#Also about this Fisk (totally unrelated) I swear I have a Mandela Effect going on

[twilight-deviant]

What is your opinion of the Wilson Fisk version of the Spiderverse animated movie?

I like him all right. ¯\_(◡‿◡)_/¯ I like Fisk, so seeing Fisk at all is what I like. Haha.

Disclaimer: It has been a little while since I watched the movie. I should do it again sometime.

I do often have problems with Spider-Man using Fisk. (Yes, I know he's a SM villain first. But hear me out... he's a DD villain, okay?) I find that DD keeps him a lot more grounded (he is just a guy, a regular, non-enhanced guy), and SM wants him to be as big as the series other villains. Spider-Verse is definitely guilty of that, having Fisk at the center of accessing multiple universes and breaking them, but ah well... Most important, they still humanize him. That's what matters most to making a good Fisk. [Unspeakable Evils 🤝 Caring for Loved Ones] Having him do it all to bring back Vanessa and Richard (the most any Fisk has ever cared for Richard? lol), I like it.

More thoughts below...

I think they did a kind of interesting thing having Liev do a more "New York" accent in the voice acting. (Sounds like a Brooklyn accent, I think? Even though Fisk has always been very Manhattan-based. I could very easily be wrong though.) I don't know that I agree with the choice, but I find it interesting. It drives home Fisk's lower-class roots. I only disagree with it because a big part of Fisk's development from childhood is leaving that behind, reading a lot and bettering himself to come off as someone higher-class and more educated. He likes rubbing elbows with "old rich," pretending he's one of them and always has been, and he hates reminders that he isn't. Like... really hates it.

[Daredevil (1964) #290]

(He kills that man. Over the top? Yes. Makes the point? Yes. And yeah, he does speak other languages, but I get what they're saying here about "academic" phrases.)

I know it's obvious I like Vincent's Fisk in the tv series, but I think they do a lot of it right. He frequently uses big words to show he's intelligent (almost intentionally-- to impress), but he doesn't know "basic rich people things." He has to have Wesley suggest wine to drink at dinner, he can't tie a bowtie, etc. It's nice. It's subtle. It gives the impression of "nouveau riche" with higher-class ignorance and overcompensation. I think that is truly the best way to handle Fisk. If he had an accent perceived as lower-class, he would get rid of it posthaste. Nothing against the Spider-Verse decision though. Sometimes, variety is nice too.

ANYWAY! Actual character design of Spider-Verse Fisk? 😅 Well, I think every joke has been made. Haha. Obviously, as established, based on this Fisk:

[Daredevil: Love and War (1986)]

Seeing him in Spider-Verse can be a lot to take in at first with a lot to criticize, but I've come out the other side with much better opinions.

At first, you think seeing such a ridiculous shape of a man dehumanizes him a bit, which is fair and (I still think) a little true. But I've opted instead to not see it as a literal physical manifestation of Fisk so much as a symbolic display that he is "The Big Man." You can look at the wide shot in the comic above and see that even though he is massive, the big open room makes him feel small, vulnerable. It somehow makes him appear more powerless to help Vanessa. (So much strength but he can't fix her, blah blah blah.) But most of the shots in Spider-Verse have him taking up the screen. He's supposed to come off very strong, very scary, and very in charge of the situation.

In his less villainous moments, he takes up less screen.

Him being peak vulnerable? Thinking about Vanessa and Richard's deaths? The widest of wide shots. Him smol.

So I do believe the character design is a good choice overall, but I think for its greatest impact, you have to think of his size as symbolic instead of physical. (Granted, if there's one thing no artist can agree on, it's how big to make Fisk. I could make a whole post just on how severely his size fluctuates across the comics. lol) Also about his design in the movie, I'm into the black silhouette. Voids are cool. 👍

Side note: I like the pen clicking habit when he's stressed. Wilson Fisk is never beating the autism allegations.

I hope that answers your question, Anon. I think I'd have to watch the movie again to give greater commentary on this Fisk. I'm curious what your thoughts on him are. ♥