Anyone who knows me knows that I am a die-hard Punisher fan. I’ve loved Frank Castle ever since I was a kid. I even had the god-awful LJN-made Punisher video game on the OG Nintendo. I don’t display many comics, but the ones I do are largely related to Frank Castle. As characters go, I think he’s one of the most complex and relatable in the Marvel pantheon. Whether you’re for Frank or against him, the reactions are usually passionate, and people rarely sit on the fence when asked about him. So, you can imagine how happy I was when he reappeared in Daredevil: Born Again for the first season.
Then you can imagine how sad I was to hear that Jon Bernthal wouldn’t be reprising his role for the second season of the show, especially when fans were left with a cliffhanger of him being captured, only to escape in the post-credit scene. He had a significant impact on the first season, and I was genuinely expecting him to return and help Matt Murdock face off with Wilson Fisk. I hadn’t even considered the possibility of him not returning until now. Honestly, though, it makes a lot of sense, and I want to explore that here.
Marvel Studios already announced in February that Jon Bernthal’s character would be featured in a special presentation similar to Werewolf by Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. There’s also the fact that Punisher will be appearing in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which was announced in June by the Hollywood Reporter. Bernthal is also working on another project for which he is contracted, and appearing in the second season of the show would have been too much all at once. The filming schedule alone would have been a nightmare.
Let’s pretend that Bernthal could have done the filming and still met his other obligations; there’s still another reason why Bernthal’s absence is a net positive. It allows for the character of Jessica Jones, played by Krysten Ritter, to shine. She’s making her return for the first time since Netflix canceled Jessica Jones after three seasons. Ritter has been a fan favorite ever since her debut, and fans will undoubtedly be eager to see her and Murdock interacting again. It will be interesting to see how Fisk tries to deal with someone like Jones, who possesses Avengers-level strength and invulnerability. This will also be her debut in the MCU proper.
Jones is a fantastic character, and she has tremendous material from which Marvel can draw. Marvel Studios demonstrated with the first season of Daredevil: Born Again that they had no qualms about going violent if they felt it would tell a great story. They weren’t going to be violent just to be violent, largely because they had already done that with Deadpool & Wolverine. I kid. They want fans to know that they have no problem being true to the worlds these characters inhabit, but they are more impactful and resonant with the audience when they’re done with purpose and intent. This is why I think the Punisher makes so much sense as a character in this world, and why I’m equally excited to see how Jones navigates New York life under Mayor Fisk.
The upcoming special presentation for Punisher and his MCU film debut in a film with Spider-Man, no less, will be more than enough opportunity for Castle’s story to be advanced. I’m genuinely eager to see what role he plays in the upcoming film and how director Destin Daniel Cretton uses him. I really enjoyed Shang-Chi: The Legend of the Ten Rings, so I am interested to see how he handles something that features a character famously known for not being light and humorous. That said, Punisher and Spider-Man have so many classic moments, team-ups, and confrontations. I was even reading one the other day, but that’s beside the point. I’m sure Cretton will handle his character properly, I’m even more certain Bernthal will show us a side we’ve never seen before, and it will be great.
I hope that Fisk has a low-level bad guy ensemble of his own. The showdown between Murdock and Jones versus Fisk won’t be nearly as fun if Fisk doesn’t have somebody there to even out the odds. Fisk is probably one of the few street-level characters who can fight with many heroes and hold his own. Even with all of that going his way, he’s outmatched against someone like Jones. She’s going to take his best punch and walk right through it. If she has the full range of her powers, Fisk is even more screwed. She could grab him, fly him up about five thousand feet in the air, and drop the dude straight down onto the concrete — boom, over. See what I mean? Fisk needs a counterweight.
It just so happens that Marvin “Krondon” Jones III will be playing Lonnie Lincoln, also known as Tombstone, in the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Tombstone is someone who can match the strength of Jessica Jones. I can’t wait to see him up against Castle and Spider-Man. Castle’s bullets aren’t gonna do much, but Jones’ punches might be the order of the day if he shows up to help Fisk.
Whatever happens in the Man Without Fear’s second season, I’m sure it’s going to be fantastic. I’m equally sure that the Punisher special presentation is going to be superb, as will the upcoming movie featuring your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Marvel Studios has genuinely been making some better films as of late, and I can’t wait for the upcoming slate in Phase Six. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
