Our breakdown of the first footage from The Punisher shown at Comic Con

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

While the panel was billed as being all about The Defenders, fans in Hall H at San Diego Comic Con were treated to a special treat. As Marvel's Jeph Loeb was setting up introductions for the crossover series, Jon Bernthal stepped onto the stage and offered to debut the first footage from the upcoming Punisher solo series. As I was lucky enough to be in attendance, I can tell you that it was f*cking spectacular. Bernthal's portrayal of Frank Castle was the biggest success from Daredevil's second season on Netflix last year and seeing what they are going to deliver should make fans of the character very happy. But, enough build-up, let me tell you about what they showed.

Not really a trailer, the footage screened was a collection of scenes, presumably from the show's first episode. The montage started with Frank teaching his daughter how to play the guitar before cutting to the man by himself in a bare room. A single light overhead, images of Frank playing a mellow country tune are interspersed with him screaming at no one. It truly sets Frank's anger and break with reality more than we saw during his run on Daredevil. The scene then cuts to Frank chasing down a pair of bikers on a secluded road in Alabama. The bikers shoot and Frank opens fire back and uses the side mirrors of his van to cock his gun for the next round. When the bikers fall off their bikes, Frank calmly runs over their bodies and drives off. Brutal.

The next sequence shows us Juarez, Mexico where a man shouts out some not so kind words about The Punisher before entering what appears to be a brothel. We see Frank behind the scope of a sniper rifle awaiting his prey. From that perspective, we see the targeted man move about the building before finding his girl who begins dancing and seducing him. The crosshairs remain on the man, building the tension, before we hear the shot ring out. But it is a sold few seconds before we see the man's head explode in a spray of blood. The camera then pulls back a long distance until we see Frank on his rooftop with the screen telling us he is located in El Paso, Texas. That's right, we get to see The Punisher use his military prowess to hardcore effect.

The final scene has a man in a business suit at a hotel bathroom calling someone to say they are finally getting away. Locked in a stall, the man finds himself face to face with Frank Castle. The man begs for his life saying that killing him won't bring Frank's family back. In his best Batman voice, Frank says he knows and chokes the guy with his own necktie. There is some humor here as a couple of other guys washing their hands hear the dying man choking and gargling and they tell them to "get a room". Frank finishes killing the guy and exits the stall. As he turns, we see he is wearing his bulletproof vest with his skull insignia. He then zips up his hoodie and walks off.

It was a short amount of footage but I will be damned if it doesn't overshadow both of the Punisher feature films and comes close to eclipsing anything else Marvel and Netflix have done so far. The Punisher hits all of the right notes of brutality and grit while still maintaining some dark humor mixed in. I am evn more excited now to see this series than I was before and that is saying something. Punisher fans can rest easy as it finally looks like you will see the Frank Castle you have always dreamed of.

The Punisher currently does not have a release date but expect to potentially see the character make a return in The Defenders which debuts on Netflix beginning August 18th.