Wilson Fisk is usually the Kingpin of Crime in Marvel's New York and stands as one of the most dangerous enemies Daredevil or Spider-Man has ever encountered. But beneath all the cold-blooded murder and criminal conspiracy, Fisk and his family have gone through a series of heartbreaking challenges and tragedies.

While Matt Murdock's life has been defined by tragedy, Fisk's life has been equally -- if not more -- shaped by the tragedies that he and his family have been forced to contend with over the years.

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WILSON FISK

Wilson Fisk was born in New York City to a poor family, the son of a drug addict. Due to his large size, Fisk spent his childhood being targeted by bullies until he began training himself and becoming unbelievably strong. But rather than use his newfound strength for positive change, he was able to strong-arm his former tormentors into becoming his first henchmen and began a life of crime that makes him incredibly successful but left him in constant peril.

Wilson was eventually recruited by Don Rigoletto, who was also known as the Boss of Bosses, the most powerful crime-lord in New York. Fisk served as his bodyguard for a time before betraying him and murdering him with his bare hands. With this, Fisk took over as the Kingpin, rising up beyond his former place in society by the time he debuted in Stan Lee and John Romita's The Amazing Spider-Man #50. Despite multiple attempts to give up his life of crime and his current stint as the Mayor of New York City, Kingpin has never been able to free himself or his family from his world of violence, which gives the character a deep sense of tragedy in his core.

VANESSA FISK

Vanessa Fisk, The Kingpin

The only thing that tied Kingpin to the real world was Vanessa, his wife who debuted in Stan Lee and John Romita's The Amazing Spider-Man #70. After she discovered Fisk's business, she hated her husband's criminal life but put up with it and eventually even had a son with him, Richard. When Kingpin was almost killed in his line of work, Vanessa forced him to retire from crime. However, Fisk's former lieutenants were furious at this and kidnapped Vanessa. She was presumed dead after being caught in an explosion but was discovered by Daredevil in a catatonic state.

Vanessa spent years at a sanitarium trying to regain her sanity. She eventually recovered and returned to her husband, but was forced to kill own son after he was revealed to have been working against his father once again. Vanessa lost the will to live and suffered severe organ failure, faking her demise and trying to set in motion one final revenge against Kingpin and Daredevil before finally dying. To make matters even worse, the demonic Kindred is able to force Kingpin's service due to having taken possession of Vanessa's soul.

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RICHARD FISK

The Rose Richard Fisk

After he was introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #83, Richard Fisk grew up thinking that his father was a respected businessman. But while attending college, he learned the truth about Fisk's criminal empire. After faking his death in a skiing accident that Fisk came to believe was suicide, Richard went to work in an attempt to bring down Kingpin's criminal empire as a means to "atone" for the sins of his father. He first took on the identity of the Schemer, the shock of which briefly put his father in a coma.

Richard was able to restore his father to good health thanks to the help of Hydra, and the pair eventually worked with Captain America and Falcon to fight Hydra. Richard would later try to stop his father's empire another time, this time going by the name Rose. He eventually became a killer himself, before entering the Witness Protection Program and trying to leave his family behind. He tried one more time to bring down his father by hiring Silke to attack Fisk. The attack seriously injured Fisk but failed to kill him. This was considered a step too far by Vanessa, who shot her son dead for this final betrayal.

ECHO

Echo

Wilson Fisk also raised another young person over the years, although he was not the actual father for Maya Lopez. The daughter of a man that Fisk personally killed, the man's dying wish was that Kingpin raise his daughter well. Fisk honored this idea and made sure that the young Maya got the greatest education money could buy. Maya ended up being used by Fisk though, who manipulated her into spying Matt Murdock for her.

What Fisk didn't expect was for Maya to fall in love with Matt, which is the only reason why she spares him when she fought him as Echo after she debuted in David Mack and Joe Quesada's Daredevil #8. Daredevil revealed the truth about Fisk to her, leading an enraged Maya to shoot her adopted father in the face, which blinded him for a time. Even after this, Fisk tells her that he still loves her as any father would love a daughter. Despite her brief death, Echo is the only member of the Fisk family to be leading a good and happy life by fulling breaking away from the world of crime, where she helps protect lives as the superhero Ronin and as Echo.

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