‘The Punisher’ Season 2 Villain Won’t Be Referred to by His Marvel Comics’ Name

The second season of The Punisher will bring back Billy Russo to the Netflix series, positioning him as one of the vigilante’s greatest foes.

But while Russo will be living up to the legacy of the Marvel Comics villain Jigsaw, he will not be adopting that specific name in Season 2. But with the facial scars and the fragmented mind, he’ll be embodying the spirit of Frank Castle’s nemesis.

A new report from Collider indicates that Russo is never referred to as “Jigsaw” by name, but that the character is definitely the classic comic book villain. And actor Ben Barnes himself said the moniker applies in some aspects, especially as Russo attempts to cope with the aftermath of his Season 1 battle with Castle.

Hhe’s trying to piece together what happened to him and who he is. There is the metaphor at one point that his brain is the jigsaw that he’s trying put the pieces back together of,” Barnes told Collider.

Castle exacted revenge on his former friend for playing a part in the death of his wife and children, leaving Russo scarred after dragging his face across shards of a broken mirror. But Barnes is back in a major way for the new episodes, and the actor compared his character in Season 2 to that of Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin in the first season of Daredevil.

Barnes will have a lot of make up on for new season to show his damaged face. “He [got] shot in the cheek, a ricochet into the cheek, so there’s a bullet wound hole in his cheek,” Barnes said.

The actor previously spoke about his character’s journey toward becoming Jigsaw, despite never being allowed to use that name. And even back then, he knew his character’s story wasn’t over despite being defeated by castle.

“Billy seems finished, but in Billy’s mind, it’s just the beginning. I don’t know the beginning of what …. There was a lot of talk in the finale about, when he wakes up, who will he be, what will he remember? That’s something I’m definitely very interested in finding out. When a character who represents narcissism has the way they see themselves taken away, he’s going to have to take a very long look at himself, and I’m intrigued to see what comes of that.”

The Punisher Season 2 is set to hit Netflix sometime in January 2019.