One of the best villains that Netflix’s corner of the MCU ever gave us, Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin, is about to return to the franchise in Hawkeye⏤or at least it looks that way. The character’s return has got fans thinking about the potential for another standout antagonist from the Defenders-verse to make a comeback, too. Jessica Jones‘ first season is one of the finest runs of a superhero show ever, and David Tennant’s performance as Kilgrave, aka the Purple Man, is a major reason for that.
Memorably, Jessica succeeded in killing her nemesis at the end of the season, but in the Marvel universe, death isn’t necessarily permanent. So should Kilgrave be resurrected or is it better if he just stays dead in order to preserve the brilliant arc of JJ season 1? This is what MCU fans have been debating on a thread shared to the r/MarvelStudios subreddit. User u/MultiForms got the ball rolling, with many commenters arguing that Kilgrave should remain in his grave.
“Somehow, the Purple Man has returned.”
Sometimes it’s best to let dead villains die.
Alternatively, don’t bring him back ‘cos he’s too scary.
On the other hand, different fans argued that Kilgrave should return. One pointed out that Marvel is likely to reboot the continuity of the Netflix shows somewhat, thereby undoing his demise.
Then again, there’s always the tried-and-tested “flashbacks and hallucinations” method.
But remember, Purple Man has a strong healing factor in the comics which makes him essentially unkillable. And Kilgrave gave himself a power boost shortly before he died in the show.
Or, you know, he could regenerate into Matt Smith. And then start traveling through time with Nebula (Karen Gillan).
It’s a tricky conundrum. While Daredevil, Kingpin, and others deserve to come back because their stories weren’t finished, Kilgrave’s was, so there isn’t the same creative need for him to return.
At the same time, having such a powerful villain face other heroes is an enticing notion. Let us know your thoughts about this in the comments, MCU fans.