‘The Punisher’ doles out violence, revenge
Will these turbulent times be ripe for an ultradeadly vigilante toting firearms?
T he Marvel character known as The Punisher first appeared in 1974 as part of an “Amazing Spider-Man” story. The character, whose real name was Frank Castle, had originally been hired to kill the webslinger, but as his story unfolded, readers learned the killing of Castle’s own family made him that way.
Over the years, The Punisher has appeared in his own comic books as well as on television and in films and video games. Now the character is getting his own show as part of “Marvel’s The Defenders” on Netflix. The 13-episode series is now available.
As it happens, 1974 was also the year “Death Wish” came out. The Michael Winner movie starred Charles Bronson as a man who buys a gun to exact violent revenge on those responsible for committing heinous acts against his wife and daughter in a home-invasion robbery. It spoke to something of the times, spawning four sequels. A remake from Eli Roth starring Bruce Willis is set for early next year.
“I feel we are in a pretty turbulent time — the same as the
‘70s were,” says “The Punisher’s” showrunner and executive producer, Steve Lightfoot (“Hannibal”). “We have a lot of men who have come back from fighting overseas. People’s relationships with the government were tricky then as they are now.”
Whether that means the times are right for a new “Punisher” is debatable.
Having an ultradeadly vigilante wearing an armored vest with a skull on it toting heavy firearms will give some people pause, especially in the wake of recent mass shootings. “The Punisher” was set to come out in October; then the Las Vegas mass shooting happened. Now the premiere came less than two weeks after the church shooting in Texas and days after a shooting in Northern California that killed five (as of
this writing).
Lightfoot hopes people will see this incarnation of the Punisher as more than just an avenger — even relatable. The series stars Jon Bernthal (“The Walking Dead”) as Castle, an Iraq War veteran with special-ops skills.
The character has already been introduced to “Defenders” audiences in the second season of “Daredevil,” but originally the Punisher wasn’t going to be part of the group of shows. However, Bernthal’s story arc and character proved to be popular, and Lightfoot was brought in to develop the series.
“I thought Jon was so good,” Lightfoot says. “He made Frank Castle so human that I really cared and felt it was a character worth taking on.”
Lightfoot says there were two very connected ideas about making this show.
“One is that if you have already taken the hand of violence you can never let go of it, and the other is it has to be about more than just fighting a war. It’s about who you are fighting it for.”
The showrunner says the new series gives Frank something more to care about than revenge. Over a 13-episode season, Lightfoot felt, “We were really able to take our time and dig into the character.
“The idea was that within the Marvel umbrella, Frank lived within his own story,” he says. “This was less about making him fit into the times as it was about being true to the character.”
Using flashbacks, the show will fill in some of the details of Frank’s life so those who don’t know the backstory can enjoy the series.
One thing Lightfoot wanted to bring over from “Daredevil” was Frank’s relationship with Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), a reporter who befriended the vigilante and knows he’s not a coldhearted killer.
“I felt the relationship between them was so strong that I wanted to continue that into the first season of this show,” says Lightfoot, pointing out that Karen is something like family to Frank.
With his own family seemingly avenged, the series begins with Frank’s having taken a new name and working on a construction crew. He still likes to smash things while on the job, but soon finds himself drawn back into — let’s call it — a plot involving the military-industrial complex.
Unlike the rest of the Defenders, Frank has no superpowers, except his rage, perhaps. The title sequence reminds of this, showing a sniper rifle being assembled.
“Obviously, he has his military training, which is a type of power that ordinary people don’t have,” Lightfoot says. “But it also allowed us to ground the show, and in the end, you take the character on its merits and make sure you write to that.”
The showrunner says he isn’t worried that the Marvel universe has become too crowded.
“Netflix is very smart about spreading the shows out, and it doesn’t feel like the fans are getting tired of them,” he says. “The other shows are pretty special, so I was more worried about making this one as good as they were, but I’m sure there will be some who wish we had gone another way.”