The MCU Just Made Kingpin More Dangerous… By Weakening Him

In Marvel’s Echo, Maya Lopez, a.k.a. Echo, uses her powers to address Kingpin’s trauma from his past and his subsequent violent reactivity, making him all the more dangerous for his upcoming appearance in the MCU. In Echo, Maya discovered that her powers were a type of connection to her ancestors; she could tap into their myriad powers and use them to her advantage. With Kingpin, she also shows an ability to get inside someone’s head, forcing them to experience particular moments. With this skill, she exploited Kingpin’s weakness, but she unfortunately created a much better villain.

Kingpin was nowhere near a new villain in Echo. He had previously been an antagonist in various Spider-Man comics and shows, and, in terms of the MCU Timeline, he recently appeared in the MCU’s Disney+ TV show Hawkeye before becoming the foremost antagonist in Echo. Moreover, Kingpin previously appeared in Daredevil seasons 1-3. The upcoming MCU’s Daredevil: Born Again will see Charlie Cox return as Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio reprise his role as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin and will showcase the increased risk Kingpin poses.

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Echo Severely Weakened Kingpin… By Healing Him

In the Echo season finale, Maya uses her newfound powers to transport Kingpin through various memories, including the moment he beats an ice cream man for being rude and ableist to Maya and a moment when he can hear his father beating his mother through the walls of his childhood home. The latter seems to be the most critical. Over the course of Echo, it becomes clear that the history of domestic abuse Kingpin’s father subjected his mother to has deeply informed his attitudes and his violence, although in a way where he feels justified to attack and eliminate enemies rather than perpetuate the kind of harm his father committed.

In the memory of the argument between Kingpin’s mother and father, Maya attempts to calm Kingpin and deter him from reacting with violence, but Kingpin is seen holding a hammer, suggestive of the fact that he ultimately killed his father with the hammer in response to the abuse. This type of anger and violence seems to be what fueled the violence Kingpin is seen enacting on others throughout the show and in other Marvel content, such as with the ice cream man. By draining him of this trauma from his father, Maya has, in tandem, drained him of the type of rage that was behind his villainy, thereby weakening him.

Why Kingpin Will Be More Dangerous In Daredevil

Kingpin wasn’t inherently changed by this moment with Maya, and it’s clear he will go on to be a villain. What Maya did was remove the extent of Kingpin’s volatility, which has morphed the type of villain he will be. With rage and emotional trauma/baggage, Kingpin was reactive and violent, but that kind of emotional charge can also lead to being irrational and acting instinctively rather than with premeditation. Now that Kingpin’s trauma has been reduced, he may have a clearer head. Because he remains a villain, though, that only spells out more trouble. With this change, Kingpin will become more calculated, ultimately meaning he will be more dangerous.

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Kingpin Truly Is The New Thanos Now

Kingpin has made his intentions to run for Mayor clear, and with this alteration to his particular type of evil, making him more rational but just as villainous, that will be especially problematic. Now that he can keep a level head, he’s more likely to pull off the type of manipulation required of someone running for public office, and, unfortunately, that was already a strong suit. Worse still, in addition to seeking a more official type of power—one that runs at a governmental level no less—the fact that his intentions align so well with Thanos’ at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War makes Kingpin’s upcoming appearance in Daredevil: Born Again all the more terrifying.

Kingpin believes he is on a mission to save New York, his home, and with that, he represents the exact type of motivation and perspective that Thanos had. Thanos believed he was doing the right thing, having witnessed the destruction of his planet, Titan, and thought he knew the solution. This logic allowed him to justify murdering trillions, and a villain who believes they are in the right is much more terrifying than one who knows they are wrong. Kingpin, like Thanos, will go to any lengths to achieve his goal, and Fisk is also being set up across multiple properties, including Echo, before getting a bigger starring role.