Early life and crime boss As a boy, Wilson Grant Fisk and his mother were
emotionally and
physically abused by his father,
Bill, until Fisk killed him with a hammer. His mother,
Marlene Vistain, helped him cover up the murder. Fisk grows up wanting to make
Hell's Kitchen a better place, where there are no "bad" people like his father, and plans to buy the entire neighborhood, demolish it, and build it up better. By 2007, Fisk establishes himself as a criminal businessman, and goes into business with
William Lopez and his criminal gang, the
Tracksuit Mafia. He grows close with William's daughter,
Maya, whom he treats like a daughter. Fisk also helps
Derek Bishop through a tough financial situation. In 2012, after the
Battle of New York and Derek's death, Fisk goes into business with Derek's wife,
Eleanor Bishop, to pay off Derek's debt.
Battling Daredevil In 2015, Fisk receives opposition from lawyers
Matt Murdock and
Foggy Nelson. His rivalry with Daredevil (who is secretly Murdock) and relationship with
Vanessa Marianna cause his allies to lose faith in him and attempt to poison Vanessa. Before being exposed by journalist
Ben Urich, Fisk kills him. His assistant
James Wesley is also killed by Murdock's secretary
Karen Page. His dealings are exposed to the
FBI by a whistle-blower that Murdock protected. He attempts to escape custody but is defeated in combat by Daredevil and incarcerated at
Ryker's Island. Eight months later, Fisk works to gain control of the inmates while being visited by his lawyer
Benjamin Donovan. When
Frank Castle is sent to Ryker's Island, Fisk manipulates him into killing a rival inmate who happened to have knowledge of Castle's family's murder, and later orchestrates Castle's escape, after firstly having him massacre an entire cell block of prisoners. In 2017, Fisk cuts a deal with FBI Agent
Ray Nadeem to become their informant in exchange for a house arrest deal at the Presidential Hotel and for Vanessa to not be incriminated for Fisk's crimes. Fisk learns of Murdock's identity as Daredevil and starts swaying some of the FBI to his side, including the mentally unstable
Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter, whom he hires to pose as Daredevil. After a video of Nadeem posthumously testifying against him leaks at his wedding to Vanessa, he gets into a three-way fight with Daredevil and Poindexter, who went rogue after hearing Fisk orchestrated the murder of Julia, a woman he was obsessed with. Fisk shatters Poindexter's spine but is defeated by Murdock. He accepts a bargain to return to Ryker's Island and not harm Murdock's loved ones in exchange for Vanessa's safety from prosecution.
After the Blip In 2018, Fisk survives
the Blip and has been acquitted following the FBI corruption scandal. He went on to rebuild his criminal empire, re-allying himself with the Tracksuit Mafia and reorganizing their operations to carry out further criminal activity from within a remote base of operations, doubling as an auto shop named "Fat Man Auto Repair". During this time, Fisk dispatches an informant to alert former
Avenger-turned-vigilante
Clint Barton of the Tracksuit Mafia's operations and hideout, allowing Barton to kill every residing member within, including William. In 2021, Fisk begins mentoring a grieving and rebellious Maya, enlisting her into the Tracksuit Mafia, of which she later takes command.
Confronted by Maya Lopez In December 2024, Eleanor's daughter
Kate assists Barton in dismantling the Tracksuit Mafia. Rattled by Barton's investigation, Eleanor attempts to blackmail Fisk to end their partnership, to which Fisk dispatches
Kazi Kazimierczak and the Tracksuit Mafia to kill her. He also reluctantly orders them to kill Maya as well, after she learns from Barton that Fisk orchestrated her father's death. On Christmas Eve, Fisk locates Eleanor and attempts to kill her, but is stopped and defeated by Kate. After fleeing the scene, Fisk is confronted by Maya, who shoots him in the head. Five months later, in 2025, Fisk survives Maya's gun shot, and recovers in a hospital, wearing an eyepatch. Fisk orders his men not to kill Maya and that same night he meets with her and offers her his empire if she accompanies him to New York. Maya attempts to kill Fisk, but sympathizes with him after he tells her that he killed his father for being abusive to his mother. After Maya refuses to go with him to New York, Fisk kidnaps Chula and Bonnie and tells her that he will kill the rest of her family. Maya, Chula, and Bonnie fight against Fisk's men and Maya takes Fisk to a memory of when his father mistreated his mother, asking him to return the hammer and free himself from the pain. Fisk refuses to let go of his past memories and flees once again. On his return to New York, Fisk observes a news story about the ideal candidate for the next
Mayor of New York City, which sparks Fisk's interest.
Mayor of New York City In late 2026, Fisk announces his intentions to run as mayor of New York with an anti-vigilantism agenda, hoping to move beyond his criminal empire, which Vanessa had been operating in his absence. He is aided by associates
Sheila Rivera,
Buck Cashman, and
Daniel Blake. During a public meet, Fisk cautions Murdock about returning to his activities as Daredevil, as he has retired from vigilantism since Nelson's murder at the hands of Poindexter a year prior. Following his victory, Fisk confronts Vanessa about her affair with a man named Adam, but promises not to kill him due to his change of heart. In 2027, he and Vanessa undergo
marriage counselling with therapist
Heather Glenn, who is also dating Murdock. He initiates a renovation of the
Red Hook Pier into an industrial complex. During a party with New York's socialites, including Eleanor's ex-fiancé and secret vigilante
Jack Duquesne, Fisk attempts to propose his Red Hook renewal project to attendees, who reject his initiatives. When informed about the serial killer
Muse, Fisk assembles the Anti-Vigilante Task Force (AVTF), composed of corrupt police officers who use Castle's Punisher logo, to take measures beyond jurisdiction, much to the concern of
NYPD Commissioner Gallo. Fisk is informed about Daredevil's return and Muse's identity to be Glenn's troubled client Bastian Cooper. When Daredevil goes to rescue Glenn from Cooper, Fisk sends the AVTF to Glenn's office. Cooper is killed by Glenn and Fisk gives the credit to the AVTF, publicly declaring them to be heroes. He also has Blake threaten Urich's niece and journalist
BB into removing eyewitness mentions of Daredevil's involvement in the incident from her blog. After being threatened by Luca, one of the crime dons in the Five Families, Fisk has Vanessa send him into a trap to be killed by Cashman. Fisk reveals to Vanessa he has Adam imprisoned and watches as she kills him, affirming her love for Fisk. During an inaugural ball benefitting the Red Hook project, Murdock dives in front of Fisk to take a bullet from Poindexter, who had escaped from custody. Fisk reveals to Vanessa his knowledge of her hiring Poindexter to kill Nelson, and sends Cashman to kill an hospitalized Murdock, who escapes. Fisk's plans to establish a
city-state in Red Hook are discovered by Murdock and Page. Fisk kills Gallo after his attempt to undermine Fisk is exposed by Rivera. Fisk declares
martial law, employs Glenn as his Commissioner of Mental Health, outlaws vigilantism through the
Safer Streets Initiative, and imprisons Duquesne, Castle, and other dissidents in Red Hook.
Crusade against vigilantism Six months later, Fisk has increased the presence of the AVTF officers throughout New York City and placed Glenn in charge of psychologically evaluating vigilantes under his custody ahead of their trials. When Daredevil provokes the sinking of the
Northern Star cargo ship and indefinitely halts his weapons smuggling operations through Red Hook, Fisk orders a salvage crew led by AVTF Officer Powell and for intensified efforts in the manhunt against both Murdock and Karen Page, who are in hiding following his enactment of martial law. While hearing inquiries at New York City Hall, Fisk is interrupted by
Mr. Charles, an informant sent on behalf of CIA director
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine as she attempts to influence support towards Fisk's Safer Streets initiative. At dinner, he persuades a reluctant Fisk to collaborate with the CIA in outsourcing the salvage crew for the
Northern Star, suggesting that employees not tied to the AVTF would be harder to trace back to the administration's activities. Fisk issues a
missing persons report on Murdock to draw him out of hiding by influencing public sympathy throughout the city, while also learning that a smear campaign against his administration is being discreetly run by
an individual dressed as and leaking information about him, pressuring Daniel Blake as Deputy Mayor towards uncovering their whereabouts. Fisk's influence over the judiciary committee and justices in the vigilante trials leads to Duquesne being found guilty in his hearing despite dubious evidence. When Fisk is informed that Daredevil, Page and
Angela del Toro / White Tiger freed Duquesne and the prisoners at Red Hook, he orders the AVTF to kill the night crew on the
Northern Star, putting further public pressure on the vigilantes. Fisk encounters Charles again, who tries to persuade him to restart Red Hook's arms shipments, though Fisk warns him to be patient after Cashman easily kills his backup. When Fisk tries to protect Vanessa, he attends a
propaganda boxing match at Fogwell's Gym and wins by brutally beating his opponent. However, he sees Vanessa attending the match, realizing it's a trap to lure Poindexter. When Poindexter attacks and is injured by Vanessa defending him, Fisk saves her by destroying a piece of glass merchandise with his
championship belt. After Murdock arrives and pulls Poindexter from the ring, Fisk discovers Vanessa is injured, with a shard of glass lodged in her head, causing profuse bleeding and unconsciousness. After Vanessa is hospitalized, Fisk orders Powell to send the AVTF to scour the city for Poindexter and Murdock and bring them back to him alive. Fisk recalls some moments when his former confidant, James Wesley, who hired Cashman to kill Lionel "Ray" McCoy, who narrowly escaped, set up an art gallery to serve as a cover for Fisk, which led him to meet Vanessa. Fisk stays with her to comfort her when she awakens, having undergone surgery and suffered
brain damage. However, Vanessa’s condition quickly deteriorates, and dies, leaving Fisk heartbroken. After killing the doctor who treated Vanessa, Fisk mourns her death and is summoned by Charles, who has learned that the AVTF stole the weapons at Red Hook. Fisk discovers that masked rebels are staging protests against him and is exposed by the Red Hook testimonies projected by Page. Fisk is offered a deal by Murdock: to make peace if they both leave New York, which he refuses and they fight, and Fisk is defeated without Murdock killing him. After his fight with Murdock, Fisk is informed by the AVTF that they have captured Page. Instead of killing her, he decides to manipulate the court to sentence her. He also sends an assassin to kill Governor Marge McCaffrey to avoid his dismissal, but he is thwarted by Poindexter. As he watches the court proceedings on TV, Fisk sees Murdock, who has returned to the public spotlight as Page's lawyer to defend her. Since the trial isn't until the next day, he sends the AVTF to eliminate Murdock and McDuffie, but his plan doesn't go as expected when they both escape. Fisk arrives at the trial with Cashman, Glenn, and his AVTF officers to testify against Page. He sees Murdock return to the courtroom, calling witnesses like Jones and McCaffrey, which forces him to tell the truth. After Murdock reveals his identity as Daredevil to drop the charges against Page, Fisk knows this isn't over. Seeing Cashman wounded by Poindexter, he and his group take refuge outside the courthouse. Fisk emerges after fighting masked civilians, only to find himself facing Daredevil's army. Fisk agrees to resign as Mayor after Murdock's offer and leaves New York City, ending up on a beach where Vanessa would have loved to be. == Casting and characterization ==