Dyin's easy. You're gonna learn about pain. You're gonna learn about loss. Every morning, I look for 'em, Bill. I look for 'em...but then I remember. It's gonna be the same for you. When you look at your ugly, mangled face, you're gonna remember what you did. You'll remember, Bill. You're gonna remember me! 
- —Frank Castle to Billy Russo[src]
History
Lieutenant Frank Castle was a highly decorated Force Recon Marine known for his acts of heroism in the War on Terror, serving multiple deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq under the command of Ray Schoonover. Despite the heroic images given, Frank had been involved in a classified C.I.A. task force participating in Operation Cerberus, an illegal operation designed to assassinate individuals who have witnessed war crimes perpetrated by soldiers under the command of CIA operative William Rawlins.[8] Disgusted with what had transpired, even with a botched operation that caused massive casualties for the task force, Castle exits military service to spend time with his family. However, due to Castle's vocal scrutiny of Rawlins, the CIA operative, with support from Schoonover,and Department of Homeland Security agent-in-charge Carson Wolf, have engineered an assassination attempt on Castle and his family under the guise of a drug bust gone wrong.[9]
Castle's family perished during the botched raid, but Castle himself survived a fatal gunshot wound to the head after being clinically dead.[10] Shortly after regaining consciousness, Castle conducted direct strikes against the Kitchen Irish, Dogs of Hell and Mexican Cartel while attempting to search out the murderers of his family. With guidance from Wilson Fisk on Ryker's Island Castle learns from a prisoner of an individual named the Blacksmith being responsible for setting up the meeting that led to the deaths of his family.[11] Shortly after exiting Ryker's Island, Castle deduces Schoonover's identity as the Blacksmith and saves Karen Page from being murdered by Schoonover.[12] Shortly after killing Schoonover, Castle kills the remnants of the three criminal organizations while taking advantage of a published article by Page announcing Castle's "death" in a house fire.[13][5]
Despite attempting to live a peaceful life, Castle has been contacted by David Lieberman, a former National Security Agency analyst who had video evidence on Castle's participation in Operation Cerberus.[9] Shortly after learning of Lieberman's blackballing by the government agencies for "going outside the chain of command", Castle and Lieberman strike an uneasy alliance to pursue Wolf and Rawlins. During the missions of retribution, Castle successfully kills Rawlins[14] and maims former U.S. Marine squadmate Billy Russo for the latter's role in aiding Rawlins.[15] As a token of thanks for killing Rawlins, Castle's criminal record is expunged by the C.I.A.Personality
Frank Castle was a hardened marine who wasn't troubled by killing others or even watching his own friends die. Despite this, he valued the lives of his fellow men above all else, and would risk his own life against suicidal odds to keep them alive. Outside of the battlefield, Frank was a loving husband and father. While he faced enemy soldiers and impossible situations without hesitation, the only time he ever truly felt scared was just before he returned home to his family. Frank was especially close with his daughter, and would read her bedtime stories from her favourite book every night before he went to war.[1]
After their brutal murder and his near-death experience, Frank became a broken man. He holds no regard for the justice system that failed him and his family, nor the gangs he holds responsible for their deaths. Above all, however, he blames himself for their deaths; to him, protecting his family was the most important job he had, and he feels that their deaths were on him for not reacting to the danger fast enough.[10]
Frank feels no sympathy toward those he deems guilty, and will slaughter a criminal without a second of hesitation. However, he won't kill anyone that isn't a criminal themselves, like Daredevil, whom Frank spared on multiple occasions despite their constant clashes. Overall, Frank doesn't view himself as a hero or a monster, but just as someone doing what needs to be done.[16]Attributes
Abilities
- Peak Human Durability: Castle survived a bullet tearing through his head,[10] penetrating his skull in the lower right quadrant, specifically the sphenofrontal suture, the cranial suture between the sphenoid bone and the frontal bones, in a failed point-blank execution. The bullet fragmented on impact, causing damage in both the right frontal lobe and temporal lobe of his brain.[17]
- Master Combatant: Due to his military experience, Castle is a highly skilled fighter, and is capable of fighting on par with Daredevil, and even gain the upper hand at moments.
- Master Marksman: Frank is a highly skilled marksman, and knows his way around most firearms.
- Military Training: As a former marine, Frank is well adept in military protocol.
- Master Tactician
- Master Assassin
- Knife Mastery
- Staff Mastery
- Expert Interrogator
- Musician
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Punisher's Equipment: Castle utilized military equipment as appropriate.[18]
- Punisher's Body Armor: Castle wears a black shirt with a white skull splashed across the front. His other clothing sometimes included combat boots, blazers, leather jackets, trench coats, bulletproof vests, body armor. After giving Daredevil a gun, he commented that he was armored from the neck down, so only a headshot would work on him.[16]
Weapons
- Punisher's Arsenal: Castle employs a vast array of conventional firearms, including machine guns, rifles, shotguns, handguns, knives, explosives, and other weapons culled from common and organized criminals and military sources during his operations.[18]
Transportation
Notes
- Jon Bernthal portrays the Punisher as a series regular in the second season of the Netflix series Marvel's Daredevil, and as the main character in its spin-off series Marvel's The Punisher. He will reprise his role in Daredevil: Born Again.[20]
Trivia
- Bernthal filmed audition tapes with Tom Holland, who portrays Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to help Holland get the role. Holland later returned the favor by filming audition tapes with Bernthal to help him get the role of the Punisher.[21]
- Castle was born on November 15.[22]
- The MCU version of Frank Castle/The Punisher differs a bit from his Earth-616 counterpart in two ways: his military service in Iraq and Afghanistan and his family being killed in a three-way gang war between the Dogs of Hell, Kitchen Irish and the Mexican Cartel as a result of him finding out about William Rawlins' war crimes.
See Also
- 38 appearance(s) of Francis Castle (Earth-199999)
- 1 minor appearance(s) of Francis Castle (Earth-199999)
- 2 mention(s) of Francis Castle (Earth-199999)
- 52 image(s) of Francis Castle (Earth-199999)
- 9 quotation(s) by or about Francis Castle (Earth-199999)
- 11 victim(s) killed by Francis Castle (Earth-199999)
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Marvel's Daredevil S2E05
- ↑ 'Punisher Punished' New York Bulletin Newspaper Cover Prop Store. Retrieved on 20 June 2023.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Marvel's The Punisher S1E06
- ↑ Marvel's The Punisher S1E11
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Marvel's The Punisher S1E01
- ↑ Marvel's The Punisher S2E07
- ↑ Marvel's The Punisher S2E11
- ↑ Marvel's The Punisher S1E03
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Marvel's The Punisher S1E02
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Marvel's Daredevil S2E04
- ↑ Marvel's Daredevil S2E09
- ↑ Marvel's Daredevil S2E12
- ↑ Marvel's Daredevil S2E13
- ↑ Marvel's The Punisher S1E12
- ↑ Marvel's The Punisher S1E13
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Marvel's Daredevil S2E03
- ↑ Marvel's Daredevil S2E08
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Marvel's Daredevil S2E02
- ↑ Marvel's The Punisher S1E04
- ↑ Kit, Borys (7 March 2023) Jon Bernthal Returning as the Punisher for ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on 7 March 2023.
- ↑ Sacks, Ethan (10 March 2016) EXCLUSIVE: Jon Bernthal and Tom Holland made audition tapes together to land The Punisher and Spider-Man roles NY Daily News. Retrieved on 9 May 2016.
- ↑ Marvel's The Punisher Season 1 4