Phase 4 Set Up Kingpin’s Best MCU Hero Fight (Not Spider-Man Or Daredevil)

The MCU’s Phase 4 is introducing lots of new characters, and in doing so, it has set up the perfect heroes to take on the Kingpin, and, surprisingly, it’s not Spider-Man or Daredevil. Although Wilson Fisk (aka Kingpin) is mostly known for fighting Spider-Man and Daredevil, Phase 4 has a far more interesting route that it can take. Kingpin is a big enough villain that this time around he should not be in a Disney+ show or a smaller movie – he should be in something much larger.

Wilson Fisk made his MCU debut in Netflix’s Daredevil, appearing in all three seasons. Although the show’s canonical status is still in question, it is confirmed that Vincent D’Onofrio’s portrayal of Kingpin is in the MCU, as he appears in Hawkeye. Since being reintroduced, many viewers believe that there are two best options for the character. The first is that he should appear in Daredevil season 4 or a reboot of a Netflix show. The second is that he should be a Spider-Man villain, something he has often done in the comics. While these are both good choices, there is a third, far more interesting option.

Kingpin should be the villain in the MCU’s Young Avengers movie. It seems that Marvel has been using the MCU Phase 4 to introduce the teenage team, with characters like Kate Bishop, Speed, Wiccan, Kid Loki, America Chavez, and more popping up in various projects. So far, though, the team does not have an overarching villain in the way that the core Avengers had Thanos. However, due to his power level, status, and relationship with the characters of the Young Avengers, Wilson Fisk is the perfect character to take on these heroes.

One of the biggest problems with the Young Avengers is that they have a massive disparity when it comes to powers. Characters like America Chavez have the ability to go through the multiverse, whereas characters like Yelena Belova and Kate Bishop just shoot and punch really well. It is hard to find a villain that not only can bring all these characters together. Kingpin is the only character who fits this role. Being a street-level villain, he can use his power over the criminal underworld to affect almost any hero. In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Fisk even opened up the multiverse, and something similar could be the thing that links the street-level heroes to Chavez, Speed, and Wiccan. Having Kingpin be the Young Avengers’ Thanos works because, while he is not big enough for the core Avengers, he could pose a massive threat to the less experienced team.

Another reason Fisk needs to be the big bad of a movie like Young Avengers is his status. Kingpin has quickly become one of Marvel’s A-list villains, and he deserves better than popping up once and never appearing again. Kingpin is slow, methodical, and manipulative, and his prowess needs to be shown by building him up over several different stories. Maybe he appears in some post-credits scenes, Daredevil season 4, and an episode or two of some other Disney+ shows. This would allow the character to grow, making him seem like the ever-looming threat worthy of being the villain in Young Avengers.

The final reason Kingpin works in this role is that he already has a relationship with Kate Bishop. With Kate Bishop appearing in Ant-Man 3 to possibly recruit Cassie Lang, and with her having already met Yelena in Hawkeye, it seems like she is being set up to lead the Young Avengers. Since Kingpin is the main villain in Kate Bishop’s first outing, having him appear again after she has assembled the team and grown as a leader would give her personal stakes with the villain. Instead of having a new villain for Young Avengers, having it be someone who has a personal history with Kate Bishop would add a layer of complexity to the film. While having Wilson Fisk fight his classic foes Spider-Man and Daredevil is cool, it is clear that the best option is to have Kingpin face off against the Young Avengers in the MCU’s Phase 4.