~ Kingpin just before killing his guards for ratting on him and his enjoyment of violence. |
| “ | Business. That's all it ever is, is business. I was working for Fallon at the time. Your father was supposed to throw a fight. And your girl was in the wrong family at the wrong time. It's all business. And you've been in my business for too long! | „ |
| ~ Kingpin explaining to Matt why he killed his father and Elektra. |
Wilson Fisk, also known as the Kingpin, is the main antagonist of the 2003 superhero film Daredevil, which is based on the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name.
He is a powerful and ruthless crime lord known as the Kingpin and is the head of Fisk Corp. Years prior to the film's events, Fisk was responsible for the death of Matt Murdock's father, thus becoming his archenemy when Murdock becomes the New Yorker vigilante Daredevil.
He was portrayed by the late Michael Clarke Duncan, who would later voice another version of the character in Spider-Man: The New Animated Series. He also played Lieutenant Attar in the 2001 film The Planet of The Apes, and voiced Benjamin King in Saints Row.
Biography[]
Wilson Fisk is a powerful crime lord known as the Kingpin who is the murderer of Matt's father. The Kingpin hires Bullseye to kill Nikolas Natchios after Natchois attempts to leave his organization, attempting to frame Natchois as the Kingpin in the process by leaving a fake paper trail. Though Bullseye is successful, Fisk also wants Natchios' family killed and hires Bullseye to kill Natchois' daughter Elektra, although Bullseye also states an interest in killing Daredevil for free after the hero made him miss a target.
After he supposedly kills Elektra, Bullseye is defeated by Daredevil after he reveals during the fight that Fisk is really the Kingpin, unknowingly revealing his role in Murdock's father's death as well. Having learned of his assassin's failure, out of respect for his arch-nemesis, Kingpin decides to not protect himself and instead chooses to face Daredevil head-on, sending all his guards home.
Severely beating the hero, expressing regret that Daredevil came to him injured rather than fighting him in his prime, Fisk unmasks him, learning to his amused disbelief that Daredevil is Matt Murdock, "the blind lawyer from Hell's Kitchen", whom Fisk had previously met prior to Nicholas Natchios' death. Daredevil nevertheless manages to trigger the sprinkler system in Fisk's office, thus allowing him to better "see" his opponent. Daredevil then breaks Fisk's legs but refuses to kill him despite having the opportunity, having realized that he is "not the bad guy" and thus has no right to kill his enemies.
Daredevil leaves the Kingpin for the police and Fisk threatened to tell everyone who Daredevil really was, until the lawyer pointed out that revealing to his prison inmates that he had been beaten by a blind man was the equivalent of suicide. Nevertheless, the Kingpin swears that he will eventually get out of prison and kill Daredevil, with the hero simply responding that he will be waiting.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Kingpin was played by the late Michael Clarke Duncan who signed on for the role in January 2002, though he had been attached far earlier. When Duncan was cast, he weighted 290 pounds. He was asked to gain 40 pounds for the role in order to fit the physique of Kingpin. In order to do this, he would lift weights for 30 minutes a day, and power-lifted with one or two reps a day, as well as eating whatever he wanted.
- In contrast to Michael Clarke Duncan's portrayal in Daredevil, the Kingpin is Caucasian in the comic books. Indeed, this was one of Clarke Duncan's biggest concerns when playing the role, as he knew that comic book fans have a loyalty to the original material.
- Michael Clarke Duncan's take on the character was seen once more before his untimely death, in the 2000's Spider Man: The New Animated Series, which ran one season on MTV. Based on the 2000's Toby Maguire Spider-Man continuity, Duncan voiced Kingpin in one episode, and his model was a mix of his comic book version and Duncan's actual appearance. This is a separate continuity from both the Daredevil film and the first three Spider-Man films. While Duncan was the first African-American actor to play Kingpin in live action, he was the second to voice him in animated form, the first being Roscoe Lee Browne in the 90's Animated Spider-Man.
- The Exended Cut of Daredevil includes additional scenes where Fisk brutally kills two of his body guards for little reason at all. It's also revealed that when he puts hits on someone, he also has their families killed. Because of this, this incarnation of Kingpin is far worse than most other versions of the character. While one could argue he is as honorable as he normally is when not counting the deleted scenes, this becomes moot since this is how the director intended his character to be.
- Michael Clarke Duncan was often put on lifts or boxes, to make him tower over everyone else, particularly in his scenes with Ben Affleck, who is 6'2". The same thing was done for Duncan in The Green Mile.
- Michael Clarke Duncan previously worked with Ben Affleck (Daredevil) in Armageddon and Erick Avari (Nikolas Natchios) in Planet of the Apes.
- In July 2006, Duncan showed interest in returning for the role of the Kingpin, but stated that he would not be willing to regain the weight that he had lost.
- He appears in the Fuel "Won't Back Down" and The Calling "For You" music videos.
