Jon Bernthal’s return as the Punisher can finally pay off a decade-old MCU mystery that’s never been answered

There was always going to be a vocal minority who cried foul when Jon Bernthal’s inevitable introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe was eventually confirmed, but the vast majority of fans are thrilled beyond belief that another former Netflix favorite has been welcomed back into the fold.

The obvious downside is that we’re almost definitely not getting a comics-accurate interpretation of the Punisher given that the franchise will remain a PG-13 operation with the notable exception of Deadpool 3, but there are a million creative ways to ensure that Frank Castle still packs a punch without resorting to gruesome violence and blood-splattered bodies being strewn across Disney Plus.

One major – and largely forgotten – aspect of the Punisher’s impending comeback is that longtime MCU supporters may finally get closure for a tease made a decade ago in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, one that exists in the vague middle ground between an Easter Egg and a wink.

On two occasions during the film, a Penske truck appears out of nowhere at the most fortuitous moments imaginable, first during the Nick Fury chase sequence, and again during the heart-stopping freeway battle between the heroes and HYDRA.

At a DVD signing, co-director Joe Russo revealed that the unnamed and unidentified driver of the truck – who he also claimed would be an excellent subject for a Marvel One-Shot – was someone “highly trained” who “thinks on their own terms” and has “a plan and a very specific skill set,” which sounds an awful lot like New York City’s most trigger-happy vigilante.

It’s never been referenced, acknowledged, or addressed since, but even a throwaway mention by Bernthal in Daredevil: Born Again would add yet another new layer to the MCU’s mythology by confirming that the Punisher has been lurking in the shadows long before he’s even introduced to Disney Plus viewers.