- "Think of the man you wanna be. You sit here and you stare at that wall and you think about that. You're my son. You should be a king, not some fat little pussy."
- ―Bill Fisk to Wilson Fisk[src]
William "Bill" Fisk was the father of Wilson Fisk, who regularly abused him and his wife Marlene. The psychological torment Fisk had inflicted on Wilson drove him to a breaking point, leading to his eventual murder at the hands of his own son.
Biography[]
Fisk Family[]
Domestic Abuse[]
- "He tried so hard, but... he drank, you know."
- ―Marlene Vistain to Karen Page[src]
Living in New York City, Bill Fisk married a woman named Marlene, and together they had a son Wilson. Bill desperately tried to move up in the world, but due to his constant failures and alcoholism, he would frequently take out his anger on his wife and son.[2] Bill was a harsh and ruthless father to Wilson, teaching him how to be a man and how to survive in the world, but showed no care or compassion to him.[4] He notably did not respect many people, but considered Fiorello La Guardia to be his hero, admiring how he stood up to Tammany Hall.[5]
Political Aspirations[]
- "It's an investment, Marlene. You gotta spend money to make money. Once I get on the council, this is all taken care of."
"I don't know about all this."
"You don't know about nothin'! You gotta take risks. You want something out of life, you gotta put yourself out there." - ―Bill Fisk and Marlene Fisk[src]
Following Flores' example, Bill ran for a position in the New York City Council, certain that it would be the ticket out of his family's financial problems, so he took a loan from Don Rigoletto for his campaign. Bill made Wilson help him with his campaign banners, while Marlene was filing their bills and chided Bill for playing music too loud. Joking that Marlene hated music, Bill told Wilson to not trust quiet people, as they were always up to something.
Bill works on his political campaign
Bill berated Wilson for cutting the plank too short, making him apologize and address him as "sir," and remarking that he must show respect to earn it. Bill told them that once he gets into the Council, their family would no longer have any problems with money, recalling how Flores' success. He then offered Wilson a sip of alcohol, and although Marlene protested, Bill argued that his own father let him drink when he was young. Pressured by his father, Wilson took a sip and spluttered as Bill told Marlene that she worried too much and that their son needed to learn to be a man.
When Marlene questioned how could they even afford a political campaign, Bill divulged that he received financial aid from Rigoletto. Marlene had her doubts about that, but Bill assured her that once he gets elected, it would be dealt with. He insisted that risks were necessary to get something out of life, to which Wilson agreed and prompted Bill to say that their child was smarter than Marlene. Despite his best efforts, Bill's campaign fell through and his attempts to get into the Council hit a dead end.[2]
Teaching a Lesson[]
Bill confronts Bernie Walker
- "It's people like this that wanna keep you down. Keep you afraid. You have to show 'em that that can never happen. You gotta show 'em that you're a man. Kick him. Don't give me that look like your mother. You do what I tell you. Kick him."
- ―Bill Fisk to Wilson Fisk[src]
Upon returning home one evening, Bill saw Wilson beaten up and eating zuppa inglese, and complained that Marlene was coddling the boy too much. When asked what happened, Wilson said that Bernie Walker had been kicking down Bill's campaign signs and Wilson got beaten up trying to stop it. Infuriated by Walker disrespecting him, Bill took Wilson with him to see Walker and talk to him together.
As they found him on the streets, Bill confronted Walker about vandalizing his signs, to which Walker flippantly replied that elections were over, so it should not be a big deal. Bill insisted that Walker still did not have any right to destroy his property, while also recalling all the way Walker insulted him, according to Wilson. Walker claimed that he did not call Bill anything, instead only repeating what his own father called Bill.
Bill beats Bernie Walker in front of his son
Fisk was enraged by Walker making fun of him for trying to move up in the world and having enough of his attitude, Fisk grabbed Walker's own baseball bat and beat him down with it. When Walker was on the ground, Bill told Wilson that people like him would always try to keep him down, so he needed to show him that they would never succeed. Despite Wilson not wanting to do it, Bill then forced him to repeatedly kick Walker while he was down, harder and harder.[2]
Murdered by Wilson[]
Bill instructs Wilson to stare at the wall
- "Stop it!"
"What are you gonna do with that, fatty? Huh? Huh? That's what I thought." - ―Wilson Fisk and Bill Fisk[src]
Later, Bill sat Wilson down in front of wall, telling him to keep staring at it and think of the man he wanted to become. Fisk said that as his son, Wilson should be a king, and instructed him to not take his eyes off the wall until his return. When Marlene asked where was he going, Fisk said that he needed to talk to Don Rigoletto about the loan he took for his campaign, claiming that he got everything under control. Marlene immediately got worried and asked how much he owed, but Fisk insisted that everything was fine and he could deal with everything.
Marlene was dissatisfied and called Bill out for taking money from Rigoletto, despite her warnings, which pushed Fisk to slap her across the face. Bill berated Marlene for not showing him respect and took out his belt, repeatedly hitting her with it, while Wilson shuddered and kept staring at the wall. Marlene begged him to stop, but Bill did not listen and continued to hit her, screaming that she and Wilson were the reason why he was always ridiculed and that Marlene never had any faith in him. Suddenly, Wilson shouted at him to stop, and when Fisk turned around, he saw Wilson holding a hammer in his hand.
Bill gets bashed to death by Wilson
Fisk mocked Wilson's attempts to stand up to him, asking what he was going to do next. Wilson got scared and hesitated, so Bill turned back to Marlene and said that their son got his weakness from her. But the next moment, Wilson charged at Bill and hit him in his head with the hammer. Bill froze immediately, slowly reaching out to feel the blood on his hand, before dropping to his knees. Wilson then proceeded to pummel him with the hammer, recalling how he pressured Wilson to keep beating Bernie Walker while he was down. Bill had no way to resist as Wilson kept hitting him until he died and Marlene embraced Wilson to comfort him.[2]
Legacy[]
Wilson's Trauma[]
- "That's why I still wear these. To remind myself that I'm not cruel for the sake of cruelty! That I'm not my father! That I'm not a monster! Am I?"
- ―Wilson Fisk to Vanessa Marianna[src]
Now that Bill was dead, Marlene dismembered his body with a saw to dispose of him, while giving Wilson his cufflinks. Over the course of a week, Marlene and Wilson dumped the bags with Bill's body in the river, while Don Rigoletto assumed that Bill skipped town to avoid paying his debts.[2]
Marlene then sent Wilson over to live with their relatives at the farm, away from New York City.[6] She also kept the hammer that Wilson used to kill Bill in her belongings, proud that Wilson stood up to defend her.[7] Wilson would wear his father's cufflinks into the adulthood as a reminder that unlike Bill, he was not cruel for the sake of cruelty.[2] Bill's abuse and the murder he had to commit left a significant impact on Wilson that he carried over into his adult life.
Wilson Fisk remembers his father's murder
Wilson grew up to be a powerful but deeply ruthless and unforgiving man, reflecting on the lessons his father taught him, while always caring about his mother for the rest of her life.[8] He even purchasing the Rabbit in a Snowstorm painting from Vanessa Marianna, as it reminded him of the wall that Bill would told him to stare at, while beating Marlene.[2] Wilson viewed New York as a representation of people like his father, and having a complicated love-hate relationship with it, he ended up wanting to tear it down and turn it something beautiful, believing that he was doing what was best for the city.[9]
Wilson Fisk relives his childhood trauma
While mentoring Maya Lopez, who lost her father because of Wilson, he told her about how his own father was killed, while not mentioning that Wilson killed him personally. He empathized with Lopez and tried helping her by giving a purpose to her rage, and although they became family to one other, it all fell through when Lopez learned the truth.[10] Wilson admitted that he killed his father to become free and gave her the hammer, so she could continue the cycle and kill Wilson to get her own freedom, but she refused.[11]
When the two clashed at Haskell County Fairgrounds, Lopez used her powers to make Wilson relive his childhood and confront his trauma, pleading with him to let go of the pain he was holding onto his entire life. Although Wilson interrupted the ritual prematurely, Wilson ended up leaving her alone[12] and abandoned his criminal empire to run for the position of the Mayor of New York, still remembering his father and his own political aspirations.[5]
Personality[]
- "When I was a boy, I learned by watching my father. How to shake a man's hand. How to know when someone intends to cheat you. I learned the power of persuasion. How to move men's minds... Or break their bodies. But forgiveness... That wasn't a part of who he was."
- ―Wilson Fisk to Vanessa Fisk[src]
Bill Fisk was a cruel, selfish and greedy alcoholic who ruthlessly abused his wife and son mostly as an outlet to vent his own frustrations. His greed was demonstrated when he ran for a local political office, not so that he could be of public service, but solely under the pretense that politics would be a source of wealth for him and his family. This greed led to Fisk making the shortsighted mistake of borrowing money from local mobster, Don Rigoletto, placing himself in debt when he lost his election.
Being a hypocrite, Fisk insisted on Wilson calling him "sir", in order to teach him respect, all while the elder Fisk was a violent abuser of a husband and father. Fisk's violent nature was not exclusive to his family however, as he savagely beat a teenager named Bernie Walker for repeating his own father's degrading comments about Fisk's failed campaign to Wilson. Not only was Fisk violent himself, he tried to instill toughness in his son through forcing him to commit violent acts like repeatedly kicking the already beat up Walker.
Facilities[]
- "I gotta get it in my own house? In my own house?"
- ―Bill Fisk to Marlene Fisk[src]
- Fisk Residence: Fisk lived in his home with his wife and son. He constantly worked on his election campaigns, as well as abusing his family.
Relationships[]
Family[]
Allies[]
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Enemies[] |
Appearances[]
| Appearances for Bill Fisk |
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In chronological order:
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References[]
- ↑ The underlined portion of the name indicates that it is not confirmed and is applied via the Conjecture Policy.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Daredevil: 1.08: Shadows in the Glass
- ↑ Daredevil: 1.11: The Path of Rigtheousness
- ↑ Daredevil: Born Again: 1.04: Sic Semper Systema
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Daredevil: Born Again: 1.02: Optics
- ↑ Daredevil: 1.04: In the Blood
- ↑ Daredevil: 3.06: The Devil You Know
- ↑ Daredevil: 1.10: Nelson v. Murdock
- ↑ Daredevil: 1.13: Daredevil
- ↑ Echo: 1.01: Chafa
- ↑ Echo: 1.04: Taloa
- ↑ Echo: 1.05: Maya
