Does Marvel Studios have the courage to explore The Punisher’s most fascinating character trait?

There are plenty Perfect ‘Punisher’ Stories to Spotlight in the Marvel Cinematic Universebut we shouldn’t expect to see them on screen. Jon Bernthal’s eponymous vigilante, Frank Castle, will return in a “Punisher” one-shot presentationand then… who knows what the future holds? That said, if Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige and co. want to really spice things up, they should look to the event comic “Civil War” by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven for inspiration – in particular, the storyline of Castle idolizing Captain America.

In the “Civil War” comics, Castle expresses respect for Steve Rogers and is accepted into his faction to take on the corrupt government – provided he stops killing people (pfft). Obviously this plan fails because the Punisher and killing people are like spaghetti and meatballs. This development results in Cap defeating his trigger-happy ally in “Civil War” #6, but Castle refuses to retaliate against the hero who clocked Adolf directly at the kisser.

Captain America and Punisher can be seen as different sides of the same coin. Cap, a World War II veteran, represents the idealized version of soldiers – heroic, idealistic, American-style, etc. Castle, meanwhile, returns from Vietnam broken and is subsequently shunned by acceptable corners of society. In “Civil War,” Spider-Man even calls them “same guy, different war,” raising interesting questions about the nuanced nature of heroism and how society has viewed soldiers over the years.

It’s an interesting dichotomy that could inform a bold and intriguing storyline in the MCU. At the same time, Castle vs. Cap might be a subject that the folks at Marvel Studios want to avoid depicting on screen, for obvious reasons.

If Marvel Studios continued its storyline with Captain America and The Punisher, Frank Castle would likely be the villain of the piece. After all, the MCU’s version of Cap is as noble as it gets, while Punisher is more than happy to dance with his enemies in a ballet of bullets. Still, pitting the two men against each other or highlighting how much a bloodthirsty vigilante admires the world’s most clean-cut American hero is a thread worth exploring. The only downside is that it has controversial real-life implications.

The Punisher is a pioneer of justice, but he has always distrusted the system, the government and the cops. Despite this, the character’s skull symbol has been co-opted by real soldiers, cops, and fringe political movements, creating a misconception that the character is sympathetic to the police, government, military, etc. The original creator of the Punisher character, Gerry Conway, rejected these sociopolitical associations. Meanwhile, Marvel ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 1 Tackles Punisher’s Real-World Controversies by making him reject law enforcement officers. However, it’s impossible to control how people interpret and symbolize Castle in the real world, no matter how hard Marvel fights back.

Still, Marvel Studios hasn’t ignored the Punisher’s polarizing reputation beyond the entertainment world. Additionally, films like “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Civil War” have turned to heady, conspiratorial political ideas. Either way, exploring Castle’s complex relationship with Cap – a true patriotic hero – could be too political for the MCU, as the real-world implications are likely to broaden Castle’s appeal among the groups he supposedly opposes. But thought-provoking storylines are crucial to Castle’s long-term success on screen, and who doesn’t want to see him cross paths with Cap?