Throughout season 1 and 2 of Daredevil: Born Again, we’re supposed to see Wilson Fisk as an unstoppable force of nature. He’s the Mayor of New York City with backing from the CIA. He’s taken the NYPD’s most corrupt officers and turned them into his personal militia called the Anti-Vigilante Task Force (AVTF).
With his war against vigilantes in full swing, nobody is safe. While Fisk looks like the most powerful man in New York, season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again is telling a different story. Because the Kingpin, for all his size and fury, isn’t the one holding the real cards.
The CIA Has Been Pulling the Strings
In the season 2 premiere “The Northern Star,” the Attorney General and Lieutenant Governor are planning to investigate Fisk for declaring martial law back in season 1.
Before they can actually restrict Fisk’s power, a representative of the CIA named Mr. Charles, played by Matthew Lillard, arrives from Washington DC with a phone call from CIA Director Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. We never hear what Valentina says, but it’s clear that any action the New York State government tries to take in stopping Fisk will be derailed at a federal level. In exchange for Valentina’s protection, Mr. Charles has Fisk keep the Red Hook freeport open so the U.S. government could move military weapons through it and ship them overseas.
Lillard describes Mr. Charles as someone who “bends the ear of very powerful people around the world.” He’s also genuinely unimpressed with Fisk. Charles is a high-ranking power broker who can make nations rise and fall. He isn’t interested in playing games with a violent manchild who needs to feel like he’s in control of everything. Fisk is simply a tool in a city that could potentially be useful to Charles.
At least he was until the events of episode 6 “Requiem.” Fisk double crosses Charles by stealing the weapons from the Red Hook warehouse and giving them to the AVTF. This blows up in Fisk’s face when Daredevil and Jessica Jones break into where the weapons are stored and destroy them. Mr. Charles responds to the betrayal by pressuring the Governor of New York, McCaffrey to withdraw her support for Fisk.
Fear Doesn’t Always Equal Power
Fisk’s greatest strength is also his greatest weakness as a politician. He navigates the world speaking two languages: fear and domination. He keeps people in line with violence. If you’re not powerful or skilled enough to hold your own in one-to-one combat with Fisk, you sit down and shut up. And if that doesn’t work, Fisk manipulates his targets, breaking them down until they’re putty in his hands.
This worked in the criminal underground of Hell’s Kitchen, but politics is different. Real power comes from the relationships you build with your allies and adversaries. Favors are traded and debts are owed. It’s not uncommon to have alliances that benefit multiple people at once. Having the raw strength to crush someone’s head in with your bare hands doesn’t get you very far in this world.
Fisk never learned this. He confused compliance with control. Everyone around him was cooperating for their own reasons. And he mistook that for loyalty.
The moment Fisk becomes an inconvenience, those allegiances are going to dissolve. And we’re starting to see that now that Wilson’s wife Vanessa is dead.
The Woman Who Kept Fisk Human
In both the original Netflix series Marvel’s Daredevil and Daredevil: Born Again, Vanessa Fisk wasn’t just a love interest. When Fisk was with her, he could be tender, loving even. He turned into someone who strived to be less violent, someone who cared about things other than power. Vanessa gave Fisk a reason to be more than what his worst instincts made him.
In a private meeting between the two women, Governor McCaffrey made it clear to Vanessa that she would only support Fisk because she trusted that Vanessa would keep him manageable. Vanessa was the one who legitimized Fisk as a politician. Now that Vanessa is dead, what little support Fisk had from the New York State government is gone.
Could Sheila Rivera Become Fisk’s Replacement?
In “Requiem,” Governor McCaffrey tells Fisk’s campaign director turned political advisor, Sheila Rivera, that she can’t support Fisk without Vanessa around to hold him back. She is right. Within minutes of learning of his wife’s death, Fisk crushes the spine of the surgeon who operated on Vanessa for simply touching his shoulder. The monster Fisk has been hiding is free and out for blood.
McCaffrey wants Sheila to replace Fisk as mayor. At the same time, Fisk’s team is trying to keep some form of protection in place. His fixer Buck Cashman tries to convince the ambitious Lieutenant Governor Juan Gomez to replace McCaffrey as governor.
Both parties are fighting to maintain a sense of control following Vanessa’s death, but there are some hints that Sheila does turn against Fisk. In the trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, there’s a brief shot of Sheila giving Spider-Man the key to New York City. That moment would be impossible under the Fisk administration with his anti-vigilante campaign.
On top of that, fans have been taking pictures of the cast filming season 3 of Daredevil: Born Again in New York City. Some of those photos show Fisk standing in front of campaign posters for Sheila.
It’s looking like the real threat to Fisk’s power isn’t Daredevil, but someone from his own administration.
There’s something almost sad about Wilson Fisk. He grew up with nothing. He built his empire through sheer will and violence. He gained control of the city he loved. And now, at what should be his peak, Fisk has less power than when he was in jail during the original Daredevil series. All he had was fear and he’s learning the hard way that fear will only get you so far in politics.
