It had been a while since Sony did a successful Spider-Man movie. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse righted that ship, being not just a good movie but an acclaimed Oscar-winning work of art and a brilliant piece of innovation in the animated industry. And as much as fans loved Shameik Moore's Miles Morales and Jake Johnson's Peter Parker working together to save the Multiverse from a Super Collider, a lot of it comes down to the impressive Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Liev Schreiber).
This was the first time Kingpin played a villain to Spidey on the big screen, finally bringing their rivalry to life after decades of comics and cartoons. Let's look at what influenced the rise of this amazing depiction of Fisk and how it added emotional gravitas to the rollicking ride Miles went on to introduce himself to the mainstream world.
WHO WAS THIS KINGPIN?
Photos
Quotes
Kingpin : You like my new toy? It cost me a fortune. But hey, you can't take it with you, right? You came all this way. Watch the test. It's a helluva freakin' light show, you're gonna love this.
Doc Ock : If we fire again this week, there could be a black hole under Brooklyn. You see this? And this? This is multiple dimensions beginning to crash into each other.
Peter B. Parker : [eavesdropping with Miles, he makes the "running mouth" hand gesture] This is pretty standard Spider-Man stakes. You get used to it. Watch this. He's gonna say "You've got 24 hours."
Kingpin : You've got 24 hours.
Doc Ock : What this means is there could be a rupture in the space-time continuum.
Peter B. Parker : Ooh. That's bad. Actually, everything she said was bad. I was lying before.
Kingpin : I'd say it's nice to see you again, Spider-Man. But it's not.
Peter Parker : [weakly, gravely injured] Hey, Kingpin. How's business?
Kingpin : Booming. Ha!
Peter Parker : Nice...
[Kingpin rips off Peter's mask]
Peter Parker : Aww, that's a no-no.
[beat]
Peter Parker : This might open a black hole under Brooklyn. It can't be worth the risk.
Kingpin : It's not always about the money, Spider-Man.
[Prowler advances on Peter, claws extended]
Peter Parker : [frantic] Don't you want to know what I saw in there?
Kingpin : [holds up a hand] Wait.
Peter Parker : I know what you're trying to do... and it won't work. They're gone.
[Kingpin stares, eyes narrowed, then furiously slams his fists down onto Peter, killing him]
Kingpin : [to Prowler] Get rid of the body.
Kingpin : I killed Spider-Man. Why did I just see two more?
Doc Ock : There's three, actually.
[Kingpin glares]
Doc Ock : No, this is good, this is very, very good. It means you get what you want. It means my collider works. All we have to do is kill a couple of spiders... and the collider will bring your family back. As many families as you want.
[Kingpin stares, then nods to Tombstone, who holsters his guns]
Kingpin : Tomorrow at my collider.
[Kingpin and Tombstone leave]
Doc Ock : [indignant] *Our* collider.