I love the Punisher, ok? I love that character. I got all the comics. I got a Punisher action figure. I even have comics that just guest star the Punisher, even 1/2 crap like "Foolkiller". I have rotating Punisher backgrounds, three Punisher shirts, and a pair of Punisher socks. I'm down with Frank, ok?
So, typically, when someone derives this level of enjoyment from a character, you tend to get one of two things; a rampant fanboy who digs in his or her heels, stubbornly insisting that everything with anything to do with said character is the best thing in the world (looking at you, DC Zach Snyder fans), or, a bitter, disillusioned fan who hates everything the character is in, because they "didn't do it right", or "had the character say things he would never really say", etc.
I am neither of those. I enjoyed the Dolph Lungren film, hated the Thomas Jane flick. Loved the Ray Stevenson "War Zone" Punisher, and thought the Bernthal version was... underwhelming. It wasn't the worst thing ever, but my god, let me run down a couple problems real quick.
- Scenes with the Punisher enjoying a cold glass of chardonnay (no joke)
- Scenes with the Punisher not killing anyone
- Scenes with the Punisher consoling and mentoring children
- Scenes with the Punisher crying
- 90% of the series neglecting the Punisher skull... again (see DD S2)
The military angle was, in my opinion, pretty boring on the whole. There wasn't much to tie to the Punisher's background, not many easter eggs, and many, many scenes of people standing around talking. I'd say over 70% of the show was just people saying things to other people while wearing suits. That ain't my Punisher. But, now that they have done Frank's origin (arguably twice now), he can do what a good Punisher does; shoot the shit out of street level thugs.
That's all I've ever wanted, Marvel. That's all anyone has ever wanted. Give my boy a belt-fed machine gun, and for God's sake, let the man work.
The Punisher Season 2 begins filming on February 26th.