5 Punisher Stories That Are Perfect For The Next Marvel Spotlight Special

Fans of the Netflix-era Marvel shows — known as the Defenders Saga after they joined the rest of Marvel Studios’ fare — are no doubt waiting for “Daredevil: Born Again,” not least because the show will see the return of Jon Bernthal’s Punisher. Bernthal delivered what may very well be the definitive version of Marvel Comics’ famed violent vigilante in “Daredevil” season 2 (2015), and returned for two seasons of a solo show called “The Punisher” (2017-2019). 

Fortunately, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is not only reviving the character, but we already know what Bernthal’s MCU Punisher will do after “Daredevil: Born Again.” His next project will be a Disney+ special directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (“Monsters and Men,” “King Richard”), in the one-off vein of the fun 2022 monster movie homage “Werewolf By Night.” Here’s how Marvel Television chief Brad Winderbaum described this upcoming standalone: 

“It’s like a shotgun blast of a story, but also has all the pathos and emotion that you want out of a Frank Castle story. It’s so exciting.”

Bernthal, who is co-writing the script with Green, has already posted a teaser image of a particular Punisher comic on Instagram. It’s the cover of “The Punisher” issue #53 from 1991, which tells a story called “The Finger” — itself a part of a larger storyline called “The Final Days.” This may or may not turn out to be a confirmation that the special intends to adapt this particular storyline, but before we find out for sure, it’s worth looking into some of the finest, most MCU-worthy Punisher stories out there that could be used as source material for the one-off special. Here are five of our favorites. 

The Garth Ennis-penned “The Punisher MAX” series (2004-2008) focuses on a steadily aging but particularly merciless Punisher who pushes himself to end as many criminals as he possibly can before his battle-worn body gives up. Arguably the finest “Punisher” run in the character’s publication history, “MAX” features no shortage of excellent stories to adapt — for instance, it would be wild to see Marvel Television deliver a faithful adaptation of the ruthless human trafficking story “The Slavers.” However, there’s one arc that might make for a particularly interesting MCU version: “Barracuda” (2006).

This story takes the Punisher to Florida, where he plans to clash with corrupt businessmen. Unfortunately, they see him coming and hire Barracuda – a hulking egomaniac with a nasty mindset, a CIA wetwork background, and a deep bag of terrifying tricks. Barracuda is effectively a stronger, less moral version of Frank Castle, and the pair’s prolonged series of clashes is just as violent and casualty-filled as you might imagine. This meeting is something Jon Bernthal himself has hoped to see for quite some time. While attending “The Walking Dead”-themed Walker Stalker Cruise in 2018, he answered a fan question about potential future “The Punisher” antagonists:

“Barracuda. I’d like to see Barracuda. I’d really like to get back in with D’Onofrio, with Kingpin. I mean, there’s so many twisted characters. But you know, I’m really eager to see … ah, s***, I’m gonna get in trouble. Let’s just see what happens, man. Let’s just see what happens.”

This is interesting because as mentioned earlier, Bernthal is co-writing the upcoming special’s script with director Reinaldo Marcus Green. If he still feels the same way about Barracuda, there’s a decent chance that the character will factor in the story in one way or another.

The 1986 “Circle of Blood” storyline marked Frank Castle’s first standalone miniseries. As such, it has plenty of importance in the character’s history, which makes it especially worthy of adaptation. It also happens to be a very good story that basically begs for a live-action version. “Circle of Blood” explores what it means to be the Punisher, what it takes to wear the mantle, and why Frank’s unique mentality, skills, and tragic past make him the only person truly suitable for the unsavory job. 

The story starts when a strange organization called the Trust breaks Frank out of prison and helps him deal with the Kingpin and various warring gang factions. Unfortunately, the Trust sees Frank as a blueprint for a grander purpose, and its true goal is to create a whole army of deadly, brainwashed Punishers. Understandably, the original version doesn’t particularly care for the idea.

Since “Daredevil: Born Again” may end up removing Kingpin from New York City’s crime equation in one way or another, the “Circle of Blood” post-Kingpin chaos premise would make it a pretty natural way to continue the MCU Punisher’s story. Additionally, the abundant and patently unwelcome Punisher imitators this tale rolls out would allow the special to make a point or two about the real world far-righters who have been known to co-opt the skull shirt.  

In 2000, writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon kicked off the 12-issue “Welcome Back, Frank” story that revitalized and grounded the Punisher after some truly embarrassing supernatural adventures as an agent of Heaven (yes, really). The story is Punisher at his purest: Frank Castle targets and methodically dismantles a powerful New York mafia family while that family attempts to fight back. It strikes a perfect balance between the character’s street-level ruthlessness, unique moral code, and ability to take down foes who are technically far more powerful than him. In many ways, it’s the quintessential Punisher story that distills the character to his purest vengeful form while still doing justice to the complex personality that boils under the stone-faced surface.  

While the lengthy arc would need some streamlining to work on a presumably hour-long small screen special, “Welcome Back, Frank” would be a fitting first MCU solo arc for everyone’s favorite skull-chested vigilante, right down to its name. As a bonus, the storyline also features its share of comedic elements, which would lend themselves extremely well to the famous MCU tendency to cleanse the audience’s palate with humor at regular intervals. Handily for the eternally sequel-minded franchise, there’s even a cool follow-up story: “Up Is Down and Black Is White” (2005) raises the stakes when a particularly sadistic member of the Cavella family returns from exile to assume command and reap imaginatively brutal vengeance. 

Jon Berthal’s version of the Punisher might fit Garth Ennis’ stylings well, but he also bears notable similarities to writer Greg Rucka’s vision of the character. In 2011, Rucka and artist Marco Chechetto rolled out their particular take on Frank Castle with a lengthy 16-issue story arc called “The Exchange.” 

Cleverly, Rucka’s story combines the Punisher’s usual deadly antics — here, a fight against a dangerous crime organization called the Exchange — with entertainingly bleak procedural drama. Various law enforcement figures receive as much (and often more) attention as Frank himself, as the comic explores the authorities’ struggle against highly dangerous criminals and their complex relationship with the Punisher. Ultimately, there are very few winners in this game. 

As with “Welcome Back, Frank,” the sizable story arc would likely need plenty of condensing or cherry-picking in order to become a captivating story that can be told with just one Marvel special. However, its central idea of juxtaposing regular police officers with the Punisher has all the makings of an interesting live-action tale, exploring the Punisher mythos from logical but unexpected angles that might work very well in the MCU. 

Look, there’s no way they’re going to adapt this if the one-off special isn’t animated. Still, since we’re spitballing story ideas, it would be borderline criminal to exclude this 1995 Marvel Alterniverse one-off, which is exactly what it says on the label. Garth Ennis’ (yes, him again) “Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe” is a severe reimagining of Frank Castle’s history, where his family dies during the Avengers’ and the X-Men’s battle against a big alien threat. You can probably guess what happens next. Instead of targeting criminals, Frank shoots the first superhero who offers his apologies (thanks for coming, Cyclops) and starts a new life as a champion for the collateral victims of superhero battles. This very much involves killing every superpowered individual he can get his hands on. 

Seeing the Punisher use his guerrilla tactics to take down just about every major Earth-based player in the Marvel universe — up to and including powerhouses like Hulk — is an impressive ride, especially since “Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe” feels like a genuine, grim “Punisher gone wrong” story instead of the kind of wacky alternate-universe romp the premise might imply. If only for budget reasons, we’re highly unlikely to see Bernthal’s Punisher mow his way through every major name in the MCU roster, so more than any other story on this list, a live-action adaptation of this particular arc seems like a pipe dream. Still, “Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe” is a worthy and entertaining exploration of the character, and at the very least, it would make an interesting episode of “What If…?” at some point down the line.