For a brief time, Wilson Fisk was the mayor of New York City in the Marvel Universe. And even though he's since retired from both politics and crime - and more recently un-retired from the latter - the impact he had on Marvel's NYC is still being felt even into the term of current Marvel New York mayor Luke Cage.
So what happened when Kingpin was the mayor of New York City, and how does it tie into his recent comic book return?
Back around 2017, the Marvel Universe was recovering from an all-out war with Hydra in the story Secret Empire, which led to political upheaval all over Marvel's United States.
Wilson Fisk uses his considerable resources to help people who are trapped in New York City after a Hydra attack, parlaying the turmoil into a last minute candidacy for mayor. After refusing to acknowledge his well-known criminal past, Fisk is elected - though it's later revealed he fixed the vote.
In a twist, Matt Murdock (AKA Daredevil) gains the position of deputy mayor with the intent of monitoring his old arch-enemy's activities in office. This begins a long game of cat-and-mouse in which Murdock eventually catches Fisk meeting with New York's crime lords, resulting in Kingpin temporarily being removed from office.
This in turn leads Matt Murdock to take Kingpin's place as mayor, with Matt serving a brief term until Kingpin's return, which results in a temporary truce between the two for the good of the city.
However, after Fisk discovers that Matt Murdock had previously caused everyone to forget his secret identity as Daredevil through the power of the mind-controlling Purple Man, Fisk uses his political influence to have all vigilante superheroes declared illegal in New York City.
Soon after, Fisk begins campaigning for re-election against none other than Luke Cage. But in the midst of the election, in the story Devil's Reign, Fisk goes off the deep end, full-on fighting Daredevil in the streets after attempting to use the Purple Man's mind control powers for his own ends.
Realizing there's nothing left for him, Kingpin flees the city alongside his new wife, Typhoid Mary, eventually settling on the mutant island nation of Krakoa, thanks to Mary's status as a mutant. Kingpin's departure leaves Luke Cage holding the bag as mayor of New York, working to repeal Fisk's anti-vigilante laws through due process while also attempting to protect his allies who still operate in the city from criminal charges.
Now, Wilson Fisk has returned to comics as the new White King of the Hellfire Club, secretly using his influence to both rebuild his criminal empire, and to shield his unlikely mutant allies from being hunted down, as mutants are now considered an "invasive species" in the Marvel Universe.
Likewise, the MCU version of Wilson Fisk has returned in the Echo streaming series, in which Kingpin, and his own plans for the MCU version of New York, play a central role.
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