Marvel vs DC · Street level
The Joker vs Kingpin
The Clown Prince of Crime came to take over New York’s underworld. The underworld already has a king.
Tale of the tape
| DC | Universe | Marvel |
|---|---|---|
| Street level | Tier | Street level |
| Chaos, poison gas and a mind no one can predict | Strength | Hidden muscle and a crime lord’s cunning |
| Cannot resist making it a show | Weakness | Prefers to send others to fight |
| 1–2 | Record on Versus | 1–1 |
The Arena
The Joker came through a crack between worlds into New York, took one look at a city full of gangsters and superheroes, and decided it was the most fun he had ever seen. Within a week, he had blown up three of the Kingpin’s warehouses, poisoned two of his lieutenants with laughing gas, and painted a smile on the side of Fisk Tower.
Wilson Fisk did not rage. He did not shout. He simply sent the Joker an invitation to dinner. The Joker arrived at the top of Fisk Tower in a purple suit, giggling, and found the Kingpin sitting at a long table in a white suit, eating calmly.
“You’re bigger than I expected,” the Joker said, sitting down. “Is that all muscle, or are you just very well fed?” Fisk put down his fork. “Sit down, clown. We need to talk about my city.”
Round One
The Joker talked. He always talks. He told the Kingpin he was going to take everything, blow up everything, and turn New York into the funniest joke in history. Fisk listened patiently, eating his dinner, never interrupting. When the Joker finally stopped to breathe, Fisk simply said, “No.”
The Joker laughed and pressed a button on his lapel. A canister of laughing gas hissed out from under the table. Fisk had already noticed it. He stood, picked up the table, all two hundred kilograms of solid oak, and threw it through the window, gas and all. It fell forty floors into the street below.
The Joker stared at the broken window, then at Fisk. “Okay,” he said slowly. “You’re strong.”
The Turn
The Joker grinned and pulled out a detonator. “There’s a bomb under this building,” he said gleefully. “Enough to bring the whole tower down. On you, on me, on everyone.” He waited for the panic. Fisk only straightened his tie.
“My men found it four hours ago,” Fisk said. “It is now under your hideout in Brooklyn.” The Joker’s smile froze. He pressed the detonator anyway, just to check. Somewhere across the river, there was a distant boom. The Joker laughed nervously. “Ha. That was my favourite hideout.”
For the first time, the Clown Prince of Crime realised he was not facing a hero who wanted to stop him. He was facing a criminal who was better at being a criminal.
The Finish
The Joker lunged at Fisk with a knife hidden in his sleeve. Fisk caught his wrist in one enormous hand, squeezed, and the knife fell to the floor. Then he lifted the Joker off the ground by his collar and held him there, dangling, his feet kicking in the air.
“I have ruled this city for twenty years,” Fisk said quietly. “Heroes have tried to take it from me. Gangs have tried. Gods have tried. You are a clown.” The Joker, even dangling, managed a grin. “But a funny one, right?” Fisk did not smile. He never smiles.
He handed the Joker to his men, who drove him to the edge of the dimensional crack and threw him through it, back to Gotham. The Joker landed in an alley near Arkham, bruised, laughing, and told anyone who would listen about the fat man in New York with absolutely no sense of humour. Nobody believed him.
The verdict
Kingpin wins
The Joker is chaos and unpredictability itself, but the Kingpin is a patient criminal genius with enormous physical strength who is always several moves ahead, and he finds the Joker’s bomb before the Joker even mentions it.
- PlanningFisk anticipates the Joker’s tricks.
- StrengthHe is far stronger than he looks.
- Home territoryNew York’s underworld already belongs to him.
How the rematch could go differently: In Gotham, on the Joker’s home ground, the Kingpin’s network would be useless, and the clown’s chaos would rule.
Who do you think wins?
Who would win in a fight between The Joker and Kingpin?
Kingpin wins. The Joker is chaos and unpredictability itself, but the Kingpin is a patient criminal genius with enormous physical strength who is always several moves ahead, and he finds the Joker’s bomb before the Joker even mentions it.