PC POST #388: -REVIEW- MARVEL'S THE PUNISHER & Easter Eggs!

Non-Spoiler Review

Ten days have passed and two times I've watched the Marvel's the Punisher and my opinion didn't change at all since the first time... It was brilliant.

I've been waiting years, hoping for a good depiction of the Punisher and it's finally here. I can official say that Jon Bernthal is my Punisher.

Jon Bernthal's portrayal of the character is my favorite of all the movies we know ( Punisher 89', The Punisher 04' and The Punisher War-Zone 08') but it's tricky and might not be likable by Punisher fans from Grant, Dixon and Ennis.
Frank Castle in this series is a violent man. But as a character, if we compare to the comics written by the previous authors I mentioned, he's more sociable in the way he relates to other characters, remembering me a lot of the early runs from Mike Baron and Carl Potts. But make no mistake, the violence of this show can be almost on par with Punisher MAX.
There are details that I didn't like. Sometimes Jon Bernthal portrayed a Frank Castle too emotional in certain circumstances, we get it he's more human but sometimes he needed to be a little tougher. But it's a minor detail and only in two times at most that we have seen him behaving like this.

This series doesn't have non-stop action. Like if we compare to Punisher: War-Zone. But we will have Frank Castle kicking ass for eleven episodes out of thirteen. This series, unlike the movies, had the time to develop Frank's story and the other two subplots.
I felt that it should be space for one episode to show us Frank's family being assassinated and Frank waking up from the coma and trying to fix things using the legal system. It would be important for the audience to understand that he was failed by the system like it was showed in Punisher: Year One.

Marvel's the Punisher wouldn't be good without all the actors and actress that paved the way for its success. Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Micro, Amber Rose Revah as Dinah Madani, Ben Barnes as Billy Russo and Deborah Ann Woll as Karen were the main foundation of these series.
It's unforgettable the moments we had between Frank and Micro, starting with torture and ending with friendship, Dinah Madani a Homeland agent who fought against the system to get the truth, Karen Page who was great help to Frank in providing intel about Micro and of course, Billy Russo who was amazingly played by Ben Barnes. With 25 years of reading Punisher comics, THIS Billy Russo is my favorite portrayal of the character in any media. Take this from a guy who didn't like Billy Russo/Jigsaw as a character in comics.

I have to mentioned and give a shout out to the filming quality image, great colors and it wasn't as dark as Daredevil season 2. Fantastic panorama shots and filmmaking.
Tyler Bates did the score for this series and it's superb! Great fit for the series and those like me who love to appreciate scores, you will get goosebumps when you hear some of them and relate to specific scenes.

The most notorious characters in the series.

Micro - Amazing cast. Just as good as Barnes for Billy Russo. This Micro is an updated version of our days modern ex-NSA analyst going rogue, with a Snowden-ish style. Nowadays the usual nerd isn't the "fat guy" behind the computer who eats trash food.
Micro was the main foundation to help Frank achieving his objectives and primarily while he was doing that he helped Micro achieving his. The bromance between both characters was really good to see. A relationship that began with torture end up like a good friendship. It's impossible not to laugh between the rants of these two characters on many occasions.

Billy Russo - What a role... and cast. Ben Barnes fit perfectly to the role. Not to mention the twist Netflix give this classic Punisher character. He isn't some hitman from the mafia. like he is portrayed in the comics, he is Frank's friend and possesses the same skillset as Frank due to his experience in the Marines corp. Finally Frank might have a true nemesis.

OVERALL RATE: 9 out of 10

Now let's go into the easter eggs and watch OUT for the SPOILERS!!

Easter Eggs & Punisher references

Some easter eggs you will see featured in this article you won't see it anywhere. I will only mention the easter eggs that are related to the Punisher source material. References or things outside this won't be mentioned. There are some references I did in a previous article.

In the episodes list we have two references to the comics...

Ep.9 Front Toward the Enemy

Name of the Punisher MAX comic book written by Ennis

Ep.13 Memento Mori

The name of the first issue of Edmondson's and Gerads run.

In the first episode, we get some references to the comics.

Frank's look in the series just like the Punisher run from Greg Rucka 

The Sledgehammer fight is a clear homage to PunisherMAX 11.

The Gnuccis

Was a gang led by Ma Gnucci in the comics. Ma didn't appear in the series but the door was left open to a possible plot in the upcoming Punisher season ( If we have one) when she can avenge the death of her own member or maybe he has some with familial ties.

"Welcome Back, Frank"

During the end of the first episode, when Micro is trying to track down Frank and spot him. He says "Welcome Back, Frank". That's a reference from the first Punisher miniseries written by Garth Ennis.

Kandahar scenes / Punisher: BORN

On episode 3 we got an amazing scene when certainly is an homage to Punisher: Born. Frank's platoon is being cornered and Frank goes alone into a warehouse in "one man army" mode and wastes all the hostiles by himself.

Pinball Machine

Seen on episode four when Frank kills the mook and put him above a pinball machine, a clear easter from this classic figure.

Flamethrower

We continue on episode four and Frank gets into a van full of weapons of the Homeland Security, he scares the agents with a flamethrower. 

Frank used a similar maneuver in the comics by Ennis but he did actually burn the criminals to a crisp.  

Curtis Hoyle

The same name, different characters. Both knew Frank in the war. The MCU version is one of the most trustable people Frank know and a good friend. The comics version cross paths with Frank in the Vietnam but he started working with a crooked general Van Tran's, tried to kill Frank, but Frank threw him out of the helicopter.

Battlevan

After a long absence from comics and the movies, the Battlevan is back. In the comics, it was literally a walking tank. Equipped by Microchip with all sorts of guns and gadgets to aid the Punisher in his missions. 

The MCU version is a regular van where they use only for mobility.

Senator Ori

Ori appeared in the Punisher comics back into the 90's in the War Journal run. Ori was a senator with ties with the mob and he began a quest for vengeance because Frank killed his crooked nephew. In the series, Ori is a senator who defends gun control and tries to frame Frank accusing him of being attacking the hotel with Lewis.

Pete Castiglione

In the comics, Castiglione is the original of Frank Castle. He changed his name to  Frank Castle just to make another tour in Vietnam. In the series, Frank Castle was known to the public as a dead man, he adopted the name of Pete Castiglione and tried to live a normal life... for a while.

Fight Ali vs Foreman

This fight was mentioned in episode 5. Where the father of Lewis emphasizes the date (1974) give us a hint of the first appearance of the Punisher in the comics. In Amazing Spider-Man #129.

Barracuda Reference

On the seventh episode after Frank Castle took the data from Bennet's cell phone. Billy Russo said to Bennet that if it wasn't for himself, Frank Castle would probably have Bennet's testicles hooked up to a car battery. Pretty much what Frank did to Barracuda.

Painted Face

Another reference to the comics when Frank is prepping himself to face ANVIL he paints the face just like in the YEAR ONE comics when he was ready to hit Billy Russo's headquarters.

 Shooting the Head

Another reference but now for Punisher MAX. In comics version, this scene is when he's killing Microchip, they used the same shot when he's executing one of the ANVIL's agents.

Billy Russo / Jigsaw

The final fight between Frank and Russo was superb. In the final scenes, we saw the same scenes from the panels of PUNISHER: YEAR ONE comic. When Frank puts Russo in front of the mirror and smashes his face into it.

 Finally I could complete this review, almost two weeks after the show. A bit late but didn't want to spoil anyone. I hope you enjoy it.

Done by Ivo Santos (twitter)

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