Daredevil is finally part of the main MCU, and while there are a lot of benefits that come with that, it also comes with the baggage of one of the MCU’s biggest plot holes. Over the years, Marvel has improved on many things, taking fan criticisms into account in order to improve the cinematic universe. However, due to the fact that these are movies and TV shows rather than comic books, there are some things that will never be fixed, such as this issue that has been plaguing the MCU for over a decade now.
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Daredevil: Born Again season 2 has scaled up the story of the first season immensley, moving away from many of the pre-overhaul storylines and entirely focusing on Matt’s epic battle against Mayor Fisk. Alongside Matt, several other superheroes and villains have made appearances, such as Jessica Jones, Swordsman, White Tiger, and Bullseye. However, one notable Daredevil character is completely missing, creating a major problem for the future of the franchise.
Like The Avengers, The Punisher Is Randomly Missing From A Major MCU Threat
With almost every new MCU project that releases, fans are asking one question: Where are the Avengers? 2012’s The Avengers formed the superhero team to face some of Earth’s biggest threats, and considering this, it is shocking how many major Avengers-level threats they are absent from without explanation. Movies like Eternals, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Thunderbolts* featured threats big enough that they needed to get involved, but for whatever reason, they weren’t.
The MCU occasionally explains why the Avengers are absent from movies, but oftentimes, they are just cover-ups for logistical production explanations. Having all of the major stars of the Avengers appear in an Ant-Man movie would make sense, as it would inflate the budget, create scheduling issues, and make some MCU stories impossible to tell. So, in order for the MCU to work, the Avengers just have to be completely absent from some movies.
Similar to this Avengers problem, there is no explanation for why the Punisher is missing from Daredevil: Born Again season 2. With a threat as big as Mayor Fist and the AVTF, Frank Castle should be there helping out. After all, he was involved in season 1’s story, and had already escaped Fisk’s prison. The Punisher definitely has a grudge against Fisk now, so it is shocking that he isn’t helping Daredevil’s Army in season 2.
It is likely that Jon Bernthal was too busy to appear in Born Again season 2, as he has been working on projects like The Odyssey, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and The Punisher: One Last Kill. However, Daredevil: Born Again at least needs to try to explain where the Punisher is. Without an explanation, Frank’s absence seems like a major plot hole.
Worse than that, Frank’s absence is also damaging to the story of Daredevil. Now that Karen is back, there is no way that Frank would miss out on Daredevil’s Army without explanation. Frank cares deeply for Karen, so he should be there helping her take down Fisk. Frank not being there hurts the consistency of his friendship with Karen, and this has to be fixed.
The Punisher’s Absence Needs To Be Explained In 2 Upcoming Projects
Although the Punisher isn’t in Born Again season 2, he does have two other upcoming MCU projects. Frank will first appear in his own Disney+ special, The Punisher: One Last Kill, before working together with Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It is impossible to know his full story until these projects are released, but when they do come out, they really need to explain Frank’s Born Again absence.
It could be that the crime gang he is going after in One Last Kill could be involved with Mayor Fisk’s regime, with Frank indirectly helping fight Fisk by taking them down. Or, Frank could get kidnapped or leave New York, explaining his absence. If Brand New Day happens simultaneously with Born Again, this could also explain Frank’s absence. Frank could be dealing with Spider-Man and the Hulk rather than Fisk, with him taking on a different battle in New York.
Either way, not explaining Frank’s absence is a huge disservice to MCU and Daredevil fans. Frank is originally from Daredevil, and unless Frank’s involvement in these projects directly serves the broader story of Born Again, it is a bad choice to remove him from season 2 for these other projects.
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