Is Kingpin a Spider-Man or Daredevil Villain? Explaining the Confusion!

One of the biggest supervillains in Marvel Comics is Wilson Fisk, known as Kingpin. He first appeared in comics in 1967 and, since then, has been one of the most notorious crime lords in New York City. Fisk’s tenure in the comics was marked with great criminal feats that the New York-based superheroes had to solve many times. Kingpin’s origins in the comics see him as a criminal warlord who wants to be heavily involved in criminal activity, but Frank Miller’s depictions of the character in the 1980s fundamentally changed Fisk for what he is. In this article, we will discuss whether Kingpin is a Spider-Man or Daredevil villain.

Even though Kingpin first debuted in the ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ in 1967, written by Stan Lee, and was initially an enemy of Spider-Man, Wilson Fisk is a greater villain to Daredevil than anyone else. The initial depiction of the character put Spider-Man as the main villain to the aggressive crime lord, but Frank Miller’s ‘Daredevil’ comic book run during the 1980s fundamentally changed Kingpin’s character, depicting him as Daredevil’s archnemesis. For that, we can confirm that Kingpin is truly a Daredevil villain.

Daredevil had many nemesis’ in his lore, but Kingpin is the biggest one, despite first debuting in the Spider-Man comics. If you’re interested in more details, stay with us until the end.

Who is Kingpin?

During the 1960s, all of the fictional media had a massive reform, particularly the comics. DC started by reviving most of its Golden Age characters and adding new ones to the fray, with Wally West and Hal Jordan debuting as the Flash and Green Lantern, respectively, instead of Barry Allen and Alan Scott.

The times changed, and with it, the world as well. The writer and creator of that time, the great Stan Lee, revolutionized how people look at comics because he wanted the characters and stories to appeal to older audiences.

Together with Jack Kirby and others, Marvel Comics released many new characters, including the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Spider-Man, Daredevil, and more. Besides strong and appealing superheroes, supervillains had to be on par with the likes of Norman Osbourne/Green Goblin and Galactus, one of the few that debuted then.

Wilson ‘Kingpin’ Fisk debuted in 1967 as a crime lord who is quite aggressive in handling his business. However, the great writer, Frank Miller, revised the character in the notable ‘Daredevil’ run in the 1980s and made Wilson Fisk terrifying.

Suddenly, Fisk is a proper villain whose goals and motivations are what drive him, but he is the one who looks at things pragmatically and with a freezing-cold consciousness.

Since Frank Miller’s ‘Daredevil’ run, Wilson Fisk became one of the most notorious supervillains of Marvel Comics, and frankly, he still is. He became the notorious crime lord of the New York underground by being a self-thought in politics, combat, and even administration.

After the successful portrayal of the notorious villain by Vincent D’Onofrio in Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans started to discuss if Kingpin is Daredevil’s or Spider-Man’s villain.

Where did Kingpin debut as the villain in Marvel Comics?

Interestingly enough, most of the fans connect Kingpin with Daredevil since both characters had some of the best stories together. One of the most famous Daredevil and Kingpin stories happened specifically with Frank Miller as the writer, who told us the story of Elektra dying at the hands of Bullseye.

However, Kingpin didn’t debut in the ‘Daredevil’ comic book; he actually first appeared in the ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ comic book run by Stan Lee as the villain of Peter Parker.

Kingpin was purely depicted as a crime lord who was partially established in the criminal underworld of New York. Of course, his first encounter with Spider-Man didn’t end well for the criminal since the Web-Slinger tricked him by uncovering he was controlling the media in the city.

Kingpin continues to “build” his reputation as the “good guy” in the media to expand his control and power in the public eye, but he marries his wife, Vanessa, and eventually leaves his criminal life.

That doesn’t last long, and Kingpin returns to the criminal life. Kingpin becomes a bigger factor in Spider-Man’s lore when he orders the assassination of Aunt May, but other than that, Kingpin isn’t as big of a villain as Green Goblin.

Is Kingpin Spider-Man or Daredevil a villain?

First of all, most of the fans can agree that Kingpin established himself as the Daredevil archnemesis in Frank Miller’s ‘Daredevil’ comic book run during the 1980s, where the criminal lord is no longer harsh and aggressive but cold and calculated.

Wilson Fisk became a terrifying factor in Marvel Comics, and his encounter with Daredevil is quite interesting. After Fisk’s wife, Vanessa, is kidnapped by the people her husband betrayed, Kingpin returns to his criminal life once again.

When Daredevil finds the amnesiac Vanessa, the Scarlet Avenger uses her as leverage to stop Kingpin from supporting the corrupted politician he planted to become the mayor of New York. However, when Kingpin gets his wife back, the crime lord orders the hit on Matt Murdoch’s best friend, Foggy Nelson, but the whole situation goes horribly wrong – Bullseye kills Elektra.

There is a whole situation with Matt Murdoch’s ex-girlfriend Karen Page, whose life changed for the worse. She was a drug addict and porn actress who told Kingpin the real identity behind the Daredevil mask.

Another great storyline connected to Daredevil is the one where he manipulates his adoptive daughter, Maya Lopez, known as Echo, to kill Daredevil. Kingpin lies that Daredevil killed her biological father, but when she meets the Scarlet Avenger, who tells her the truth, Echo shoots Kingpin in the head, seemingly killing him.

Of course, he survives, and these three stories are one of the biggest stories of Daredevil and the crime lord himself in their lore, hence why most people consider Kingpin Daredevil’s villain.

However, Kingpin is also a Spider-Man villain, but in a lesser way. He debuted first as the Spider-Man villain, but surely, Kingpin became more suitable as the Daredevil villain because of his calculating demeanor and incredibly pragmatic way of doing things.

Nevertheless, Kingpin is a significant Marvel Comics villain, and every time he is included in the storyline or major event, his presence is always felt.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!