After three failed attempts on the big screen (remember Dolph Lundgren, Thomas Jane, and Ray Stevenson?), Frank Castle has found a home at last on Netflix, as the streaming service renews Marvel’s “The Punisher” for a second season.
Introduced in the second season of “Daredevil” starring Charlie Cox, Frank Castle/Punisher quickly became a fan favorite thanks to Jon Bernthal’s performance as the titular anti-hero: a military veteran who made New York City his own personal war zone against the criminals responsible for the brutal and bloody murder of his family. His way as well as his path somewhat contrasts with the way of blind attorney Mark Murdock’s “Red” alter-ego, who continues to struggle to live the path of the righteous as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.
Premiering on November 17, the same day DC’s big-screen “Justice League” was released, Marvel’s “The Punisher” finds Castle becoming as a one-man vigilante justice league: this time, uncovering a conspiracy that led to him and his family being marked for death by the government that turned him into “a hit man”. As the Punisher, Frank Castle has been called “terrorist” or “psychopath” by some, but there’s a saying: one man’s criminal is another man’s freedom fighter. As the Punisher, Frank Castle is on a mission not to defend New York like Daredevil, but to punish the corrupt for dishonoring him and his family. In other words, Frank Castle/The Punisher is Marvel’s very own Charles Bronson.
But does violence begets violence, though? Where do you draw the line? There are no lines, though, when it comes Frank Castle/The Punisher, a compelling, complex, complicated and controversial character.
Season one of Marvel’s “The Punisher” is available on Netflix.