Marvel's Echo Reveals Vincent D'Onofrio's New Kingpin Look (Warning: It's Gnarly)
Just as "Loki" wraps up its reality-bending Season 2, a new Marvel series is on the horizon that brings things back to earth. "Echo" dropped its first trailer, and it's instantly become noteworthy for being the first TV-MA Marvel project to land on Disney+ (and Hulu simultaneously). While much of the focus is on Maya Lopez, a.k.a. Echo (Alaqua Cox), fans are no doubt excited to see Vincent D'Onofrio come back as the villainous Kingpin, who's definitely changed from his previous appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In the season finale of "Hawkeye," Maya shoots Kingpin in the face, leaving his fate up in the air. Of course, any comic book fan knows you can't kill such a well-known antagonist that easily. He survived, and in the "Echo" trailer, he sports an eyepatch, making it clear he survived his encounter with Maya and still needs her for something.
Kingpin's look at the end of the trailer is contrasted with what appears to be flashback sequences of the villain with a younger Maya. In those scenes, Kingpin looks more put together, complete with a white suit. In his final shot with the eyepatch, he's wearing black. It's a clear symbol of his descent as a character, and he should serve as an interesting foil to Maya throughout the new series.
Kingpin with an eyepatch is ripped straight from Marvel Comics
Kingpin surviving the events of "Hawkeye" shouldn't come as a surprise to comic book readers. The climactic moment between Maya and Wilson Fisk on the show is ripped straight from the pages of "Daredevil" #15 from 1998 where Maya shoots Fisk at point-blank range. Naturally, he doesn't die but rather loses sight in both of his eyes. There is artwork where Fisk wears two eyepatches across his face as opposed to the one seen in the trailer. He does eventually regain his vision in the comics, so there's a good chance something similar will happen in "Echo."
Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin has been a fan favorite ever since appearing on Netflix's "Daredevil." It's still a little unclear how much the Netflix Marvel series are canon to the greater MCU, but it's nice to see the actor back in prime form. The show may be called "Echo," but it's clear Kingpin is going to be a major force. And she probably won't kill him successfully across the upcoming six episodes because he's also slated to appear in "Daredevil: Born Again." Charlie Cox's Daredevil can also be seen briefly in the "Echo" trailer, so the two adversaries will inevitably butt heads in one series or another.
Kingpin is most often associated with being a Daredevil or Spider-Man antagonist. But he's branching out in "Echo," and viewers will surely see a new side of him when all episodes drop on Disney+ and Hulu on January 10, 2024.