- "That's how your father died? You... killed him?"
"I killed him to be free. To move forward in my life." - ―Maya Lopez and Wilson Fisk[src]
The Murder of Bill Fisk was Wilson Fisk's retaliation against his father Bill for the constant abuse he subjected Wilson and his wife Marlene to.
Background[]
- "It wasn't your fault. You were protecting your mother."
"I didn't do it for her, I did it for me." - ―Vanessa Marianna and Wilson Fisk[src]
Struggling with alcoholism and constant failures to move up in the world, Bill Fisk would vent his frustrations by abusing his wife Marlene and son Wilson. His abuse and harsh lessons on how a man should behave were particularly traumatizing to his son. Bill had a goal to join the New York City Council and borrowed money from Don Rigoletto for his political campaign. However, despite his efforts, Bill ended up losing the elections, which only worsened the situation at the Fisk household.[2]
Murder[]
- "When I was a boy, I beat my father's skull in with a hammer. I was twelve years old. Young for my age, in fact. Terribly inexperienced. I'd never been to a dance with a girl or stayed up past midnight. Never been out of the city or even taken the subway on my own. Yet there I was, twelve years old, standing over my father's body, watching him die by my hand."
- ―Wilson Fisk to Benjamin Poindexter[src]
One night, Bill Fisk decided to visit Don Rigoletto to work out the issue of his debt, instructing Wilson to stare at the blank wall until he returns. Marlene confronted Bill, berating him for his reckless decisions that put their family in danger, despite Bill insisting that he had everything under control.
Eventually, Bill lost his temper and hit Marlene, causing her to fall down, and started beating her with his belt. Marlene screamed and begged Bill to stop, but he only continued to hit her more, yelling that she never believed in him. Wilson, who had been staring at the wall as he was told, could no longer take it and grabbed a hammer and called out to Bill to stop him. Bill only scoffed at Wilson's attempt to stand up for his mother, certain that he did not have what it takes to stop him.
Wilson Fisk attacks Bill Fisk with a hammer
However, as Bill turned back to Marlene, Wilson suddenly hit him on the head with the hammer, causing Bill to freeze and fall on his knees. Before he could react, Wilson gave in to his anguish and beat Bill's skull in again and again, until Bill was dead. Marlene comforted her son, who was horrified at what he had done, and asked him to bring in a saw. Marlene undressed Bill and gave Wilson his cufflinks, before dismembering Bill's body and stuffing the parts into trash bags. Marlene and Wilson disposed of Bill's body over the course, dumping the trash bags into the river.[2]
Aftermath[]
Fisk Family[]
Wilson Fisk wears his father's cufflinks years later
- "We carried him in bags down to the river. One every night, for the next week. Everyone in town knew that he owed money to Rigoletto. So, I guess they thought that... he'd left town to avoid him."
- ―Wilson Fisk to Vanessa Marianna[src]
Marlene and Wilson Fisk placed the dismembered remains of Bill Fisk in garbage bags and carried them to the river, one bag every night. With Bill nowhere to be found, the community assumed that Bill abandoned his family and fled town to avoid paying his debts to Rigoletto.[2] Knowing that staying in New York City would be too dangerous, Marlene sent Fisk away to live with relatives at a farm.[2] Wilson was unaware that his mother kept the hammer he used to kill Bill, as she had been secretly grateful that he had saved her from her abuser.[3] Traumatized from the murder, Wilson continued wear his father's cufflinks to convince himself that his actions as a crimelord were not being done for cruelty's sake. Now freed from Bill's abuse, Marlene married two more times after Bill's death, keeping Arthur Vistain's surname.[2]
Kingpin of New York City[]
Marlene Vistain divulges that Wilson Fisk killed his father to Karen Page and Ben Urich
- "I keep this with me. It's to remind myself of where I come from, and what I had to do to get there. It's something that I wanna pass on to you. My father felt stronger when he beat my mother, until I got strong enough to stop him with that."
- ―Wilson Fisk to Maya Lopez[src]
Many years later, Wilson Fisk returned to New York, taking over Don Rigoletto's assets and business and becoming one of the most powerful criminals in New York City. When Karen Page and Ben Urich strived to get Fisk arrested, they found Marlene Vistain at the Saint Bénézet Retirement Care and she admitted to Page that her son murdered his father.[4] Although the fact of the murder was inadmissible in the court without evidence, Fisk ended up imprisoned regardless, because of Nelson and Murdock.[5] While Fisk served his sentence at Rikers Island, Marlene died and Fisk found the hammer that she kept, understanding that his mother supported him no matter what.[3]
In 2017, when Fisk manipulated the FBI into moving him into the Presidential Hotel, Foggy Nelson showed Page a document detailing the terms of his house arrest and that violating any one of them would send him back to prison. Page quickly noted one item stating that any crimes committed prior to his house arrest were still valid and suggested revealing his father's murder, but Nelson argued they had no evidence. Page later confronted Fisk to try and trick him into admitting his father's murder on camera without success.[6]
Maya Lopez contemplates killing Kingpin
Throughout his relationship with Maya Lopez, Fisk used his father's death as a common tragedy to lead her into a valiant leader and criminal that he wanted. However, he always framed his father's death as a tragic moment in his life, relating it to William Lopez's death. It was not until Lopez and Fisk were at odds when Fisk revealed the hammer and told Lopez the truth surrounding his father's death. Fisk then handed Lopez the hammer, stating that he killed his father to be free.[7]
Wilson Fisk revisits his trauma
During the Battle at Haskell County Fairgrounds, Lopez was able to use her powers to place Fisk in an illusion where he was forced to relive his trauma as he listened to his mother cry as Bill physically assaulted her.[8]
Appearances[]
| Appearances for Murder of Bill Fisk |
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In chronological order:
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