Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk has completed his stunning transformation from feared crime lord to New York City’s newest elected mayor in Daredevil: Born Again, and fans are discovering an unexpected side benefit: watching the intimidating Kingpin navigate the often ridiculous demands of political life. The first three episodes of the Disney+ series methodically established Fisk’s meteoric rise, with the former criminal mastermind successfully selling himself as the solution to New York’s vigilante problem and crumbling infrastructure. Now firmly installed in office, Fisk encounters the less glamorous aspects of mayoral life, attending community events and engaging with constituents in ways that have Reddit users howling at the character’ barely contained discomfort. That’s comedic gold that viewers didn’t expect from a show that began with the tragic death of Foggy Nelson.
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WARNING: Spoilers below for Daredevil: Born Again Episode 4
Reddit community r/marvelstudios/ has been flooded with reactions to these fish-out-of-water moments featuring the towering figure who once smashed a man’s head with a car door. As Reddit user cbekel3618 astutely observed, “Fisk has been punched, blown up, shot in the face, and magically retraumatized. And yet I’ve never seen him more miserable than having to listen to a bunch of kids singing.” The contrast between the Kingpin’s fearsome reputation and his current predicament has viewers like Oculi__me quipping that “Fisk found his real enemies now. Choirs.” Episode 4’s school visit scene particularly resonated with audiences, with CartoonAcademic noting that “Fisk cutting off the teacher so they [the children] couldn’t sing more was PERFECT,” while sable-king pointed out “Marvel Studios continuing its trend of weirdly unnerving scenes of children singing,” referencing a similar unsettling moment from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — Billy (Julian Hilliard) and Tommy’s (Jett Klyne) ice-cream song.
[RELATED: Daredevil: Born Again Fixes Marvel Fan’s Problem With Netflix Punisher]
The moment Fisk sits through a children’s choir rendition of “We Built This City” was not on anyone’s prediction list for Daredevil: Born Again, but we are all happier this happened. The Kingpin’s torture only intensified with a second musical performance during his meeting with the Latvian cultural delegation, where the mayor was subjected to the same song translated into Latvian. “Latvian ‘We Built This City’ had me rolling,” commented Acrobatic-Dark-4402, while KingOfAwesometonia expanded, “Having Fisk sit through two performances of ‘We Built This City’ is such a good gag. He really is a changed man since that would’ve sent anyone on a murderous rampage.” The scenes even prompted jgreg728 to joke that “He’s gonna put that whole class, the teacher, and the Latvian choir in his underground jail next,” referencing the character’s notorious penchant for extreme retaliation.
Daredevil: Born Again Challenges Mayor Wilson Fisk in Unexpected Ways
These musical scenes of Daredevil: Born Again Episode 4 perfectly encapsulate the internal struggle of a violent man constrained by political office. Fisk’s barely contained rage provides a masterclass in physical acting from D’Onofrio, whose subtle facial expressions convey volumes about the character’s internal struggle. As your_mind_aches observed, “D’Onofrio is just as good at comedy as at drama, it’s nice to see some slightly lighter moments with Fisk, though definitely still important to the character.” The juxtaposition between Fisk’s violent past and mundane political duties has some fans speculating that the character might be experiencing voter’s remorse, with Upbeat_Tension_8077 joking, “He probably wished he got blipped after all that singing.”
These unexpected comedic moments serve multiple storytelling purposes beyond simple laughs. They humanize a character traditionally portrayed as an unstoppable force of nature while highlighting how ill-suited Fisk is for public service. The humor derives from watching someone accustomed to solving problems with violence being forced to smile through situations where such reactions would be politically catastrophic. D’Onofrio’s nuanced performance allows viewers to see the calculations happening behind Fisk’s eyes, wondering how much political capital he’s willing to burn by cutting ceremonies short.
New episodes of Daredevil: Born Again stream Tuesdays on Disney+.
What did you think of Fisk’s hilarious community service scenes? Join the discussion in the comments!
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Image Credit: State Farm
