3 Best Punisher Moments in Movies and the MCU

The Punisher has had many memorable moments in movies and television, including three unforgettable standouts. Frank Castle, a.k.a. The Punisher, is well-known as one of Marvel’s most uncompromising antiheroes, with his predilection for killing and engaging in far more brutal methods than any Marvel superhero indulges in. Frank Castle has been played in live-action by Dolph Lundgren, Thomas Jane, Ray Stevenson, and Jon Bernthal, each of whom has brought a unique interpretation to the character.

With three movies, a solo streaming series, and two crossover appearances with Daredevil on his two streaming shows, the Punisher has made an unforgettable mark on comic book movies and TV. Here are the Punisher’s three greatest moments in movies and TV.

Frank Castle vs. The Russian – The Punisher

The most memorable scene of Jonathan Hensleigh’s 2004 actioner The Punisher is the movie’s wildly brutal yet darkly hilarious fight scene between Thomas Jane’s Frank Castle and the hired hitman known as The Russian (pro-wrestler Kevin Nash.) Taking place in Frank’s Tampa apartment after a pleasant dinner with his new neighbors, Frank is tossed and pummeled around the apartment by the hulking assassin, even narrowly avoiding a hand grenade explosion that the whole building feels.

Set to “La Donna e Mobile”, the fight scene was described during production as “the horrific clown show”, which perfectly captures the fight scene’s blend of humor and brute force. It also didn’t come without some real pain for the actors, with Kevin Nash accidentally being stabbed for real in the fight. In the end, Frank triumphs over his massive adversary, and his fight scene with the Russian continues to stand as one of The Punisher’s best movie moments.

Opening Action Scene – Punisher: War Zone

2008’s Punisher: War Zone saw the late Ray Stevenson take over as Frank Castle in Lexi Alexander’s reboot, and Frank’s new mission kicks off with an blood-splattering start in his raid of a meeting on a criminal compound. Frank enters the meeting like a slasher movie villain, killing the lights and activating a flair to make the presence of the Punisher known before going to work. And, by Punisher standards, going to work involves a lot of knife slashing, limb snapping, neck breaking, and opening fire on the mob while swinging upside down from a chandelier, all in the most over-the-top fashion imaginable.

Punisher: War Zone sadly bombed in theaters upon its release in 2008’s holiday season, but it has since built up a comic book movie cult following, with even comedian Patton Oswalt among its fanbase. Lexi Alexander has spoken many times of striving to bring the cartoonish, absurd levels of gore in the Punisher comics to life in live-action, and few could argue that Punisher: War Zone doesn’t succeed thoroughly in that endeavor. Between the movie’s financial failure and Ray Stevenson’s passing in 2023, Punisher: War Zone was sadly the one and only time he got to show what he could do as the Punisher. Nonetheless, the Marvel cult classic showed he not only captured the essence of Frank Castle splendidly, but also snagged the best entrance of any live-action Punisher, by far.

RELATED: Daredevil: Born Again Set Photo Reveals First Look at Jon Bernthal’s Punisher Return

Daredevil & Punisher’s Rooftop Showdown – Daredevil

For the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jon Bernthal became the newest incarnation of the Punisher, making his debut in Daredevil season 2, before being spun-off into The Punisher series. While Bernthal has given an all-around fantastic performance as Frank with many memorable moments and action scenes, his rooftop scene with Charlie Cox’s Daredevil in the season 2 episode “New York’s Finest” (S2E3) is his best. While it’s one of the quieter Punisher scenes in any big or small screen iteration, paradoxically, that’s what makes it so great, with the focus being on the differing crime-fighting ideologies of Frank Castle and Matt Murdock.

As Daredevil, Matt seeks to battle the criminals of Hell’s Kitchen with as much mercy as possible, in order to give them a chance “to try again.” However, Matt’s restraint is something that Frank sees as doing more harm than good, since it gives criminals like the ones who murdered his family a chance to prey on the defenseless again. As Frank puts it, “You hit them and they get back up! I hit them, and they stay down!” Daredevil season 2 devotes much of its story to Frank and Matt’s polar opposite methods, but their extended rooftop debate is the real heart of their relationship on the show, and forms a strong foundation for Daredevil and Punisher meeting again in Daredevil: Born Again. Even for all his great Punisher action scenes on Daredevil and in his own series, Jon Bernthal’s most shining moment as Frank Castle remains his rooftop verbal sparring match with The Man Without Fear.

Both seasons of Marvel’s The Punisher can be streamed on Disney+.