For the MCU to inform one of many coolest Punisher tales, it is going to need to kill Frank Fort. After years of ready, the enduring Marvel vigilante returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Daredevil: Born Once more. And now Frank is being tapped for future initiatives, together with a one-off particular that may put the spotlight on the Punisher.
Nevertheless, there’s one story that may solely be capable of be tailored if the MCU can commit to 1 factor: Killing the Punisher. As dangerous as that sounds, it’s really the start of a really attention-grabbing chapter within the Punisher’s life, and it could possibly be fairly becoming because the MCU continues to discover the supernatural facet of issues.
The Punisher’s Most Underrated Story Noticed Him Turn into a Frankenstein Monster
Franken-Fort was a Brief-Lived Cult Traditional That Actually Pushed Boundaries
This formidable story came about throughout the “Darkish Reign” period of Marvel Comics, and all of it started when the Punisher determined to place Norman Osborn in his crosshairs. However Osborn was untouchable, and he used the total brunt of his energy on the time to carry hell down on Frank.
Norman Osborn despatched Daken, the person posing as Wolverine on Osborn’s Dark Avengers, after Punisher. And although Frank gave the struggle his all, Daken was merely an excessive amount of for him and sliced Frank into items earlier than dumping his physique within the sewer. However what ought to have been the top was really the start of a new era for the Punisher.
Punisher’s physique components have been recovered by Morbius and the Legion of Monsters, who re-assembled them as a patchwork monstrosity. Frank was now a hulking amalgam of rotting flesh and abominable science. And the rationale Morbius rescued Frank? To request his assist in stopping a centuries-old monster hunter from eliminating monsters all throughout the globe.
Although the Punisher was towards the concept, not seeing their struggle as his, Frank fought with the Legion, realizing the monsters have been harmless, and their attackers did certainly deserve Fort’s model of punishment. Now Franken-Fort (as he was referred to by Marvel Comics), the Punisher took up arms and went after the evil forces to guard his new monstrous allies.
A Completely different Form of Punisher, However Nonetheless 100% Frank Fort
Inside Franken-Fort Was the Identical Chilly-Blooded Vigilante
This was not the primary, nor the final, time the Punisher has had a brush with the supernatural or the magical. In spite of everything, he was an angel of vengeance for a brief interval and as soon as led the occult military, the Hand, serving as a vessel for the Beast. However not like these eras, Franken-Fort is remembered much more fondly.
Except for how extremely inventive such an concept was (come on, who doesn’t just like the title Franken-Fort?), this evolution into an undead warrior for justice hit all of the necessary beats that followers like on the subject of Frank. Right here, the Punisher loses all the pieces, together with his humanity. However by that loss, he finds that means avenging the innocents and punishing the depraved.
However somewhat than retread previous floor, the Franken-Fort period gave followers a narrative with new benefits and challenges for Frank. Certain he might survive extra brutal accidents now that he was a zombie, however he additionally needed to depend on remedy to cease his ideas from devolving right into a extra monstrous way of thinking.
This period didn’t final perpetually, lasting solely a few 12 months, after which Frank was returned to regular because of the therapeutic powers of the Bloodstone. However all these years later, after all of the wild issues Frank has carried out and seen, few eras match the creativity that got here with this wild interval within the Punisher’s spectacular historical past.
The MCU May (and Ought to) Take Inspiration from Franken-Fort
He is the Excellent Addition because the MCU Explores the Supernatural
Magic has been part of the MCU for years, however it’s solely been the previous few years that followers have actually gotten to see the paranormal facet of issues. Tasks like Werewolf By Evening and Agatha All Alongside have actually delved into the supernatural, together with the existence of monsters.
With an rising deal with the supernatural, the MCU might simply pivot Punisher now that he’s again within the shared universe. All it might take is a stunning dying in a extra grounded property like Daredevil: Born Once more, and the trail to Frank being resurrected instantly turns into a viable possibility if the MCU wished to pursue it.
That being stated, the MCU does like to stay pretty in keeping with its characters and it is laborious to think about they’d be prepared to rework Punisher so radically, even when it was momentary. But when the comics are something to go off of, there’s a extremely nice story that explores the timeless humanity lurking inside the Punisher.
Chances are high Franken-Fort gained’t make it to the MCU. But when the franchise did ever determine to kill off Frank, they might simply pull parts from this explicit a part of his lore. It’d actually pump new life into Frank and expose Marvel followers in all places to fairly presumably probably the most underrated Punisher story of all time.
