Today is a very good day for fans of Frank Castle. While Marvel and Netflix have yet to comment, TV Line reports Netflix might be developing a Punisher solo series. Seriously. The vigilante character Frank Castle, better known as the Punisher, will make his debut in Season 2 of Daredevil this March — but the buzz surrounding The Walking Dead star Jon Bernthal's portrayal of the character has led to major excitement over the future of the character. Considering Netflix appears to be poised to give fans the brutal and weirdly sympathetic take on the character they have been clamoring to see, it's majorly exciting news.
The Punisher is known for killing bad guys, something most Marvel heroes try to avoid. It's his itchy trigger finger that will put Frank at odds with Matt Murdock's Daredevil in Season 2. The pair are set to be adversaries in the new season even though they are arguably on the same side. This marks a new direction for Daredevil, where the concept of a bad guy will become relative. In Season 1, there was a clear bad guy in The Kingpin, but Season 2 is going to force viewers and Matt to question their own morality.
With the Punisher set to mix things up on Daredevil by bringing an even darker edge to the storytelling, I cannot help but wonder what the character's alleged solo series will look like. There is no confirmation yet on how long Frank will have been doling out vigilante justice when he makes his Daredevil debut, so a Punisher series could act as an origin story or pick up where ever Frank's story leaves off at the end of Season 2.
An origin story could make for seriously brutal viewing. In the comics, Frank is an ex-military man whose wife and children are killed by the mob. It is the loss of his family that drives him to eradicate criminals through any means necessary including torture, murder, and even kidnapping their loved ones. Seeing how Frank becomes the Punisher would make for an intricate, wrenching story as he devotes his life to violence, but that could very well be something that is covered in Daredevil.
If his origin story is out of the way, a solo Punisher series could leap into action with a take on the famous arc that found Frank imprisoned in Ryker’s Island. Setting the first season in a prison where the threat of a riot looms framed against flashbacks to Frank's military and family days could be an excellent solo journey to send the character on. That being said, if the proposed series stays close to Hell's Kitchen and introduces the completely badass Punisher villain Barracuda, I would be cool with that too.
Perhaps an even more important question to ask is not what will a Punisher series look like, but how would a Punisher series impact the Netflix miniseries The Defenders? Originally, the miniseries was meant to bring together Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, but it would be amazing to see a character like Frank added to the team if for no other reason than to see him interact with Jessica, another hero who will kill villains when necessary. The Punisher could also launch a "Phase 2" of Netflix Marvel series if it took place post-The Defenders.
There are so many possible directions for a Punisher solo series to go in, I just want Netflix to go ahead and officially, 100 percent confirm the character is getting his own show. It seems like an inevitability at this point thanks to whatever magic is happening between Bernthal and the Daredevil writers, but once Netflix makes it official, a world where the Punisher's uniquely dark story can unfold will be a reality. In the words of Liz Lemon, I want to go to there.
Image: Netflix
