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Vanessa Fisk

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Vanessa Fisk
Vanessa Fisk
Art by John Romita Sr.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceThe Amazing Spider-Man #70 (March 1969)
Created byStan Lee (writer)
John Romita Sr. (artist)
In-story information
Full nameVanessa Marianna Fisk
SpeciesHuman
PartnershipsWilson Fisk
Supporting character ofDaredevil
Spider-Man
Notable aliasesVanessa Marianna[1]

Vanessa Fisk (née Marianna)[1] is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is married to the crime boss the Kingpin (Wilson Fisk) and is the mother of Richard Fisk, although she herself is not portrayed as a villain, and does not approve of her husband's criminal activities. Vanessa has been featured in a number of stories about the Kingpin, usually in those revolving around the superheroes Daredevil and Spider-Man.

Vanessa Fisk has been adapted in other media, including live-action appearances within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), where she is portrayed by Ayelet Zurer in the first and third seasons of the Netflix television series Daredevil (2015–2018), and will reprise the role in the upcoming Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again (2025).

Publication history

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Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita Sr., Fisk first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #70 (March 1969).[2]

Fictional character biography

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Little is known about Fisk's personal life and early years other than her maiden name "Marianna".[1] Despite being married to Wilson Fisk, the "Kingpin" of New York's criminal underworld, she did not approve of his criminal activities. At one point their son Richard Fisk became involved in a plot to overthrow his father's criminal syndicate after discovering he was the Kingpin.[3]

After the Kingpin had a near-death experience, Vanessa gave him an ultimatum; he had twenty-four hours to get out of crime, or she would leave him. The Kingpin was about to kill Spider-Man when the deadline passed, and Vanessa forced him to choose between Spider-Man's life or their life together. He chose Vanessa and spared Spider-Man as a result.[4]

The two went into retirement in Japan. Kingpin prepared to settle his remaining business with his fellow mobsters by cooperating with the authorities and leaving the world of crime forever. This infuriated one of Kingpin's closest advisors, Lynch, who believed that Vanessa was a liability and had turned the once mighty Kingpin into a henpecked husband. When Kingpin's former lieutenants in New York caught wind of his plans to sell them out in exchange for immunity, they kidnapped Vanessa, who was in town to secure the legal services of Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson.[5]

Kingpin started a gang war against the mob in New York to rescue Vanessa. The mob bosses attempted to ransom Vanessa in exchange for the evidence against them Kingpin had intended to turn over to the authorities, but during the exchange, Kingpin used a sonic device to stop the criminals, and found Vanessa bound and gagged in a building. However, Lynch fired an explosive at Vanessa, in an attempt to deprive Kingpin of the thing that kept him retired and bring him back as the Kingpin of Crime. She was buried alive in the rubble and presumed dead, although she did not actually die.[6] As planned, this drove Kingpin back into the world of crime, although he found out Lynch was behind the explosion, partially due to a headache he gained, and took revenge by murdering him. He then forced the remaining mob leaders to confess to hiring the assassin Bullseye to kill several of Kingpin's men.[7]

Weeks later, Matt Murdock's alter ego, Daredevil, found Vanessa in the sewers. Being buried alive had left Vanessa amnesiac and mentally unstable, and she ended up taken in by a mutant who lived in the sewers. Daredevil ultimately used her as leverage to force Kingpin to order his puppet Randolph Cherryh, newly elected to the office of Mayor, to resign and to confirm to the media that he was indeed a mob puppet. After reuniting with her Kingpin had Vanessa, now-catatonic, sent to a sanitarium in Europe to have her regain her sanity. This would take years, and Kingpin's organized crime empire would fall and be rebuilt during the period that Vanessa was institutionalized.[volume & issue needed]

Ultimately Vanessa recovered, and she remained in Europe. When Kingpin was the victim of an assassination attempt orchestrated by her son, Vanessa arranged for Kingpin to be shipped out of the country to recover from his injuries, and cut a deal with his fellow mob bosses to divide up his recently rebuilt crime syndicate in exchange for a truce. Vanessa then murdered her son, who admitted to Vanessa that his motivation was to rid the family of his father, who he blamed for his family's troubles.[volume & issue needed]

Murdering her son had a physical toll on Vanessa, causing her to lose the will to live, which along with the injuries she sustained when she was buried alive, resulted in terminal organ failure. Blaming both Kingpin and Murdock, who had recently been revealed to be Daredevil, for the cycle of violence that had consumed her family, Vanessa faked the death of Foggy in an attempt to provoke Murdock into killing Kingpin while they were both in prison. When that failed, she manipulated the superhero Iron Fist into posing as Daredevil, which ultimately drove Murdock to break out of prison to find Foggy's murderer and the identity of the man impersonating him, culminating in her confronting Murdock with an offer to clear his name in exchange for him clearing Kingpin, so they would be free to try and kill each other anew.[8]

Though Daredevil refused this deal, Vanessa went ahead and arranged for the murder of Leland Drummond, the corrupt FBI director who outed Matt in order to advance his own career within the FBI. To discredit his outing of Daredevil, the murder was made to look like a suicide and a false suicide note was planted at the scene, claiming that Drummond killed himself after it became apparent that his scheme to frame Matt Murdock was about to be exposed. Shortly afterwards, Vanessa died and Murdock was guilted into serving as the Kingpin's lawyer, getting the charges dropped on the grounds that the evidence was too tainted to bring him to court. Daredevil forced the crime boss to renounce his American citizenship and leave the country forever in exchange for his legal services, stating that any attempt to continue their vendetta would be an insult to the memory of Vanessa.[9]

Kingpin is later seen at her grave where he breaks down emotionally. She has since been talking to him as a ghostly vision taunting him that he will never regain his former glory, an indication that her death still greatly affects him.[volume & issue needed]

The Arbiters bring Vanessa back as a revenant as a part of a test intended to gauge the Kingpin's worth as the head of the Hand.[10] Reluctant to combat her, Fisk tries to appeal to whatever humanity that she may still have left in her, and kills her when she still flings her weapons at him, unaware that she was aiming at the assassin approaching him from behind.[11]

The new Jackal "reanimates" Vanessa in an attempt to coerce the Kingpin into allying with him in Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy. While initially receptive, the Kingpin responds by killing Vanessa after she declares their son can be revived as well, while declaring, "That wasn't my wife. That was an abomination".[12]

After Mayor Fisk starts planning to have Peter Parker killed, as he is the roommate of Fred Myers who is blackmailing him, the mysterious undead entity Kindred appears in his cabinet. He kills Fisk's associates using supernatural abilities and forces him to back off Parker after revealing he is in possession of Vanessa's soul.[13]

Mayor Fisk planned to revive Vanessa by obtaining the Tablet of Life and Destiny and its sister counterpart the Tablet of Death and Entropy.[14] Upon getting his hands on both tablets, Fisk uses its abilities to revive Richard Fisk as Kingpin realized that Vanessa would not be pleased with her resurrection. He did this as an act of redemption for Vanessa and even himself.[15]

Other versions

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In the Marvel/DC crossover book Batman & Spider-Man: New Age Dawning #1, Vanessa is infected with terminal cancer by Ra's al Ghul, who offers the Kingpin the cure for it in exchange for his help in a plot that will destroy New York. Disgruntled under Ra's, the Kingpin forms an alliance with Spider-Man and Batman and succeeds in defeating Ra's, only to be denied the cure for Vanessa's cancer by the beaten eco-terrorist. Vanessa is cured near the end of the storyline by an antidote provided by Ra's al Ghul's daughter Talia al Ghul, who recognizes Vanessa as a kindred spirit, as both of them loved men that society would regard as monsters.

In the alternate universe of Marvel Zombies 3, it is revealed that she was not infected or eaten when the zombies took over the world, but has been secretly kept alive by the zombified Kingpin, who is able to control his hunger for human flesh when she is around. However, when the Kingpin's clone factory is destroyed by Machine Man and Jocasta, he consumes Vanessa, observing that he eats when he's upset.[16]

Vanessa Fisk appears as an important background character in Ultimate Spider-Man. The Kingpin seeks the Tablet of Time, as it alleged to have powers that Kingpin hopes may awaken Vanessa from a coma, but it is stolen by the Black Cat.[17] Later, after Kingpin sets fire to Daredevil's law office, Daredevil breaks into his home and threatens to murder the comatose Vanessa, but is stopped by Spider-Man. Kingpin orders Vanessa to be taken out of the country before he is arrested himself over the attempted murder of Moon Knight.[18]

In the Punisher Max series, set in Marvel's MAX universe, Vanessa is married to the Kingpin, but their marriage collapses as Wilson Fisk's takeover of the mob causes the death of their eight-year-old son Richard. Vanessa blames Wilson for not preventing Richard's death, and after she attempts unsuccessfully to kill him for this, he evicts her from their home. Later, in order to protect himself from the Punisher, Kingpin hires Elektra as a bodyguard. It is revealed that Elektra was actually hired by Vanessa, who is plotting the Kingpin's downfall, and that the two women are lovers. After the Kingpin is killed by the Punisher in issue #21, Vanessa has his body cremated and flushes his ashes down a toilet. She appears ready to take charge of her husband's former empire, as her chauffeur calls her "Madam Kingpin", but in issue #22, she is ambushed and killed by Nick Fury.

In other media

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Television

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  • Vanessa Fisk appears in Spider-Man (1994), voiced by Caroline Goodall.[19] In the episodes "Tablet of Time" and "Ravages of Time", she is one of the few people aware of Wilson Fisk's criminal empire. Eventually, she decides to divorce Wilson, unable to deal with being married to a criminal.
  • Vanessa Marianna appears in Daredevil, portrayed by Ayelet Zurer.[20] This version is the owner of the Scene Contempo art gallery in Manhattan. Wilson Fisk first meets Vanessa while contemplating artwork and is instantly smitten with her, soon asking her out on dates. After Fisk is arrested, he hastily proposes to Vanessa before his men take her to Spain.[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] In the third season, Vanessa returns from exile, reunites with Fisk, and insists on helping rebuild his businesses. However, they are ultimately captured by the NYPD.[29]
  • Vanessa Fisk will appear in Daredevil: Born Again, with Zurer reprising the role. Her role was originally recast with Sandrine Holt taking over the role due to scheduling conflicts, but Zurer returned following a creative overhaul near the end of 2023.[30][31]

Film

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Vanessa Fisk appears in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, voiced by Lake Bell.[32][19] This version was unaware of her husband's criminal activities, until she and Richard Fisk witnessed him fighting Spider-Man, and fled in horror before being fatally struck by a truck. This motivated Wilson to create a particle accelerator to find alternate versions of his family in other universes.

Miscellaneous

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Vanessa Fisk appears in the novel Spider-Man: Forever Young, written by Stefan Petrucha. The novel is set two years after the "Tablet" storyline, with Vanessa considering using the Tablet to heal a comatose Kingpin. In return for Peter's help finding the tablet (based on his apparent connection to Spider-Man), she offers to use her family's resources to assist an ailing May Parker. However, Vanessa later abandons the idea of using the tablet after witnessing its effects on Silvermane, but still covers May's medical bills, leaving Peter a message explaining that she recognises he lived up to his end of the deal and it's not his fault that the tablet isn't of any use to her current purposes.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Daredevil vol. 2 #116. Marvel Comics.
  2. ^ Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. p. 136. ISBN 978-1465455505.
  3. ^ Brendis, Brian Michael (2002). Daredevil: The Man Without Fear?. New York City, New York: Marvel Comics. ISBN 978-0785109266.
  4. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #197. Marvel Comics.
  5. ^ Daredevil #170. Marvel Comics.
  6. ^ Daredevil #171. Marvel Comics.
  7. ^ Daredevil #172. Marvel Comics.
  8. ^ Daredevil vol. 2 #92. Marvel Comics.
  9. ^ Daredevil vol. 2 #93. Marvel Comics.
  10. ^ Zeb Wells (w), Joe Madureira (p), Joe Madureira (i), Peter Steigerwald (col), VC's Cory Petit (let), Jeanine Schaefer and Stephen Wacker (ed). Savage Wolverine, vol. 1, no. 7 (17 July 2013). United States: Marvel Comics.
  11. ^ Zeb Wells (w), Joe Madureira (p), Joe Madureira (i), Peter Steigerwald (col), VC's Cory Petit (let), Jeanine Schaefer and Stephen Wacker (ed). Savage Wolverine, vol. 1, no. 8 (18 September 2013). United States: Marvel Comics.
  12. ^ Dan Slott (w), Javier Garron (p), Javier Garron (i), Frank D'Armata (col), VC's Joe Caramagna (let), Nick Lowe (ed). "King's Ransom" The Amazing Spider-Man, vol. 4, no. 19 (5 October 2016). United States: Marvel Comics.
  13. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 5 #7. Marvel Comics.
  14. ^ Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5 #58-59. Marvel Comics.
  15. ^ Giant Size Amazing Spider-Man: King's Ransom #1. Marvel Comics.
  16. ^ Marvel Zombies 3 #2 (2008). Marvel Comics.
  17. ^ Bendis, Brian Michael (w), Bagley, Mark (p). Ultimate Spider-Man #50 and 53. Marvel Comics
  18. ^ Bendis, Brian Michael (w). Ultimate Spider-Man #110. Marvel Comics.
  19. ^ a b "Vanessa Fisk Voices (Spider-Man)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved September 21, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  20. ^ Siegel, Lucas (October 11, 2014). "NYCC 2014: Marvel's DAREDEVIL on Netflix Panel". Newsarama. Archived from the original on 2014-10-13. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  21. ^ Kane, Adam (director); Marco Ramirez (writer) (April 10, 2015). "Rabbit in a Snowstorm". Marvel's Daredevil. Season 1. Episode 3. Netflix.
  22. ^ Girotti, Ken (director); Joe Pokaski (writer) (April 10, 2015). "In the Blood". Marvel's Daredevil. Season 1. Episode 4. Netflix.
  23. ^ Blackburn, Farren (director); Luke Kalteux (writer) (April 10, 2015). "World on Fire". Marvel's Daredevil. Season 1. Episode 5. Netflix.
  24. ^ Surjik, Stephen (director); Steven S. DeKnight (writer) (April 10, 2015). "Shadows in the Glass". Marvel's Daredevil. Season 1. Episode 8. Netflix.
  25. ^ Gomez, Nick (director); Steven S. DeKnight and Douglas Petrie (writer) (April 10, 2015). "The Path of the Righteous". Marvel's Daredevil. Season 1. Episode 11. Netflix.
  26. ^ DeKnight, Steven S. (director); Steven S. DeKnight (writer) (April 10, 2015). "Daredevil". Marvel's Daredevil. Season 1. Episode 13. Netflix.
  27. ^ Surjik, Stephen (director); Marco Ramirez and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich (writer) (March 18, 2016). "Seven Minutes in Heaven". Marvel's Daredevil. Season 2. Episode 9. Netflix.
  28. ^ Hoar, Peter (director); John C. Kelley (story); Whit Anderson & Sneha Koorse (writer) (March 18, 2016). "The Man in the Box". Marvel's Daredevil. Season 2. Episode 10. Netflix.
  29. ^ Miller, Sam (director); Erik Oleson (writer) (October 19, 2018). "A New Napkin". Marvel's Daredevil. Season 3. Episode 13. Netflix.
  30. ^ Kit, Borys (March 10, 2023). "'Daredevil: Born Again' Lands 'Dexter' Director Michael Cuesta (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  31. ^ McPherson, Chris (April 7, 2024). "New Daredevil: Born Again Set Image Reveals Ayelet Zurer Will Return as Vanessa Fisk". Collider. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  32. ^ Vejvoda, Jim (November 29, 2018). "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Official Credits Reveal Surprise Voice Actor Cameos". IGN. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
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