The onetime The Walking Dead star has won over critics and audiences with his soulful performance as Frank Castle, a war veteran who grapples with his post-traumatic stress disorder by obliterating criminals. He's also told others who wanted to follow his example to look instead to Captain America for inspiration. All the latest gaming news, game reviews and trailers. Frank Castles actions are not ones to emulate, but like most heroes, he is a great example to live your life by, says Army veteran Russell Gallaway. Immediately upon being given the floor, he gave a very specific shout-out. Williams, a Marine vet and current sheriffs deputy whos been a Punisher fan since childhood. Bernthal went to Russia and was accepted into the schools program. A few notable ones are Batman, Green Goblin, and Iron Man. Ivan Drago is the second role that Lundgren took on, the first being a minor role as Venz in the James Bond film, A View To Kill. Season 2 features several characters snorting cocaine and dealing meth. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. A month later, he was reelected in a historic landslide, and set about supporting a number of murderous regimes in Latin America. This is without a shadow of doubt the darkest and most violent MCU entry of all time. As a child, Frank was a good kid, if perhaps a little off. The Castle family were killedin the process. In his first appearance, Frank Castle was introduced as a villain in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man #129 in 1974. As Gerry Conway would later say: You had at that time a national government that was very aggressive. The time he spent in the war was at an indispensable time in his life. As weve discussed, Frank Castle does not hesitate to murder those he deems worthy of his punishment. Id be surprised if data said otherwise. Wielding automatic weapons, with a skull emblazoned on his chest, the Punisher is one of Marvel's most popular street-level vigilantes. Years later during the Civil War story, when Steve Rogers was beating Frank senseless for murderingtwo supercriminals under Cap's protection, Frank refused to defend himself. But while Tony's origins have been retconned to be based in the Gulf Wars, Frank has remained a Vietnam vet through the 00s. The main antagonist's mother is a heroin addict. 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. In truth, he died that day and another man emerged: the Punisher. He's basically the coolest, and the most down to earth. Permanently. Quickly. Not clearly seen. Some knife violence, showing people being stabbed, sometimes brutally. 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. Castle doesnt see shades of grey, which, unfortunately, the American justice system is littered with and which tends to slow down and sometimes even hinder victims of crime from getting the justice they deserve.. Stallone may have regretted taking on Lundgren when filming for Rocky IV started as during one of the tappings Lundgren sent Stallone to the hospital. But he says hes very aware that extrajudicial killing is outside of the ethos of the military and is just part of a larger fantasy. Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: As part of your account, youll receive occasional updates and offers from New York, which you can opt out of anytime. There are plenty of heroes and villains that have massive arsenals. So we adapted his symbol a skull and made it our own. Kyle says that he and his men spray-painted the skull on Hummers, body armor, buildings, and their guns. No one seems to agree with what Marvel anti-hero's iconic skull represents. Jon Bernthal is bringing his version of The Punisher to Marvel's Netflix Daredevil season 2, so brush up on the character here! 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. Be the first to know what's trending, straight from Elite Daily, Ranking The 'Outer Banks' Parents By How Much They Suck, The 5 Most Ridiculous 'Outer Banks' Theories, Ranked By Plausibility, John B & Sarah Are Officially The Least Interesting 'Outer Banks' Couple, By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. If you talk to soldiers, they will tell you the Punisher is the epitome of what they all strive to be and do. A man is choked to death in an airport bathroom. Yup, he wasn't born with the name Dolph. In the early 2000s the Punisher was chosen by U.S. forces to represent U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Despite the role of Ivan Drago being his most iconic and the one that he is most known for, there is a lot about the man behind the monster that most people who have seen either Rocky IV or Creed II do not know about. In issue no. His powers. He also became obsessed with apex predators as a point of academic curiosity. We had this notion that as a nation we needed to break the rules. He even was an avid reader and poetry lover as a child! 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. So a fictional character like Castle coming in and correcting those shortcomings, even if its just a comic book, helps one deal with those frustrations. In the end, he thinks Frank is, for better or worse, a comic-book figure whose moment is here: Some people want Superman, but then realize that its a character like the Punisher that they actually need.. Frank Castle is Marvel's Punisher - but how much do you really know about the character? This is all clearly shown and extremely brutal. 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The vigilante as hero is a concept thats been with us a long time. Though the Marvel vigilante known as the Punisher has been portrayed by several actors including Dolph Lundgren and Thomas Jane, its Jon Bernthal who has left the biggest impression. This makes him quite an old man, which can be jarring, but also adds dramatic tension. As a kid, Bernthal got into fights, sometimes with weapons. Strength, tenacity, perseverance, decisiveness. The Punisher's skull was partially inspired by the "totenkopf," a skull-and-bones logo worn by the Nazi SS during World War II. 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. So you can expect a lot more blood and death in The Punisher than any of the other Defenders series. The late Chris Kyle, the famed Navy SEAL sniper who was the subject of American Sniper, crowed in his memoir that his unit nicknamed themselves the Punishers and painted the skull on their equipment. Punisher is seeking vengeance on the gang members that are responsible for the deaths of his wife and two children. He said his surgery was a success, but he needs time to heal before he can tour again. The overall tone of the show is very dark. Showing the nagging effects of injury don't suit his unstoppable killing machine thing. It was the sudden loss of his family after her returned from his time serving in Afghanistan that caused him to enter into vigilantism in the first place, and that quest for deadly vengeance will also lead him to confront some of the people he worked for in a shady military cell during his time at war. He killed bad guys. While Daredevil and the rest of the Defenders tend to let the law take care of human criminals, the Punisher prefers taking care of them himself. And we spray-painted it on every building or wall we could. Yeah, the man is so intimidating that a photo of him made the invaders run home scared. Its not my understanding of the police.. I blame the media selling and supporting war., Fans with that viewpoint will find much to love in the Netflix show. In the film, Black love is free of colonial baggage. Years of scraping by as an actor were followed by a few breaks for Bernthal, including a part in director Oliver Stones 2006 feature World Trade Center. Pretty much every sex scene in the show lasts 30 seconds at most. He thinks blind patriotism a quality that Frank lacks is the bigger danger. Plot Summary He first appeared as the character in the second season of Daredevil, and November 17 will see the debut of his solo Netflix show, The Punisher. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. A man and a woman are shown making out until the man gets shot in the head. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us. Its like people saying the Swastika was a Hindu symbol that means family and love. Its complicated, and he works through that in his own way., Talk to cops and soldiers and theyll tell you they understand all that. Some surgical type scenes. But a white skull with long dripping teeth? This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. The famously temperamental Stone allegedly told Bernthal that his takes were subpar and that he was vain. Bernthal, who had not yet sworn off fistfights, replied that, "You might be Oliver Stone, but I will beat your f***ing a** right here on this set. Yet, we know we cant. A man is hanged to death in an abandoned warehouse. Sun Tsu's 'The Art of War' is definitely a text Frank takes advantage of. Frank is a guy who is in unbelievable pain, and theres an unbelievable cost to the violence that hes gone through in his life., Its an acutely delicate time to tell the story of a disgruntled man who goes on shooting sprees. Despite that, like its predecessor, the series was wildly successful. Two main characters carry on an intimate relationship for a brief period where multiple implied and sometimes shown sex scenes occur. In that era, the Punisher was able to take on a heroic mantle, [rather] than being an anti-hero that was frowned upon. Gore is shown very briefly. Marshals, and doing freelance security work, and hes a Punisher addict. 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. Though some things may be lost if Twitter fades, the real magic behind the platform was never the app, but the people. Who wouldn't want to kill just about every criminal after their family was caught in a crossfire? One of these women becomespregnant and has their child without telling him. Terms of Service apply. We wanted people to know, [w]ere here and we want to fuck with you. The Punisher skull became so prevalent that it was adopted by various militias in the region, and can still be found there to this day. Its just your own moral code, he says. When he follows the chain of supply, it doesnt lead him to the CIA, but instead to Bolivia. In continuity and outside of continuity, The Punisher has made some powerful enemies with some of Marvels greatest heroes. Frank knows he's no hero. 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. While Walter Brennan was preparing for his role in "To Have and Have Not", his friend, sound effects technician Jack Foley suggested to him that he put a rock in his shoe to create a limp. Obviously, if the Punisher was a real person and did the stuff he did, there would be people who get hurt, innocents, says Adam, an Army veteran who requested anonymity. Hes fascinating, yet at the same time, repelling. The Punisher was basically designed to be the unforgiving version of Captain America; able to survive just about anything, against anyone. Conways father was a cop and his uncle was captain of the academy of New York City. The show revolves around an ex-Marine turned vigilante who hunts and kills criminals after his wife and children are murdered by gangsters. In one scene a man is removing an arrow from another man's shoulder. Much later, when he was in his 30s, a run-in with someone who was harassing Bernthal while the actor was out walking his dog led to a fight that nearly landed him in prison. That said, some of the qualities that the Punisher has are very admirable. Jon Bernthal's Punisher made his on-screen debut last year in Season 2 of Daredevil, in which he initially butted heads but eventually teamed up with Daredevil to take down a group of mystical ninjas known as The Hand. A group of men are beaten and killed with a sledgehammer by the main protagonist. The Punisher's Skull, a ghostly white cranium often painted over a pitch black background, perfectly occupies the uncomfortable shaded areas in the venn diagram of politically conservative. Forhan explains away the dissonance as such: Its adopted a new meaning over the last few years. A man is choked to death in an airport bathroom. He returned to the pages of Spider-Man and Daredevil and Captain America for the rest of the 70s and early 80s. RELATED: Punisher Villains Ranked: The 10 Worst Frank Castle Ever Faced. In February 2017, a Kentucky precinct endured heavy criticism when it branded vehicles with Punisher decals with the words Blue Lives Matter over them. He captained the Swedish Kyokushin karate team and was a formidable challenger at the 1979 World Open Tournament. Bernthals specific role has yet to be disclosed. As far as fandoms go, its a controversial one. A man is stabbed multiple times in his home. Conway portrayed Frank as a Marine from his very first appearance in 1974s The Amazing Spider-Man No. In the comics and in the show The Punisher is a force of nature. The Wagner opera returns to the Met for the first time in 17 years. But producing high-quality, independent work is not cost-free we rely heavily on your support. Their relationship developed dramatically, and he moved with her to New York City. Liberal Democrats have sold this country down the river! As Marine vet Matt Salvatico puts it, He has a job to do and he does it. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Blowing away a few crooked congressmen yeah Id even kill a few Republicans just to show Im bi-partisan. He has guns, knives, and tactical gear for just about every situation and has employed each type of weapon at least once. That and he is crazy, after the death of his family. You can find out more about him, and look at his work, on his website. Brennan did so and that is how he learned his rather genuine-looking fake limp. Though the Punishers fans are generally diverse, the character has a strong appeal to a conservative audience. A deceased man in a warehouse is seen in the foreground with a pair of pliers sticking out of his ear. 129. Plot Keywords. Before that, he was encouraged by his acting teacher, Alma Becker, to try out for the Moscow Art Theatre School. Privacy Policy and The original Punisher from the Marvel comics chose the skull while in Vietnam. Marine Corps veteran Christopher Neff plans to take the day off of work so he can binge it all. That said, he is still a terrifyingly powerful man given his extensive training and proficiency in ammunitions from his time as a sniper in the Marines. Stallone himself thought the six-foot, five-inch Lundgren was going to be too much of a stretch for the character of Drago and rejected him during their first meeting. It follows the tribulations of its titular antihero, an embittered former Marine named Frank Castle, who uses his talents to lethally take down wrongdoers in the wake of the murder of his wife and . There are certain heroes he admires like Captain America, but for the most part he rubs other heroes the wrong way. There would be no future issues for Frank Castle not in that particular series anyways. The show is about a vigilante who ruthlessly murders criminals. The five-issue limited run was a massive success, and Marvel immediately began working on a monthly title behind the scenes. Also, like most other comic characters, he too was brought back to life. Dolph was born with an even more Swedish name, Hans Lundgren, but took the name Dolph later in life. Frank Castle has a strange sense of patriotism. The Punisher has become one of Marvel's most beloved anti-heroes after first appearing in the comics back in the 1970s. Frank Castle was created as an antihero. The main protagonist himself is repeatedly shot, stabbed, beaten, and tortured throughout the series. He was a mainstay in The Amazing Spider-Man and frequently crossed over into other popular lines like Daredevil and Captain America. And he was right about Friends, but he was simply not right about us.. Overall there is not too much explicit scenes. He supported Everton FC when he lived in Europe, but developed more of an interest in international football tournaments like the UEFA European Championship and the FIFA World Cup after moving to Los Angeles. Now that Meredith is gone, it is business as usual at Grey Sloan Memorial. RELATED: The Punisher: 5 Heroes Frank Castle Has Beaten (& 5 He Can Never Win Against). They helped found the magazine 3 Feet Left as its Resident Writer while working as an English teacher in Japan. But so has his connection to visions of state-sponsored force. He was always a cautionary tale about what happens when someone decides that the ends justify the means. But until his death comes, he is focused onhis mission. If youre committing violent acts, one way or another, you will be meeting consequences., Another reason, Forhan says, is to honor officers who have given their lives in the line of duty. So when you wear the skull with the thin blue line, you say, Here are my fallen brothers, and what Im doing is to keep that legacy going.. Though he loved his fellow warriors, he detests the immoral men who send grunts to foreign abattoirs and ignore them if they return. Gregorio Len graduated cum laude from the Visual & Media Arts department of Emerson College, Class of 2020. Punisher will be going through a lot of henchmen in his new series, and that string of dead bodies will likely eventually lead to Rawlins. Like numerous heroes, Frank Castle served in the Vietnam War. In the second season of The Punisher, Frank Castle is drawn into the mystery surrounding the attempted murder of Amy Bendix where she is targeted by John Pilgrim under the orders of Anderson and Eliza Schwartz. This inability to forgive and motivation to hand out justice on his own terms is what directly led to his crusade to punish. A man is unexpectedly stabbed to death. I could have a bat symbol and tell people Im celebrating nightvision. Dolph Lundgren was born in the small community of Spnga which is in the Stockholm county in Sweden. You showed us how its done. Frank is unmoved. His rivals among the Super Hero community include the likes of Daredevil and Cloak and Dagger, who are adamant about bringing the Punisher to justice for his savage ways. The blood looked more real as well in season 1. Multiple scenes of graphic shootings. The Silver Age of Comics was in the '60s and Marvel rose to prominence at that time, so Tony Stark also has an origin story based in Vietnam. The Timess coverage reflects its commitment to a flawed version of objectivity that equates balance with accuracy. In his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #129, he was actually an antagonist pitted against our favorite wall-crawler. In his free time Gregorio likes to make short films and take photographs. Two of the main characters get drunk together. I think patriotic war movies brainwash young men to idolize war and killing enemies/terrorists more than fictional vigilantes ever will. Less of a violent overtone, more of a promise to criminals: You might think youre getting away with it, but its karma. 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. People are divided on how to feel about the Punisher. New Movie News, Movie Trailers & upcoming Movie Reviews, The Punisher: 10 Facts You Didn't Know About Frank Castle, Punisher Villains Ranked: The 10 Worst Frank Castle Ever Faced, The Punisher: 5 Heroes Frank Castle Has Beaten (& 5 He Can Never Win Against), 10 Punisher Moments We'll Never See On Netflix, REVIEW: Frank Miller Presents Ancient Enemies: The Djinni #1 Crafts a Compelling Origin Story, REVIEW: DC's Shazam! While deployed, U.S. troops made heavy use of the symbol to assert American dominance. A little fact about Sweden you probably didn't know is that the country had mandatory military service for men from 1901 all the way to 2010. Related: 15 Surprising BTS Facts About Sylvester Stallone's Biggest Movies. Before you start bingeing The Punisher, here's everything you need to know about the gun-slinging anti-hero. Even those who are often seen with guns, like Deadpool, Deadshot, Cable, Jason Todd, or Grifter, do not come close to owning a comparable amount of firepower. The best musical instrument is a love triangle. Bernthal played Al Capone opposite Ben Stillers hapless night watchman. Not long afterward it began to inspire violent action. Bernthal became interested in acting in high school and was later accepted into Harvard's masters in dramatic arts program. In response to the officers suspension, the president of the St. Louis Police union issued a statement, calling on all supporters to change their profile pictures to the Blue Line Punisher symbol in protest. He also worships Captain America as his personal hero. Multiple instances of either implied or shown sex scenes. 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. After escaping, he decided to leave a message for The Monkey by painting the infamous skull on a prisoners chest as well as his own. From the moment he was given his own series, it was used to push reactionary ideas and dangerous fiction. The same week season 2 of The Punisher debuted, it was announced that Bernthal would be appearing in The Many Saints of Newark, The Sopranos feature film prequel co-written and produced by David Chase. You can also watch their videos on YouTube under the name Theo Kogod, where they post sporadically. A woman is very unexpectedly shot to death. The latest movie news, trailers, reviews, and more. The Punisher's family died in the middle of a mob war in Central Park, so he declared a war on crime and decided to just kill every single criminal in the entire universe. - user001. Lundgren also took on the role of Frank Castle, AKA The Punisher in the 1989 film simply titled The Punisher. On Friday, cops and soldiers will get to see Bernthals latest effort to make good on that promise. why does five have a limp. With his anti-hero persona and tragic background, Frank Castle has remained just under the surface of mainstream audiences attention. You might not have ever heard of Grace Jones before but in the 80s she was pretty big. Lundgren has said that, as a child, he was insecure and suffered from allergies, describing himself as a runt. While working one night, he was spotted by an agency that provided personal protection for celebrities and was offered a job. Google searches turn up a bevy of Punisher-themed apparel, stickers, and accessories aimed at stoking pride for the military and boys in blue. A man's face is smashed into and dragged through a mirror. The Punisher has been a comic icon for quite some time. As the writer for a failed 1976 solo-series put it: In many ways, the Punisher is an unusual choice for a lead character. Franks time as a Marine is vital to understanding his character and the environment he came from, Ennis says. If everyone was the Punisher, wed have anarchy; chaos. There is a lot about the man behind the monster that most people who have seen either Rocky IV or Creed II do not know about Dolph Lundgren is most well known in the world as Ivan Drago, the terrifying Russian giant that killed Apollo Creed in the boxing ring and nearly did the same to Rocky Balboa. He made wrongdoers fear him, Kyles memoir reads. 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. However, when Frank Castle began preparing for his war on crime, he went to the library to study. In 1994, Dolph Lundgren married Anette Qviberg (born 1966), a jewellery designer and fashion stylist, in Marbella. He does not set out to help people. After all five rounds, Lundgren lost the decision to Taktarov. Why is Bonnie have a limp? For the next decade, Frank Castle a.k.a the Punisher bounced from comic to comic. It could be caused by strained muscles, torn ligaments, or an underlying medical issue such as arthritis, gout, or a herniated disk. If courts dont stop Trumps police, feds could bolster the ranks of 50,000 poll watchers or be called upon if he loses. His take on Frank Castle redefined the character, and the subsequent Punisher MAX series was the one that soldiers would carry into Iraq and Afghanistan. The film wasn't received too well, but maybe Lundgren could try to get a spot in the MCU. Now thatThe Walking DeadsJon Bernthal taking on the role of The Punisher in season 2 of Daredevil, the mainstream audience may finally get to meet The Punisher like never before. So you can expect a lot more blood and death in The Punisher than any of the other Defenders series. But I dont feel that way. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. On top of just being a genius, Lundgren was able to make time to become a second-degree black belt in Karate and a champion. Lundgren accepted and become the bodyguard of Grace Jones. Its in these pages that we see the birth of the persona of The Punisher. 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. 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. Car_Hack April 29, 2009, 8:14pm #5. The logo of the Punisher is as intimidating, and controversial, as Frank Castle himself. The character and his iconography are totemic for many cops and soldiers, wrote Abraham Riesman for Vulture, adding that his popularity spiked when Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, the subject of American Sniper, appropriated the skull as his own. Bernthals brooding persona is not seemingly one that would lend itself to a sitcom, but he nonetheless wound up doing one. The Assassin, as Conway called Castle, was an ex-soldier bent on revenge, wearing a small totenkopf on his breast as the badge of his war on crime. Artist John Romita Sr. reworked the symbol into a stylized version of the Waffen S.S. skull before publication.