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Greetings Popversians, and welcome to Lore Corner! Each week, video producer Ashley V. Robinson and staff writer Grant DeArmitt are going to take you deep into the pre-existing lore behind some of pop culture's most exciting adaptations, such as Marvel's return to the streets of Hell's Kitchen in Daredevil: Born Again. Enjoy! 

Spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again follow.

Who is Vanessa Fisk in the comics?

First introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #70, written by Stan Lee and drawn by Spidey legend John Romita Sr., Vanessa Fisk is the true love of Wilson Fisk, and perhaps one of the only weak spots in the Kingpin's armor. Vanessa's life as a Fisk has brought her a great deal of misery, as she does not generally approve of her husband's criminal lifestyle. She's also been used as a pawn, a hostage, and emotional leverage over Wilson, a fate from which (because this is comics) even death cannot spare her.

Yes, even after her demise in the Ed Brubaker-written run of Daredevil comics, villains like the Jackal have sought to use a resurrected Vanessa as a bargaining chip to work with Kingpin. Evil organizations like the Hand, too, have used the deceased Vanessa as a part of their schemes, making the fact that 'nobody stays dead in comics' a particularly unfortunate one for poor Mrs. Fisk.

Who is Kingpin's wife in Into the Spider-Verse?

Speaking of Vanessa's demise, one of her most recent appearances outside of comics also revolves around her untimely passing (I know, not great optics). I'm talking about Vanessa's brief stint in Into the Spider-Verse, during which Kingpin accidentally causes the death of both his wife (voiced by Lake Bell) and son, Richard. Unable to live without his family, Fisk seeks to upend the multiverse and find a different version of the pair of them, nearly destroying the space-time continuum in the process.

Perhaps it's this fact that has led so many on the internet to ask...

Did Disney replace Vanessa in Daredevil: Born Again?

Long before Daredevil: Born Again aired on Disney+, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the role of Vanessa would be recast from its Netflix predecessor, to be filled by Sandrine Holt. However, that plan did not come to fruition - the Vanessa Fisk of Daredevil: Born Again is indeed the same actor we met in 2017; that is, Ayelet Zurer. What does change, however, about Vanessa's situation is the role she plays in the show, particularly with regards to her husband's criminal empire.

Unlike her comic book and Spider-Verse counterparts, the Vanessa of Born Again not only approves of a criminal lifestyle, but actually takes one on. Yes, it's revealed in the pilot episode of Daredevil: Born Again, that as his wife was off galavanting across Hawkeye and Echo's stories, it was his wife that took over her husband's role as Kingpin of Crime.

What happens to Vanessa in Daredevil: Born Again?

After some time apart, Vanessa and Wilson Fisk reconnect at the beginning of Disney+'s drastically darker turn into the MCU. Wilson runs a successful campaign for Mayor of New York City but, in the meantime, both he and his wife think it's best if the pair are not seen together, as Wilson is trying to keep his image clean. Unfortunately, this puts a strain on their relationship, leading the couple to seek marriage counseling from (gasp!) the therapist currently dating Matt Murdock, Dr. Heather Glenn. 

This promises to be one of the defining relationship arcs of the series, perhaps just as important as the one between Matt and former girlfriend Karen Page. It is also apparently one of the most discussed topics of Daredevil fandom, as there are plenty of people online wondering...

Does Vanessa actually love Fisk? 

That's a great question, and to be honest, it's not it has different answers depending on when you're asking it. Yes, Daredevil: Born Again's Vanessa has shown herself to be loyal to Wilson (for the time being), but it's unclear whether or not their relationship will survive Fisk's rise to power, which he is fiercely committed to. On the other hand, Vanessa has been running the criminal empire for years by the time the show kicks off, and trying to fit Wilson back into her lifestyle after that is not guaranteed to work out.

Who knows? Even though the comic book Vanessa has always been in danger because she's married to Wilson Fisk, Daredevil: Born Again might make the opposite true.

Daredevil: Born Again (and its most calculating crime lord) is streaming on Disney+ now. 

Fear not, we have the essentials when it comes to Marvel's Daredevil - especially with Marvel Studios' Daredevil: Born Again. Check out:

• The key difference between Netflix's Daredevil and Marvel Studios' Daredevil: Born Again, according to the showrunner
• The best Daredevil stories of all time
• What to watch before Daredevil: Born Again 
• Popverse Picks: Our favorite things for Marvel's Man Without Fear including Ann Nocenti comics, the Netflix series, and more
• How Vincent D'Onofrio reinvented Daredevil's Kingpin
• Marvel's Daredevil actors, ranked from Charlie Cox to Ben Affleck and even Rex Smith
• How Frank Miller accidentally killed a Daredevil cartoon (and Marvel killed a book to avoid pissing him off)
• That time we caught Daredevil actor Charlie Cox sneaking into New York Comic Con as Bluey