The MCU continues to surprise fans with callback after callback after callback in Phase 4. Thus far the MCU has regifted us Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Charlie Cox, Willem Defoe, Jamie Foxx, Alfred Molina and many more and they’re just getting started with regard to the concept of the Multiverse. One call back that made his appearance toward the end of the Hawkeye series on Disney+ was Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin character from the Daredevil show on Netflix. But where does the MCU go with some of these callbacks after the end of Hawkeye and Spider-Man: No Way Home? Let’s explore for BSO.
WARNING: SPOILERS TO FOLLOW — If you haven’t seen Hawkeye or Spider-Man: No Way Home, be sure to avoid reading any further.
The end of Hawkeye saw Florence Pugh’s character Yelena Belova discover that she’d been intentionally lied to and fed false information on the fate of her sister at the hands of Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye. Say what you will about their final fight and ultimately final conversation on the matter for the purposes of the show, they’ve clearly hinted that Yelena Belova is going to do her best to follow in the heroic footsteps of her sister, possibly even partnering with the Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. in the future. She opted against killing Hawkeye and instead explored her frustration that Hawkeye got so much more time with her than Belova did. In fact, Natasha Romanov trusted Clint so much that she shared their super secret whistle from the Red Room program, repurposed as a bonding mechanism for the sisters.
Whatever Belova does, it’s clear that Pugh is a fan favorite in just about everything she’s in and that should translate well for her success as the future of the Black Widow character. Many folks, myself included, are 1,000% psyched to see Pugh take up the mantle of the Black/White Widow and team up with other heroes in future films. Marvel head Kevin Feige will have little to no trouble convincing fans to embrace the character as they continue to build more and more around her character, seeding her for future stories and adventures. It’s definitely hinting at major involvement for Pugh as the MCU plods forward.
Now let’s talk about everyone’s favorite street level villain from New York, Wilson Fisk AKA Kingpin. The character has been played by D’Onofrio since landing the role prior to the filming of the first season of Daredevil. Over the course of three seasons, D’Onofrio’s Fisk became the benchmark for what the character could be if taken seriously and given tons of care. This is not to besmirch the incredible Michael Clarke Duncan, who absolutely slayed it as Wilson Fisk in the 2003 Daredevil film starring Ben Affleck. Duncan definitely took the role seriously and somehow managed to look like Kingpin for an entire nation, despite being one of the first instances of Hollywood race-bending a major character from a comicbook property.
The end of Hawkeye saw Fisk’s character standing face-to-face in an alley with Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez. We never actually see the deed being done, but as the camara pulls out to feature the city we hear a gunshot. In the comics, Fisk is shot in the head multiple times but manages to survive, even though he’s blinded by the incident. Everything is taken from David Mack, Joe Quesada, and Jimmy Palmiotti’s run of Daredevil in the plotline called “Parts of a Hole.” The story played out pretty similar to what we saw in Hawkeye, even if they combined the story with the Matt Fraction and David Aja run of Hawkeye. Ultimately Fisk survives the attempted murder and since D’Onofrio’s version of Fisk is as popular as he is and Disney being rumored to be re-launching a reboot of Daredevil, this is likely not the last time we’ve seen Wilson Fisk or Vincent D’Onofrio. Perhaps they’re going to be running a plot involving Kingpin being blind and trying to take down his arch rival Daredevil, who is also blind. It would definitely be in line with Disney’s plans to bring in more actors with visual and hearing impairments.
All in all, you’re not likely to have seen the last of either Belova or Fisk. Both the characters and the actors portraying them are immensely popular. It wouldn’t be in Disney’s best interest to get rid of these villains, especially when they provide them a serviceable and notable name that can cause trouble without being an Avengers-level threat, but also possessing the ability to quickly become an Avengers-level threat if partnered with the right people or he happens to come across the right tech. D.Onofrio and Pugh are also high-level actors in their own right. And while D’Onofrio is decidedly older, he’s a student of the craft and pairs well with most on-screen heroes.