The Punisher:

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Coming in at January. Expect it to be cancelled soon after.

 

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The first season of The Punisher saw the Marvel vigilante going up against a corrupt CIA operative and a former ally who conspired to kill his family. But the latest villain in the Netflix series will be slightly more topical.

In a new report from Collider, we finally learned more about Frank Castle's latest foe for The Punisher Season 2, a character named John Pilgrim played by actor Josh Stewart. The villain has been described as Alt-Right, a term that's associated with white nationalism and extreme conservatives.

"On the exterior, [John Pilgrim] is a man who is a Christian Fundamentalist who had a rage, a violent side of him," Stewart said. "It’s buried deep. I think where this is all headed, that sort of side of him is going to resurface a bit."

Pilgrim is said to contrast Billy Russo, who will also return for Season 2, as a creepier and more uptight foe for Frank Castle.

While Russo will be appearing in the new season, he won't be going under the name of Jigsaw. Instead, that term will apply to the character's fragmented psyche after the events of the first season.

"He’s trying to piece together what happened to him and who he is. There is the metaphor at one point that his brain is the jigsaw that he’s trying put the pieces back together of," actor Ben Barnes said to Collider.

As for the man himself, Frank Castle won't be doing some Punishing from the get go. It will take the actions of John Pilgrim and his allies to draw the violent side of Frank Castle out into the open. But when Castle does put on that skull-adorned vest, it will be an epic moment.

"This year, when he puts it on, we figured out a very intelligent, very tactical reason, a very psychologically tactical reason to wear it. It makes a lot of sense," said Frank Castle actor Jon Bernthal.

They're working hard to top the events of Season 1, which almost had an anti-climactic scene of The Punisher finally adopting the skull on his chest.

"There was going to be a whole scene with Micro where they’re at the computer figuring [the suit] out," Bernthal said. "That was going to be the first time with him in the vest. [Micro] was just gonna’ sort of be drinking tea and I’m like, 'You can’t do that. It’s gonna’ look so friggin’ stupid.'"

'The Punisher' Season 2 Villain Is an Alt-Right Christian Fundamentalist

 

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It feels so strange to blog about the series that is about to be cancelled and there is nothing we can do.

 

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The Punisher is coming in hot, releasing an intriguing new teaser video that not only reveals the air date for Season 2 (18 January), but giving us a first look at notorious supervillain Jigsaw, played by Ben Barnes.

Barnes follows Dominic West, who took on the role for Punisher: War Zone in 2008, but it looks like Marvel is going for a toned down version of the character in this version of the story. We can still recognise Barnes for one thing, but we don’t know how we feel about it.

The Punisher Season 2 new teaser gives an air date and a look at Jigsaw

 

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Because of Frank Castle’s military background with the Marines and his penchant for enforcing justice using guns, iconography related to the Punisher has become particularly popular amongst certain groups of active law enforcement and those in the armed services. The character’s creator Gerry Conway thinks that’s ill-advised and offensive.

In a recent interview with Syfy Wire, Conway—who created the Punisher with artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru in the early ‘70s—reflected on how many police offers and members of the military have co-opted the character’s skull logo as a symbol. Conway told them he never meant for the character to be seen as someone to emulate or look up to. Frank Castle, he explained, represents everything broken and wrong with our justice system, and it’s “disturbing” to see authority figures embracing the symbol:

[The Punisher is] supposed to indict the collapse of social moral authority and the reality some people can’t depend on institutions like the police or the military to act in a just and capable way.

The vigilante anti-hero is fundamentally a critique of the justice sysytem, an eample of social failure, so when cops put Punisher skulls on their cars or members of the military wear Punisher skull patches, they’re basically sides with an enemy of the system. They are embracing an outlaw mentality. Whether you think the Punisher is justified or not, whether you admire his code of ethics, he is an outlaw. He is a criminal. Police should not be embracing a criminal as their symbol.​

It goes without saying. In a way, it’s as offensive as putting a Confederate flag on a government building.​

It’s easy to understand why some people gravitate towards the Punisher, especially those whose lives have been shaped by their service in similar ways to Frank’s. But the fact of the matter is that Frank Castle is a vigilante who runs around killing people he deems to be worthy of death and he operates entirely outside of the law. Conway said anyone putting a criminal’s symbol on a police car is “making a very ill-advised statement about their understanding of the law.”

Within the world of comics, you can twist yourself into knots justifying his actions and claiming that the character never kills innocent people. But the same cannot be said of police officers and military people, who are entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the public and (sometimes, but nowhere near often enough) held accountable for gross overuses of power here in the real world.

https://io9.gizmodo.com/punisher-creator-gerry-conway-says-its-disturbing-to-se-1831606793

 

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Oh yes!

Mostly, though, season 2 is about the return of Billy Russo, who has recovered from the traumatic brain injury Castle inflicted on him, although his face has been left badly scarred. In an earlier teaser clip, a hospital therapist suggests he might want to decorate the plain white mask covering his face to represent what he wants to portray to the outside world. "What face do you want the world to see?" she asks.

The answer: the face of Jigsaw, one of Castle's arch-nemeses in the comics, so named because his facial scars resemble a jigsaw puzzle. Here, the scars are as much psychological as physical, not only from PTSD but from his brain damage and memory issues as well. As Barnes told io9 recently, "He's trying to piece together what happened and who he is, and at one point the metaphor used is that his brain is the jigsaw they're trying to put back together."

Russo has been having bad dreams, too, but it's the Punisher's symbol that he sees—and once his memory returns, he wants revenge. Jigsaw finds a worthy accomplice in John Pilgrim (Josh Stewart), possibly another bad guy in the comics known as The Mennonite because of his penchant for priestly garb. Amber Rose Revah will reprise her role as DHS agent Dinah Madani for this new season, and Daredevil's Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) will also make an appearance.

Season 2 of The Punisher starts streaming on Netflix January 18. We look forward to the show being abruptly cancelled two weeks later, just like Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Daredevil.

Frank Castle is back to his vigilante ways in trailer for The Punisher S2

 

[Anthoney]

I'm up to episode 5. So far it's kicked butt. I think the Punisher will avoid the second season slump that most of the other Marvel Netflix shows hit.

 

[WaylanderToo]

I'm halfway through E3 and it really is good... a word of warning though - it's more violent than most of S1

 

[Anthoney]

*some spoilers*

I finished last night. It was a strong season. I enjoyed it a lot. Maybe more than the first. We got to see Frank doing more than just his vendetta. All the characters that got any time were better than previously except maybe Murphy the cop. I think I liked the girls story a lot more than Billy's. Jon Bernthal was born for this part and it will suck, really suck, if he doesn't get to do this anymore because Disney want to start their own streaming service.

I think Punisher would have shot Billy in the head at least once. I liked the ending but wanted to see him checking up on the girl. By the end Madani was off my sh*t list and I didn't want to kill Murphy.

 

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We got to see Frank doing more than just his vendetta.

Way more than what you'd see in the comics. Sure we have seen him doing breakfast and sometimes even relaxing, but seeing him at morning after having some sweet, sweet love is unheard of activity. Frank doesn't have sex, does he?

To be really honest, I'm surprised by the quality of the Punisher's second season. They haven't had a single powered fight, where a mutant would be shelling out their punishment on Frank's direction. Instead the plot and the action has all revolved around normal things. Although the situations that Frank has solved with the usual way has required people with extraordinary skills.

All the characters that got any time were better than previously except maybe Murphy the cop.

I'm at episode 5 and I've noticed a couple that has been wooden with their ability to act. A good example of this is Pilgrim's female assassin. From the very first scene she was all about GRRR and nothing else. Who twisted her nibbles?

Jigsaw's shrink is another example, as she seems to only have one emotion, always smile. To be honest, she's freaking me out more than the-carnage-in-the-small-screen. Maybe she'll end up tears, when Frank comes to knock on her door. I don't know.

I do like that Frank is now Homeland's secret weapon and they're not freaking out, when they see dead bodies and Frank holding the smoking gun. Sure, he's not 'active shooter' all the time and when he is, the Punisher is making sure that he's not targeting the civilians.

I however miss Micro and I wish Frank would get over his problems with him, because he so needs someone to do the brain work. I love that Amy is giving him hard time about it, and Jon's Frank remains the wooden idiot, who says: "Do it again," at three card shuffle.

Oh Frank, if you had been blessed with a brain, you would be deadly. Interestingly, Frank compensate that lack with his wit, as he utilises his old contacts, like putting Turk to do the setups for his traps.

Jon Bernthal was born for this part and it will suck, really suck, if he doesn't get to do this anymore because Disney want to start their own streaming service.

He will be back. But these two Punishers won't go away. They'll remain in the Netflix.

 

[WaylanderToo]

He will be back. But these two Punishers won't go away. They'll remain in the Netflix.

I hope I'm wrong but I'll just say this...

Daredevil
Ironfist
Luke Cage

 

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I hope I'm wrong but I'll just say this...

They are all cancelled, but the series are still viewable. You don't have to rely on DVD/BR to watch them again. The Punisher will be cancelled next week or in a week after that. But you can expect that Disney will renew them, or some of them in their own service.

 

[WaylanderToo]

They are all cancelled, but the series are still viewable. You don't have to rely on DVD/BR to watch them again. The Punisher will be cancelled next week or in a week after that. But you can expect that Disney will renew them, or some of them in their own service.

I see what you mean. Yes, for the time being they'll be on Netflix - until it's cull time (which happens with all Netflix series at some point).
Can't see these going to mousehouse given the adult content though

 

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Can't see these going to mousehouse given the adult content though

You just have to believe that they will. It's not just about the children. I think they'll have viewing times for the adults as well.

 

[WaylanderToo]

You just have to believe that they will. It's not just about the children. I think they'll have viewing times for the adults as well.

maybe under the 'Fox' banner?

 

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maybe under the 'Fox' banner?

Why would they do that?

 

[WaylanderToo]

It differentiates the family friendly Disney output from the decidedly non-family friendly output of their more violent/cuss-word filled output.

Disney have got form with dropping stuff that doesn't fit their image

 

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Disney have got form with dropping stuff that doesn't fit their image

Not with their Marvel stuff. Deadpool movies are the prime example.

 

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It wouldn't be a season of The Punisher without a massive shootout...or two. One such scene in the sophomore season of The Punisher was so unique and interesting that it's sure to stand out with Frank Castle fans everywhere.

ComicBook.com caught up with The Punisher showrunner and executive producer Steve Lightfoot to talk all things Castle, including one shootout in particular.

'The Punisher' Showrunner Breaks Down Monstrous Shootout

 

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WARNING: Slight spoilers ahead for The Punisher Season Two. If you have yet to watch the second season of the Jon Bernthal-starring hit, proceed with caution.

The second season of The Punisher is now upon us and if you've binged it like other Netflix fanatics, you'll know by now that David "Micro" Lieberman (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) was absent from the entire season. From having one of the primary roles in season one of the Netflix hit, the iconic Punisher supporting character was nowhere to be seen.

ComicBook.com had the chance to speak with The Punisher showrunner Steve Lightfoot on what the character might have been up to during his season two absence.

"You know my answer to it, and it's partly because he's still alive there and I would love to go revisit him," Lightfoot mentions. "I sort of, and this maybe just my own dark heart, I sort of feel like he tried the marriage, and after everything he put his family through, it didn't stick. I always feel like when we find him again, he'll be some sort of bathroom in a pool of spilled whiskey, waiting for Frank to come pick him up and put him to work again."

When asked whether or not he though Micro took up his former hacking ways, Lightfoot did hesitate to say he though Micro wouldn't hesitate to hop back behind a keyboard.

"Yeah. I think, because, look, it's like any of these characters, Micro who's happiest home with his family," admits Lightfoot. "There isn't a lot of story to tell for him, but I think a Micro who is living underground, and using his skills, and part of the underworld, is a great character to go back and find."

Often times portrayed as a long-timesupport of the Punisher, Microchip was first introduced in The Punisher #4 (November 1987) by Mike Baron and Kalus Janson. In more recent years, the character has flipped sides and has become a nemesis of Frank Castle's, certainly a route Lightfoot and company could take should The Punisher be renewed for season three.

'The Punisher' Producer Reveals Micro's Whereabouts In Season 2