The Kingpin of Crime.
The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
All three of these fantastic, iconic characters might converge into one, amazing storyline. Nothing has been confirmed by ‘the superpowers that be’, but both Vincent D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox (the incredibly actors who play Kingpin and Daredevil, respectively, in Netflix’s original show) have expressed vocal and enthusiastic interest in pairing with (or against) our favorite web-slinger.
For those not in the know (and if you’re not, shame on you), Kingpin is one of Spider-Man’s most iconic and frequent villains. And, in his own way, one of the most dangerous. Kingpin is a criminal genius, and always has contingency plans upon backup plans upon master plans, all of them revolving around either furthering his underground empire, or squashing Spider-Man like a bug (pun intended). Pair that with Kingpin’s unnatural strength and utterly ruthless character, and you have one incredibly formidable villain – one that has frequently beaten Spider-Man, in fact.
On a different note, Daredevil and Spider-Man actually team up quite a lot in the comics. They frequently have each other’s backs. Charlie Cox himself pointed out that, in one particularly memorable occasion, Matt Murdock had to defend Daredevil. So Spider-Man put on Daredevil’s costume so that Matt could defend him without revealing his identity.
I’m extremely partial to the idea of Daredevil and Spider-Man pairing up, because they’re basically two sides of the same coin.
Although he is a devout Catholic, Matt Murdock is dark and jaded, because he’s had to fight for every inch against a world that continues to either try and break him, or underestimate him. He constantly hears the suffering of his city – the gritty and the bloody and the horrifying – and it has forced him to, in his own way, become like that. Yes, Hell’s Kitchen needs Daredevil. But it also made him.
On the flip side, Peter Parker (while a Christian) is a devout scientist. He’s a boy genius, who life went far too quickly from dodging bullies and hopeless crushes to dodging bullets and crushing villains. Although his origin story started with death (his Uncle Ben), Peter took a terrible situation and turned it around in the only way he knew how – by using his situation to better the lives of those around him. We all know his famous quote, but we very rarely understand how much he sacrifices for it. He may mask it all with quick comebacks and witty humor, but Spider-Man has lost much – his uncle, his girlfriend, his best friend, his aunt – all in the name of “with great power comes great responsibility”.
Spider-Man and Daredevil both care about the little guy, the every-man (and woman). While the Avengers and Doctor Strange and the Fantastic Four all deal with world-ending and extraterrestrial dangers (sometimes of their own making), they pay very little attention to what happens below skyscraper-level. While they might believe that the suffering of the few outweighs the loss of the many, to Daredevil and Spider-Man, that is never an acceptable solution or compromise.
That’s why, although they might have occasional team-ups with the Avengers, Daredevil and Spider-Man will always work better as vigilantes, as solo acts who occasionally ‘help a brother out’.
Anyway, to bring it all in – I’m 100% behind these two worlds converging. With the end of season 2 of Daredevil featuring the Kingpin rebuilding his criminal empire from prison, there’s a very real chance that he could escape in time to torment Spider-Man. And where Kingpin goes, you better believe Daredevil will follow.
So let’s cross our fingers, knock on wood, and pray to the gods of geekdom that these two worlds and mediums collide. It promises to be nothing short of fantastic – and would open a huge range of possibilities, crossover-wise, between the television and film worlds.
The 2017 film is to be called Spider-Man: Homecoming (and don’t worry, it won’t be another origin story).
So come on, Marvel – bring it home.
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