The official introduction of The Punisher into the MCU has been made more complicated by controversy and recent events at Marvel Comics. The infamous anti-hero is planned to be a part of the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again television series, with Jon Bernthal recreating his role from the 2017 Netflix The Punisher show. It is unclear, however, just how heavily The Punisher may be changed for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru, The Punisher first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #129. Originally introduced as a mercenary hired by the mad scientist Jackal to kill Spider-Man, Frank Castle was developed into a former military man that dedicated his life to killing criminals after the violent deaths of his wife and children.
While he was never intended to be more than a minor character, The Punisher found increased popularity during the Dark Age of Comics in the late 1980s and 1990s. Unfortunately, certain groups now embrace the Punisher's ideals as their own to disturbing effect, making his use in the MCU more complicated.
Marvel Is Distancing Itself From The Classic Punisher
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In recent years, multiple groups of white supremacists and Neo-Nazis adopted The Punisher's distinctive skull logo for their own uses. Since the secrecy of such groups makes it difficult for Marvel Comics to protect their brand legally, the publisher opted to change The Punisher logo to a demonic horned design. This change came in the first issue of a 12-issue miniseries by Jason Aaron, Jesùs Saiz, Paul Azaceta, and Matt Hollingsworth, which made Frank Castle into the leader of the sinister clan of assassins known as The Hand. With new magical powers replacing his famous arsenal of guns, this new Punisher was a true villain rather than a conflicted anti-hero.
Captured by the Avengers in the final issue, Frank seemingly turned his magic upon himself after being confronted by his resurrected wife, who rejected his violent war on crime and informed him that she was planning to divorce him at the time of her death. The issue ended with the revelation that Frank Castle was now caring for a group of orphans in another dimension and was using his first name, Frank, rather than calling himself The Punisher. All of this suggests that while Marvel Comics may bring Frank Castle back someday, for the time being, as Doctor Strange noted, "The Punisher is no more."
The Punisher's MCU Return May Be Brief
Collage image with MCU Daredveil and Punisher
With Marvel Comics effectively retiring The Punisher in the comics, there is some question as to how the character will be utilized in the MCU. While there were rumors that Jon Bernthal might get a new The Punisher series at Disney+ or have an appearance in one of the MCU movies akin to Charlie Cox's cameo as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home, he is presently only signed-on for an appearance in Daredevil: Born Again. It is also unclear just how extensive an appearance he will make and how large his role in the story will be.
It has been speculated that Frank Castle will replace Nuke, the next-generation super-soldier who served as the primary physical antagonist of the original Born Again storyline from the comics. This would be a fitting callback to The Punisher's original first appearance in the comics, where he was manipulated by a supervillain into targeting a superhero thought to be a villain by the world at large. This is also the sort of plan Kingpin would enact, pitting his enemies against each other while manipulating The Punisher through a proxy. However, this does nothing to address the problems that come with using The Punisher character in the MCU.
How The MCU Can Handle The Punisher Amid Controversy
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Thankfully, with 18 episodes of Daredevil: Born Again planned, Marvel Studios has ample room to work with the MCU Punisher and address the controversy surrounding the character without distracting from the main story. While it seems unlikely the new show will go to the extremes of the recent comics in transforming Frank Castle from a gun-wielding soldier into the Fist of the Beast who ruled the Hand, the show could still present a lighter take on the character than the darker Netflix series. Various comic writers have adopted this tactic, depicting a Frank Castle who, while obsessed with killing criminals, would not endanger innocents to do it.
Another possibility is that Daredevil: Born Again could depict The Punisher and Daredevil joining forces to fight a Neo-Nazi gang or corrupt police officials. The show could also borrow a scene from 2019's The Punisher #13 by writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Szymon Kudranski, where Frank Castle rejected the hero worship of a group of police officers who painted his logo on their squad car, telling them directly that they should emulate Captain America instead of him if they want a role model. The Punisher of the MCU could also change his classic skull logo, as he did in the comics.
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