The following article contains spoilers for episode 5 of Hawkeye.
The latest episode of Hawkeye delivered the missing piece of the puzzle that fans had been waiting for since the series premiered. The final moments in the episode revealed the notorious leader behind the Tracksuit Mafia and it was none other than Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin. The character has officially been introduced as a member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Vincent D'Onofrio has returned to reprise his role, which he previously portrayed in Netflix’s Daredevil.
Towards the end of the latest episode of Hawkeye, Fisk is seen talking to Eleanor Bishop in an image that Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop receives. It is revealed that he is the real threat that Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton has been worried about all along, and Eleanor is a pawn in his grand plan. While fans weren’t truly surprised by the big reveal, they were relieved to see one of their theories coming to fruition.
Ever since the Disney Plus series began streaming, fans had been waiting for Fisk to appear. Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez, aka Echo, was introduced in the second episode of Hawkeye, and fans immediately made the connection and started theorizing about Kingpin being a part of the show. In the comics, he is Lopez’s paternal uncle and adopts her after killing her biological father.
With the obvious connection from the comics, fans were convinced that Fisk would soon arrive to wreak havoc in Barton’s world. Social media was flooded with speculation of the perfect time to bring him into the picture. Fans were convinced that it would happen halfway through the season but were instead offered Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova. While her arrival is an important one as well, Yelena has already been a part of the MCU. Kingpin, on the other hand, was last seen in Daredevil, which is not MCU canon.
Soon, Hawkeye leaks related to Kingpin started showing up online and such was the pressure of the fan theories that during an interview, executive producer Trinh Tran almost gave away the information that Fisk would be introduced in the fifth episode. When asked by the reporter about Lopez’s involvement in the series, Tran told him that they “need to speak after you've seen the fi… the rest of the episodes.” Keen-eyed Marvel fans obviously latched onto her words and were prepared for Fisk’s arrival in the latest episode of Hawkeye.
Kingpin’s reveal in the final moments of Hawkeye’s fifth episode is a confirmation that characters that have previously appeared in isolated Marvel projects are being reintegrated into the MCU. Several Marvel movies and television series have been produced in the past that are not part of the MCU. Many of those characters have been appreciated by audiences, but unfortunately do not appear in any of the more popular MCU projects, and are forgotten once the project ends.
When Netflix’s Daredevil was canceled in 2018, fans asked for years for Charlie Cox to be brought back as the MCU’s Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Despite being an isolated series, Daredevil had several references to the MCU and its heroes. Even though fans were aware that Matt Murdock was not officially a part of the MCU, he joined the list of favorite Marvel characters and viewers were not pleased to watch his story being left incomplete.
However, Marvel boss Kevin Feige was clearly listening to the fan requests, and recently confirmed that if and when Daredevil is brought into the MCU’s fold, Cox will be the actor portraying the character. The news was celebrated by fans of the Daredevil series, and Cox even became a trending topic on Twitter. This goes to show the demand for some of the characters from the non-canonical MCU projects.
Kingpin was another fan-favorite character, and Marvel fans have been wanting to see more of the villain ever since his last appearance on Daredevil. In the comics, Fisk is known to have multiple contacts in the underworld, and Hawkeye all but confirms that he is in charge of the mysterious Sloan Ltd. that Bishop finds. Little does she know that her own mother is also involved, but that’s a topic for another episode.
Regardless, Fisk’s introduction in Hawkeye's latest episode has been welcomed with open arms, and fans are now ready to see more characters being brought back into the fold. Some of the other popular non-MCU characters that fans have been asking to see brought back include Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, The Punisher, and the Inhumans.
With Kingpin now an official part of the MCU, it only means that the universe can continue to expand and even create new projects while still having a sense of familiarity. Even though Kingpin is technically a new character in the MCU, fans are already familiar with his antics, even if they haven’t read the comics. Cox’s Murdock has already gone up against him, and now fans are wondering if he will be following soon. There are already several fan theories about Murdock appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home and they are definitely ready for his return. Hawkeye has already delivered on the much-awaited re-introduction of Fisk. It remains to be seen when Daredevil will follow.
Hawkeye is streaming on Disney Plus.