WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Episode 5 of Marvel Studios' Hawkeye, now streaming on Disney+.
The fifth episode of Hawkeye features the long-awaited Marvel Cinematic Universe proper debut of Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk/Kingpin.
Midway through the episode, there’s an emotional exchange between Kate Bishop and Yelena Belova in which the latter mentions being hired to kill Clint Barton. As the episode draws to a close, Yelena texts Kate and says she was hired by Kate’s own mother, Eleanor Bishop. Moreover, she sends Kate a photo of her mom standing next to D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk. When Kate asks Clint who he is, Clint says it’s the person he’s been worried about this whole time: Kingpin.
D'Onofrio debuted as Wilson Fisk in Season 1 of Netflix's Daredevil and was one of the highlights of the series across its three seasons. However, in 2018, Daredevil (and eventually all of Marvel's Netflix shows) was canceled, with reports suggesting the characters would be off-limits to Marvel Studios for the next two years since they were part of the now-defunct Marvel Television.
That two-year window ended in late 2020, and in June 2021, it was rumored that D'Onofrio would appear in Hawkeye to put an MCU spin on the character's connection to Maya Lopez/Echo in the comics, where he's depicted as her adoptive father. "I do take it as a compliment. I so badly want to play that character again," D'Onofrio said shortly after the rumors began to swirl. "I love that character. I just have to wait for Marvel to ask me. I think it's very clear that I would, and the fans know that I would jump at the chance to play again. I just need to be asked."
D'Onofrio fanned the flames on numerous occasions beyond this by liking tweets pertaining to Fisk's return and even retweeting a Hawkeye promo while noting how much he loved Disney+'s Marvel shows. Executive producer Trinh Tran also seemingly let it slip that Kingpin was coming to Hawkeye during an interview.
Episode 3 of Hawkeye offered fans their biggest clue pertaining to Kingpin's arrival when a flashback introduced a young Echo's mysterious uncle, who could only be seen from the waist down. Nevertheless, the sharp suit, large frame and decidedly D'Onofrio-esque chuckle he let out had fans all but convinced Fisk was coming. Days later, it was also reported that the fifth episode of Hawkeye had the potential to break the Internet, thus putting an unofficial date stamp on the big moment.
The sixth and final episode of Hawkeye premieres Dec. 23 on Disney+.
Source: Disney+