Blake was invented for the show, but the Mayor Fisk storyline does come from the pages of Marvel Comics. In the comics, Fisk had someone very different in the Deputy Mayor position, someone who wasn’t quite so much of a true believer: Matt Murdock.

Devil’s Advocate

“But wait!” you shout. “Why would Fisk ask Murdock to be Deputy Mayor? Doesn’t he know that Matt Murdock is Daredevil?”

The answer to your question, as with almost every question of this type, is “Comics.”

Yes, Fisk learned Daredevil’s secret identity long ago, as did everyone else in the world. But as a thank you for rescuing them, the children of Kilgrave the Purple Man (David Tennant’s character from Jessica Jones) used the mind-control powers they inherited from their father to wipe Daredevil’s secret identity from the world. So when the newly-elected mayor needed someone, in his words, “above reproach” to help convince New Yorkers that was sincere in his efforts to serve the city, he had no qualms about calling Murdock.

The first part of the Mayor Fisk storyline ran through 2018’s Daredevil #595 – 600, written by Charles Soule and illustrated by Stefano Landini and Ron Garney. As in Born Again, Mayor Fisk finds the former Kingpin of Crime using his new position to outlaw vigilantes, which handcuffs Murdock. As Daredevil, he’s seen as a criminal threat. As Murdock, an assistant district attorney when the arc begins, he has to build a case against Daredevil.

So when Fisk asks him to join the staff as Deputy Mayor, Murdock think’s he’s found a way to fight back. Now, even viewers of the show realize that Matt Murdock, charming and well-meaning as he is, often makes very bad decisions. That’s even more true of comic book Matt, which he hears immediately from Foggy Nelson (who has also died in the comics, but comics being comics, gets to come back to life… sorry TV fans). “If there’s one thing I know about Wilson Fisk,” Foggy warns Matt; “it’s that if you think you’re playing him, he is definitely playing you.”