Matt Murdock vs. Wilson Fisk: 6 Shocking Similarities That Will Blow Your Mind

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After nearly seven long years of waiting for our favorite New York City vigilante to appear in his own show again, Daredevil: Born Again has finally arrived on Disney+. The show is a continuation of the original Netflix Daredevil show, which saw blind lawyer Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) moonlight as the titular crime-fighting vigilante at night. Throughout its three seasons, crime boss Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) a.k.a. Kingpin was the main antagonist Matt fought against. During the day, Matt tried to use his lawyer expertise to bring Fisk’s criminal operation down. When the justice system didn’t work fast enough or failed him, Matt would let his alter ego take over at night.

Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk have a long, complicated history that is already being explored in the new show. Both men have consistently tried to take each other down over the years. Matt believes that vigilantes accomplish what the law cannot, although he is against killing anyone due to his Catholic faith. Fisk is the complete opposite. His approach is by any means necessary, including murder. He has no problem breaking the law to achieve his goals and will frame vigilantes for his crimes. Matt ultimately wants the justice system to work, but he also knows that it frequently fails innocent people. Fisk wants power and recognition, but he also genuinely believes he can help the people of New York.

While both characters have different ideologies and methods, they have more similarities than they would care to admit. In fact, there are six huge parallels between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk. Fair warning, there will be spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again.

6
Matt and Fisk Are Looking For a Fresh Start

In the third season finale of the Netflix series, Matt and Fisk clashed in a dramatic showdown. Matt unmasked himself as Daredevil to Fisk, resisting the strong temptation to kill him despite numerous instances throughout the show. To prevent Fisk from exposing his identity, Matt threatened Vanessa’s safety. This tactic successfully persuaded Fisk to surrender to prison voluntarily and revealed his criminal activities to the public. Additionally, Bullseye (played by Wilson Bethel) underwent reconstructive spine surgery following Fisk’s manipulation, where he was made to pose as Daredevil to promote an anti-vigilante stance.

Born Again begins by having Matt, Foggy (Elden Henson), and Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) walk out of their law office, Nelson, Murdock, & Paige. This was teased at the end of the third season of the original show as well, and fans were ecstatic to see the three of them together again. Just minutes after the trio walks into their favorite bar, Josie’s, Poindexter shows up as Bullseye to go after Matt and brutally kills Foggy in the process. It’s a gut-wrenching moment for fans and a life-changing moment for Matt. Foggy was Matt’s best friend and the person who grounded him in reality.

These events were the catalyst for the character arcs both Matt and Fisk take in the first episode of Born Again. Fisk was sent back to prison and forced to leave his beloved Vanessa behind. It seems after the events of the Echo show, Fisk disappeared from Vanessa’s life once again, causing a strain in their marriage and Vanessa to become head of their criminal empire. Matt lost the only person who could help him see the errors of his ways and whom he cared most about.

Foggy’s death caused Matt to question his faith and believe his Daredevil persona did more harm than good. The extreme life changes they both went through caused both men to seek new paths and work towards abandoning their past lives. For Matt, that meant giving up his vigilantism and focusing on improving the justice system through practicing law. For Fisk, that meant abandoning his criminal organization to run for Mayor of New York. Both Matt and Fisk are trying to bury their dark pasts by starting fresh.

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5
Both Men Have Violent Tendencies

Something the Netflix show made abundantly clear is that both Matt and Fisk have extremely violent tendencies that are difficult for them to ignore. They don’t necessarily express their violent natures in the same ways, but they have both exhibited difficulties in controlling them. Each of them uses violence as a means to an end. Matt beats people within an inch of their lives to get information about criminals to be able to stop them. Fisk has trouble controlling his temper, which often results in the vicious beatings of people who stand in his way or question him.

Since Matt is a devout Catholic, his creed as Daredevil has always been to abstain from murder. Even if someone he’s interrogating is a hardened criminal or a murderer themselves, Matt doesn’t believe murder is the answer. His Catholic upbringing is what made being Daredevil difficult for him. He spends the entire show battling himself internally because he knows murder is wrong, but he also recognizes he has this darkness in him threatening to expose itself. Hence, the violent beatings he dishes out to criminals.

Fisk likes to present himself as this sophisticated member of society, but in reality, he is a narcissistic and violent man who will not hesitate to harm someone. Even with their different beliefs about how far violence should go, neither of them can bury the deeply rooted violent tendencies they share.

4
Both Have an Intense Love of NYC and Believe Only They Can Save It

If there was only one parallel between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk that they would both agree on, it would be their intense love for New York City. The city is so deeply rooted in every aspect of their lives. They have never lived anywhere else and have devoted their entire lives to improving the livelihoods of its citizens. Albeit, Fisk has an extremely skewed vision of what it means to improve the city. Regardless, both Matt and Fisk love New York with every fiber of their beings. Every major event in their lives occurred in the city, and it is their entire world.

Since they both care so passionately about NYC, they both believe they are the only ones who can save it. They also believe the other will be the downfall of their great city. Even with other vigilantes operating to keep the city safe, such as the Defenders or the White Tiger who was introduced in this series, Matt still believes deep down that he is the only one who can protect New York.

Part of this belief that only he can save the city stems from his Catholic guilt. He feels compelled to potentially sacrifice himself if it means keeping his neighbors safe. The other part stems from his history with Fisk and the people who have been hurt along the way. Meanwhile, Fisk feels that he is a visionary who is the true savior of New York. He believes he has the city’s best interest at heart and convinced himself that vigilantes like Daredevil are the poison of the city, not his own mafia-related crimes.

3
Each Has Complex Romantic Relationships

Matt and Fisk each have relationships in their lives that complicate their work and goals. Even Matt’s friendship with Foggy faced troubles because Foggy disapproved of Matt’s vigilantism. Fisk tried to mentor a young hero named Maya Lopez a.k.a. Echo, which only caused problems for him, as he said to Matt in episode one. Their lifestyles make it incredibly difficult to maintain relationships with friends or family, and their romantic relationships are just as complicated.

Matt has always been a lady’s man. He’s charming, funny, and respectful, not to mention quite handsome. He has never had trouble attracting women’s attention and had romantic relationships with Karen, Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson), and Elektra Natchios (Elodie Young) in the original show. He even had a brief fling with Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) in the She-Hulk show and is currently in a relationship with therapist Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva) in Born Again. Nevertheless, his relationship with Karen was the most complicated of all of them.

Matt and Karen had an obvious attraction from the first episode of the Netflix show, but could never quite figure out how to be in a relationship. They often fought over morality, especially about Frank Castle’s case (Jon Bernthal) and Matt’s methods as Daredevil. Even in the first episode of this show, the two of them argue about how they each handled Foggy’s death. It’s painfully obvious that they care about each other and tried to date in the second season of the original show, but their differing viewpoints have always caused a rift between them.

The only woman that Fisk cares about is Vanessa, and she always has been. Fisk fell for her as soon as he saw her at the art gallery in season one of Daredevil. She became his number-one priority, which is why Matt was able to use her as leverage in the third season to end his criminal reign. Fisk’s love for Vanessa is one of his greatest weaknesses. He would burn the world down for her, but that intense love also causes Vanessa to want space. She is not a person who wants to be smothered or told what to do. So, when Fisk shows up after months away and tells her he wants to essentially abandon their criminal empire that she had been running, she’s not happy. Vanessa became used to calling the shots and liked doing it. She’s also mad at Fisk for leaving and not telling her why he left or where he went.

2
Each of Them Firmly Believes Their Respective Methods Are Justified

Both Matt and Fisk wholeheartedly believe that their methods for seeking justice and helping their city are justified. As a lawyer, Matt recognizes that the justice system often doesn’t actually serve justice and that the law can easily be corrupted. Creating his Daredevil persona was his way of putting the heightened senses caused by the chemical spill he encountered as a child to good use. When the justice system fails, he puts on his mask to seek justice himself.

Fisk has a similar approach, although he uses law and order as a front to hide his criminal nature. Becoming mayor was just a way for him to gain power quickly to continue to push his agenda. In his mind, bending or breaking the law is the only way to achieve his goals.

Their belief that their methods are justified stems from both characters’ extremely stubborn nature. While it’s clear that Matt’s intentions are the purest of the two, neither of them responds well to advice or rules. Fisk does not tolerate anyone questioning him or refusing him. Matt often thinks that people don’t understand the seriousness of situations, therefore his solution is the best solution. Both of them think their way is the only way to accomplish anything. Once Matt has an idea in his head, almost no one can talk him out of it, which complicates every relationship in his life. Fisk is the same way, although he is more aggressive in his stubbornness.

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1
Neither of Them Can Escape Their Past

Try as they might, neither Matt nor Fisk can escape their pasts. It haunts them in every facet of their lives. They have both lost people close to them and had traumatic childhoods. Due to their intense opposition to one another, they have had many intense confrontations over the years that have affected them in the present day. Even as they try to pave new paths for themselves, they cling to the mistakes and occurrences of their pasts. The biggest reason they can’t seem to escape their pasts is their inability to leave their alter egos behind.

Daredevil is an intricate part of Matt Murdock’s being, the same as Kingpin is for Wilson Fisk. Hector Ayala a.k.a. the White Tiger (Kamar de los Reyes) tells Matt in the third episode of Born Again that he can’t give up being the White Tiger because it’s who he is. Daredevil is who Matt is, whether he’s ready to admit it or not. Kingpin is in Fisk’s DNA as well. No matter how much he tries to paint himself as a productive member of society, he will always be a crime boss. Those alter egos call to them every day, and we have seen it in every episode so far. Matt’s Daredevil persona kicked into gear when he had to fight off Officer Powell (Hamish Allan-Headley) and Fisk had bruised knuckles in the third episode. They can’t suppress their alter egos because they have become an inextricable part of their beings.

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2025-03-15 17:37