Defenders: Kingpins of Crime

Collects Defenders (2017) #6-10

After a terrific opening arc, Kingpins of Crime picks up exactly where Diamonds Are Forever leaves off. Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, and Iron Fist have finally embraced the idea of becoming a permanent street-level team, just as New York's criminal underworld erupts into a full-blown power struggle.

With Diamondback somehow returning from the dead, juiced up with new powers and looking for revenge, and Black Cat making her own play for the vacant throne, the race to become the next Kingpin of Crime is officially underway.

Bendis throws the reader straight back into the action as Diamondback unloads on Black Cat before the Defenders swoop in to prevent the execution. It's a great opening sequence that immediately reminds you this isn't a book about world-ending cosmic stakes. This is organized crime with superheroes caught in the middle, and that's where Bendis has always excelled.

Of course, Daredevil immediately points out the obvious. Diamondback isn't staying behind bars. Sure enough, the legal maneuvering becomes just as important as the punches. The plan is to muddy public opinion, paint the Defenders as vigilantes operating above the law, and sow enough confusion that New York begins questioning who actually has the authority to keep order. It's a clever strategy that feels ripped from real-world politics as much as comic books. Also ripped from civil war, but who's counting.

Then we find out the truth, Wilson Fisk has been manipulating the entire situation from the shadows.

It's a reveal that almost feels inevitable, but no less satisfying because of it. Fisk rarely needs to throw the first punch. He's always more dangerous when he's making everyone else fight on his behalf.

Issue #7 is probably the high point of the arc. It's almost wall-to-wall action, but it never feels empty. Iron Fist's showdown with Elektra is one of the book's best moments, fluid coloring and choreography.

The artwork throughout the series deserves a ton of credit. David Marquez draws superhero comics exactly how I want superhero comics to look: expressive, clean, dynamic action.

Where the story starts losing me is the arrival of the Hood. Up until this point, the board was already crowded. Diamondback is the muscle. Black Cat is trying to build her own empire. Fisk is manipulating events from behind the scenes. Those three forces are more than enough to sustain the conflict. Then, in the back half of the story, Hammerhead is killed, resurrected, and the Hood arrives to establish the "Order of Kingpins." It's not a bad idea. It's just the wrong time for it.

Introducing him in the closing chapters of an already busy arc feels less like a natural escalation and more like setup for future stories, the same future stories we have currently going. Instead of paying off everything that's been building since issue #1, the narrative circles back on itself.

As a result, the ending feels rushed. Diamondback is defeated almost as quickly as he became unstoppable. Black Cat cuts her deal. The Defenders officially launch Heroes for Hire. The Hood reorganizes the criminal landscape. Massive developments happen one after another with barely enough room to breathe. It's less an ending than a series of epilogues compressed into a single issue. Which would be fine if the series continued.

It's disappointing because Bendis has often talked about preferring slow-burn crime stories over explosive superhero spectacles. You can feel that influence throughout most of this run. The conversations, investigations, legal maneuvering, and shifting alliances are consistently more engaging than the actual fights. Unfortunately, the finale abandons some of that patience in favor of rapidly resetting the board for the next storyline.

That doesn't make Kingpins of Crime a bad arc. Far from it. The cast remains excellent, the dialogue is sharp, and the artwork is some of the best Marvel was putting out during this era. Watching these four heroes slowly learn how to function as an actual team continues to be the book's greatest strength, and the street-level focus gives the series an identity that separates it from Marvel's larger crossover events. I just wish the ending had the confidence to stick the landing instead of racing toward the next chapter.

It's still a very enjoyable read, but after the promise of the first arc, this one feels like a small step backward.