The finale of Daredevil: Born Again has thrust Wilson Fisk, known as the Kingpin of Crime, into the spotlight with his ambitious plans for New York City and beyond. Vincent D’Onofrio makes his Fisk a charismatic, frightening presence, the worst kind of villain, in the Marvel/Netflix Daredevil series. Now that he’s mayor, Fisk has really kicked his villainy into high gear. This change allowed him to implement his plans while martial law is in effect. At every step, he exposes his vicious character and unquenchable thirst for domination.
Fisk’s ascent to the mayoralty was not out of civic duty, but to serve his own budding criminal enterprise. He intends to seize the reins of the city’s highly splintered political system. Of course, his true desire is to rub out the vigilantes and expand his gangland empire. His choices in the season finale were especially bold. Critics called these images “dangerous,” “excessive,” and “gruesome,” illustrating the depth of Negan’s villainy.
As mayor, Fisk has been willing to go to extreme lengths to centralize his power. He’s legendary for rebooting or otherwise utterly destroying his foes. A classic case in point is the terrifying killing of Commissioner Gallo, that he executed in front of his very own Anti-Vigilante Task Force. This act should send a concrete, tangible, and clear message to anybody who might consider crossing him. It bolsters his case for a federal enforcement unit as brutal and violent as he himself wishes to be.
“He’s definitely in power all by himself. He still has to keep his position as mayor somehow. The killing of Commissioner Gallo is done in front of his task force, so he wants them to be as nasty as he is. Nobody has seen that killing, and it will, I’m sure, eventually be covered up.” – Vincent D’Onofrio
Fisk’s ambitions go further than just New York City. His fictional character’s hopes of someday being elected U.S. President. This ambition dovetails beautifully with his sweeping vision for transmission. D’Onofrio acknowledges the potential for this storyline, he remains skeptical about Fisk’s inclination towards overt political roles.
“I don’t think so. I don’t really think of him as a political person; I think of him as a corrupt person. I guess that could happen. I doubt seriously that he’ll take that path,” – Vincent D’Onofrio
Even with all the dark themes at work, D’Onofrio insists that the show’s story soon found a way to separate itself from real-life political machinations. He claims that any similarities that can be found are purely accidental and not intentional recreations or responses to modern events.
“I guess you’re saying that because of what’s going on in real life, and we’re not attaching the show to anything that’s going on in real life. So I don’t think that path is going to be taken.” – Vincent D’Onofrio
In the season finale, Fisk does something quite dramatic that sets off this bigger war. This conflict invites in vigilantes like Frank Castle, a.k.a. Their confrontation, when it eventually comes, threatens to raise the dramatic stakes even higher in the upcoming seasons of this deliciously juicy series.
As the Kingpin of Crime continues to manipulate the city from his mayoral office, audiences are left wondering how far his ruthlessness will take him. His ability to “complete as many crimes as he can and get rid of the vigilantes” under martial law is a testament to his cunning nature.
“We figured it out: We did do something that feels different than what people have seen before when it comes to stuff like that.” – Vincent D’Onofrio