The Fisk Family Tree

 

I said back when I wrote about The Kingpin in the MC2 that I should have made the post when it was most relevant. This time, I’m going to try and seize the recent resurgence in popularity of Wilson Fisk thanks to his appearance in the Hawkeye series on Disney+ by bringing back my series of MC2 Family Trees. Here is the Fisk Family Tree.

 

Wilson Fisk aka the Kingpin of Crime first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #50 in 1967 but we didn’t learn of his origins until far later. In 1993’s flashback series Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #3 we find Wilson Fisk working for the Maggia Crime Family boss Don Rigoletto. We witness the moment Fisk takes control of the various gang leaders not only here but with added context in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #-1 written by the legendary Tom Defalco in 1997. Needless to say, from here on out Wilson would be known as the Kingpin of Crime, a title he would hold until his death in the MC2 as seen in Spider-Girl #63-64

.

 

Vanessa Fisk is first mentioned in Amazing Spider-Man #69 and makes an obscured cameo in Amazing Spider-Man #70 before her proper first full appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #83. While we don’t know a great deal about Vanessa, we get some details in the Marvel Graphic Novel: Daredevil Love and War written by Frank Miller. There Wilson recounts that Vanessa was brought to him at age 15 as an amnesiac by his ‘band of petty thieves’ as chattel twenty years prior. This would make Vanessa around 35 years old during the events of that story.

 

Richard Fisk made his debut in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #83 under the mask of The Kingpin’s rival The Schemer, only revealing his true face in Amazing Spider-Man #85. Richard would go on to use many aliases through the years, including The Supreme Hydra, The Rose and The Blood Rose. In Web of Spider-Man #86 we learn that when he was a child, Vanessa would shield him from the life of his criminal father. Richard watched Vanessa’s health deteriorating through the years with the strain of her relationship to Wilson until he was sent away to school in Europe. While it appears Richard first learned of his father’s criminal empire when The Kingpin was outed in the news, this issue seems to suggest Richard may have known at some capacity and was simply shamed when it was made public. Either way, Richard faked his death and assumed the identity of The Schemer to oppose his father while posing as a crime lord. It stands to reason that Richard couldn’t have been more than 18 or 19 years of age given that his parents only met 20 years prior.

It’s worth noting the MC2’s Kingpin’s origins are briefly depicted during his dying vision on the operating table in Spider-Girl #63. Here learn he was an overweight young man from a poor family and no one ever liked him until he grew tired of being beaten and began to lift weights and study martial arts, becoming an intimidating figure. We also see the aforementioned death of Rigoletto at Fisk’s hands. It’s also during Wilson’s vision that he is confronted by his son and wife and we learn that they are both already dead. The MC2 diverges from the Main Marvel Universe prior to Richard’s death in 2002’s Daredevil (Vol.2) #31 but it’s entirely possible events unfolded in a similar way. Additionally, Vanessa didn’t even die in the Main Marvel Universe until years after this issue was published in Daredevil (Vol. 2) #92-#93, meaning the MC2 predicted her demise.

 

It seems obvious that the life of a crime boss is destined to leave a man lonely and eventually end in tragedy for the whole family. That’s a wrap on this shorter MC2 Family Tree. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know if you want me to cover another family in the near future.

 

Until I fake my own death in Switzerland only to return wearing an old man mask, I remain

 

frogoat

 

 

 

 

 

The Kingpin in the MC2

 

The Kingpin of Crime aka Wilson Fisk is a huge figure who casts a long shadow. That shadow still continues to hang over the first several years of the Spider-Girl series, the Darkdevil mini-series and across the very History of the MC2 in significant ways. Let’s explore how the fallen crime boss’ expansive influence continued to loom large over the MC2.

 

Even though he doesn’t appear, the after effects of Fisk’s reign as Kingpin are first obscurely referenced when we learn in What If #105 that Daredevil aka Matt Murdock had been killed. It all starts with the very first published MC2 story.

 

You’d be forgiven for thinking Mr Nobody is the main villain in Spider-Girl #1 but it’s clear by the issue’s end that Wilson Fisk is the man behind the curtain. Despite being in prison, The Kingpin continues to control organized crime. While it’s not overt, I’ve always found it interesting that Fisk’s organization seems to be taking an interest in Peter Parker.

 

Kingpin next orchestrates the attempted escape of the super criminal Crazy Eight from custody, using his employee Mr Nobody to both provide cover and deliver equipment and weaponry to Eight prior to his trial. The attempt is thwarted by Spider-Girl and her father Peter Parker in his civilian identity and Darkdevil delivers a warning to Fisk by teleporting into his prison cell (Spider-Girl #8). It appears Crazy Eight was either working for the Kingpin previously or paid for his services, but either way the two characters are now tied, as is Mr Nobody.

 

Wilson Fisk is a new trial in the courts for his release, represented by Murdock’s former law-partner and friend Foggy Nelson. He is visited in jail by Darkevil who warns Fisk that Kaine is out for revenge and plans to kill him, however Fisk is unconcerned. Kaine attempts to kill Fisk on the steps of the courthouse, only to be soundly beaten by Spider-Girl, but not before Kaine reveals to Nelson that Fisk is the one who ordered Matt Murdock’s death. This prompts Nelson to step down as Fisk’s lawyer and, though we don’t see how it played out, the trial does not result in Fisk’s release. Kaine is imprisoned next to Fisk in Ryker’s Island Prison (Spider-Girl #17).

 

Throughout the Darkdevil mini-series, The Kingpin acts as one of the primary antagonists. Fisk arranges for Kaine’s release from prison in order for the Scriers to assassinate him. Meanwhile, Wilson has also sent the Scriers to eliminate loose ends in his plot to steal the New York Mayoral Election and in the process putting his puppet politician in power. These loose ends include Darkdevil, who is targeted by the demonic Zarathos residing within the body of the Scrier Prime as he attempts to prevent The Kingpin’s plot. It’s also revealed via flashbacks that Kaine was formerly in Fisk’s employ until the fearless Daredevil sacrificed his own life to save the mercenary from Fisk’s firing line (Darkdevil #1-3).

 

Next, as a result of the rising threat of rival crime lord Canis, Wilson Fisk employs Crazy Eight alongside Mr Nobody to counter Eight’s brother Funny Face who works as Canis’ enforcer (Spider-Girl #36). However, due to the familial bond, Crazy Eight reaches out to Canis to ensure his brother is safe (Spider-Girl #39) which leads to Fisk ordering Mr Nobody to ‘alleviate any potential conflict’ (Spider-Girl #40). With Eight having warned Mr Nobody not to go after his little brother, a massive fight breaks out between Canis, the new Spider-Man, Crazy Eight, Funny Face and Mr Nobody. Just as Spider-Girl arrives and pushes the young Spider-Man out of the way, Mr Nobody’s bullets hit Crazy Eight, inadvertently killing him (Spider-Girl #40).

 

This incident proves to be a turning point in the gang war with Funny Face going rogue, breaking his mother Angel Face out of confinement. The pair go on a rampage against the smaller criminal organisations regardless of their loyalty to the Kingpin or Canis seeking revenge on those they held responsible for Eight’s death-Mr Nobody and Spider-Girl. With such a massive disruption to daily operations and heavy financial cost for both crime bosses, Fisk arranges a meeting with Canis (Spider-Girl #42).

 

Canis meets face to face with Fisk at Ryker’s and the two men discuss a truce. Fisk reveals he has terminated Mr Nobody’s employment and cut all ties, leaving the gunman to be captured by the combined efforts of Darkdevil, the young Spider-Man and a temporarily back in action Peter Parker as the original Spider-Man. Having reached a truce and made concessions to Canis, Fisk remains confident he will win with patience in due time. Meanwhile, Spider-Girl convinces the Faces to leave New York and cease their destructive rampage, mostly out of sense of guilt for the death of Crazy Eight (Spider-Girl #43).

 

This truce remains in place until the ‘Marked for Death’ storyline, where it appears both Canis and Kingpin are targeted for assassination. With bombs being set off at Canis’ mansion and the Ryker’s Island Prison, along with several other lower-level crime bosses being killed, it appears the hit is being orchestrated by a South American crime lord known as the Black Tarantula. Wilson Fisk is left in critical condition and a visiting Darkdevil goes missing following the bombing, but Canis is left unscathed thanks to the intervention Spider-Girl. Soon after, Spider-Girl is also targeted when a bomb goes off in her secret hideout, nearly claiming her friend and ally Normie Osborn (Spider-Girl #61).

 

Spider-Girl learns that one of the suspects, Mr Nobody, remains in prison and shortly afterwards encounters other former criminals who should also be behind bars while following up on a tip from Canis (Spider-Girl #62). Requiring emergency surgery, Fisk lays unconscious on the operating table and has visions of his deceased son and wife, Richard and Vanessa who urge him to renounce his criminal ways. Fisk dies at 6:47 PM as the medical team are unable to stabilize him (Spider-Girl #63). His death is confirmed the following issue in Spider-Girl #64 and with it, the reign of the Kingpin of Crime comes to an end. Fisk never learns that Canis was the mastermind behind the takeover plot that killed him (Spider-Girl #66).

 

Even after his death, The Kingpin’s imposing legacy persists. A stolen DVD belonging to Wilson Fisk which was believed to contain a list of all his contacts and every government official who was ever on his payroll becomes the focus of a new war on the streets, this time with the Hobgoblin, Black Tarantula and other crime lords all vying for its possession (Amazing Spider-Girl #1-6, #13-18).

 

I should have done this post two years ago when Kingpin was everywhere: Daredevil Season 3, the Spider-Man PS4 game and the Into the Spider-Verse movie. Oh well!

 

Until I go bald, pack on the muscle and rule a criminal empire from prison, I remain

 

frogoat