Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe got an epic update on Tuesday, with the news that Jon Bernthal will be reprising his role as Frank Castle / The Punisher in the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again series. Fans have a lot of reasons to be excited about Bernthal’s return — not only because it canonizes another part of Netflix’s “Defendersverse” franchise, but because it means that his take on the character could now factor into the larger MCU mythos. While there’s no telling exactly what the future holds for Bernthal’s Frank in the MCU, the comics do tease one possibility — that he could factor into the MCU’s future Armor Wars movie.
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While Frank Castle’s tie to the Iron Man mythos is relatively new, it is certainly memorable, as he received the War Machine armor following the events of Secret Empire. Frank ends up donning the mantle — albeit with his own violent twist — for a stretch of time, before it is given back to a newly-resurrected James “Rhodey” Rhodes.
Could The Punisher appear in Armor Wars?
Originally conceived as a Disney+ exclusive television show, it was announced last year that Armor Wars has been reworked into a feature film, in part so its scope and scale can be properly rendered onscreen. The original 1980s comic arc of Armor Wars revolves around Tony Stark pretty heavily, as he grapples with the fact that his advanced technology has fallen into the hands of various supervillains. The MCU’s take on that will be centered around Don Cheadle’s long-running take on Rhodey, but it has been anyone’s guess as to what other antiheroes and villains could join his orbit. There has been no shortage of speculation about which established characters could get the suits of Iron Man armor, especially since the film would now only have a limited amount of screen time to tell its story.
On top of the obvious options, like Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer or Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams / Ironheart, one recognizable face who could be pulled into that conflict could be Bernthal’s Frank Castle. Even for the viewers who didn’t watch his previous appearances on streaming television, The Punisher is a recognizable character, one who technically hasn’t appeared on the big screen for the better part of two decades. On top of that, he’s a character who has no real business being tied to the Iron Man mythos — that’s part of what makes his stint as War Machine so interesting in the comics, and could make it equally interesting to see him take on the mantle in live-action. Throwing The Punisher into Armor Wars would also help further cement this new era of the MCU as a delightful mixed bag, where just about any character has the chance of showing up.
Would you want to see The Punisher appear in Marvel’s Armor Wars? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
