Is Kingpin dead? Hawkeye finale cliffhanger for Wilson Fisk

It’s great to see D’Onofrio back in action as the iconic Wilson Fisk – but what’s next for his revival of the character given the events of the finale?

Look away now if you haven't seen the Hawkeye finale, because we’ll be discussing spoilers below the break.

So, this is your last chance to avoid spoilers.

**Spoiler warning for Hawkeye episode 6**

Is Kingpin dead?

The fate of Kingpin/Wilson Fisk is left ambiguous at the conclusion of the Hawkeye season one finale.

In his final scene of the episode, Kingpin (who escapes police custody after being blown up by trick arrowheads) comes face-to-face with Maya (Alaqua Cox), his protégé and adoptive niece who recently discovered he wasn’t quite as nice an uncle as she thought (he had her father William Lopez murdered years before).

While Fisk tries to talk Maya around, she’s not taking him at face value anymore. Their scene ends with Maya unbuckling her sidearm and pointing the gun at Kingpin, and as the camera pans away we hear a final shot.

But… surely that’s not it, right? After all the hullabaloo of bringing D’Onofrio back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it seems odd to off him again after just one episode – especially when his old nemesis, Charlie Cox’s Daredevil, has also been confirmed to be back in the MCU after Spider-Man: No Way Home.

We’re taking it as a misdirect. As a rule in these sorts of stories, if you don’t see a gunshot hitting its intended target or a body, then that victim hasn’t really died. Somehow, Kingpin must have slithered out of danger again.

And we might already know how he survived...

How could the Kingpin return?

Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez — Will Kingpin return in the series focused on Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox, pictured), titled Echo? Marvel Studios/Disney Plus

In the comics, there’s a similar storyline where Kingpin takes Maya/Echo under his wing, convinces her someone else is to blame for her dad’s death (in that case, Daredevil) when it was him all along. And just like in Hawkeye she figures out the truth and turns on her mentor, shooting him point-blank in the face with a gun.

However, as we’ve seen in the Hawkeye finale Kingpin is a tough cookie. In the comics, he ends up surviving the shot, though suffers eye trauma that renders him blind for a while (in parallel with his nemesis Daredevil).

It seems likely that either the confirmed Echo/Maya TV series or some other Marvel project (possibly a Daredevil revival now Charlie Cox is back) will see this storyline adapted – Kingpin blind but still powerful, trying to get his revenge and control New York once more.

Or, you know, maybe he did just get killed one episode after his introduction, just when Daredevil is back in the MCU. Somehow, the mad comics theories seem more likely…

Where did we last see Kingpin before Hawkeye?

Vincent D'Onofrio as Kingpin in Daredevil season 3 DAVID LEE/NETFLIX

Wilson Fisk was last seen in the finale of Daredevil season 3 on Netflix which turned out to be that Marvel series' final episode.

Despite finally marrying his beloved Vanessa Marianna (Ayelet Zurer) in the episode, Fisk and his wife came under threat from his former assassin Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter (Wilson Bethel).

Fisk himself managed to paralyse Poindexter but was defeated in combat by Daredevil/Matt Murdock who decided to spare the villain's life and hand him over to the authorities for his criminal operations.

Fisk cooperates so as to ensure that Vanessa Fisk is not implicated in the murder of FBI agent Rahul Nadeem (Jay Ali) earlier in the season.

Separated once again from Vanessa, Fisk was led away by the police.

How the Kingpin managed to get out of custody by the time Hawkeye rolled around remains to be seen.

Read more about Hawkeye:

Hawkeye is now streaming on Disney Plus. For more, check out our dedicated Sci-Fi page or our full TV Guide.

This year’s Radio Times Christmas double issue is on sale now, featuring two weeks of TV, film and radio listings, reviews, features and interviews with the stars.