In His Debut Kingpin Humiliated One Of Spider-Man's Biggest Foes

Although not nearly as prevalent in modern comics, the Big Man was one of Spider-Man's greatest foes during the original fifty issues of Amazing Spider-Man. The character was a crime lord who also casually worked for the Daily Bugle on the sly, so the Big Man was always unnervingly close to discovering Spider-Man's true identity as Peter Parker. When the Kingpin made his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #50 (by Stan Lee, John Romita Jr, Sam Rosen and Mike Esposito), he seemed to be a one-note crime lord trying to make a power grab, a stereotypical opponent the Big Man could easily crush.

To the shock of many early readers of the 1960s Amazing Spider-Man run, Kingpin easily outwitted the Big Man and the villain fell so far in Spider-Man's supervillain hierarchy that in the very next issue he was a mere goon for Kingpin rather than a central antagonist. The Big Man's defeat and humiliation was ultimately cemented when Kingpin killed the previously powerful villain in Amazing Spider-Man #52 (by Stan Lee, John Romita Jr, Sam Rosen and Mike Esposito), all but replacing the Big Man as a far more effective Spider-Man foe.

This made it clear right away that Kingpin was not some dime-a-dozen crime lord, but an intelligent and ruthless villain who could best even seasoned Spider-Man foes. The level of fear and respect the Kingpin was able to gain by humiliating and usurping the Big Man put him on the path to becoming an iconic recurring villain. However, a strong start didn't turn Kingpin into the famed Spider-Man villain he is today. His defeat of the Big Man was only a small part of how his first few appearances cemented him as one of the Web Warrior's greatest foes.

Kingpin Effortlessly Crushed Spider-Man

Concurrent to Kingpin's debut was the famous Spider-Man: No More story arc where the Wall-Crawler was so demoralized he quit his superheroic life. This incredibly iconic storyline has been reinterpreted several times within Spider-Man media, notably in Sam Rami's Spider-Man 2, but one of the forgotten aspects of the storyline was Kingpin's role in the story. Not only did Spider-Man's temporary retirement act as the catalyst for the Kingpin's rise to power but the crime lord also robbed the Web-Head of his triumphant return to superheroing.

When he returned to his career as Spider-Man, the Wall-Crawler achieved a massive victory over his own psyche. The high from this win was short-lived, though, when in Amazing Spider-Man #51, Spider-Man was outwitted and captured by the Kingpin. Traditionally a story about overcoming great turmoil would lead to a triumphant victory for the protagonist. However, Kingpin's victory over Spider-Man undermined reader expectations. Once again, the Kingpin showed that he was not just an ordinary villain but a genuine mastermind who could not be overcome just because Spider-Man decided to return to crime-fighting.

Kingpin Was One Of The First Villains Spider-Man Couldn't Defeat

Defeat has become a common part of Spider-Man's life in modern comic stories, with his fellow hero, Ms. Marvel's death at The Emissary's hands providing a testament to that fact. However, his early adventures in the Silver Age followed a more mundane narrative and the Wall-Crawler ended up victorious in the end. While occasionally an antagonist could get the upper hand for an issue or two, the Silver Age storylines usually were resolved with the villain's defeat, either ending up in prison or just narrowly escaping with their plans foiled.

Kingpin broke this tradition in the conclusion of his debut storyline Amazing Spider-Man #52. Spider-Man had just barely managed to escape the Kingpin's clutches alongside J. Jonah Jameson, foiling the crime lord's plans to kill them both. However, this was a pyrrhic victory for Spider-Man, as Kingpin ultimately lost none of the power he accumulated thanks to the Web-Head's brief retirement and still managed to kill the Big Man, establishing his newly christened position as the 'King of New York City's Underworld'. In the end, only J. Jonah Jameson managed to score any real hits on the Kingpin when he published an article via the Daily Bugle identifying Kingpin's public persona as Wilson Fisk.

The fact that Spider-Man couldn't truly defeat the Kingpin made the character a long-lasting and successful villain, and Webhead dedicated an impressive amount of his crime-fighting career to putting the crime lord away for good. Kingpin's impressive accolades in his first few appearances allowed him to not only be a major Spider-Man villain, but the archnemesis for Daredevil and even on occasion an enemy to Captain America and the Avengers. Although he has no superpowers to speak of, Kingpin's first few appearances catapulted the crime lord into star status in Marvel Comics, ranking not just among the best Spider-Man villains, but one of the best villains in comic book history.

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