The Marvel Cinematic Universe has established how strong Kingpin is, but how does this compare to his comic book counterpart? Kingpin’s latest MCU appearance came as part of Daredevil: Born Again‘s cast, with Vincent D’Onofrio reprising the role he first played in Netflix’s Daredevil. The events of this show tease Kingpin’s continued role as part of upcoming MCU TV shows, such as what will likely be his next appearance in Daredevil: Born Again season 2.
The ending of Daredevil: Born Again established Kingpin’s future, all while reminding audiences of just how strong he is. The finale of season 1 saw Kingpin taking control of New York City, overcoming characters like the police commissioner, Gallo, to do so. In this scene, Kingpin crushed Gallo’s head with his bare hands, teasing a darker Daredevil: Born Again season 2, all while bringing up the question of what strength Wilson Fisk attains. Kingpin has always been a brute of a character, but how strong is his live-action MCU version in comparison to the Marvel Comics stories on which he was based?
How Strong Kingpin Is In Marvel Comics
He Rivals Some Well-Known Marvel Heroes
Firstly, it is worth exploring exactly how strong Kingpin is in Marvel Comics. In many ways, Kingpin is depicted as stronger than the average human in the comics, though without any superpowers of note. Instead, Kingpin is simply a huge, hulking human who is incredibly strong, with Marvel‘s website confirming him as strong as the likes of Captain America. Via the website’s own ranking scale, Kingpin’s strength is listed as a three out of a possible six.
Captain America has been enhanced by the super soldier serum, meaning he operates with peak human physicality. Therefore, it can be assumed that Wilson Fisk’s strength is similar. Rather than be as powerful as drastically enhanced heroes like Spider-Man or the Hulk, Fisk is simply as strong as a human can possibly be, capable of insane feats of strength that allow him to go toe-to-toe with some of Marvel’s biggest heroes, though without being as powerful as the strongest villains of the comic book universe.
How Strong Kingpin Is In The MCU
Kingpin’s Power Level Is Similar In Live-Action
Regarding Kingpin’s live-action version in the MCU, his strength is depicted on a similar level. The likes of Netflix’s Daredevil arguably had him appear slightly weaker than Daredevil: Born Again. However, this was likely due to budgetary reasons. Where possible, Daredevil still showcased Kingpin as considerably stronger than the titular hero, with Fisk throwing Matt around with ease during their many confrontations. One of the character deaths in Daredevil: Born Again, the aforementioned Gallo, arguably makes Fisk even stronger than the Netflix show did.

Related
Is Daredevil: Born Again A Continuation Of The Netflix Show?
Despite bringing back many characters from the Netflix series, Marvel has gone back and forth on if Born Again continues that same story.
The same can be said for Hawkeye. As Kingpin’s first appearance in the mainline MCU, outside of Netflix’s Defenders timeline, Hawkeye leaned slightly more into the comic-book strength of Fisk. The character was shown to throw Kate Bishop around with ease as he has with Matt, as well as survive being hit by a car, arrow explosions, and being shot in the face by Maya Lopez. Overall, Kingpin’s strength in the MCU can be judged by the same barometer as it is in the comics: Fisk is not quite as strong as heroes like Spider-Man, but much stronger than the average human.
Does Kingpin Have Superpowers In The MCU?
With all of that in mind, the burning question about Kingpin is whether he has superpowers in the MCU. After all, his feats from Hawkeye and Daredevil: Born Again could mean he does. However, the MCU has yet to confirm that Wilson Fisk has superpowers, meaning that, until otherwise stated, he technically is a regular human. That being said, various elements of the franchise confirm that Fisk has more strength than the average person, with Daredevil: Born Again proving as much via Gallo’s murder.
As already alluded to, Kingpin crushes Gallo’s skull with his own hands. While not to the extent of another popular pop-culture scene of the same ilk involving The Mountain in Game of Thrones, Kingpin uses his hands to kill Gallo by breaking his head in two different places. The strength this would require is well out of the reach of regular humans, rendering Kingpin an incredibly powerful individual. Nonetheless, he still has not been confirmed to have superpowers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the live-action franchise instead taking its cues from the source material where the Kingpin is concerned.

Daredevil: Born Again
- Release Date
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March 4, 2025
- Showrunner
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Chris Ord
- Directors
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Michael Cuesta, Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
- Writers
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Chris Ord
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