It’s time for some punishment in A Marvel Television Special Presentation: The Punisher: One Last Kill.
Frank Castle returns in The Punisher: One Last Kill. This is the MCU’s third Special Presentation under the Marvel Television branch.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers about the special presentation. Read at your own risk.
The Punisher: One Last Kill – “What’s you purpose now, Marine?”
Set in the same timeline as Daredevil: Born Again. We see Frank Castle being incognito in an apartment complex in New York City. As we already know, he is the notorious vigilante The Punisher. Many evil people are searching for him because of that reputation. Understandably, keeping a low profile is the way for Frank.
We are already aware of what Frank is going through. Specifically, he suffers PTSD from the death of his family and his time as a Marine. Frank gets apparitions of his former Marine Corps members, including his friend Curtis Hoyle. Yes, fans of the original will be pleased, as the original series is canon to the current MCU. This information is derived from Daredevil: Born Again and is also present in One Last Kill.
Frank visits his family at the cemetery. He shares that he is suffering and cannot do this anymore, as he misses them. Memories of his daughter flash before him. But, as reality hits, Frank realizes that his family will never come back. Furthermore, he grabs a pistol and points it at the side of his head. As he is about to pull the trigger, an apparition of his daughter appears and goes. Frank screams for his daughter to return to him.
Ma Gnucci
Frank goes back to the apartment complex. When someone approaches him, an old woman and her bodyguard do. Additionally, she shares with Frank that she also lost her family. The loneliness of that is like a hunger, always there and ever-present. But to people like them? It is all they got. One by one, she shares details about the family she lost. How did she lose them? It is because of The Punisher. Frank tracks down the Gnucci family, as they are involved in the killing of his family. She reminds him that he forgot to take someone out. Her.
Ma Gnucci puts a bounty on Frank. Additionally, at 6:47 PM, the location of the apartment complex will be sent to the people interested in the bounty. Carnage will ensue, as they will do anything to get to Frank to secure the reward.
6:47 PM
After Ma Gnucci’s visit, Frank goes back to his apartment. He gets an apparition of Karen Page, consoling him. As 6:47 PM approaches, Frank hears noise from the other side of the door. What we get next is one of the most brutal and violent action scenes in the whole MCU.
Seeing Jon Bernthal wreak havoc, you will expect a bloodbath, and we got exactly that here. The whole action sequence is him using whatever he holds as a weapon. Specifically, whether it is a gun, baseball bat, or crowbar, he finds a way to take out whoever threatens him. The second half of the special is basically this. The setting is also interesting because it takes place at an apartment complex; it is more close-quartered, so expect the violence to be more intimate and in your face. We are not going to spill more details; it is best if you watch it yourself.
After the chaos at the complex, Frank sets his eyes on Ma Gnucci. But he stops as he hears the call for help of a girl. It is the daughter of the coffee shop owner he frequents. Furthermore, he saves them. But it is not over yet as one last brute attacks Frank, and we get what could be the most gruesome kill of the special. Frank uses a pen and continually stabs the brute all over his torso up to his chin. This could be a fun poke (no pun intended) to John Wick, as he uses a pencil to take out someone. Now, The Punisher gives John Wick competition.
One batch. Two batch. Penny and dime
After all that, Frank visits his family’s grave one more time. As he finds purpose beyond his life once again. Back at his neighborhood a thug is about to hit two old people, but Frank makes the save in time. He comes face-to-face with the thug when an old man tells Frank the thug stole his hat from earlier. Moreover, Frank takes the hat, and the old man tells him, “That’s not the only thing he took from me.” Lastly, the thug escapes, but Frank throws a knife at his leg. He pulls out his pistol, points at the thug, and pulls the trigger.
The Punisher: One Last Kill thoughts
Another great special presentation for the MCU. This is the type of content that fits characters like Frank Castle. The story is simple: a bounty is put on his head, and he must find a way to get out of it. Of course, we get the violence and gore of The Punisher here. Jon Bernthal owns this role; his display of Frank’s loneliness and ruthlessness is so good.
If there is one piece of feedback we could give, it is we have seen this story beat three times now. It is another origin type of story for this iteration of the character. Furthermore, we know his motivations for how he becomes The Punisher; what we would like to see next is him fully becoming The Punisher from now on. We get teases, but we want to see it fully fleshed out now. Hopefully, his next appearance on Spider-Man: Brand New Day does that.
The Punisher: One Last Kill is now available to stream on Disney+
