Matt turning up to talk to Fisk in his lil torture basement was actually straight out of a comic book like, there are so many fucking times where Fisk is minding his own business and then all of a sudden Daredevil is just.. there in his office/house/bedroom/etc brooding in the shadows, it’s so extra I love it
Me compiling, for no real reason, all the times Fisk and Matt have successfully killed each other.* The winner with most kills may surprise you... It's Matt.
*(If I'm missing any instances, let me know.)
Matt Kills Fisk
[What If? (1989) #2]
An alternative to the Born Again arc where Matt, at the end of his rope after being put there by Fisk, kills him in an act of desperation.
[What If Karen Page Had Lived? (2004)]
What If where Karen lives (in hospital) and Matt's feelings become more vengeful than depressed. Mysterio kills himself when confronted, and Bullseye is apparently too sociopathic to punish? So Matt goes after Fisk for his smaller role in the event. (It's a good comic, even if the reasoning to get there feels convoluted and forced. Like I don't think he'd skip Bullseye.)
[What If? Daredevil Vs. Elektra (2009)]
Matt is killed in college but revived by The Hand with no memories of his former life. He becomes a killer, with Fisk being one of his targets.
[Daredevil: End of Days (2012) #1]
Fisk returning to the city after exile and striking a deal with the feds is apparently the last straw for this Matt. (DD S3, eat your heart out.)
[Spider-Gwen (2015) #28]
"Murderdock" worked for Fisk but killed his boss in order to take his place as Kingpin.
Technicality?
(This gets... half a point. Maybe.)
[Daredevil (1964) #380]
[Daredevil (1964) #380]
Incorrect rumors told by separate witnesses over what happened when a ship that Fisk, Matt, and others were on exploded. At least two of the three iterations appear to have Matt killing Fisk. I wouldn't say it counts because this isn't what actually happened, but storytelling is storytelling.
Fisk Kills Matt
[Powerless (2004) #6]
After other attempts fail to silence blind attorney Matt Murdock (not enhanced or Daredevil), Fisk kills him following one final confrontation.
[Daredevil 2099 (2004)]
Fisk's grandson, Samuel, recounts how Kingpin killed Daredevil, ending their rivalry. (Samuel is the new Daredevil. But also Kingpin as well.)
[Darkdevil (2000) #2]
Fisk gave the order to kill Daredevil and Daredevil was killed. I would say this counts. But what ultimately takes Matt down is getting in the way of bullets meant for someone else. The text box calls it a sacrifice. So yes? No? Is the act of sacrifice what killed him, or was he simply murdered? Would Matt have lived if he weren't protecting someone else? I suppose yes, we'll call it murder.
Technicalities
[Devil's Reign (2021) #5]
Fisk does and does not kill Matt here. He kills Matt's real/not-real twin brother Mike (who was pretending to be Matt) due to anger over his original memories of Daredevil's identity being erased from his mind. Unclear whether it counts. In its favor, not only is Fisk fully convinced he's killing Matt Murdock, but Mike is a creation based off Matt's original portrayal of him. He is and isn't part of Matt. Mike was a real boy with his own life at this point though.
[Marvel Knights: Millennium Visions (2001)]
It meets the basic criteria of being a universe where Fisk kills Matt, but this is all we have. Does one page of text really count? A lot of this comic (mostly text) is filled with jokes about other Marvel characters that aren't meant to be taken serious (like the other DD mention). While I like the concept they imagine here, I think it needs more effort than, "Be cool if..."
[Marvel Versus DC: Assassins (1996)]
This one definitely does not count because it's not Matt. It's not technically Marvel? It's a feminine Marvel/DC mashup of two separate characters, Daredevil (Marvel) and Deathstroke (DC), to create a completely new character. But the Kingpin/Riddler amalgamation kills her (by grossly ripping off little horns he previously had surgically grafted to her skull) so...
Fisk grabbed Matt's chin roughly, and tilted his head up, left, and right.
He ignoring the lawyer's attempt to jerk his head free, because to be honest, his latest enlightenment is more important.
"You're right." Matt froze. He was considering attacking Fisk in broad daylight, his secret identity be damned, as long as he could be free from the clutches of his arch-enemy, only for Fisk to suddenly uttered something that made no sense.
"What?"
"You're right. It was the right decision."
"Right deci- What are you talking about? What decision?!"
Fisk chuckled at Matt's confused expression, unaware that he had proven Fisk's insight to be correct.
The Kingpin then bent down so he could whisper softly in the shorter man's ear.
"Your mask. It was a right decision to wear it." Fisk paused for a moment to observe how Matt's jaw clenched, no doubt thinking Fisk was going to taunt him with his failure to hide his secret identity.
Well, the younger man was not wrong. But for a different reason.
"It was a right decision to wear it. You don't look as scary without it. You look more like a yapping puppy." Fisk puncturing his offhand comment by making a slightly cooed sound.
He then straightened up again so he could see Matt's jaw went slack and the blush creeping up his face. Fisk smirk mockingly, anticipating the explosion he was sure would be highly entertaining.
He was not disappointed.
Matt Murdock is truly adorable. Annoying pain in the ass, yes, but very adorable.
