'Daredevil: Born Again' Showrunner Appears To Confirm Rumor That Punisher Will Hunt Dirty Cops Wearing His Logo In The Show
Daredevil: Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane appeared to confirm a rumor that Jon Bernthal’s Punisher would hunt dirty cops wearing his logo in the show.
Back in January 2024 it was rumored by Daniel RPK that the Punisher would have his own subplot in Daredevil: Born Again where he “hunts dirty cops who use his symbol.”
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Speaking with IGN about the show, Scardapane was asked about Matt Murdock encountering a dirty cop that has a Punisher tattoo on his forearm and if that plays into Frank Castle’s story in the show.
Scardapane responded, “That tattoo should be a hint. There is a Frank Castle storyline that is, I think, deep and rich and has been begging to be told. It was in one of the comics. Frank’s appearance is not random.”
“It comes back to your earlier question of who is a vigilante, who’s good, who’s bad, and Frank is one of those incredibly galvanizing characters. And Frank comes into our world with a purpose. That purpose is executed. Does it have something to do with these men that we see in that apartment? Yes.”
Scardapane was then asked about how concerning it is to him to make this story given the “polarizing times” we live.
He answered, “It’s incredibly important to me. And I think it’s incredibly important to Marvel and I know it’s incredibly important to Jon. And that discussion and that dichotomy and that, for lack of a better word, the feelings, emotions and conversations about that specific is tackled in this season. And I think it’s tackled really well. And I think Jon, in particular, knows how to voice that discussion probably better than anybody.”
The story line that Scardapane is referencing is likely the 2019 Punisher story written by Matthew Rosenberg, Szymon Kudranski, and Antonoi Fabela that sees Frank Castle get pulled over by a couple of New York City policemen.
Once the officers discover that they’ve pulled over Castle, they ask to take a selfie with him and inform him how they support his actions. Castle responds by tearing the Punisher symbol off their vehicle, tearing it up, and informing them, “I’ll say this once. We’re not the same. You took an oath to uphold the law. You help people. I gave all that up a long time ago. You don’t do what I do. Nobody does. You boys need a role model? His name is Captain America, and he’d be happy to have you.”
As for Scardapane’s comments about Bernthal being able to tackle this topic, it is unlikely given back in January 2021 he lampooned American citizens and patriots sporting the symbol when they protested the 2020 elections in Washington D.C.
Bernthal called them, “misguided, lost, and afraid.” He added, “They have nothing to do with what Frank stands for or is about.”
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However, he would change his tune in January 2024 telling Collider, “I think there’s a reason why that character has resonated as deeply and strongly as he has. In the hearts and minds of comic book fans and first responders and people in the military and people all over the globe. I think there’s a little bit of Frank Castle in everybody.”
“He exists very strongly inside me and I care about that character deeply,” Bernthal continued. “I also know that it’s absolutely essential that if we do it, we do it right and we have real sacred integrity to the source material and to what is at the core of Frank. I’m gonna do my absolute best to make sure that, if and when we do it, we do it right.”
Given Marvel’s track record, it’s extremely difficult to buy anything Scardapane is trying to sell and it’s more than likely the show will hamfistedly try to shove down an anti-police rhetoric onto its audience.
And as long-time Punisher writer Chuck Dixon has said they mangled and destroyed the character because they don’t like the fans of the character, “The main reason they wanted to get rid of the Punisher is because they hated the Punisher and they hate you for liking it. It’s that simple.”
What do you make of Scardapane’s comments?
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Chuck Dixon nails it. Reading the Miller / Dixon / Ennis Punisher comics is like going into an alternate universe compared to the slop served up today.