OK, so the second season of Netflix’s shot at Daredevil had some issues, but within its rather uneven story was born something that more than made up for a minimal Kingpin, a midseason shift to Elektra and way too many ninjas. When everything was said and done, everyone agreed on one thing – Jon Bernthal’s Punisher was as perfect an example of a comic character getting redemption after an iffy adaptation as… well, Daredevil himself in season 1.
Not to crap on the other Punishers that came before him, but while the attempts of Dolph Lundgren, Thomas Jane and Ray Stevenson certainly had their moments, Bernthal’s version not only carried the emotional weight that the others lacked, but he could break a mouthful of teeth with a hollow point with the best of them. However, pulpy movies and secondary character roles are one thing, but could the tormented Frabk Castle manage to sustain his own series with all the political baggage that comes with a bloodthirsty vigilante who blows away the unjust with no regard for the law? Time to find out I guess.
After Frank stalked away at the end of Daredevil season 2 after killing the man chiefly responsible for the death of his family, we catch up with Castle still “punishing” the rest of the men connected with the crime. But after mowing down bikers in a van, snipering a cartel boss from the other side of the Mexican border and choking the final guilty party in a men’s room with his own tie, Frank seemingly gives up the life of revenge and once again melts into the dark.
Six months later, we find him living a reclusive life in New York City, endlessly hammering his frustration away with a sledgehammer on a construction site that’s taking down an old building. Shunning anyone who comes near him, it seems Frank is still trying to work through his rage, but a concrete wall simply isn’t doing the trick and he wakes a 3am every morning thanks to recurringnightmares. His sole form of human contact seems to be through Curtis Hoyle, a fellow veteran that Castle served with during his days as a marine who now holds counseling for other soldiers who feel discarded from the world – but those old punishing instincts eventually rise up when some of the nastier members of his work crew attempt to rob a mobster gambling den and fancy taking out their newest member after he slips up.
But while Frank shakes of the rust by saving the guy and beating the others to death like an animal, others are looking for him. Homeland Security agent Dinah Madani is looking further into criminal activities committed by American troops on foreign soil such as the murder of a man in Afghanistan by Castle’s old troop. Not buying that Castle’s dead for one second, she starts her search while another party keeps tabs on the once and future Punisher after he also stops by that gambling den to clear up some loose ends…
As a Punisher fan from a long time back, it was always somewhat frustrating that no version had ever gotten him quite right. Lundgren’s 90s attempt didn’t embrace the comic lore enough; Jane’s felt compromised by being inexplicably set in Miami; and Stevenson’s felt too comic booky and tended to make the famous vigilante too heroic. Simply put, there’s no real way to get Frank Castle on the screen in this day and age without having to engage in some titanic juggling act that needs to find the perfect balance when presenting the Punisher. He’s an utter psycho who brutally slaughters criminals; but at the same time he’s a traumatised war vet who often has a point – even if he’s shooting a parkouring free runner with a rocket launcher. I think the real answer to the Punisher conundrum is that there is no real answer and that success will chiefly be obtained if the man wearing the skull can make us believe we should utterly be on his side while simultaneously reminding us that he’s also not a well man. Thankfully, Bernthal has that well in hand as he continues to deliver a Punisher that’s unlocked that most rare of combinations: a rage obsessed vigilante that you actually care about.
With Bernthal in place and the same, gritty tome that greatly aided Daredevil’s first season, 3AM gets the season off to a solid start by utilising some of hornheads old show tricks. The episode mostly feels like an epilogue as it starts with Castle in full Punisher mode as he ropes up those last lingering loose ends from Daredevil and then settles into a tormented retirement only to feel that lure once more and it provides a nice balancing act for both Castle the “superhero” and Castle the man.
Simply put, watching the Frank shoot a man in Mexico from the safety of Texas is one of those wry, dark splashes of humour that feels like it’s come right put of Garth Ennis’ run and is possibly the most Punisher thing I’ve ever seen on screen.
However, in true Netflix/Marvel fashion, the skull flack jacket is soon discarded and we’re just left with a man wrestling with his demons, but while this could frustrate those who just want to watch the guy mow down crooks and pimps while in full, comic book attire, the first episode does quite a clever thing. Staging it’s first episode as sort of a stand alone bottle episode, 3AM’s plot that sees Frank randomly rescue a man from his criminal workmates after a job goes wrong often feels like a spiritual sequel to Phil Joanou’s infamous 12 minute fan movie, Punisher: Dirty Laundry. This way, we actually get to witness some character development in our notoriously taciturn lead that not only let’s us have our cake by letting him feel like a real, flesh and blood guy, but it let’s us eat it too when his murderous impulses are finally once again let out of the cage. The result is a brutal and very fatal ass whupping that actually feels earned by both Frank and his victims that doesn’t feel overly gratuitous – even when he’s smashing a guy in the head with a sledgehammer.
Of course, with Amber Rose Devar’s Agent Madani waiting in the wings and Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s “mysterious” hacker keeping tabs on him (he’s obviously Microchip), bigger plot machinations are obviously waiting in the wings; but even if the rest of the season is a bust, this first episode is a weirdly perfect, one off Punisher adventure that not only contains all the grit and bone you’d want, but contains a fair bit of empathy too.
From memorable visions that juxtapose both the Punisher doing his thing and Frank Castle relentlessly punishing himself by chipping away at a building with a hammer until his hands bleed, Netflix’s first salvo of their solo Punisher series starts with super solid foundations. Neither holding back on the violence, or the inner turmoil, it bodes well for the season to come – but even if it ultimately shoots blanks, Bernthal once again puts his defiant stamp down as the greatest Punisher to ever put on the skull. And then take it off.
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