Kingpin’s Complete MCU Timeline Explained

Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin, has had his backstory explored in great detail in the MCU. After debuting as Wilson Fisk in Marvel Television’s Daredevil series, Vincent D’Onofrio reprised the role of the iconic Marvel supervillain during the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. Fisk made his first appearance in the MCU proper in 2021’s Hawkeye, and returned again in 2024’s Echo ahead of his starring spot alongside Daredevil alum Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock in Marvel Studios’ upcoming Daredevil: Born Again. Kingpin is one of the most recognizable and beloved villains in the MCU, and has perhaps the most rich, brutal and well-developed history.

While Charlie Cox’s Daredevil has faced several villains, including Frank Castle’s Punisher, Benjamin Poindexter’s Bullseye and Eugene Patilio’s Leapfrog, Kingpin has been his most persistent and dangerous adversary. While Cox and D’Onofrio haven’t yet reunited in the MCU, the fact that Marvel Television’s Defenders Saga may now be canon to the MCU means that their live-action feud now goes back almost a decade. Marvel Studios hasn’t confirmed the canon status of the Defenders Saga, but integrating the franchise into the MCU’s official Disney+ timeline suggests Wilson Fisk’s backstory may be retained, which allows viewers to explore his entire MCU timeline.

Wilson Fisk Grows Up In An Abusive Household & Kills His Father (1960s-1970s)

Daredevil Season 1 (2015)

Wilson Grant Fisk was born in the early-1960s, and was raised in an abusive household, as Fisk’s father, Bill Fisk, would abuse Wilson’s mother, despite being seen as a strong figure by his son. Fisk was raised in a house of violence, particularly after his father lost the run for New York City Council. Bill Fisk descended into alcoholism, exacerbating the abuse, which prompted a 12-year-old Wilson to murder his father with a hammer. Fisk and his mother cut up Bill Fisk’s body to hide the crime, before Fisk moved to a farm and spent several years traveling around Asia.

Wilson Fisk Cares For Maya Lopez (2007)

Echo (2024)

By 2007, Wilson Fisk had returned to New York City and had begun to build his criminal empire, planning to pull down Hell’s Kitchen before building it back up. Among Fisk’s recruits were the Tracksuit Mafia, led by William Lopez, and Fisk ended up building a close relationship with Lopez’s deaf daughter, Maya. Fisk was incredibly protective of Maya, even going so far as to brutally beat an ice cream vendor who mocked her deafness and refused to sell her ice cream. Without prompting, Maya joined in with Fisk’s assault on this man, marking the beginning of her violent tendencies.

Wilson Fisk Recruits Eleanor Bishop (2012)

Hawkeye (2021)

Derek Bishop had taken a loan from Fisk prior to the Battle of New York, and worked for Fisk in exchange, but after Derek’s death during the Battle of New York in 2012, this debt passed on to Derek’s wife, Eleanor Bishop. Eleanor noted that she would happily take over Derek’s role to clear his debt to Fisk, but that she didn’t want to work for Fisk forever. While Fisk agreed that Eleanor wouldn’t be indebted to him forever, paying off Derek’s debt would take years, and Eleanor would in fact still be under Fisk’s thumb over a decade later.

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Union Allied Construction Is Established (2012)

Daredevil Season 1 (2015)

In the wake of the Battle of New York, Fisk saw an opportunity to put his plans in motion. He established Union Allied Construction to oversee government contracts rebuilding New York after the Chitauri invasion, but this was also a front for various criminal activities, including money laundering. Karen Page discovered evidence of these criminal activities, and when she shared the information with colleague Daniel Fisher, Fisk had Fisher killed and Page framed for the murder. When the Masked Man, a.k.a. Daredevil, helped to expose Union Allied Construction, however, Fisk liquidated the business and eliminated anyone who could implicate him.

Wilson Fisk Meets Vanessa Marianna & Matt Murdock (2015)

Daredevil Season 1 (2015)

In the midst of the Union Allied debacle, Wilson Fisk met art dealer Vanessa Marianna at the Scene Contempo Gallery while looking at a white painting named “Rabbit in a Snowstorm.” Fisk and Marianna went on several dates, during which she learned of Fisk’s criminal empire. Instead of being scared off, however, Vanessa urged Fisk to involve her completely. Vanessa’s new involvement in Fisk’s life would bring her into the path of Matt Murdock, and in turn would see Murdock and Fisk introducing themselves to each other, though Fisk didn’t know that Murdock was the Masked Man at this point.

Wilson Fisk Becomes A Public Figure (2015)

Daredevil Season 1 (2015)

Entering a new stage of his life at Vanessa’s prompting, Wilson Fisk held a press conference to reveal his work, hoping to gain support to rebuild Hell’s Kitchen. During this, Fisk condemned the vigilante justice of the Masked Man, and claimed that the Masked Man had been trying to thwart his plans to help the city, even blaming his own bombing of the city on the vigilante. Fisk became a celebrated man in New York City, and began to build a political campaign, though attacks on his assistant and close friend James Wesley and Vanessa began Fisk’s path to self-destruction.

Daredevil & Kingpin Battle (2015)

Daredevil Season 1 (2015)

After former corrupt cop Carl Hoffman was rescued by the Masked Man, he went to the police and provided information on all of Fisk’s criminal activities, leading to Fisk’s arrest by the FBI during his marriage proposal to Vanessa. However, Fisk’s recruits helped with his escape from an armored van, and Fisk began making his way to Vanessa so the pair could leave New York together. The Masked Man, now in his Daredevil costume, got in the way, separating Fisk and engaging in an epic and intense battle. Daredevil managed to knock Fisk unconscious, allowing him to finally be arrested.

Wilson Fisk Takes Control Of Ryker’s Island & The Punisher (2015)

Daredevil Season 2 (2016)

Wilson Fisk was far from powerless in prison, however, as he began to build a pseudo-empire within the walls of Ryker’s Island. When Frank Castle was sent to Ryker’s, Fisk met with him and convinced him to interrogate another inmate named Dutton, who had control of the prison. After Dutton confessed to brokering the drug deal that ended with the murder of Castle’s family, Castle massacred Dutton and his crew. Fisk then had Castle freed from prison in the hopes that he’d wipe out the crime rings in New York, meaning he’d have no rivals when he eventually left prison.

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Wilson Fisk Makes A Deal With Ray Nadeem (2017)

Daredevil Season 3 (2018)

While in prison, Fisk began devising a way to ensure his freedom, most prominently by manipulating FBI agents in the New York Crime Division to recruit them into his cause. Fisk also purchased the Presidential Hotel, which the FBI used for house arrests, under a shell corporation. Fisk then made a deal with Ray Nadeem to provide insider information on the Albanian Syndicate, and faked an assassination attempt, prompting the FBI to move him out of prison and into the Presidential Hotel’s Penthouse. On their way, however, they were ambushed by the Albanians, though Fisk was saved by Benjamin Poindexter.

Kingpins Learns Of Daredevil’s Identity (2017)

Daredevil Season 3 (2018)

During his time at the Presidential Hotel, Fisk began to regain some semblance of a normal life, particularly with so many FBI agents under his thumb. He also used this time to investigate the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, who returned to New York following his recovery after the events of The Defenders. When Matt Murdock traveled to Ryker’s Island to question inmates about Fisk’s actions there, Fisk was watching on security footage as Murdock demonstrated his impressive Daredevil skills. Fisk and Murdock briefly spoke on the phone, before Fisk had a taxi driver make an attempt on Matt Murdock’s life.​​​​​​​

Kingpin Uses Benjamin Poindexter To Frame Daredevil (2017)

Daredevil Season 3 (2018)

During his transport to the Presidential Hotel and the Albanians’ attack, Fisk was saved by FBI special agent Benjamin Poindexter, who displayed his accurate marksmanship. Poindexter was assigned to guard Fisk in the hotel, which provided Fisk with the opportunity to manipulate him. Fisk collected files on Poindexter which revealed the FBI agent to be a psychopathic killer. Fisk used this, and Poindexter’s obsession with Julie Barnes, to coerce Poindexter into working for him. Fisk dressed Poindexter in a Daredevil costume and had him attack the New York Bulletin and Clinton Church, hoping to discredit Daredevil in the public eye.

Wilson Fisk & Vanessa Reunite & Get Married (2017)

Daredevil Season 3 (2018)

At a mob boss sit-down, Wilson Fisk officially became the Kingpin of crime in New York before being exonerated from his past crimes thanks to his powerful connections in law enforcement. Fisk spoke to New York, once again claiming Daredevil to be the true criminal, before Vanessa Marianna was returned to the United States and the pair reunited. Fearing that Ray Nadeem would expose the truth of Fisk’s plans, Vanessa ordered his death, once again becoming involved in her fiancé’s business. The pair married in the Presidential Hotel, but a video of Nadeem exposing Fisk was leaked, angering the Kingpin.

Kingpin Battles Daredevil & Bullseye (2017)

Daredevil Season 3 (2018)

At the wedding, Benjamin Poindexter threatened Vanessa’s life, but Matt Murdock’s Daredevil saved her. This culminated in a three-way battle between Fisk, Daredevil and Poindexter, during which Poindexter was paralyzed. Daredevil managed to gain the upper hand, beating Kingpin despite his continued threats that he would never stop chasing Karen Page and Foggy Nelson. Instead of killing Fisk, Murdock presented a deal: Fisk wouldn’t chase Page and Nelson, and would keep his identity secret, and in return, Murdock wouldn’t reveal Vanessa’s part in Nadeem’s assassination. Fisk and Vanessa were arrested, and their hold over New York appeared to be over.

Kingpin Informs Ronin About The Tracksuit Mafia & Takes Control Of Maya Lopez (2021)

Hawkeye (2021) & Echo (2024)

Wilson Fisk survived Thanos’ snap in Avengers: Infinity War, and by 2021 had begun to rebuild his criminal empire after being released from prison. Fisk resumed his alliance with the Tracksuit Mafia, and founded Sloan Limited and Fisk Shipping as new fronts. Fisk’s plans were interrupted by Clint Barton’s Ronin, however, though Fisk provided him with a tip to spare his own life, leading to Ronin killing William Lopez. This allowed Fisk to assume control over Maya Lopez, making her the new leader of the Tracksuit Mafia. Her exploits brought her into battle with Daredevil, though she held her own.

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Kingpin Battles Kate Bishop & Is Shot By Maya Lopez (2024)

Hawkeye (2021)

In December 2024, Fisk had become worried that an Avenger, Clint Barton, was tracking him following the murder of Armand Duquesne III, so had Eleanor Bishop hire Yelena Belova to eliminate him. Eleanor declared her debt had been paid, though his insistence that their deal wasn’t done culminated in a battle against Eleanor’s daughter and Barton’s protégé, Kate Bishop. Bishop managed to incapacitate Fisk, but the Kingpin survived. Unfortunately, Maya had learned the truth about her father’s death, which prompted her to make an assassination attempt on Fisk, shooting him in the eye, though he also survived this brutal attack.

Wilson Fisk Ambushes Maya Lopez In Oklahoma (2025)

Echo (2024)

After five months, Wilson Fisk tracked Maya Lopez to her hometown of Tamaha, Oklahoma. There, he offered her the keys to his empire in exchange for returning with him to New York City. He sympathized with Maya about the fact that he had been controlling her for her whole life, and that she only wanted to be free, but she refused to make another attempt on his life. Instead, Maya, now Echo, discovered her ancestral power, which she used to bring Kingpin down, making him relive the memory of his father’s abuse, which led to him departing Tamaha without Maya.

Wilson Fisk Thinks About Becoming Mayor (2025)

Echo (2024)

While preparing to leave Oklahoma to return to New York City, Fisk saw a news broadcast regarding the city’s Mayoral race. NY1 news anchors Pat Kiernan and Errol Louis suggested that the city doesn’t need another politician, but would benefit from a “bare-fisted brawler,” and that there was still time for a surprise candidate to present themselves. This sets up a huge future for Wilson Fisk’s Kingpin, perhaps an adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Devil’s Reign, which saw Mayor Fisk outlaw vigilantism in New York. Fisk’s story will continue in Daredevil: Born Again, and probably in several other upcoming street-level projects.