Monday, June 27, 2016

PC POST #300: Jon Bernthal says that we haven't seen the Punisher yet.


There is no doubts that the majority of fans who watched Daredevil season 2, agrees that Jon Bernthal did an amazing job as the Punisher, way better than his predecessors.

There was many details that separate this portrayal from the others: Acting and better script.

In a interview with Awards Daily, Jon Bernthal discussed the motivations of the character and even said that we haven't seen the Punisher yet.

"Beating someone up to drag them into jail is different than someone who is exercising his rage on people. The Frank Castle you find in this story is not The Punisher. He’s reeling from the loss of his family. He’s driven by rage and is on a singular mission to find these people who took his family from him, and do it as brutally as possible."

I have discussed this matter in many web pages and Punisher message boards such as punisherhq.com.
Due to his overflowing emotions during DD season 2, it was clear to me and many other fans that this was far from being the Punisher. It was a pissed off Frank Castle who wanted revenge and put down those responsible for his family deaths.

Bernthal also said that when he dug into Castle's motivations he felt attracted to the character's human drive.

"For me, it’s about the human being. He has no superpower. His superpower is his humanity. It’s his drive, his rage, and his loss. I could never have played this part if I weren’t a husband or father. Until you really understand what it’s like to love somebody more than yourself and to willingly give your life for them, only then can you understand what it would mean if they were taken from you."



Can't wait for Marvel's Punisher and see once again how Jon Bernthal delivers the Punisher. Or maybe we can see him sooner in Marvel's Defenders.


PS: Marvel's Punisher is rumored to be released during November 2017.



Twitter: @ivomgs






Tuesday, June 21, 2016

PC POST #299: Punisher Solicitations for September 2016



Civil War II: Kingpin #3 (of #4)



Matthew Rosenberg (W) • Ricardo LÓpez Ortiz (A)
Cover by AARON KUDER
VARIANT COVER BY TBA



• Wilson Fisk has reason to believe that one of his own men is staging a coup—and killing those who won’t surrender their loyalty.
• But mutiny becomes the least of Fisk’s worries when the Punisher launches an attack on the Kingpin’s safe house.
• Can the Fisk keep his business afloat with his cronies dropping like flies, and Frank Castle gunning for him, or is this finally the end of the reign of the KINGPIN?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99



The Punisher #5



BECKY CLOONAN (W) • STEVE DILLON (A)
Cover by DECLAN SHALVEY
DEFENDERS VARIANT COVER BY TBA

ENTER ASYLUM: FIND NO SANCTUARY
• The Punisher tracks Condor’s EMC operation to its source…a deserted psychiatric hospital.
• Can Frank take down an asylum full of drug-enhanced killers, or will he become an inmate himself?!
• Agent Ortiz is close behind. She’s rescuing her partner, and she’s done with following protocol.
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3.99



Daredevil/Punisher: Seventh Circle TPB


Written by CHARLES SOULE
Penciled by SZYMON KUDRANSKI
Cover by REILLY BROWN
It’s a clash between two vigilantes with very different ideas about justice! A simple change of venues for one of Matt Murdock’s cases becomes more complicated when the Punisher attempts to send the defendant away — permanently! If Daredevil and his protégé, Blindspot, want this Russian mobster to have his day in court, it will take everything they have. But all Frank Castle needs to get his job done is one bullet! And with the gangster’s associates also on his trail, getting him to the airport won’t be easy. Will the Punisher get the chance for a kill shot? Will Daredevil secure a fair trial in Texas, where the accused may still end up facing a lethal injection? Or will this matter of life and death be decided by…the Crimson Dynamo?! Collecting DAREDEVIL/PUNISHER (2016) #1-4.
128 PGS./Rated T+ …$15.99
ISBN: 978-1-302-90232-2


-@ivomgs

Thursday, June 9, 2016

PC POST #298: -REVIEW- Jon Bernthal's Punisher + Complete Easter Eggs list





It took awhile i know, but finally i could review the great performance of Jon Berntal as Frank Castle. And after watched the whole season two times, it's more than enough to give a decent review.

Jon Bernthal nailed Frank Castle. Marvel is well known for making great casts and this is no exception. One thing i could guarantee before watching the show is that he would give intensity to the character due to his previous performances in other roles, specially as Shane in the Walking Dead.
The credits aren't only for Bernthal, sure he did his homework, he read Punisher comics to get into the role but we have to mention the writers.

The showrunners Doug Petrie and Marco Ramirez deserved the other 50% of the credit, due to their research and writing the Frank Castle (Punisher) i care the most, and the one i was expecting to see not only in the TV but in comics too.

In my opinion part of the success of this portrayal was because we saw a humanized Frank Castle and the source material (comics). The showrunners make sure to add tons of elements from comics (which i will list below in the Easter eggs list).

Bernthal gave such an intensity to the role that i have never seen on screen if we compare to the previous Punisher portrayals (Dolph Lundgren, Thomas Jane and Ray Stevenson).

In this series, Frank Castle is hunting down all the gangs that were present in the day his family was killed. And he rampages all the gangs looking for answers.

The first four episodes are entirely focused in Frank Castle where his motivations and objectives are explored by his interactions with the criminals or during the moral/physical fights with Daredevil.


Until episode four, Frank Castle actions might look like a villain in some ways (for those who don't know the character) but in this back, everything spins around at his favor when at the cemetery he talks with Daredevil about the story of "One Batch, Two Batch. Penny and Dime". The last story he never told to his daughter before his family was killed. At this point we get to know more about Frank Castle... His feelings and his human/vulnerable side. 


It's important to mention Frank's relationship with Karen Page. Page admires Frank, she doesn't approve his actions but she believes that he is a necessary evil to fight crime. Both character have a weird chemistry between them. Sometimes it looks like a father/daughter connection and some other times they can be brother/sister and there are times it seems that both can make a relationship more than friendship.
Page is essential to aid Frank on his quest to find the responsible for his families deaths. Frank is the only character he trusts the most and we will see it many times through the season.

The action scenes are unbelievable in this season and we were presented with a very skilled Frank Castle in hand to hand combat.
The fights with Daredevil, the infamous prison fighting scene which is by far the best fighting scene ever in Daredevil.






There was a big answer to be explained during this season that i hope that it will be explained in the Punisher series.

What happened in Kandahar to Frank and his team?


Another thing that i wanted to see on screen was that Frank used the law to bring down those who were responsible for the deaths of his family. He used all the legal resources and the law failed.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!


At the end of season Frank Castle accomplished his mission. He eliminated most gangs involved in the massacre of his family and he even get rid of the man behind the meeting of the gangs... 

Blacksmith aka Colonel Schoonover, Frank's former colonel.

Overal Rate: 9.5 out of 10




Complete list of Easter eggs

MAX
























Directly from the comics, Max was imported to Daredevil season 2, after Frank rescue him from the Irish mob who used him for dog fights. Similar fate was used in the comics too. Frank adopt him to guard a secret warehouse.

FINN COOLEY 
















Fin Cooley is another character imported from comic books. More precisely in Punisher MAX written by Garth Ennis. In the series there is "a" Finn and everyone who read Punisher MAX soon related to this character from the comics, like in the series he is the leader of the irish mob. 
Frank shoot his face in point blank it would be hard to explain how he could survive the shot but it would a good way to know why he had a mask like in the comics.


MICROCHIP




















In the last minutes of this series, Frank goes home and breaks a frame with him and his buddies from the marine and takes this CD with the name "Micro".

Micro or Microchip was the code name of Linus Lieberman, a long time partner of Frank who is an excellent hacker and weapons supplier. Microchip was friend of Frank, who most of the times was the only link Frank had with a human being. Aside from the criminals he kills every single day.

I'm almost certain that Microchip will appear in the upcoming Punisher series.


CELL BLOCK D




Cell Block D, was the cell that Frank met Wilson Fisk in the series. It's the same name of a Daredevil arc, when Frank went to prison to get Matt Murdock out of there when his identity was known to the public. 


Colonel Schoonover




Colonel Schoonover appeared in the series to testify in court how good man Frank Castle was.
He is Blacksmith too. The main man behind the drug deal between the three gangs that killed Frank's family.
In comics he was responsible for many casualties during war when Frank was his Captain and was a drug dealer too.



Rooftop Scene





This epic scene was taken directly from "Welcome Back, Frank" during Ma Gnucci's arc. 
But there are a few differences from the comics and the tv series.

In comics Daredevil tries to shoot Frank when he threats to shoot Dino. The problem is that Frank removed the striker and Daredevil couldn't shoot him to stop. This scene generated a lot of controversy between fans of Daredevil. He wouldn't shoot Frank to stop him.

In the tv series he shoots the chains and managed to free himself from it and try to stop Frank. This is more "Daredevil's way".


Quick References




The number of the trial was 1986-4447. 1986 was the release date of Circle of Blood by Steven Grant and Mike Zeck. Circle of Blood was the beginning of the first solo series based on the Punisher.




They gave the name of this trial "People vs Frank Castle", the exact same name as the Punisher arc from the mini-series written by Marc Guggenheim and Leinil Yu. The Trial of the Punisher.






Some prison scenes were taken from the Punisher run by Nathan Edmondson and Mitch Gerads.



During the Schoonover's testimonial in the trial he described perfectly the scene from Punisher MAX: Born.
When Frank by himself clear the landing zone against 32 enemies.
Specially when he said how he found Frank with a pile of dead bodies around him.



Article by @ivomgs

Friday, June 3, 2016

PC POST #297: -REVIEW- Punisher #2 (2016)

Punisher #2
-Review-

Cover by Declan Shalvey
Another good week with the second issue of this current Punisher run by Becky Cloonan and Steve Dillon.
Punisher is hunting down the criminal organization that is spreading EMC, a drug that can give it's users enhanced strenght, reflexes and insensitivity to pain.

This is a typical Punisher story. The character doesn't need complex plots or anything that can take away the star of the book... Frank Castle.
The Punisher shines in this book, he doesn't talk much, but he let's the guns talk for himself. It's nasty, it has huge body count and kick ass action.
The pace is great, it's entertaining and far from boring. For an issue #2 everything is fine.

So far, Becky Cloonan isn't risking in exploring Frank's psych, he's been wrote as a one dimensional character. But after the end of this issue i bet something will eventually trigger his deepest feelings when he will face the threat that was presented to us at the end of this issue.

Simplicity is the key to nail the character, but i hope that due time things get more complicated. As it seems that it's going to be next issue.

I liked the touch of the name of the frog that appears in this comic, it's Francis ( Frank Castle original name). The frog didn't had any luck in this comic, let's hope it doesn't be a bad omen to the Punisher.


I really liked the showdown between the Punisher with the "enhanced" Face. It wasn't a surprise but the action was great.


Steve Dillon did a great work again in this issue. The action scenes are brilliantly crafted by him. He draws in a very simplistic way but very effective.
The fighting scene against Face was pretty good it's as brutal as i remember of Dillon's work. Not as "cartoonish" like the fight against Bullseye in PunisherMAX.

I would love to see the Punisher using some protection to his chest, walking around only with a t-shirt with a skull goes against the original concept of wearing a skull in his chest.

Frank Martin continues to give a good contrast with colors, definitely he adds a lot of quality in the art of this comic.

What i like:

-Great pace;
-Kick ass action;
-Decent artwork.

What i didn't like:

-The Punisher doesn't seem properly protected in his chest;
- Word censorship doesn't make any sense.


Overall Rate: 7.5 out of 10

Article by @ivomgs