WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for The Amazing Spider-Man #26 from Nick Spencer, Kev Walker, Laura Martin and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
The introduction of Kindred into the Spider-Man Universe has certainly rocked the foundation of Peter Parker's world as he tries to chart a course forward in the wake of Kraven's latest hunt. The bandaged villain was seen in the very first issue of Nick Spencer's run, but it wasn't until The Amazing Spider-Man #24 more light was shed on the character.
Two issues later, Kindred doesn't seem to have brokered a deal with just the Master of Illusions. Instead, it appears the all-powerful Kindred also carved out a "One More Day" scenario with none other than Wilson Fisk aka the Kingpin. Kingpin recently went clean in Daredevil, so it's unclear just where this fits into that continuity, but what's obvious is Kindred has some sort of power over the villain.
In Spidey lore, "One More Day" refers to the deal Pete made with Mephisto during Civil War to revive a dying Aunt May be erasing his marriage with Mary Jane Watson. It's a move fans came to despise, and Marvel has worked to slowly sweep its memory undershift away from its memory, although Mephisto did come back with a similar deal with Miles Morales. But in Pete's world, the less remembered this event is, the better.
Kindred's style of dealmaking does seem to have a lot in common with that of Mephisto. We recently learned there's a secret pact between him and Mysterio, which brought the latter back to life from the fiery pits of Hell after his death during Daredevil's "Guardian Devil" arc. Kindred did so to create chaos in Pete's life. Mysterio even tries to get out the deal in this issue by switching places with his dead psychiatrist, but it's to no avail. Kindred has his soul in the palm of his hands and continues manipulating him to go after Mary Jane.
As for Kingpin, well, we find him hunting Pete's roommate, Boomerang, for stealing a mysterious relic from him. It gets weird, though, when Fisk's soldiers (sent due to his powers as mayor of NYC) meet up with them and, upon seeing Peter, they get scared and scurry off. Pete notices it and is just as confused as Boomerang, who believes the wall-crawler's civilian identity is some sort of good luck charm. But a panel then shows Kingpin kneeling before Kindred, hinting he's in his debt.
Fisk doesn't just enter into anyone's services so to bend the knee of his own accord says a lot. His ego and pride usually won't allow him to be subjugated like this, and Kindred hints it's all part of a business arrangement. The ghoul exerting this kind of control and power could mean he's bringing back Kingpin's lost ones, after all, family means everything to even the nastiest of crime lords, or that some other bargain was struck that's key to Fisk's career. Some fans even speculate Kindred helped Fisk get the votes and support to become mayor.
What we do know thus far is as Kingpin kneels, and the centipede Kindred controls wrapping around him indicates he really is serving the ghoul. It remains to be seen if Kindred has any ties to Mephisto and his exact endgame, but as it stands, Kindred's placing all the pieces on the chessboard -- heroes and villains alike -- in such a way as to guarantee his own victory. He knows Pete's life inside out, and whether it be his inner-circle or the folks who the wall-crawler has battled in the past, Kindred has no boundaries on who he'll trick into becoming his accomplice. Just who else might be working for the hooded monster and their role in Kindred's evil plan is something we're eager to see.
The Amazing Spider-Man #27 goes on sale Aug. 14.