‘Punisher’ Photo Offers New Look At Microchip

Frank Castle will reunite with his old ally, the hacker Microchip, in Marvel’s The Punisher, and fans now have their first glimpse at that reunion.

New photos from The Punisher released in Empire have appeared online. One is a behind-the-scenes shot of Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) lining up a shot, and the second shows Castle with Microchip (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).

Take a look at both photos below.

Microchip was first shown in a teaser for The Punisher that revealed the series’ supporting cast, but this is the first time the character has been shown in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The existence of Microchip has been hinted at twice before in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, Daisy “Skye” Johnson received a lead on Phil Coulson’s mysterious alien symbols when a hacker from the Rising Tide going by the handle Micro passed her info about a crime scene where the same symbols appeared.

In the second season of Marvel’s Daredevil, where Bernthal made his debut as the Punisher, Castle returned home after learning the true identity of Blacksmith and retrieved a CD labeled “MICRO” from inside a framed photograph of his old US Marine Corps platoon.

Marvel has already revealed that The Punisher will have an important military component to it, including a flashback to Frank Castle’s days in the Marine Corps. It seems Microchip may be a link to Frank’s past life.

In the Marvel Universe of the comics, Microchip, aka David Linus Lieberman, was an early ally in Punisher’s violent war on crime. Micro provided Frank Castle with the weapons and technology he needed to fight his battles, as well as a rare friend to talk to. In more recent years, Micro turned bitter and became a villain working against Frank…at least until Frank caught up with him.

Marvel’s The Punisher still doesn’t have an official premiere date, though Marvel has hinted at one on several occasions. The series will debut in 2017.

[H/T] MCU Exchange