12 Things You Didn't Know About Kingpin
9. He Was Never Meant To Be A Daredevil Villain
Despite debuting in a Spider-Man comic, Kingpin later became Daredevil's nemesis. However, Daredevil already had an arch-villain, a crime lord called Leland Owlsey. Due to his ability to turn his head 180 degrees and his tendency to eat rats, Owlsey is better-known as The Owl.
However, readers didn't find The Owl to be a particularly interesting villain. How does he battle Daredevil? He torments the Man Without Fear.... with owls and recordings of birds hooting. It doesn't exactly strike terror in your heart, does it?
Renowned writer and artist Frank Miller is directly responsible for turning Kingpin into Daredevil's nemesis. He also made the stories grittier and darker, developed Daredevil's backstory, and created the characters Elektra and Stick.
Although Spider-Man and Kingpin have great banter when they duke it out, Fisk just works better as a Daredevil villain.
Why is this? Well, in his civilian identity, Daredevil is better-known as one of the best lawyers in New York, Matt Murdock. Murdock despises corrupt politicians and dirty cops. This makes Kingpin the perfect villain for Daredevil since Fisk's duplicity as a respected businessman encapsulates everything that Murdock detests.