Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Daredevil: Born Again episode 4The MCU’sPunisheris finally primed to tell a story I’ve always wanted Marvel Studios to tell. Thanks toDaredevil: Born Againand the return of Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle, there’s some great opportunity to continue The Punisher’s evolution, 6 years after his original series was canceled on Netflix. Likewise, Frank now has the chance to address a major problem in New York, one that has also been seen in the real world as well.
Making his MCU return inDaredevil: Born Againepisode 4, Frank Castle’s Punisher is less than interested in helping Matt Murdock with his “candy-a** hero s***.” As such, the argument between the two Marvel vigilantes is as intense with as much depth as their original dispute over their respective methods from Netflix’sDaredevilseason 2.Nevertheless, Daredevil does bring an issue to The Punisher’s attention which I’m very excited about as the new MCU series continues.
Daredevil: Born Again Is Confronting The Punisher’s Symbol Being Co-opted In Real Life
Frank Castle Isn’t A Fan Of His Fans
InDaredevil: Born Againepisode 4, Matt Murdock investigates where Hector Ayala aka White Tiger was shot and killed by a man posing as The Punisher in the previous episode.Likewise, the shell casing Murdock finds has the Punisher’s iconic skull logo on it, establishing ties to the corrupt police officers in the series who’ve been shown with tattoos of Frank Castle’s symbol as well. This motivates Matt to visit Frank in his hideout/armory, who confirms he has no love for his “bulls***” fanboys."
Notably, the concept of police officers and members of the military co-opting The Punisher’s symbol for themselves is sourced from real life. By taking on the logo and being controversially inspired by Frank Castle, co-opting the symbol is meant to represent their willingness to do whatever’s necessary to protect their communities. However,Marvel Comics has never been very enthused by this Punisher logo trend, and they’ve established in the comics that Frank himself hates it as well (the skull logo was even removed for a time). Now, it seems the MCU is following suit with the live-action Punisher.
Daredevil: Born Again Showrunner Explained The Punisher Storyline Is Intentional
“Deep, Rich, And Begging To Be Told”
It also seems likeDaredevil: Born Againepisode 4 is just the first chapter of Frank Castle’s MCU return.As confirmed by showrunner Dario Scardapane in an interview with IGN(who notably was a producer/writer on the originalPunisherseries):
“The tattoo should be a hint. There is a Frank Castle storyline that I think is deep and rich, and begging to be told. It was in one of the comics. Frank’s appearance is not random, and it goes back to your earlier question of who is a vigilante, who’s good, and who’s bad, and Frank is one of those incredibly galvanizing characters, and Frank comes into our world with a purpose, and that purpose is executed. Does it have something to do with these men that we see in that apartment? Yes.”
Scardapane’s comments are very exciting, confirming that Punisher’s story will more than likely continue beyond his return inDaredevil: Born Againepisode 4. Furthermore,there’s a clear acknowledgment that the intention is to not only mirror the real-life controversy about cops co-opting Castle’s skull in the MCU, but to also adapt The Punisher’s condemnation of these officers in-universe as well.
The Punisher Is Entertaining, But He Shouldn’t Be Inspiring
It certainly looks like the MCU wants The Punisher to mirror his comic counterpart and Castle’s distaste for his own followers. As seen in2018’sPunisher #13, Frank doesn’t mince words as he tears a bumper sticker of his skull off a cop’s car when two officers profess themselves as fans, trying to emulate Castle and doing whatever they can to “take back their streets.” The Punisher doesn’t want fans, nor does he believe anyone should be idolizing him: “You boys need a role model? His name is Captain America, and he’d be happy to have you.” Frank also threatens that if he catches any cops trying to do what he does, he’ll go for them next.
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After only two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again, there are several key parallels between New York’s new mayor Wilson Fisk and President Donald Trump.
Frank Castle does what he does because he believes he has no other choice, selling his soul to achieve “permanent justice” in response to his incredibly dark past and all he’s lost. He gave up any sort of code or oath to uphold the law like the police have.The Punisher is meant to be darkly and tragically entertaining, butnotinspiring. To that end, I couldn’t be more excited to see the MCU’s Punisher tackling this quasi-meta issue as well. The cherry on top would be if Jon Bernthal’s Punisher uses some of these same lines from the comic.
How Marvel Can Continue The Punisher’s Story In Daredevil: Born Again
Confronting The “Bulls*** Fanboys”
While he acknowledges his problematic fans inDaredevil: Born Againepisode 4, we obviously don’t see Frank confront any of these corrupt cops who are seemingly trying to follow in his footsteps. Likewise,it’s still unknown who specifically went so far as to fully impersonate The Punisher while killing White Tiger. Combined with the comments fromDaredevil: Born Again’sshowrunner,it seems more than likely that Punisher will eventually face down his “followers” in future episodes, and he’ll more than likely be driven to reluctantly team up with Daredevil as well.
It’s also likely that Frank motivated Murdock to don his mask once more at the end ofDaredevil: Born Againepisode 4. That said, this could very well come with an added level of darkness/vengeance that could threaten to make Daredevil more like Frank than Murdock would ever wish to be. It’s also worth noting that it’s already been confirmed thatThe Punisher is getting an all-new spin-off Special Presentationbeyond his role inDaredevil: Born Again.
To that end, I’m extremely excited to see what’s next for Jon Bernthal’s Punisher. Tackling the police issue is an incredible start, but that seems to only be just the beginning of this new era.After all, there are far more opportunities for The Punisher’s story to continue and be dynamically explored in the MCU than there have been in the last six years.
Daredevil: Born Again
Cast
Daredevil: Born Again follows blind lawyer Matt Murdock, who uses his heightened abilities to pursue justice in New York. As he manages a bustling law firm, former mob boss Wilson Fisk navigates political ambitions, leading both men toward a confrontation as their pasts resurface.
The Punisher
The Punisher stars Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/The Punisher, who first appeared on Netflix’sDaredevil. Frank is a United States Marine Corps Scout Sniper veteran who is highly skilled in martial arts, stealth tactics, guerrilla warfare, and knows how to use a variety of weapons. The death of his wife and two children led him to take matters into his own hands, and he has been killing criminals indiscriminately ever since. Despite being beloved by fans,The Punisherwas canceled in early 2019. Thankfully for fans of Bernthal’s character, it was announced in 2023 that he would be joining the MCU by appearing inDaredevil: Born Again, starring Charlie Cox.
