Fearless Jason David Frank Poses With Marvel’s The Punisher

Hey, Punisher. Know what time it is? It’s Morphin’ time!

If he had packed up all of his stuff and went home, nobody would’ve blamed him. However, putting on a brave face, he continued to meet with fans, sign autographs, and used the spotlight to encourage comic con promoters around the world to beef up security.

Not letting the scary incident on Thursday affect him one bit and maintaining a sense of humor, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers star Jason David Frank wrapped up his Phoenix Comicon appearance on Sunday by donning a baseball cap with The Punisher logo and posing for a photo with Jon Bernthal, the actor who portrays Marvel’s indomitable vigilante in the MCU.

“[It’s] always a [pleasure] to see you,” Frank captioned the photo. “[Jon Bernthal] is a down to earth friend. Great meeting your family too Jon. [Thanks] to these 2 fellow police men for keeping me safe!!”

If you haven’t been following the news, here’s a recap. On Thursday, around noon local time, Matthew Sterling arrived at Phoenix Comicon with a shotgun, three handguns, numerous rounds of ammunition, a tactical knife, and pepper spray. The 31-year-old Mesa, AZ resident was wearing black face paint, black tactical pants, a black tee shirt concealing his front-and-back body armor underneath, a red bandanna, and a strap across his chest containing shotgun ammunition.

He slipped past security and headed to the second floor of the Convention Center. Before carrying out his allegedly murderous plot, he reached out to Rayko Dig, an LA-based musician who he had only met once back in 2014, and sent her a series of messages indicating his desire to get into a shootout with cops on the premises and kill Frank — even setting a calendar reminder in his phone to do just that.

Thankfully, Dig notified law enforcement of the situation. The Phoenix Police Department quickly located Sterling and were able to subdue him before he could do any harm. Phoenix News Times reports, Sterling later “told Phoenix Police detectives that he was a real-life version of famed Marvel Comics vigilante The Punisher” and “stated that he would kill ‘bad police officers’ if need be to protect himself or his friends.” Also, Sterling claimed that he had stabbed Frank 15 years ago — despite Frank never being stabbed and never having met his would-be assassin — and wanted to “finish the job.”

As for Frank, he considers himself blessed. He had initially planned to be at Phoenix Comicon and sign autographs all day on Thursday, but based on a gut feeling, he decided instead to come in the evening — hours after Sterling arrived at the event and was arrested.

JDF Thanks Phoenix Police Department

“What an amazing weekend at Phoenix Comicon. I’m here with the real heroes who literally saved me this weekend,” Frank wrote on his official Facebook page. “Thank you for your outstanding work. I will never forget you all. Looking to make new changes in comic con security. My fans are the best in the world and you continue to show that. Now on to the next city.”

JDF – Punisher Hat

After receiving lots of emails and texts from concerned family and friends, JDF posted: “I do appreciate this concern. I’ll do my best to make sure security at comic cons is a lot safer. I have so many actors and friends behind this new policy Much needed. Anyway Phoenix I had a amazing time!!!”

More Phoenix Comicon News

• Power Rangers Star Thanks Woman Who Prevented Phoenix Comicon Tragedy
• Power Rangers Star Addresses Alleged Assassination Attempt At Phoenix Comicon
• Phoenix Comicon Gunman Allegedly Wanted To Kill Police And Green Ranger Actor
• Armed Man Arrested At Phoenix Comic Con After Threatening Cops

In the original ’90s children’s television program, Frank portrayed Tommy Oliver, though you know him best as the Green Ranger. What set him apart from the other “teenagers with attitude” is that he was the first evil Power Ranger ever created. He was brainwashed by Rita Repulsa into ambushing and dismantling the Power Rangers. He wreaked havoc on the team until Red Ranger/Jason freed him from Rita’s control. After that, Tommy became the new leader of Power Rangers, eventually morphing into the White Ranger.