The Punisher is one of the main characters in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and I absolutely hate what the film did to him. Ever since Frank Castle made his debut in Daredevil season 2, I hoped that he would take on a bigger role in the MCU, interacting with other Marvel characters outside of the Defenders universe. Brand New Day initially seemed like it was going to fulfill that wish, but instead, it highlighted one of the MCU’s biggest flaws with its handling of Frank Castle.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is finally here, bringing Spidey back for his next adventure after the multiversal madness of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. This time, Peter has been operating as New York City’s friendly neighborhood superhero for four years, with no one remembering who he is. In the time that has elapsed since No Way Home, Peter has made very few friends, but he has made tons of enemies, including the antihero vigilante Frank Castle.
When Frank Castle first appears in Brand New Day, he is pursuing a stolen tank that is crashing its way through the streets of NYC. Spidey has to stop Frank from causing more damage while attempting to help, making Peter’s job even harder. In their first encounter, it is revealed that Spidey and Frank have a history, although not a positive one, with their clashing ways of handling villains causing tension between the two vigilantes. By the end of Brand New Day, however, they have become allies, with them working together to stop Jean Grey (even if she isn’t the film’s biggest threat).
2026 has been a big year for the Punisher, as ahead of Brand New Day, he got his own The Punisher: One Last Kill special on Disney+. While it seemed like the perfect way to bridge the gap between Frank’s last appearance in Daredevil: Born Again and his grand movie debut in Spider-Man, these back-to-back releases actually highlight how poorly Brand New Day and the MCU broadly have handled the character.
The Punisher’s characterization was solid in the original Daredevil show and The Punisher season 1, with him ranging from a villain to an antihero killer with understandable motivations. However, The Punisher season 2 made Frank too soft, with him no longer being the hardened, disgusting killer that many comic book fans love. Born Again season 1 was a slight improvement, but The Punisher: One Last Kill again made Frank a bit too heroic. However, One Last Kill‘s Frank was still ruthless, mentally tormented, and above all, a killer.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day keeps the heroic aspect of Frank, but loses the rest of his One Last Kill characterization. This version of the Punisher is comedic, friendly, and not nearly as set in his ways as Frank should be. Moments like Frank apologizing to Spidey for trying to shoot someone and Frank putting on Spidey’s costume in order to create a diversion are so out of character for the Punisher, even the iteration that has been made in the MCU, that it’s shocking.
Now, it’s understandable that Frank would be slightly less dark in Brand New Day than he was in One Last Kill. After all, the Disney+ special was an R-rated blood fest that was more mature than almost any other MCU project, while Brand New Day is meant to be a PG-13, family-friendly film. However, as a fan who watched the MCU as one continuous story, I can’t help but feel the immense total whiplash between the two projects. Frank acts like a completely different character between the two films, and as a fan of the comic version of the Punisher, I don’t want to see a version of Frank that is as quippy as Spider-Man.
Unfortunately, I’ve come to accept that the MCU will probably never have a comic-accurate Punisher. People have come to love Jon Bernthal’s take on the character, and to the layperson, the MCU’s Frank Castle is probably who they think of when they hear the Punisher title. Brand New Day will undoubtedly introduce Frank Castle to an even wider audience, further cementing this problem.
So, I’m not holding onto hopes that the MCU’s Frank will have a massive change in creative direction in the near future. The best we can hope for is a Frank closer to his characterization in Born Again and One Last Kill than the one seen in Brand New Day, a problem that may spread as more of Marvel’s mature Defenders characters make their way into the movies.
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