Richard Fisk

Richard Fisk
Cover of Web of Spider-Man #30 (Sep. 1987). Art by Steve Geiger.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Amazing Spider-Man #83 (April 1970)
Created by	Stan Lee (writer) John Romita, Sr. (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Richard Fisk
Team affiliations	HYDRA
Notable aliases	The Schemer, The Rose, The Blood Rose
Abilities	Good martial artist High-level intellect Carries a handgun and a variety of mini-grenades (As Rose): Wears a bulletproof suit

Richard Fisk is a fictional character, a criminal appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the son of the Kingpin and his wife Vanessa Fisk. Although he was originally a villain, he became an antihero.

The character first appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #83 (April 1970) and was created by Stan Lee and John Romita, Sr.

The character Richard Fisk first appears as The Schemer in The Amazing Spider-Man #83 (April 1970), created by Stan Lee and John Romita, Sr. He first appeared as The Rose in The Amazing Spider-Man #253 (June 1984), but was not revealed as the Rose until The Amazing Spider-Man #286 (March 1987).

Richard Fisk grew up as a child of privilege, believing that his father Wilson Fisk was a respectable and honorable businessman. Wilson was sometimes abusive to Richard, but Richard still loved him. At one point he and his childhood friend Samuel Silke saw Wilson roughing up someone. It was when he was attending a prestigious college in Switzerland that he discovered that his father was, in reality, the Kingpin of Crime. Realizing the luxuries of his youth had been financed by a criminal empire, Richard was distraught and vowed to make atonement for his father's crimes. When his parents received word that Richard had perished in a skiing accident, they suspected that it was really a suicide after Richard learned the truth of his father's identity. Heartbroken and furious that his son could have acted so spinelessly, the Kingpin sunk into a spell of depression.

Not long afterward, a new gang emerged in New York, led by a mysterious figure calling himself the Schemer. Unlike most gangs in New York, the Schemer's organization seemed bent solely on dismantling the Kingpin's empire. After a series of confrontations, the Kingpin and the Schemer finally met face to face. It was then that the Schemer revealed that his face was really a mask, and that his true face was that of Richard Fisk. Richard explained that he had faked his death in the Alps and was striking back at his father using his own money. This final shock was too much for the Kingpin to bear, and he collapsed into catatonia. This finally made Richard realize how much he had hurt his father, and he set off to find a way to cure his comatose state. Richard joined the international terrorist group HYDRA, becoming a leader of the Nevada fragment of HYDRA and eventually rising to the rank of Supreme Hydra. Now with HYDRA's expansive medical resources at his disposal, Richard was able to return his father to full health. The Kingpin, reconciled with his son, proved that he was back to normal by clandestinely taking over as ruler of HYDRA. However, it was soon revealed that the true leader of HYDRA was the Nazi supervillain the Red Skull, and the Fisks had to team up with Captain America and the Falcon to stop the mad dictator. Richard was critically wounded in the final battle, and the Kingpin had his son placed in suspended animation, finally curing him by siphoning some life force from Spider-Man.