The Punisher has had a rough path when it comes to screen adaptations. 1989’s stab at the character starred Dolph Lundgren as Frank Castle and, while not bad by cheeseball 80s action standards, didn’t have much in common with the Marvel comic (Lundgren didn’t even wear a skull T-shirt!). Thomas Jane’s 2004 effort honestly wasn’t that much better, committing the fatal crime of just being a bit dull, while Lexi Alexander’s Punisher: War Zone is secretly amazing, though next to no one went to see it – so that was another dead end. But now Netflix are having a go at it with The Punisher.
The show has the advantage that we’re already familiar with this version of the character. Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle made his debut in the second season of Daredevil, and was probably the best thing in it. So, we already had high hopes for the series, and they’ll be fulfilled if they follow the aesthetic of this kickass poster from fan artist extraordinaire BossLogic.
If you’re tasked with creating a graphic summary of what The Punisher is all about, then a pissed off black metal skull with bullets for teeth surrounded by a kaleidoscope of guns does the job about as well as anything could. Let’s hope Marvel are paying attention to stuff like this, as it’s the kind of thing we want from the TV show, which (fingers crossed) sounds like it could take inspiration from Garth Ennis’ Punisher MAX comic series, which for me is the defining take on the character.
The Punisher should be released sometime this fall, with a trailer likely to debut at Comic-Con.
Published: May 26, 2017 12:57 pm