Echo Episode 1 Confirms Whether Kingpin Is Dead
Contains spoilers for "Echo" Season 1
After terrorizing Daredevil (Charlie Cox) as one of the great villains of the Defenders Saga, Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, made his entrance into the Marvel Cinematic Universe proper on "Hawkeye," although his welcome presence seemingly comes to an abrupt end in a "Hawkeye" Episode 6 moment that had MCU fans divided: When Fisk's protégé, Maya Lopez, aka Echo (Alaqua Cox), finds out that he's behind her father's death, she confronts the injured Kingpin in an alleyway and shoots him.
However, few characters stay dead in comic books, and the same seems to apply to their MCU counterparts, with "Echo" making clear that the pair still has a chapter or two left in their story — at the very end of Episode 1, viewers see Kingpin lying on a bed. A medical drip and a heavy bandage over his eye drive home the fact that he's sustained a nasty injury, but he's breathing heavily, still very much alive. Kingpin ultimately survives his ordeal with little more than a grisly-looking, star-shaped scar near his otherwise undamaged left eye.
How does Kingpin survive a point-blank bullet in the eye?
Wilson Fisk's continued presence in the MCU after the events of "Hawkeye" hasn't exactly been a secret, with news reports and promotional material, including the trailer for "Echo," foreshadowing the crime lord's return. Even so, the way Maya takes him out does seem like it'd be enough to kill anyone whose power set doesn't include bulletproof corneas.
Amazingly enough, though, Kingpin doesn't have any superpowers. Despite the borderline superhuman way he tears car doors off their hinges and throws Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) across the room during their climactic toy store battle, he's simply a big, strong, ruthless guy with indomitable will. This is in line with his comic book incarnation, who's simply as strong as a non-powered human can be.
Speaking of which, Kingpin's apparent death at Maya's hands is a fairly faithful adaptation of Echo's very first comic book arc, in which she also shoots the duplicitous Fisk in the face. While both versions of the character have the constitution and the iron will to survive the injury, the comic book Kingpin is completely (but temporarily) blinded, whereas the "Echo" trailer reveals that the MCU Kingpin retains his sight in at least one eye.
Interestingly, science gives him decent odds of surviving an injury like this. According to a 2016 study by Dr. Kevin Sheth of the Yale School of Medicine, gunshot wounds to the head have a survival rate of 42%, and patients with access to high-level care have an especially good chance of making it. Considering Fisk's vast resources, he presumably has the best available health care at his beck and call, which might go a long way toward explaining his survival.
What's next for Maya and Kingpin?
The events of "Hawkeye" establish a long and complex history between Echo and Kingpin, and considering their last interaction before the events of "Echo," their next meeting is unlikely to be a friendly one. However, viewers can rest assured that the show intends to explore the pair's relationship quite thoroughly, with the trailer featuring both a flashback scene in which Fisk brutally beats up an ice cream vendor who disrespects a young Maya with a voice-over that shows that he genuinely cares for her and a scene in which Maya is once again pointing a gun at him.
What's more, a discussion between Maya and Henry (Chaske Spencer) in "Echo" Episode 1 reveals her mission to target a train owned by Fisk Shipping and ultimately take Kingpin's former place as the head of the underworld, and the highlight reel at the end shows that the two are on an unavoidable collision course. Whether Fisk bears ill will toward Maya after the shooting or not, it's unlikely that he'll just sit back and allow her to take over his empire.