Who Is Jack Duquesne? How Hawkeye’s Forgotten Villain Fits Into Daredevil: Born Again
Mayor Fisk’s life just got more complicated.
Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) may be the new mayor of New York City, but no one’s bowing down to the Kingpin just yet. His rapid ascent in Daredevil: Born Again felt like art imitating life in more ways than one, as Fisk won his office because people believed in his capacity to “get things done.” Now that he’s in charge, however, Fisk is learning what it takes to actually move the needle in New York: other people’s money.
In Born Again’s latest episode, Fisk finds himself on the back foot for the first time in a long time. In the years between Daredevil and Marvel’s Disney+ revival, he became untouchable, while his wife Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) only amassed more wealth as the new head of their shadowy crime family. It’s implied their blood money helped fund Fisk’s mayoral campaign, but Fisk realizes he needs a softer touch as he takes on more ambitious projects.
Episode 6 sees Fisk schmoozing with New York’s elite as he searches for sponsors to support his restoration of Red Hook port. While most of these characters have no real MCU presence, one should be familiar to Hawkeye fans — and his face-off with Fisk may tell us a lot about the coming episodes.
Who is Jack Duquesne? The Swordsman returns to the MCU
Mayor Fisk just gained a potential enemy in Jack Duquesne.
Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton) was a minor antagonist in Marvel’s Hawkeye. He’s introduced as the fiancé of Eleanor Bishop (Vera Farmiga) and future stepdad to Kate Bishop/Hawkeye (Hailee Steinfeld). The demise of his uncle Armand kickstarts a mystery involving multiple criminal empires, Fisk’s included, and while Kate suspects Jack is the mastermind behind it all, it’s actually Eleanor pulling the strings. Eleanor’s late husband was in deep debt with Fisk before he bought the farm, forcing Eleanor to do his dirty work. While Jack’s vibe is pretty suspicious, and he does become a vigilante known as Swordsman, he was little more than a pawn.
A few years have passed since Jack’s ordeal in Hawkeye, and he clearly hasn’t lost his good reputation with New York’s upper crust. He’s one of the potential donors Fisk speaks with in Episode 6, but their conversation quickly turns him into a rival instead. Jack doesn’t take kindly to Fisk’s stance against vigilantes, and he also seems threatened by Fisk’s urge to rise through the ranks. “Underestimate the people in this room at your own peril,” he warns Fisk, implying that “one phone call” could end his tenure as mayor.
How Jack will play into future episodes of Born Again remains to be seen, but it’s safe to assume he’ll be back eventually. The old Fisk wouldn’t have let that threat slide, but now that he’s mayor, he needs to find another way to fight his battles. Will Jack and the Duquesnes become another obstacle in his path to greatness? Time will tell, but this definitely isn’t the last we’ve seen of the Swordsman.
