The Punisher: The Personal Touch Proved To Be The Winning Formula
For the first six Netflix Marvel series, the plots were great but lacked a personal feel that made the characters a bit unrelatable. As entertaining as it was, it was still a little hard to believe that a blind man was fighting crime. Jessica Jones was a bit more believable but not as well portrayed as Daredevil was. Luke Cage as a bulletproof man was a bit far-fetched and a man with an Iron Fist was nothing but mystical. But then came Frank Castle as The Punisher and it all made sense.
The one element that each show lacked, The Punisher offered it to us in the first few minutes of the opening episode. Our first and last glimpse of The Punisher was a brutal man set on revenge. What made his character stand out from the others was the brutal honesty he gave. It’s easy to say that Frank stole the show from Daredevil but fans were left wondering who, what, and how. Who is The Punisher, How did he become The Punisher and what’s next for him?
While his presence in Daredevil forgot to go into full detail was his past, his need for revenge was well explained. But, who was Frank before his family’ was killed? Did Frank have friends? What type of music did he listen to? All we knew is that he likes to kill.
He’s just getting started. #ThePunisher pic.twitter.com/oPS7iT1Ea3
— The Punisher (@ThePunisher) October 22, 2017
What the solo Punisher show provided us was a glimpse into the past. There is always a reason a person goes insane, starts to kill, seeks revenge or fight for his own justice. We’ve wondered what drove Frank to this point and now we have the answers. It was Franks’s personal approach that fans craved from the moment he made his appearance in the second season of Daredevil.
There is a human side to The Punisher
Known as a stone-cold killer, it was great to see a different side of Castle. Who knew The Punisher was funny? We were given insight into his love for his wife but to see his possible romance with Karen Page blossom was a great touch as well. However, it was the relationship with Micro that gave The Punisher the perfection in which Marvel sought with the past six series.
From the offset, the show gave off the illusion that Micro would be the main villain as he contacted Frank from atop a roof with encrypted instructions. But what ensued afterward was what made The Punisher better than its predecessors. An unlikely friendship was born between the two characters, so much so that Frank took it upon himself to be Micro’s family’s guardian angel.
The action scenes in The Punisher rivaled those of Daredevil and the reveal of the main villain may have been predictable but it worked out in the end. Fans wanted to see the real Frank Castle and that’s what The Punisher provided.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
