- "That's how your father died? You... killed him?"
"I killed him to be free. To move forward in my life." - âMaya Lopez and Wilson Fisk[src]
The Murder of Bill Fisk was Wilson Fisk's retaliation against his father following another fight between his parents, Bill and Marlene Fisk. When Bill began beating his wife, Wilson stepped in and smashed his father's head in with a hammer, killing him.
Background[]
- "It wasn't your fault. You were protecting your mother."
"I didn't do it for her, I did it for me." - âVanessa Marianna and Wilson Fisk[src]
Bill Fisk lived with his wife Marlene and their son Wilson, being a hardworking, but abusive husband and father. Running for the position in the Third District Council, Bill took a loan from Don Rigoletto to fund his campaign, however, he ended up losing.
Wilson saw Bernie Walker knocking down the signs for the campaign once his father lost, calling the Fisk family losers. Wilson tried to stop him, but Walker beat him up. Bill forced Wilson to tell him about what happened when he saw his son's bruises. Afterwards, Bill took Wilson and confronted Walker personally, demanding an explanation for his insults, but Walker replied that he was only repeating his own father's statements. Bill attacked Walker with a bat and forced Wilson to kick him, while he was on the ground, no matter how scared Wilson was.[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."
- âWilson Fisk to Benjamin Poindexter[src]
Later, Bill Fisk told Wilson to sit in a corner and stare at a wall to make him think about his future. As Fisk was about to leave to talk with Don Rigoletto, he is stopped by Marlene, who confronted Bill on his recklessness. Being drunk, Bill lost his temper and began beating his wife, while Wilson was listening. Hearing his father abusing his mother, Wilson could not take it anymore and grabbed a hammer, demanding Bill to get away from Marlene.
Bill only scoffed at the idea that Wilson might do something to him, seeing him being paralyzed from fear, and turned away to Marlene. However, Wilson hit him over the head with a hammer, and continued hitting, losing control over himself. Marlene stopped Wilson and comforted him, while looking at the lifeless body of her husband. Marlene then used a saw to dismember Bill's body and together with Wilson, they dumped the parts of his body in the river, so no one would find out what happened. With Bill nowhere to be found, Rigoletto assumed that he skipped the town, not having any money to repay his debts.[2]
Aftermath[]
Wilson Fisk wears his father's cufflinks years later
- "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."
- âWilson Fisk to Maya Lopez[src]
Knowing that staying in New York City would be too dangerous, Marlene Fisk sent Wilson away to live with relatives at the farm. Wilson was unaware that his mother kept the hammer he used to kill his father, being secretly grateful that he had saved her from her abuser.[3] Traumatized from the murder, Wilson would continue wear his father's cufflinks, trying to convince himself that he is not cruel for the sake of it, like Bill used to be. Marlene also married two more times after Bill's death, keeping Arthur Vistain's surname.[2]
Marlene Vistain is visited by Karen Page and Ben Urich
Many years later, Fisk returned to New York, taking over Don Rigoletto's properties and becoming one of the most powerful criminals in the city. When Karen Page and Ben Urich strived to get Fisk arrested, they found Marlene 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 Ryker's Island, Marlene died and Fisk found the hammer that she kept, understanding that his mother supported him no matter what.[3]
Maya Lopez contemplates killing Kingpin
Throughout his relationship with Maya Lopez, Fisk would continuously use his father's death 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, saying that he killed his father to be free. Now it was time for Lopez to kill him, so she could be free. Lopez ultimately refused.[6]
Wilson Fisk revisits his trauma
During the Battle at Haskell County Fairgrounds, Echo was able to use her powers to place Fisk in an illusion where he was back to the day he killed his father. This forced him to revisit his trauma, making him very overwhelmed despite Echo trying to help him through it. Echo soon realized that Fisk's trauma was too great to be healed and removed him from the illusion. Fisk woke up, demanding to know what Lopez did to him. He was so overwhelmed with his revisiting of his past that he had to be helped away by his men.[7]
Appearances[]
| Appearances for Assassination of Bill Fisk |
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In chronological order:
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Trivia[]
- The Murder of Bill Fisk is the earliest known event in The Defenders Saga.