Two bikers are gunned down and run over with a van by the main protagonist. Immediately upon being given the floor, he gave a very specific shout-out. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. Most enlisted members acknowledge Frank Castle is a masculine figure thats safely in the realm of fantasy, one Marine veteran and Punisher fan told Vulture. Answer (1 of 13): Because he does have a point. There are plenty of heroes and villains that have massive arsenals. Wipe out organized crime hah! Frank Castle, better known as The Punisher, is a very deep character. Plot Summary The actor demonstrated as much in 2015, when he took the stage at New York Comic Con to speak about playing the gun-toting Marvel vigilante known as the Punisher. In the early 2000s the Punisher was chosen by U.S. forces to represent U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Heres how. Find the bad guys. While plenty of people know about his crusade against the underworld, here are 10 facts most people don't know about the Punisher: Weird as it may seem, the Punisher likes books. I think you have to take whats the generally accepted interpretation and thats the one we should apply., For now, as Marvel fans continue to indulge with the Punishers quest for revenge in his Netflix series, the true meaning of the Punishers skull remains in the eye of the beholder, says Conway. He and the other host, Jacob Williams, are civilians, but they regularly hear from police and soldiers. Dolph Lundgren was born in the small community of Spnga which is in the Stockholm county in Sweden. Theres a big, dangerous difference between these two things and there should be, wrote io9s Beth Elderkin in a post last February about police using Punisher imagery. While many actors are dedicated fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Bernthal is not among them. We can expect a media universe where a shrinking labor force is exploited to feed ChatGPT so it can churn out clickbait. In his free time Gregorio likes to make short films and take photographs. Although his skills with a gun do seem supernatural at times, Frank Castle is . Nicolas Cage, who was starring in the film, was struck by the fact that Bernthal would stand up to the mercurial director. He says he owns thousands of dollars in Punisher comics and merchandise, has a Punisher tattoo, and even designed one of his wedding cakes to look like the characters distinctive skull logo. For season 2 of The Punisher, an original Netflix series premiering on January 18, Castle is up against a fundamentalist group that embraces their right to bear arms; lurking in the margins is. Vulgar banter among the main antagonists and protagonists throughout. The skull haunts him and reminds Frank of his ongoing internal war that forever rages on. In continuity and outside of continuity, The Punisher has made some powerful enemies with some of Marvels greatest heroes. After the son of the local mob boss beganhurting girls in the neighborhood (including his best friend Lauren), Frank watched as Lauren'solder brother set the teenage predator on fire. Bernthal went to Russia and was accepted into the schools program. For the next decade, Frank Castle a.k.a the Punisher bounced from comic to comic. This was before Russell Crowe and director Ridley Scott were on board. Welcome to the world of uniformed Punisher fans. The overall tone of the show is very dark. A man is choked to death in an airport bathroom. However, once they were taken away from him, he could not cope with the loss and failure of the system. While Nick Fury drinks one glass ofwhiskey after another, Frank just orders aclub soda. Bernthal attended at least one WWE event to see Angle in the ring in 2017. Protect the innocent. I can't remember what happened, but I remember not liking it. But producing high-quality, independent work is not cost-free we rely heavily on your support. Marine Corps veteran Christopher Neff plans to take the day off of work so he can binge it all. A man is shot in the head via long range sniper fire. First are structural problems. Despite that, like its predecessor, the series was wildly successful. Frank Castle at large. A man's face is smashed into and dragged through a mirror. As unidentified federal agents begin abducting Americans in 2020, the line between the two camps has blurred even more. I felt Frank Castles morally dubious quest could be ameliorated somewhat by establishing that he was a product of that particular military tradition., The bone-deep, morally ambiguous connection between Franks experiences in uniform and his crusade against crime has persisted ever since. Bullets being pulled out of wounds, cuts being stitched up, etc. If one thing has become synonymous with The Punisher, it is the white skull that always appears on his chest. Any true warrior? Some graphic scenes include a bomb attached to a decapitated head, 2 men getting their heads shot at with a shotgun, and a man's intestines hanging out of his stomach after an explosion. Less clear-cut is the shows relationship to violence as an aesthetic, but the people behind it say they dont intend to make it sexy. 10 Facts You Need To Know About The Punisher, One Big Bang Theory Main Character Was Only Meant To Be A Guest Role, 10 Things To Do In Hogwarts Legacy Most Players Never Discover, Wesley Crusher Is Now A Big Star Trek Picard Season 3 Question. As long as police departments have total control over body camera footage it wont change their behavior, say activists. Quickly. Some might claim that Frank was the only survivor. Wow, man, Cage told him. I think thats part of the characters fascination, and I think its an aspect that, given time and future issues, well certainly try to explore. A few notable ones are Batman, Green Goblin, and Iron Man. I could have a bat symbol and tell people Im celebrating nightvision. As weve discussed, Frank Castle does not hesitate to murder those he deems worthy of his punishment. Permanently. I just dont. He also worships Captain America as his personal hero. He killed bad guys. Fortunately, The Walking Dead came along not long after. Fortunately, the man recovered. Very sad. Who wouldn't want to kill just about every criminal after their family was caught in a crossfire? But another skimpy outfit?. Some scenes of heads being bashed in with sound effects. Following parts in little-seen films like 2002s Mary/Mary and 2004s Tony n Tinas Wedding, Bernthal got a glimpse of a major Hollywood production with 2009s Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. If you found the piece above useful, informative, or inspiring, please consider supporting Truthout with a tax-deductible donation. His father was a construction worker while his mother helped instill in him a love of books. Its complicated, and he works through that in his own way., Talk to cops and soldiers and theyll tell you they understand all that. Many hate and fear his unrestrained violence. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. In his first appearance, Frank Castle was introduced as a villain in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man #129 in 1974. This changed when he started training in martial arts and weight lifting in his preteen years. In one scene, the mutilated corpse of a woman is shown lying in a bed. Look, I know how important this character is to you guys, and I know how important he is to law enforcement, to the military, he said. Whats Next for Convicted Sex Criminals Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly? Simply. The newly formed Media Revolution Collective is helping youth approach media with a critical lens and spot biases. Some of the biggest fans of the Punisher are people in the military and police officers and this is for a few reasons. Jon Bernthal knows his audience. A sample of the Punisher items sold by Thin Blue Line USA. This introductory juxtaposition against Daredevil served to set up Punisher's characteristic ethos: he has no qualms about killing criminals. And we spray-painted it on every building or wall we could. With his anti-hero persona and tragic background, Frank Castle has remained just under the surface of mainstream audiences attention. RELATED: Punisher Villains Ranked: The 10 Worst Frank Castle Ever Faced. It is also why, if Frank ever manages to kill every murderer and psychopath on the planet, there will still be a final bullet chambered in his gun to use on himself. In this arc, he worked alongside other monsters and was portrayed as a hulking monster with huge weapons. A room full of gangsters are shot and killed by the main protagonist. As with its predecessors, Punisher MAX relied heavily on racist caricatures, although now they were generally anti-Black instead of anti-Latino. In other words, punishing villainsis not remotely the same as being a hero. Frank learned combat tactics, vehicle operation, and firearm training. I remember we took a private jet to Vegas and [director] Jimmy Burrows sat us down and said, Look, Im going to tell you guys the same thing I told the cast of Friends, he recalled in 2017. 'This is the last time you will ever go to a casino where you wont get mobbed by fans. Brain matter splatters on the wall behind him. For the better part of a decade, the trend of tacitly commenting upon current events continued. The next time The Punisher died was during the acclaimed Dark Reign storyline, in which Daken, Wolverines son, dismembers Frank. In flashbacks, we learn that Rawlins enlisted Castle in a lawless underground subsect of the military called Project Cerberus, in which he commanded soldiers to torture and murder perceived enemies to the point where it would be considered terrorism. It was a boxing match and was 5 rounds long, supposedly Lundgren was a replacement for Mike Tyson. He was willing to kill a human shield because . why does five have a limp. They helped found the magazine 3 Feet Left as its Resident Writer while working as an English teacher in Japan. Two months after the Oklahoma City bombing, Frank Castle appropriated a neo-Nazi weapons cache and used it to kill civilians in Central Park. A man is brutally interrogated and then shot to death. Again. He said his surgery was a success, but he needs time to heal before he can tour again. In a warzone, the main protagonist beats an enemy combatants head in with a rock repeatedly. Many uses of "shit" throughout every episode. Lundgren persevered, getting into boxing trunks and sending the photos to Stallone, who hired him six months later. 1 Answer. Unlike the rest of Marvels A-listers, though, Frank killed his enemies. Hes particularly enamored of the skull: He owns rings in its shape, wears a dog tag bearing its image, and spray-painted it onto the body armor he wears for work. This is not to say Frank is without allies. Frank rips the sticker off and says, Were not the same. For season 2 of The Punisher, an original Netflix series premiering on January 18, Castle is up against a fundamentalist group that embraces their right to bear arms; lurking in the margins is Jigsaw (Ben Barnes), a fellow soldier with a vendetta against Castle. Its nothing against what theyre doing. Lundgren also took on the role of Frank Castle, AKA The Punisher in the 1989 film simply titled The Punisher. His powers. In a wartime scenario, the main protagonist kills many enemy combatants by shooting, stabbing and violently bludgeoning them to death. We all thought what the Punisher did was cool: He righted wrongs, wrote Kyle in his 2012 autobiography. Not clearly seen. Some of the best all around stories come from Garth Ennis's work on Punisher MAX in which an elderly rugged Castle takes on much younger fitter criminals. This is not all that rare for Marvel characters. People can tell themselves anything, Conway tells Inverse. Of course, this wasnt the last of Frank, as Morbius and Man-Thing reconstruct and revive him to form the renowned Franken-Castle. There are several crucial aspects of Frank Castles past that directly lead to him becoming The Punisher. Pretty surprising considering how you probably couldn't have found anyone who could have fitted into the role better at the time. In Punisher MAX, the image of a white skull painted on a wall comes to him in a dream. Kill the bad guys. Over the years, Marvel has made various attempts to save Frank Castles image from having him kill a lot of Nazis after Charlottesville to berating cops that use his symbol. Stone wandered off. Period., Others find this kind of embrace to be in bad taste at best, downright scary at worst. Frank knows he's no hero. One of these women becomespregnant and has their child without telling him. With the Punisher, we get to see that justice is done to those who deserve it., As a character, the Punisher has an ambivalent relationship to the military, as do many who have served. A man is executed with a shotgun blast to the back of the head. The film wasn't received too well, but maybe Lundgren could try to get a spot in the MCU. All these efforts have failed. You can also watch their videos on YouTube under the name Theo Kogod, where they post sporadically. Supermans diamond S communicates decency and heroism, while Batmans silhouette bat strikes fear in those who prey on the fearful. However, anyone who crosses the line and tries to do what Frank does while wearing his symbol better get his approval first, or else Frank will go gunning for them as just another killer who needs to be put down. Who says you need a shield made of vibranium or utility belt when you've got mad skills like these? 2023 Vox Media, LLC. He won the European championships in 1980 and 1981, and a heavyweight tournament in Australia in 1982. They currently live in North Carolina with their spouse, two adorable cats, and an ever-growing book-hoard. As Americans learned that their government had conspired with drug lords to sell cocaine in U.S. cities, Frank was knocking over crack houses in Spanish Harlem with a bazooka. There are certain heroes he admires like Captain America, but for the most part he rubs other heroes the wrong way. And before anyone asks, no one of them isn't Russian, maybe that's why he didn't speak a lot of it in Rocky IV. In his standalone series, he will be teaming up with his most famous sidekick from the Marvel comics: Micro. I think patriotic war movies brainwash young men to idolize war and killing enemies/terrorists more than fictional vigilantes ever will. And who is he fighting against? He does not respectAmerican politicians, laws, orthe reasonsfor the country'swars abroad, though (as was said before)he admiresboth police and soldiers for their service. The most disliked way that The Punisher was brought back was when he became "Angel Punisher." Eventually he grows tired of this type of reckoning and tells the other angels to screw off. Whatever one thinks of the end product, you cant argue that it glorifies the way governments sponsor violence. The Punisher skull is a symbol that police have chosen to associate themselves with repeatedly and voluntarily. "I felt as an actor, theres a real respect for the arts there that I dont necessarily think too many of my peers at the time in America had. As a result, Bernthal can speak fluent Russian. A solution as bad, if not worse, than any of the problems. These are usually mild and don't portray any actual nudity. All rights reserved. A large part of Season 2 involves the NYPD's Brett Mahoney (recurring from Daredevil) attempting to capture Frank Castle and bring him to justice. The Punisher was fiction, of course, but it was a particular kind of right-wing fiction that ran directly opposite reality. The Punisher isn't the first time we've seen the Marvel hero on Netflix. For all that, he saw a lot, growing up in a working-class New York neighborhood that was ruled by the mob. Thanks for reading and be sure to let us know what you think everyone should know about The Punisher! A common cause of genetic limp is having one leg that is significantly shorter than the other. The Punisher was basically designed to be the unforgiving version of Captain America; able to survive just about anything, against anyone. Multiple scenes of graphic shootings. A man has recurring nightmares of his wife being murdered. If youre innocent, hes your protector; if youre guilty, make peace with your god. As a veteran, Frank Castle has a soft spot for other soldiers. Cover of 'Punisher MAX' #57 from Garth Ennis. Liberal Democrats have sold this country down the river! If you say he went into a drug neighborhood and killed all the drug dealers, would that make that neighborhood better? Overall there is not too much explicit scenes. Lundgren is a very avid Soccer fan, or how he refers to it, a Football Fan. In a 2017 interview with Esquire, Bernthal said he hit the man, who was following him home, and was brought in for questioning when the man hit his head on the pavement and was slow to regain consciousness. People like watching people who are awesome, and especially for the military and cops, theyre under a lot of pressure. On Friday, cops and soldiers will get to see Bernthals latest effort to make good on that promise. I think the aspect of the guns and tactics and just how kickass he is written is what draws a lot of military people to him, says Army veteran Jeff Holman, whose unit in Iraq spray-painted the skull on Humvee turret armor and rooms they stayed in. The movie will feature several of the series' characters as they navigate the ethnic tension and riots of 1960s Newark. These books are all about Mack Bolans war against the mafia and his adventures during his crusade against crime. If Ive created a guy who lionizes [violence], Ive failed miserably, Bernthal told the Los Angeles Times. No one seems to agree with what Marvel anti-hero's iconic skull represents. Conway first dreamed the Punisher up as a supporting character for Spider-man in the early 1970s when the country was trying to put Vietnam behind it, urban crime was high, faith in government. The vigilante as hero is a concept thats been with us a long time. Blowing away a few crooked congressmen yeah Id even kill a few Republicans just to show Im bi-partisan. They lost no time in making Frank Castle the mascot for their official Facebook page, and promoting the now-ubiquitous Thin Blue Line Punisher., Banner image on the Blue Lives Matter Facebook.Copyright Unclear. Despite the early-season drama, its still (almost) anyones game to win. However, Punishers assembly of guns is unmatched. A man is stabbed and bitten in the ear. If that guy doesnt wake up, the cops told him, youre going away for life.. Though the Punishers fans are generally diverse, the character has a strong appeal to a conservative audience. Frank was hunting Spider-Man after being hired by The Jackalwhoframed Spider-Man for the death of Norman Osborn. Most heroes dislike him for his murderous ways and disregard for law, but on top of that, Frank is often seen threatening others. How Tyrel Jackson Williams Brought TikTok Cringe to, Its sort of a newer version of the L.A. actor ride that Kyle is on the first two seasons, but its worse.. During that time, he was given clearer motivations, and a tragic backstory. 2. We believe in you, one of them says while pointing to a Punisher-skull sticker on his car. Before that, he was encouraged by his acting teacher, Alma Becker, to try out for the Moscow Art Theatre School.