All this being the case, The Punisher was a natural addition to this particular corner of the MCU. The character, created in the mid-70s by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru, has long been something of an oddity in Marvel Comics. Completely free of superpowers, he’s a skilled but deeply troubled war veteran who, following the murder of his family, turns vigilante; but unlike just about every other Marvel hero you could name, he deals out his brand of justice with guns and ammo, and has no qualms whatsoever about leaving anyone that crosses him dead. As such, The Punisher hasn’t always been cast as the good guy, so it made sense that the Marvel Netflix shows introduced him as an antagonist in Daredevil season two; and now, with the character established, they saw fit to give him a show of his own.
We join Bernthal’s Frank Castle some untold length of time after he disappeared, and was officially declared dead, at the end of Daredevil s2. Now living under an assumed name with several months’ worth of hair growth on his head and face, he’s making ends meet in a low-level construction job, venting his bottled-up rage with a sledgehammer and doing his utmost to avoid interaction with others. However, neither Frank’s past nor his inner nature has much chance of staying buried for long, and after a criminal element of his co-workers pushes him too far, he’s back in full-on punishing mode. However, his activities do not go unnoticed, and soon Frank finds himself contacted by a mysterious stranger (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) who knows who he is, and demands his assistance. A begrudging partnership ensues, all tied up in an unresolved war crime from some years beforehand, in which Frank and his unit had a key role to play; and which, you guessed it, turns out to be the key reason Frank’s family was assassinated.
As might be apparent from this synopsis, the series takes The Punisher in a political thriller direction, centred on a government/military conspiracy; a welcome change, as the character’s previous screen outings (not to mention the existing Marvel Netflix shows) have tended to centre more on gang wars. That having been said, if you have been keeping up with the Marvel Netflix shows, you’ll be forgiven for noting a clear pattern. The Manhattan skyline is constantly in the distance, the action instead taking place largely in the less touristy areas of NYC. Lengthy, expository duologues, of which there are many, routinely take place by the side of the Hudson in what look to be sub-zero temperatures (come on guys, Game of Thrones always does these bits naked in bed, it’s way more fun). Then we cut away to the supporting characters in plush-looking offices, in this case Homeland Security agent Dinah Medani (Amber Rose-Revah), a hard-nosed careerist obsessed with a long-cold case which suddenly heats up again when she is contacted by the same mystery man on Frank’s tail. While we may not be able to work out all the ifs and buts along the way, it’s readily apparent that, however things get resolved, it’s going involve Frank killing a whole lot of people.
Then, of course, there’s the question of the violence. As noted earlier, Marvel’s Netflix shows significantly upped the ante on bloodshed – and, for that matter, sexual content – by comparison with the movies, and The Punisher is no exception: indeed, it’s quite possibly the most brutal Marvel show yet, and certainly the most grounded given the complete absence of any superpowered characters. In particular contrast to Daredevil and Iron Fist, extravagant martial arts battles are thin on the ground; the fights here are much more down and dirty, and as likely to be resolved with a bullet as a fist. Still, while such sequences are definitely among the grisliest Marvel have produced (the use of a 28 Days Later-esque music cue in the penultimate episode is clearly no accident, given the finishing move utilised), in the contemporary TV climate they’re not necessarily the harshest things you’ll ever see. Indeed, given how full on The Punisher gets with violence, it feels a little odd that Marvel still play a bit coy when it comes to nudity and swearing; as with the other Netflix shows, they shy away from dropping the F-bomb, and while sex does come into the mix, they still make a point of preserving the modesty of the actors. Feels strangely imbalanced, given how unrelentingly graphic the violence is. (I could make some snide remark about misplaced American values, but I already said I wouldn’t do that…)
Yes, Frank Castle remains (another buzzworld alert) problematic as a protagonist, and without doubt elements of the series may upset viewers on all sides of the political spectrum, but I think showrunner Steve Lightfoot and company have done a good job crafting a balanced, relatively neutral show that can be enjoyed by right and left-leaning audiences alike. Above all else, the series certainly confirms Jon Bernthal’s take on the character to be the best we’ve had to date: human, sympathetic, relatable, yet absolutely terrifying, leaving you in no doubt that he could, and probably would, blow your head off as soon as look at you. That’s The Punisher through and through, and it will be interesting to see where they take the character from here, working on the entirely reasonable assumption that further seasons are in the offing.
All 13 episodes of The Punisher are available to watch on Netflix now.