In Daredevil: Born Again, Marvel Finally Confronts Its Glaring Punisher Problem

Warning: this nonfiction contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again Episode 4. If you haven't already, beryllium definite to cheque retired IGN's reappraisal of Episode 4.

Marvel has made nary concealed of the information that Jon Bernthal would beryllium reprising his relation arsenic Frank Castle successful Daredevil: Born Again’s archetypal season. Bernthal makes his long-awaited instrumentality successful Episode 4, arsenic the bid follows up connected a immense cliffhanger involving White Tiger (Kamar de los Reyes) being changeable dormant by a vigilante wearing the Punisher skull. We present person an reply arsenic to whether it was really Frank who killed White Tiger, but that’s conscionable the opening of the show’s melodramatic caller Punisher storyline.

Bernthal’s instrumentality is breathtaking for immoderate fig of reasons, but the biggest by acold is that Marvel has recovered a strangely cleanable antagonist for Frank Castle successful Daredevil: Born Again. It’s a storyline with its roots successful the existent world, and it’s past clip Marvel got astir to telling it.

Jon Bernthal’s Punisher successful Daredevil: Born Again

It’s been rather a portion since we’ve seen Bernthal’s Frank Castle successful the MCU. Bernthal past played the relation successful Season 2 of Netflix’s The Punisher series, which debuted backmost successful January 2019. All signs constituent to Frank Castle having stayed progressive successful the MCU since then, targeting assorted criminals and pack members successful New York City and earning a devoted pursuing among members of the NYPD.

That said, Frank is decidedly a small worse for deterioration astatine the moment. He’s disheveled and unshaven. He’s surviving a hermetic beingness successful his makeshift hideout. He’s seemingly addicted to painkillers. All the symptom and rage that fuels The Punisher is taking its toll connected Frank Castle the man.

It surely doesn’t assistance that The Punisher has inspired a question of copycat killings. Frank claims not to attraction overmuch astir the information that cops are donning his emblem and taking the instrumentality into their ain hands, dismissing them arsenic “fanboys.” He downplays the contented and seeks to reignite his aged statement with Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock astir the justness strategy and the request to respond to the evils of the satellite with thing little than lethal force. But arsenic overmuch arsenic Frank pretends not to care, it’s evident he’s genuinely bothered by the thought of constabulary officers taking up his bloody crusade.

That’s fundamentally wherever the bid leaves Frank successful Episode 4. He and Matt person it retired and Matt loses his cool, leaving feeling arsenic overmuch disgust for himself arsenic helium does for Frank. It’s wide Frank isn’t going to beryllium immoderate assistance successful the hunt for White Tiger’s killer. But this occurrence leaves america to wonderment however agelong Frank tin proceed to stew successful his hideout and fto others co-opt the Punisher awesome for their ain ends. It’s a harmless stake that he’ll beryllium backmost earlier the play is done.

Marvel’s Ongoing Punisher Problem

With Born Again, Marvel is yet diving headlong into an ongoing contention surrounding the Punisher character. The thought that constabulary officers (as good arsenic members of the subject and assorted right-wing militias) are adopting the Punisher emblem is not an invention of the series, but a sadly real-world improvement that has persisted for years. CBR traced that improvement arsenic acold backmost arsenic 1988’s The Punisher #8, which included a instrumentality missive from an progressive servicemember.

The inclination has lone accelerated implicit the past decennary oregon so, with galore pointing to the precocious Navy SEAL Chris Kyle arsenic having cemented the nexus betwixt The Punisher and the US military. The writer of the autobiography American Sniper (the inspiration for the 2013 movie starring Bradley Cooper), Kyle was known for adorning his instrumentality with the Punisher emblem and adjacent nicknamed his portion "The Punishers."

“He righted wrongs. He killed atrocious guys. He made wrongdoers fearfulness him,” Kyle wrote of Frank Castle. “We spray-painted [the skull logo] connected our Hummers and assemblage armor, and our helmets and each our guns. We spray-painted it connected each gathering oregon partition we could, We wanted radical to know, We’re present and we privation to f*** with you.”

Meanwhile, members of the Milwaukee Police Department allegedly spearheaded a rogue vigilante radical besides dubbed "The Punishers", prompting aggregate interior investigations. A constabulary section successful Catlettsburg, Kentucky came nether dense disapproval successful 2017 for adorning constabulary cruisers with Blue Lives Matter-themed Punisher logos. In October 2019, a Dallas constabulary serviceman was seen wearing a Punisher logo during a contentious assemblage meeting. And successful 2021, Bernthal himself called retired the information that immoderate January 6 rioters were spotted brandishing the Punisher skull.

“These radical are misguided, lost, and afraid,” Bernthal wrote connected Twitter. “They person thing to bash with what Frank stands for oregon is about.”

Clearly, these constabulary officers and work members and different groups idolize Frank Castle and the mode helium takes the instrumentality into his ain hands, meting retired a lethal marque of justice. That’s contempt the information that The Punisher was ne'er meant to beryllium a quality worthy of emulation. He’s a profoundly tragic fig - a antheral who mislaid everything and was failed by the system, driving him to go a remorseless killer.

Despite what Kyle wrote, Frank Castle is not a antheral who rights wrongs. He’s the farthest happening from a hero. He simply pursues a selfish, single-minded quest to eradicate criminals, ignoring the justness strategy and the regularisation of instrumentality entirely. He’s meant to beryllium pitied alternatively than admired, though that hasn’t ever been what fans instrumentality distant from Marvel’s galore Punisher comics, movies, and shows.

The Punisher occupation got to the constituent that co-creator Gerry Conway yet acceptable retired to reclaim the iconic logo for the Black Lives Matter question successful 2019. Conway launched a fundraising run dubbed Black Lives Matter: Skulls for Justice and spoke retired against those co-opting the Punisher logo for their ain ends.

"For excessively long, symbols associated with a quality I co-created person been co-opted by forces of oppression and to intimidate achromatic Americans,” Conway wrote connected the fundraiser site. “This quality and awesome was ne'er intended arsenic a awesome of oppression. This is simply a awesome of a systematic nonaccomplishment of adjacent justice. It’s clip to assertion this awesome for the origin of adjacent justness and Black Lives Matter."

Conway’s efforts lone highlighted however small Marvel and Disney person done to code the increasing Punisher occupation implicit the years. It’s lone with Daredevil: Born Again that Marvel is yet tackling this contention successful a existent and high-profile way.

Marvel’s Response to the Punisher Controversy

Again, Marvel and Disney person done amazingly small to publically combat against the misappropriation of the Punisher logo. They surely haven’t tried to stem the flood of Punisher-themed Blue Lives Matter merchandise connected the Internet, though arsenic CBR’s Brian Cronin has pointed out, Disney whitethorn beryllium constricted successful their ineligible options.

Prior to this series, Marvel’s astir notable effort to combat backmost against the exploitation of the Punisher logo came successful 2019's The Punisher #13. In that comic, from writer Matthew Rosenberg and creator Szymon Kudranski, an injured Frank Castle is approached by 2 NYPD officers who uncover themselves to beryllium rabid fans. To their surprise, Frank reacts with disgust, telling them, "We're not the same. You took an oath to uphold the law. I gave each that up a agelong clip ago. You don't bash what I do. Nobody does."

That comic was surely a start, making it wide that Frank Castle doesn’t condone sidesplitting successful his sanction oregon the thought of constabulary officers taking the instrumentality into their ain hands. Frank astatine slightest has the beingness of caput to cognize that nary 1 should bash what helium does. For constabulary to defy the strategy and enactment arsenic judge, jury, and executioner is unforgivable. Again, The Punisher was ne'er meant to beryllium an aspirational figure.

Art by Szymon Kudranski. (Image Credit: Marvel)

That said, this Punisher meta-narrative amounted to a azygous country successful a azygous contented of a overmuch longer series. The occupation is that Marvel ne'er built from determination oregon sought to dispersed Frank’s connection to the constabulary to a wider audience. The Punisher #13 sold astir 21,000 copies upon release, a tiny fraction of the fig of radical who person watched the Netflix bid oregon the Punisher movies. Addressing the Punisher contention successful a azygous comic should person been a tiny archetypal measurement for Marvel. Instead, for years it served arsenic the sum full of their disposable efforts to combat backmost against the character’s misuse.

Until now. At agelong last, Marvel is tackling its Punisher occupation successful a wide way, and connected a overmuch wider signifier than before. Marvel fans who person ne'er picked up a comic successful their lives are present seeing the information posed by rogue constabulary officers who person adopted the Punisher’s symbol.

Born Again shows a metropolis being torn isolated by vigilante violence, but not the benignant decried by the recently elected Mayor Fisk. Men similar Daredevil and White Tiger question to enactment wrong the bounds of the system, utilizing their powers to assistance their communities wherever possible. But adjacent arsenic they do, a subset of the NYPD has taken to dressing similar the Punisher and moving extracurricular the scope of the law. They defy the precise strategy they’re sworn to uphold successful a mode that makes adjacent Frank Castle uncomfortable. They termination successful his name, without authorization oregon oversight.

The question is simply when, not if, Bernthal’s Frank volition beryllium forced to respond to his “fanboys.” There’s a reckoning to travel this season. Will Bernthal present a code inspired by the 1 successful The Punisher #13? Will helium skip words wholly and simply termination the skull-clad officers with arsenic overmuch rage arsenic helium usually reserves for mean criminals? And volition each of this play into the precocious announced Punisher peculiar that Bernthal is co-writing? He has a existent attachment to Frank Castle arsenic a character, and arsenic seen by his January 6 comments above, the Punisher contention bothers him arsenic overmuch arsenic anyone.

Whatever happens, we’re conscionable gladsome to spot Marvel yet and straight addressing its Punisher occupation successful an MCU project. The institution has stayed mostly soundless connected the contented for acold excessively long. The Punisher’s awesome should ne'er beryllium glorified. It’s imperative that connection travel from Marvel itself.

For much connected Born Again, spot the formed interruption down Episode 1's large twist and larn however an unexpected transportation to the Netflix bid could close a large MCU wrong.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by following @jschedeen connected BlueSky.