The Punisher, AKA Frank Castle, is one of Marvel Comics most brutal vigilantes. Unlike many superheroes, Punisher is determined to kill almost every criminal he thinks deserves it. When Jon Bernthal was cast in the role for ‘Daredevil’ Season 2, fans were ecstatic due to how much Bernthal fit the part of the character. Not only did he look the part, but he also had the aggression and physicality necessary for the role that he displayed in ‘The Walking Dead.’ Here are all three appearances made by Jon Bernthal’s Punisher!
Every Punisher’s appearance in the release date order
Punisher first made his Marvel Netflix appearance in ‘Daredevil’ Season 2 and then got his own show that lasted for two seasons. If you don’t have time, here’s every Punisher’s appearances in release date order.
- ‘Daredevil’ Season 2 (2016)
- ‘The Punisher’ Season 1 (2017)
- ‘The Punisher’ Season 2 (2019)
As you can see, Frank Castle had only appeared in three projects before all the Netflix shows were canceled. In this article, we are going to break them all down and also discuss the future appearances of the character.
This article will contain spoilers, so read at your own risk!
Are all of Punisher’s appearances connected? What order should you watch them in?
Every single one of Punisher’s appearances are connected, and you should watch them in release order. He first appears in the second season of ‘Daredevil’ and serves as a villain. Frank Castle believes criminals should be killed, which goes completely against Matt Murdock’s code. This causes friction between the characters, who get into multiple altercations throughout the season.
After hearing about Castle’s tragic past, Karen Page decides to help Frank in court as she believes that he is still a good man. The Punisher ends up in prison, which catches the eye of Wilson Fisk, who tries to recruit Castle due to his skill set, but Frank refuses, which causes Fisk to try to kill him multiple times while he is incarcerated. Eventually, Castle manages to escape the prison and briefly returns at the end of the season to aid Daredevil in his fight against the hand.
This takes us into ‘The Punisher’ season one, where Frank Castle has come up with a new name for himself and grown out his hair and beard so that people don’t recognize him. He works at a construction site and keeps to himself, never really talking to anyone. When he overhears his co-workers trying to kill someone, Frank returns to his vigilante ways and easily kills every single culprit.
Throughout the first season, we learn more about Frank’s past. He became the Punisher after his family was killed in a park in front of him. At first, he and the audience thought it was just a random mob attack, and his family was caught in the crossfire. We then find out later in the season that Frank was actually the target of the attack because of what he knew from his time in the military. The show gives us insight into Frank’s creativity with his kills, from attaching grenades to severed heads to using dumbbells and barbells in a gym. It showed just how dangerous Frank Castle was.
We also learned how much Castle regretted spending so much time in the military because it separated him from his family. This is shown a lot through the show, giving him much more depth.
It is revealed that his best friend, Billy Russo, was behind everything that happened to Frank and was the main reason Frank’s family was killed. The two of them get into a fight at the end of the season, and Frank brutally defeats Russo by dragging his face through broken glass, horrifically deforming him and turning him into Jigsaw from the comics.
We then reach the second season of ‘The Punisher,’ where Frank Castle has been given a fresh slate from his crimes and tries to live a normal life. This is then distributed when he finds a girl whom a group of people has chased down, and he steps in to help. The season ends with Frank Castle embracing himself as The Punisher and no longer choosing to hide. This was sadly the last we saw as the character.
Punisher’s appearances in chronological order
It is simple enough to watch Punisher’s appearances chronologically as it is the same as the release order. Start with ‘Daredevil’ Season 2, then go on to watch the two seasons of ‘The Punisher.’
Where can you watch ‘Daredevil’ and ‘The Punisher’?
Both ‘Daredevil and ‘The Punisher’ are on Disney+. After all the Netflix shows got canceled, they slowly made their way onto Disney’s streaming platform along with all the other Marvel projects.
Will we see more from Frank Castle?
It has been confirmed that Frank Castle will appear in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ and will once again be played by Jon Bernthal. We do not know if this will be the same version of the character as before, but we know that the show will be rated TV-MA. This means that not only will ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ be more mature like the Netflix shows, but we will also see Frank Castle in his true bloody ways that we know and loved before.
Are you excited to see more from Punisher? Let us know in the comments!
