Hawkeye dropped a major character return in its third episode today. No, not the one we were expecting⏤i.e. Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova⏤but a fan favorite not seen since Netflix cancelled Daredevil in 2018. That’s right, although it wasn’t outright confirmed, the internet is 100% convinced that Vincent D’Onofrio just made his grand comeback as Kingpin in the latest installment of the Disney Plus series.
Episode 3, “Echoes,” explored the origins of Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), second-in-command of the Tracksuit Mafia, ahead of her very own Echo spinoff series. The most shocking moment came when a young Maya was greeted by her “uncle.” All we saw was a hefty-looking guy in a dark suit, but the deep chuckle heard as he pinched her cheek was unmistakably D’Onofrio. This seems to promise that Wilson Fisk is the secret head of the Mafia.
With the secret pretty much out, then, this fan-made Hawkeye character poster highlights Fisk’s return to the MCU. As created by Reddit user u/Iamnotthewerewolf on the r/MarvelStudios subreddit, you could easily mistake this for something the official Marvel channels might’ve released in the wake of episode 3’s revelations.
Rumors have been swirling for weeks now that Fisk would feature in Hawkeye, thanks to D’Onofrio teasing his return on social media and also because of Echo’s ties to the villain in the comics. In the source material, Maya is Kingpin’s adoptive daughter, but it seems that she’s been reimagined as his niece for the screen. It looks like they have a loving bond, too, which should be an interesting new angle to explore with Matt Murdock’s nemesis.
Look out for more from Kingpin when Hawkeye drops its fourth episode next Wednesday on Disney Plus.
