Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Marvel's Echo
Summary
- The MCU has set up a major comic book storyline, suggesting that Wilson Fisk (Kingpin) will become the mayor of New York and pose a threat to heroes like Daredevil and Spider-Man.
- Kingpin may try to outlaw vigilantism in New York, which happened in the comics and resulted in Fisk hiring a team to enforce his new law, impacting many heroes operating in the city.
- The successful mayoral campaign of Kingpin may have ripple effects to other MCU projects, including Spider-Man, the Young Avengers, Thunderbolts, and potentially more heroes. "Mayor Kingpin" could also become a key antagonist in Spider-Man 4.
The MCU's Kingpin will soon become the mayor of New York just as he was in the original comics, something that could have a major impact on the city's heroes, particularly Daredevil, Spider-Man, and potentially even more heroes beyond that.
Having been unsuccessful in his efforts to bring Maya Lopez back into his operations as his surrogate daughter, Echo's post-credits scene sees Kingpin watching the news and the news commentary about New York needing a "bare-knuckle brawler" candidate who's not part of the establishment and is willing to fight. As such, the MCU is clearly following Fisk's arc in the comics where he recently became mayor. To that end, things could get really bad for the MCU's New York-based heroes (like Daredevil and Spider-Man) if Kingpin indeed wins an imminent mayoral campaign. Here's why "Mayor Kingpin" is such a big threat and what happened in the comics.
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Why Kingpin Becoming NYC's Mayor Is A Problem For All Street-Level Heroes
He May Try To Outlaw Vigilantism In New York
During the comics' Secret Empire event, an in-crisis New York was something Wilson Fisk took great advantage of, using his resources throughout the city to offer and aid. Kingpin then used all that goodwill to run as an independent in the following election. Thanks to his charm and influence (and some underhanded fixing of the vote), Kingpin won on a platform promising to push back against vigilantism in New York, affecting heroes such as his primary rivals Daredevil and Spider-Man, as well as any other heroes operating within the city limits.
Although Daredevil managed to delay Fisk's desire to outlaw vigilantism for a time, 2021's Devil's Reign crossover event finally saw Fisk moving forward with his plans, even going so far as to hire a new team of Thunderbolts led by John Walker's USAgent to round up any heroes defying his new law. As such, any on-screen adaptation of Fisk running for mayor in the MCU would likely result in some major problems. While Daredevil would likely be the first to face Fisk wielding the full force of the law (most likely in Daredevil: Born Again), so many other heroes living in New York would be affected as well.
How Daredevil: Born Again Is Adapting Marvel's Mayor Fisk Storyline
A Devil's Reign Adaptation Is Quite Possible
Keeping the comics in mind, the MCU will likely take some exciting inspiration from Kingpin's mayoral run on the page. However, it probably wouldn't be an exact adaptation. Although Fisk making an appearance or cameo isn't out of the question, Marvel's Thunderbolts movie will likely do its own thing on a bigger scale considering the CIA connections with Director Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine. It's unlikely they'd be under Fisk's control, and the rosters are quite different aside from the shared inclusion of USAgent and Taskmaster.
Furthermore, the driving force behind Kingpin's new law came from a desire to punish Daredevil once Fisk realized his memories had been tampered with, having been made to forget Daredevil's secret identity. This could possibly be adapted as well considering Kingpin knew about Matt Murdock's alter ego in Daredevil season 3 combined with the theory that Maya inadvertently made him forget when she tried healing his past pain and trauma at the end of Marvel's Echo. At any rate, Fisk's mayoral campaign feels like an inevitable narrative for Daredevil: Born Again, though a victory would likely expand this threat to other MCU projects beyond.
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Spider-Man 4 And Other MCU Shows & Movies Could Be Affected By Mayor Kingpin
Spider-Man, Young Avengers, Thunderbolts, And Maybe More
If the MCU has any kind of proper connectivity surrounding the aftermath of Fisk's mayoral aspirations, Kingpin waging war on vigilantes should affect more heroes than just Daredevil alone. After all, Kate Bishop fought Fisk in Hawkeye and operates in New York, meaning Fisk's efforts could affect her and her new Young Avengers team she's a part of with Ms. Marvel and Ant-Man's daughter Cassie Lang. Likewise, Punisher would be affected as well who's confirmed to be in Daredevil: Born Again as well as any of Netflix's other Defenders who may or may not make future appearances in the MCU.
Kingpin becoming mayor could also affect Spider-Man just as much as Daredevil. After all, Spider-Man is operating independently in New York with his secret identity restored thanks to Spider-Man: No Way Home. Furthermore, he no longer has the faith of the public he once had, in part thanks to J. Jonah Jameson's Daily Bugle which refuses to let them see the Websligner as anything other than a menace.
To that end, Spider-Man 4 could make Kingpin a key antagonist in the film. Following his campaign which will likely happen in Daredevil: Born Again, Mayor Fisk could be the major MCU villain who finally brings Daredevil and Spider-Man together as heroes after Murdock was Peter Parker's lawyer in No Way Home. It would finally be the massively exciting street-level team-up fans and Kingpin actor Vincent D'onofirio himself have wanted for years.
