Captain America considers a shocking MCU villain as one of Marvel’s best fighters – and he was unable to defeat them single-handedly in a close combat encounter. Captain America is one of Marvel’s best hand-to-hand fighters, but in 1972’s Captain America #147 he met a foe able go toe to toe with him – and it was a character that came as a surprise to readers.
Captain America #147 contained the story “And Behind the Hordes of HYDRA,” – by Mike Friedrich and Sal Buscema – which featured Captain America confronting Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, with the face-to-face quickly turning violent.
Kingpin surprised not only Captain America, but readers as well, by proving himself a match for the original super-soldier.
Many Marvel Heroes Have Underestimated Kingpin’s Fighting Abilities
In Captain America #147, Kingpin charged at Captain America. Cap taunted Kingpin, telling the mobster that he may have been capable of roughing up Spider-Man, but he’d find Captain America a much tougher foe. Cap continued goading Kingpin, calling him a “clumsy oaf.” Now enraged, Kingpin came at Captain America once again, more ferocious than ever. Kingpin caught Captain America off-guard, and Captain America admitted Fisk was more nimble than he expected. Kingpin sensed this, and boasted of his great agility. Captain America conceded to himself the Kingpin’s power, saying Fisk was “as quick” as any foe he has faced, and just as strong.
The Kingpin Is a Shockingly Good Fighter
Kingpin proved too much for Captain America, who was later rescued by the Falcon. Captain America made a rookie mistake in fighting the Kingpin – but so have many others. Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, is one of the most feared villains in the Marvel Universe, despite lacking superpowers. Nearly every New York-based hero has fought Kingpin at one point or another, with Daredevil being an almost singular target of his wrath. Kingpin made the leap to live action in the Daredevil television show, where he was played to perfection by Vincent D’Orofino. A large and looming presence, the Kingpin is also, surprisingly, one of Marvel’s best fighters – as Captain America found out the hard way.
As this was earlier in the Kingpin’s career, Captain America can be forgiven for underestimating his opponent. The Kingpin is a large man, with how large varying from artist to artist, but his size is generally depicted as being almost pure muscle. Wilson Fisk’s various appearances over the years have established that he does regular, vigorous physical exercise, which goes a long way to explaining why he is so agile. The Kingpin has never been afraid to get his hands dirty – he will kill someone himself if he has to, and he takes measures to be prepared for all possible scenarios.
As the Kingpin works in New York City, which is home to many superheroes, he has to find a way to give himself an advantage over them.
Thus, he tricks his foes into thinking he is a clumsy ox, when it is anything but the truth. What is worth noting about Captain America and Kingpin’s fight was how Fisk was able to keep pace. As Captain America told Kingpin, he had been fighting for a lot longer than Spider-Man – which is true. However, these years of experience mattered little to the Kingpin, who was able to nearly defeat Captain America in hand-to-hand combat – making this shock MCU villain one of Marvel’s best fighters.
