Warning: this article contains spoilers for the final episode of Marvel's Echo!
Marvel may have branded Echo as its first “Marvel Spotlight” project, but that doesn’t mean the series doesn’t have connections to the larger MCU. With its heavy emphasis on the twisted relationship between Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, the series is the closest thing we’ve gotten so far to a continuation of Netflix’s Daredevil series.
Thankfully, Echo leaves the door wide open on the Kingpin front, suggesting this beloved villain has a big part to play in the future of the MCU. In fact, he may just be the major, overarching villain the MCU needs as it struggles to chart a path forward. Daredevil: Born Again is just one piece of that puzzle. Here’s why Fisk can do so much more for the MCU.
The Redemption of Wilson Fisk
Echo’s finale leaves Fisk in a very intriguing and unexpected place. Rather than culminating in a knock-down, drag-out brawl between Maya and her uncle, a la the Daredevil series, their confrontation is cut short when Maya uses her healing powers on Fisk. Just as her mother’s spirit did for her, Maya uses her supernatural abilities to free Fisk from the pent-up rage and hatred that dominate his life. Fisk is so taken aback he can do nothing but flee the scene.
What exactly does this mean for Fisk’s ongoing character arc in the MCU? Has he suddenly been transformed into a hero?
His psychological transformation probably isn’t quite so straightforward. In the finale’s mid-credits scene, we see a still-shaken Fisk trying to assert control over his criminal empire, which is facing the loss of both manpower and resources following Maya’s attacks. He’s clearly not ready to give up being Kingpin. The question is more whether he still has his old resolve. Can he hold his empire together if he’s not the same vengeful force of nature he was before?
That scene suggests Fisk may be seeking a more legitimate form of power now. He’s distracted by a news broadcast covering the void in New York City’s mayoral race. The newscasters argue that New Yorkers crave a “brawler,” someone who understands the plight of the common man and will fight tooth and nail to achieve change. He clearly believes himself to be the fighter his city needs. And who knows? With Maya draining away his pain and torment, maybe there’s a chance Wilson Fisk could indeed become the savior of his city.
It’s safe to say this will all be a major focus in Daredevil: Born Again. Echo’s mid-credits scene seemingly confirms previous rumors that the upcoming Daredevil series will deal with the fallout of Fisk being elected mayor of New York City. That’s a plot point that already played out in Marvel’s Daredevil comics in recent years. And as we’re seeing in the MCU, the comics didn’t simply paint Fisk as a ruthless villain using his political position to consolidate power. Fisk may have played an antagonistic role in stories like Devil’s Reign, but he’s also shown using his position to try and affect real change, only to clash with the city’s secret power players along the way.
Our hope is that Born Again will focus on the newly enlightened Fisk’s quest to do right by his city as much as it does Daredevil’s crusade to bring down his greatest nemesis. Matt Murdock will no doubt assume the worst from Mayor Fisk. But should he? Is Fisk capable of finding some measure of redemption thanks to Maya’s gift, or is he doomed to fall back into his old ways? Maya herself walks a better path now, but even her tragic background is small potatoes compared to the lifetime of misery endured by Fisk. He may find it harder to leave the past behind him.
Whether Fisk is ultimately redeemed or reverts to his villainous ways, the stage is set for a fascinating character arc. If D’Onofrio’s Fisk wasn’t already one of the best and most nuanced villains in the MCU, it’s only because Netflix’s Daredevil never really seemed to be a part of the MCU in the first place. Now that we have confirmation it is, Fisk is emerging as the one true rival to Tom Hiddleston’s Loki as the greatest MCU villain. Once again, the question is whether this formerly power-mad tyrant can become something more when given the opportunity. Whichever way the cards fall, Fisk’s journey promises to be one of the most compelling MCU storylines in the years to come.
The MCU’s Dark Reign
Dark Reign is a storyline that played out across Marvel’s comic book line in 2009 and 2010. After Norman Osborn gains widespread public support for his role in helping repel a Skrull invasion, he replaces Tony Stark as the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. Osborn quickly transforms S.H.I.E.L.D. into the more militaristic H.A.M.M.E.R. and forms his own squad of government-sanctioned Dark Avengers. Suddenly, all of Marvel’s heroes become pariahs and are forced to watch as their names and images are co-opted by the enemy.
The MCU is seemingly dipping its toes into those waters in Phase 5, particularly with Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra De Fontaine playing a recurring role. This sinister government agent is building her own team of Thunderbolts, presumably in opposition to Anthony Mackie’s Captain America and the Avengers. We’ve also seen the MCU tackle its own version of Secret Invasion, leading to a new climate of fear and anti-alien paranoia on Earth. The MCU is basically waiting for a charismatic leader to come along and exploit that climate for their personal gain.
We may never see a version of Dark Reign in the MCU centered around Norman Osborn. 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home brought back Willem Dafoe’s Osborn, but there’s no indication the MCU has its own version of the character, or that the terms of Marvel and Sony’s arrangement allows for more Osborn in the MCU.
Instead, Fisk may be the villain best positioned to anchor a Dark Reign adaptation. Just as Osborn became the Marvel Universe’s top cop, Fisk is seemingly about to become leader of one of the biggest cities in the world. Daredevil’s worst nightmare is about to come true. Evil has risen to the very top, and there’s not much the heroes of the MCU can do to stop it.
This could also be a chance for the MCU to adapt 2021’s Devil’s Reign. In that crossover, Mayor Fisk outlaws the city’s vigilantes and spearheads a team of Thunderbolts to enforce his will. In this way, Fisk (possibly in league with Valentina Allegra De Fontaine) could become a threat to a great many MCU heroes, not just Daredevil. Everyone from Tom Holland’s Spider-Man to Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel would suddenly be in the crosshairs of Mayor Fisk. This would be a perfect opportunity to make Kingpin the villain of Spider-Man 4, or even an Avengers-style team-up movie focused on the MCU’s street-level characters.
And just as it was for Osborn in the Dark Reign comics, the central question of this storyline would be how long Fisk can maintain power and respectability before his darker side rears its head. Throughout Dark Reign, Osborn fights a losing battle to maintain his sanity and prevent his Green Goblin persona from taking control. Similarly, Fisk has been given a second chance to do good in the world thanks to Maya. But how long can he serve as mayor before the domineering psychopath surges back to the surface? Can he truly put his bloody past behind him for good? Will Daredevil let him?
Moving Away From the Multiverse
For a character who’s played such a substantial role in five seasons of Marvel TV so far, it’s exciting to see that Wilson Fisk still has such a bright future ahead of him. He’s now in a position to take on a bigger and more influential role in the MCU. If Marvel Studios plays its cards right, Kingpin could supplant Kang as the driving force behind the next several years’ worth of content.
At this point, Marvel would do well to pivot away from Kang to a character like Fisk. Kang may be the prime architect of the Multiverse Saga, but he hasn’t necessarily struck a chord with Marvel fans over the past several years. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania failed to establish Kang as the next great threat to the Avengers. Sure, we heard plenty about how Kang has defeated Earth’s Mightiest Heroes across time and space, but all we actually see is Kang brought down by Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang and a handful of rebel freedom fighters.
The Loki series has been somewhat more successful in positioning Kang as an existential threat, but it also closes the door on its Kang storyline by the end of Season 2. He Who Remains has been dealt with, and Loki sits atop his throne at the nexus of the multiverse. As strong as that finale episode is, Loki doesn’t do much to build anticipation for the Council of Kangs as the central villains of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Marvel hasn’t done enough to make viewers care about Kang as an antagonist. That’s not even getting into the drama surrounding Majors’ legal battle and Marvel’s decision to part ways with the actor. Marvel is forced to either recast Kang or find another villain around which they can wrap up the Multiverse Saga. It’s still an open question as to which path they’ll take.
Kingpin may not be cut out to rule the multiverse, but he does represent a golden opportunity for Marvel. This is a character audiences do care deeply about. D’Onofrio has earned rave reviews for his performance since the first season of Daredevil, and Marvel has done a great job of cultivating that hero/villain rivalry and ensuring both characters have ample depth and complexity. Marvel fans understand Kingpin. They’re fascinated by him, even (especially?) in his darkest moments. He’s a huge draw in a series like Echo that might otherwise be a tough sell for casual audiences. He would easily draw in viewers as the villain of Spider-Man 4 or a Captain America: Civil War-style team-up movie. Like Loki or Thanos, Kingpin has major villain cache that Marvel should be tapping into as much as possible.
Sooner or later, Marvel will have to deal with the Kang situation and find some way of bringing the troubled Multiverse Saga to a close. But for now, maybe it’s enough to focus on smaller, more intimate stories and a villain who doesn’t dream of ruling all of existence. For Wilson Fisk, one city will do. As for what he plans to do with that city, that’s the MCU story we want to see. The multiverse can wait.
For more on Marvel's Echo, check out IGN's Echo ending explained breakdown and find out whether Maya Lopez could wind up joining the X-Men.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
