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A glance at the cast list for Spider-Man: Brand New Day promises a heap of Marvel Superheroes. There’s Spider-Man, of course, but also Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, Sadie Sink (probably) as Jean Grey of the X-Men, and Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle, the Punisher. Obviously, one of those things is not like the other. Where even the rampaging Incredible Hulk tries to minimize deaths, Frank Castle believes that anything less than murdering bad guys constitutes a half-measure that only perpetuates evil. Does his Marvel team-up with Spidey suggest that Frank is joining the goodies?
The first trailer for the Marvel Special Presentation The Punisher: One Last Kill shoots holes in that premise. Even beyond shots of Bernthal’s guilt-riddled face or images of Frank engulfed in frames as if immolated in Hell, fellow military man Curtis Hoyle (Jason R. Moore, returning from the Netflix series) intimates that God will not forgive Punisher’s sins. And with good reason: the Punisher is not a hero.
That’s been true since Frank’s first appearance in 1974’s Amazing Spider-Man #129, written by Gerry Conway and penciled by Ross Andru (incorporating a costume designed by John Romita Sr.). Inspired by exploitation flicks like Death Wish, that issue introduced Punisher as a vigilante who believes that society has spun far out of control, beyond what law enforcement can control.
The first story established Frank as a sympathetic killer, but a killer nonetheless, a broken man whose moral failures highlight the heroism of Spider-Man. But he quickly became a favorite among fans and, as mainstream comics grew grittier and meaner in the ’80s and ’90s, Punisher’s popularity only grew, and he soon started headlining his own books. Although he never really stopped killing his enemies (laser guns in the Spider-Man animated series notwithstanding), Marvel presented him as more or less a superhero.
Over the years, writers found ways to excuse Frank’s lethal tendencies while letting him join the side of the angels—including literally making him an angelic figure who killed demons with a magic gun. That last take went over so badly that Marvel recruited comic-dom’s greatest superhero hater to bring Punisher back to basics. Garth Ennis‘s run on the mature-rated series Punisher: MAX reminded viewers that Frank is a bad person, was a bad person even before his family was killed, and continues to be a bad person today, even if he kills people who are worse.
Ennis’ run inspired Bernthal’s version of Frank Castle, as the Netflix series directly adapted moments such as Punisher chaining Daredevil to a gun and forcing him to make a choice. And Frank’s MCU debut in season one of Daredevil: Born Again suggested that Disney hasn’t softened him… at least not until Daredevil forbade him from killing. But seeing him trading quips with Tom Holland’s Spidey in Brand New Day raised worries that maybe we’re seeing Punisher turn good.
Not so, says the trailer. If indeed the special showcases Frank’s final fatality, then One Last Kill promises that the Punisher is going out his way, unheroic and mean.
The Punisher: One Last Kill streams on Disney+ on May 12, 2026.
The post The Punisher: One Last Kill Trailer Reminds Us That Frank Castle is No Hero appeared first on Den of Geek.
