Not so long ago, a bright and insightful writer at the venerable pop culture site Den of Geek noted that the Kingpin of Crime Wilson Fisk could fill a gaping hole in the MCU. At the end of the fifth and final episode of Echo, that prediction looks even more sound.
Echo reaches a climax, in which Maya Lopez, aka Echo, gains confusing superpowers (a nod to her comic book counterpart, the current host of the Phoenix Force?) and passes them on to her sister and grandmother to help them fight Fisk and his men. But instead of subduing Fisk or shooting him in the face again, as she did at the end of Hawkeye, Maya plays a kind of brain-merger with her follower uncle.
This resolution forces him to relive the memories of his formative years, listening to his father beat his mother. As Vincent D’Onofrio pushes his giant baby to play Fisk to the extreme, Maya pops into his memory. She urges him to let go of his anger and suffering.
“What did you do?” Fisk bellows at the end of the view, which the audience shares. Unfortunately, the episode doesn’t provide any answers. But it indicates something else in its final moments, just before the credits.
On a plane back to New York, Fisk clicks on the TV to hear two news analysts talk about the city’s ongoing mayoral race. In a stroke of luck, rather than talking raccoons and reality-changing area gloves, Fisk reactivates the sound of television just as analysts reveal that the electorate needs a foreigner to fight for a candidate. The camera lands on Fisk’s face as he formulates a new shot.
Comic book readers know exactly where this is going. In 2018’s Daredevil #595, written by Charles Soule, drawn by Stefano Landini, colored by Matt Milla, and written by Clayton Cowles, Fisk wins the election in New York City. Fisk’s turn toward legitimacy creates a challenge for Daredevil, who can’t find a way to defeat his old enemy, even under his secret identity as lawyer Matt Murdock. Even worse, the script for Devil’s Reign, written by Chip Zdarsky, drawn by Marco Checchetto, colored by Marcio Menyz, and written through Cowles: Fisk bans all superheroes in New York City, the center of superhero activity in the Marvel Universe.
At this point, it’s too early to say precisely how the MCU will adapt the stories of Mayor Fisk and Devil’s Reign. While New York City has played a vital role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it hasn’t been the medium like its comedian. counterpart to the e-book. In addition, high-stakes movies like Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame have struggled to make good use of street heroes like Spider-Man and Hawkeye.
However, with Fisk at the helm, the MCU can get the big stories it prefers while also better integrating characters who can’t create new realities with a snap of the fingers. Certainly, the upcoming TV series Daredevil: Born Again will be about Fisk’s new role in the city. But as mayor, Fisk gives Marvel a chance to bring in more street heroes. Jon Bernthal will reprise his role as Punisher Frank Castle in Born Again, but the Kingpin would also pose a risk to Spider-Man (Fisk’s first foe in the comics, after all), Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Moon Knight.
By elevating Fisk to his rightful position, Marvel can give those characters what they deserve.