Funnily enough, Wilson Fisk got a touch of the real Hell when he found himself under the command of the sin of Greed. Kingpin was helpless as his body was taken by a demon who wanted nothing more than to consume everything in sight and drag the Man Without Fear back to the underworld. Bruised and broken, Daredevil takes on his upgraded enemy and the conclusion is going to leave fans stunned.

Daredevil Saves Kingpin's Soul and He's Actually Grateful!

In Daredevil #12 by Saladin Ahmed, Aaron Kuder, Jesus Aburtov, and Clayton Cowles, Matt is in a rough spot. He and Elektra came by to stop Fisk from killing his son, Butch, but Kingpin’s will has been completely overtaken by Greed. Fisk is aglow with hellfire as he throttles and beats Daredevil, who can’t even use his billy club to hit Fisk. Fortunately, Elektra manages to sneak up on the possessed Kingpin and the two Daredevils start to turn things around.

Unfortunately, even working in tandem, the two aren’t enough to take the Greed-powered Kingpin down. Daredevil realizes the only thing that’s going to stop Fisk is the word of God and pulls out a cross to perform an exorcism. But the demonic Kingpin puts doubts into Matt’s head and crushes his hand, melting the crucifix. As Fisk (or Greed, rather) prepares to kill his enemy, Daredevil has a vision of his father, who tells him that the love of God is still with Matt.

To defeat the demon-possessing Kingpin, Daredevil looks inward and comes to with the greed he’s felt in his life. Daredevil repairs the crucifix and says a prayer, allowing him to purge Fisk of the evil spirit. With Greed gone back to Hell, Fisk is now in full control of his body and Daredevil is too weak to do anything to stop him. However, instead of taking advantage of Matt’s weakened state, Kingpin reaches out to Daredevil and begs the holy man for forgiveness.

Daredevil's Life as a Priest is Changing the World, One Person at a Time

Daredevil is one of my favorite Marvel heroes, and I've loved watching the journey he's been on in the last few years. From publicly exposing his identity, to taking on his brief partner Blindspot, and the epic Chip Zdarsky/Marco Checchetto run that ended last year, there's been a lot of wild things going on in the Man Without Fear's corner of the Marvel Universe. Speaking of that run, that story ended with an interesting development that's become a major part of the current Daredevil series.

Matt Murdock went to Hell to rescue his best friend and several souls that had been taken by the Hand. Daredevil liberated the condemned souls but was trapped behind in the underground. However, through the grace of God, Matt was brought back to Earth and given a new life as a priest (which, let’s face it, fits him to a ‘T’). Matt initially didn’t much of his old life, but it wasn’t long until his city called to him and the man of God resumed his life as Daredevil.

Too bad Matt didn’t realize something followed him out of Hell. Corrupted pieces of his soul, each modeled off of the Seven Deadly Sins got loose and attached themselves to people in Matt’s orbit. Elektra, She-Hulk, Ben Urich, and Wolverine were all possessed by Sloth, Gluttony, Envy, and Lust, respectively. Kingpin, appropriately enough was possessed by the worst sin so far, Greed. This supernatural influence drove Fisk to reclaim his old territory by any means. Kingpin was helpless to control himself and could only hope Daredevil could save him.

Does Kingpin Actually Want Salvation From Daredevil?

I want to say no. Seriously. This is Kingpin we’re talking about. The guy has no depth he’ll sink to. Extortion, threats, and murder are just tools for him to get what he wants. Very rarely does he ever express empathy to another living person and even if he does, it’s not long before we see him remind us of how much a heartless monster he is. When I first got to this page, I was certain that there was no way in hell Kingpin actually wanted Daredevil to help him find the light.

But let’s think about this for a second. Kingpin was literally just under the influence of an honest-to-God, supernatural evil. This wasn’t the Purple Man or any other mind-controlling villain in control of Fisk’s body, this was a demonic force. Aside from the horrors that come with the lack of self-autonomy, the possession showed Fisk a lot of things, including the fact that Hell was very real. For a brief moment, Daredevil’s greatest enemy was this close to being nothing more than a vessel of the underworld.

Kingpin’s seen a lot of strange things in his day, but being the hose for the embodiment of literal sin? That’d be enough to scare anyone straight, even someone as hardened as Wilson Fisk. Thankfully, his greatest enemy is a priest who can help Fisk in his moment of spiritual crisis. This is a pretty huge development for these two, especially given their violent history. But now that Kingpin’s seen the true face of evil, maybe Daredevil can actually help his nemesis find the redemption he needs.

This is Daredevil's Greatest Shot at Helping Kingpin

Of course, even those who find the righteous path can always veer off it and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if this turn to God winds up being temporary for Fisk. But maybe his reaching out to Daredevil is genuine. Maybe Fisk does need Daredevil’s aid. As a priest, it's up to Matt to be there for those in need, even if it’s someone like Kingpin. I don’t know if Fisk’s search for salvation will last, but I’m pretty excited to see what this means for Daredevil and Kingpin going forward.

Daredevil #12 is available now from Marvel Comics.

Daredevil #12 (2024)
	Writer: Saladin Ahmed Artist: Aaron Kuder Colorist: Jesus Aburtov Letterer: Clayton Cowles Cover Artists: John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, and Richard Isanove