Spoilers for all works set prior to the end of Avengers: Endgame are unmarked.
Operation Cerberus
Appearances: The Punisher
An illegal covert military operation designed to eliminate targets in Afghanistan. As the operation was illegal, it funded itself by smuggling heroin into the United States through the corpses of dead soldiers.
open/close all folders
In General
- The Conspiracy: A covert CIA operation that goes to any length to cover up war crimes they committed years ago in Afghanistan.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: When Frank protests Rawlins and Schoonover's planned operation, because he senses it is an ambush, he points out that what they're doing as Operation Cerberus is giving them a reputation as the "American Taliban."
- Hollywood Tactics: A Kandahar flashback shows the Cerberus team conducting a night operation. . . without night-vision goggles. Frank then proceeds to clear out a building all by himself and takes his helmet off in the middle of the fight.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: While Rawlins and Schoonover were right to suspect that there was a mole in Operation Cerberus who leaked the Zubair tape to Madani, they were just wrong about who the mole was, thinking it was Frank, and not Gunner.
- Ripped from the Headlines: In The Punisher, it's not even questioned
that the US government made millions in heroin — the conspiracy is that the profits acted as untraceable funding for war crimes such as torture and death squads… just like in Vietnam and Nicaragua. Which is lampshaded during the initial Cerberus debriefing when Billy Russo says the mission sounds a lot like the Phoenix program that was conducted in Vietnam.
Leadership
Bill Rawlins / Agent Orange
William J. "Bill" Rawlins III / Agent Orange
"Men like me make the plans, men like you shed the blood."
Species: Human
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: Paul Schulze
Appearances: The Punisher
"I've watched friends die and I've left good men behind in shitty countries because that was the home they were born to. I don't know a single operative with any years under their belt who hasn't had to do something that gave them nightmares. But we endure those nightmares, embrace them even, so that the rest of America can sleep peacefully."
The CIA's Director Of Covert Affairs, involved in Frank's activities in Afghanistan.
- Adaptational Job Change: He's a well-connected field officer in the comics, but in the show he's director of Covert Ops, and comes close to being Deputy Director.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: By comparison only. The MCU William Rawlins is still an amoral, heroin smuggling evil bastard but he isn’t the racist, rapist, shove-his-newlywed-wife-out-of-a-helicopter, perennial dog-kicker that he was in the comics.
- Adaptational Ugliness: Compaired to his roguish-looking comic incarnation who slept around with men and women, the show's Rawlins is very plain, balding and a little overweight. Instead of the badass-looking eyepatch of the comics, MCU Rawlins openly displays his injured eye.
- Justified in Rawlins’ job change from a physically active field agent to an analyst, and his much more lowkey, realistic approach to things compared to the over-the-top comics Rawlins.
- Adaptational Wimp: In the comics, Rawlins was a deep-cover CIA operative with absolutely uncanny skill in intelligence work and utterly lethal when pressed; among his accomplishments were subverting a Middle Eastern terrorist cell to carry out a Suicide Attack on demand and killing a Spetznaz and a Russian Army general — at the same time — with nothing but a pocketknife. In comparison, "Agent Orange" is not only such an incompetent analyst he gets most of Frank's team killed by sending them into an ambush Frank saw coming just from pictures of the target, he's completely incapable of fighting anyone who's not restrained; after rescuing his team from the ambush, Frank is able to permanently blind him in one eye with a single telegraphed blow, and Frank ultimately kills him with his bare hands despite injuries received from several hours of torture by Rawlins.
- Age Lift: He looks older than his comic counterpart.
- Asshole Victim: Frank punches him in the face, leaving him permanently blind out of one eye, because he ordered Castle's unit to walk straight into an ambush because he didn't interpreted his intelligence correctly and refused to hear everybody else's warnings out of spite. When Frank finally gets his hands on him and tears him apart, everybody else is more sickened (or in the case of Russo, amused) at Frank's brutality than the fact Rawlins has died.
- Ax-Crazy: Not as evident at first, since he acts (for the most part) calm and collected. But after his Villainous Breakdown, he promptly goes batshit lunatic, complete with maniacal cackling and Slasher Smile. Even before his Villainous Breakdown, he had a disturbing taste for Cold-Blooded Torture.
- Bald of Evil: A war criminal with a penchant for Cold-Blooded Torture who has a shiny dome.
- Big Bad Duumvirate:
- During the backstory he was this with Colonel Schoonover, as the leaders of Operation Cerberus, a death squad funded by trafficking heroin into the United States.
- In The Punisher Season 1, along with Billy Russo. Rawlins is the one who originally set up the Blacksmith's heroin operation, using it to finance illegal CIA operations to eliminate threats to American interests (or people who got in their way; Rawlins doesn't really seem to see much of a difference between the two). Rawlins arrogance leads him to believe that he is the sole Big Bad who makes the plans and Russo is The Dragon who does the dirty work, but it's clear that Russo is an equal partner at this point.
- Big Bad Wannabe: His arrogance and blatant disrespect to his partner gets him killed once Russo becomes fed up with his bullshit.
- Big Brother Is Watching: Bugs Dinah's office to silence any leads she may find.
- Chewing the Scenery: Based on his character's uncharacteristic enthusiasm in the scene where Rawlins tortures Frank, Paul Schulze clearly got a kick out of being hammily evil.
- CIA Evil, FBI Good: Rawlins participated in a variety of atrocious war crimes overseas, took part in the smuggling of heroin in the corpses of fallen soldiers and ordered the assassination of Frank and his family when he thought Frank was going to go public about them.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: A specialty of his and something he really enjoys.
- Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: Inverted. He has a codename he didn't have in the comics, "Agent Orange."
- Composite Character: With Robert Bethell, another CIA officer from the MAX series who tried to forcibly recruit Frank to hunt terrorists as part of a deep-black program... financed by drugs smuggled in the body bags of dead servicemen. He was also utterly pathetic in combat and intel work. The "Agent Orange" alias comes from the codename of two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
- In truth, this version of Rawlins is all but identical to Bethell; he's behind a drug-smuggling through dead servicemen plot, and he's far less competent and lethal than Rawlins, who was a serious threat in three separate story arcs.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Frank's punishment, although well-deserved, is exceptionally brutal. First, he cuts into his side using the same knife he had just used to stab Frank, then he follows it up by stabbing him in the chest thirteen times in quick succession, twisting the knife high up, slashing across his throat, and before he bleeds out, repeatedly punching him in the face before finally finishing him off by gouging his eyes out with his thumbs.
- Dirty Coward: He takes great pleasure in torturing people to death, and even gets a little bit of excitement at the look of despair his victims have when they realize they are doomed to die. When Frank goes berserk on him for sending the squad into an ambush, Russo recalls Rawlins showing a similar look of fear on his face. Years later, Russo posits that Rawlins' attempts to kill Frank are really because Frank's a walking reminder of a time that he genuinely feared for his life.
- Disc-One Final Boss: He is the first out of the Big Bad Duumvirate duo of Season 1 to perish, getting killed by Frank in the penultimate episode, leaving Russo as the Final Boss.
- Evil Is Petty: He ordered the massacre in Central Park, which resulted in the murder of several people, children included... all for his hatred towards Frank Castle.
- Russo also suggests the entire reason Rawlins targeted Frank and his family is revenge for Frank giving him his milky eye and making him feel genuine fear for his life.
- Eye Scream: He lost the sight in his left eye when a pissed off Frank punched him after the ambush. Rawlins later lies about how he got his injury, saying that he was "wounded in the line of duty", receiving a medal for it. Later on, Rawlins meets his end by Frank gouging his eyes out.
- Faux Affably Evil: He can pretend to be a polite, humble patriot as a cover for the selfish, egotistical monster he is. But more often than not he's just a straight-up Jerkass.
- For the Evulz: There's really no reason for Rawlins' several monstrous acts throughout the series; he just likes having power over others, gets off on people getting tortured, and wants more of it.
- Greater-Scope Villain: To the Punisher arc in Daredevil Season 2, as he targeted Frank Castle in an attempt to kill him, believing that he was the one who leaked the murder of Zubair to Micro and he was also part of Schoonover's heroin operation.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has a permanent dent in his face below his injured left eye from where Frank punched him.
- Hated by All: Pretty much. Frank Castle despises him for causing the death of his family, Marion is disgusted by him, Sarah openly wishes death upon him, Micro and the CIA couldn't care less when Frank brutally murders him, and even Russo regrets not letting Frank kill him back in Kandahar.
- Hate Sink: Rawlins is one of the most loathsome characters in the entire MCU, as seen in his mistreatment and abuse of his own soldiers in Frank's flashbacks; his murder of Frank's entire family as a means of vengeance against the latter; and his cruel sadism seen anytime he holds power over others. When even Billy Russo hates your guts, you know you're a bastard.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: He gives Frank a shot of adrenaline to make sure he doesn't pass out and avoid being tortured. It ends up giving Frank the boost he needs to attack and brutally kill Rawlins.
- Hypocrite: He tries to make it look like everything he's done is for the sake of America's security. Emphasis on tries; it's completely blown away by his taking part in his own country's drug trade and doing so by desecrating the bodies of dead servicemen in what may be the most horrific way possible.
- I Did What I Had to Do: His speech to some CIA agent initiates is pretty much that not only is he a living example of the "evil CIA Agent" archetype, but he's proud of being so because protecting America requires the occasional hard decision and he expects them all to become this as well and use this mentality to stave off the nightmares.
- In Name Only: Played with. There were a few characters in the comics with the codename of Agent Orange; a telepathic S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who specialized in Mind Manipulation, a pyrokinetic Avengers, and a Powered Armor user. In the show, the name is likely inspired by the source of the name of those characters; a chemical herbicide used by the US military during the Vietnam War, infamous for its effect on both local population and US servicemen.
- It's All About Me: His career and reputation is basically this in a nutshell. For example, when Marion James agrees with his idea to pin all the blame on Russo for the sake of the agency and America's international standing, but demands that he retire immediately afterwards for the greater good, he replies "But that hardly motivates me to make this go away.", sounding honestly confused. Since he's talking to someone who genuinely has a Necessarily Evil I Did What I Had to Do mentality, as opposed to using it as a flimsy justification for her own selfish desires, this response just provokes her to promise that if he refuses she'll turn him in to Homeland, her own career be damned.
- Jerkass: In addition to being a murderous scumbag, Rawlins treats everyone he sees as beneath him, which is pretty much anyone he meets, with disdain as though they're barely deserving to share his air.
- Karmic Death: He gets done in by the guy whose family he had murdered and, in his final moments, he goes from a smug, confident man in charge to a desperate, panicking mess who is completely helpless against Frank.
- Lack of Empathy:
- He tells Marion James that serving the greater good doesn't motivate him to burn Russo for killing Sam Stein and four other Homeland agents, sounding genuinely confused as to why someone would act against their own self-interests.
- He also shows little concern for the soldiers under his command, writing off Frank's (accurate) suspicions that their mission is an ambush. When the traumatized and wounded survivors return, Rawlins only looks at them with a bored expression and asks if they neutralized their target.
- When he sends some of Russo's operatives after Gunner and Frank in the forest, he watches the whole thing remotely through their helmet-cams and shows no emotion when they're picked off, only switching feeds to still living soldiers.
- He treats the murder of Frank's family as just another thing he had to do to cover his ass.
- Miles Gloriosus: He claimed he lost the sight in his left eye in the line of duty rather than due to Frank hitting him for his stupidity. In general, he's also pretty big on making himself out to be a brave CIA veteran rather than the coward he is.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: His "Agent Orange" codename, which is named after the infamous chemical used for herbicidal warfare by the United States during the Vietnam War, which has caused severe health problems in millions of individuals over the course of decades.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: If he simply fulfilled Russo's promise of giving Frank a quick death and hadn’t called Russo as nothing more than a stupid grunt, then he wouldn’t have died.
- Never My Fault: He blames Frank for losing his career and not his own corrupt actions.
- Non-Action Big Bad: He's one half of the first season's Big Bad Duumvirate but unlike the other half, Rawlins only relies on his "grunts" to handle the field work. The only time he gets his hands dirty is when it's time to torture prisoners, which he takes disturbing enjoyment in.
- Not So Stoic: He tortures and reacts to an assassination attempt with a really composed manner except when he sees Frank, as Frank is the one that gave him his milky eye.
- Race Lift: He was half-Egyptian in the comics, enabling him to pass as a native when he worked in the Middle East. In the show, he's Caucasian.
- Red Right Hand: If it wasn't for his injured eye, he'd pass as an example of They Look Just Like Everyone Else!.
- Rich Bitch: Because Upper-Class Twit doesn't cover how much of a jerk he is, and he come from a wealthy background, bordering on Aristocrats Are Evil.
- Sadist: He takes disturbing pleasure in torturing people. Russo accuses him of actually getting off on beating prisoners with his bare hands. At first it just seems like an insult, but when Rawlins is torturing Frank later on, he does seem to be enjoying himself a bit too much.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: His links to the CIA, Homeland Security, and others let him set up Schoonover's heroin operations, to the point that the authorities could not only not stop them, they didn't even know about them. Even working outside the law made little impact; not only were Daredevil and the Punisher barely able to make a dent in the operation, but not even Madame Gao, one of the founders of the Hand, could do much to rival their operation. note
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: He comes from very old Virginia money.
- Small Name, Big Ego: He's really high up on himself and imagines himself as being much smarter and more impressive than he really is, treating everyone else as being worthless in comparison.
- Smug Snake: He is a true-blue scumbag that cares nothing about the opinions of other people even if hearing them could prevent deaths, especially not from 'grunts', as he believes that he himself is far above them and sees soldiers as nothing more than weapons to point and dispose of once used (even saying as much to their faces multiple times). Russo also at one point gives him a "The Reason You Suck" Speech where he says that Rawlins seemed to get borderline sexual pleasure out of the torturing he did as part of Task Force Cerberus, but when Frank attacked him and he had to confront his own mortality, he was just as afraid of dying as those he tortured. It's shown during his torture sessions with Frank later that, while he's a sadist who loves dealing out damage and pain, he can not take any himself as, whenever Frank gets just a little bit free, he turns into a screaming, begging mess, powerless to stop him.
- The Sociopath: One of the biggest examples in the MCU, right up there with Kilgrave and Sallinger. He absolutely lacks empathy or a conscience, delights in torturing and killing his victims, and has an inflated sense of self-worth.
- Stupid Evil: From misinterpreting intelligence to taunting Russo, he's clearly as dumb as he is heinous.
- Torture Technician: A very good one, his preferred method being simple fists.
- Too Dumb to Live: To an almost suicidal degree that it's a miracle that he even became an intelligence agent to begin with, let alone work for the CIA. While he probably couldn't predict the incident involving his eye, there is no excuse for insulting Russo to his face and calling him a grunt right when they have Frank at their mercy. Even if Russo didn't unleash Frank on him (Which to be fair to Rawlins, likely wouldn't have given Frank adrenaline if he knew the restraints had been cut), Russo is still a highly unhinged and homicidal marine who could of easily taken down Rawlins himself if he really wanted to, so this is already a dumb move on Rawlins' part. Nevermind the fact that Russo was actually doing him a very generous favour that would of benefited both of them note , so Rawlins was not only ungrateful, but he's not even pragmatic.
- The Unfettered: There don't seem to be any limits to how low Rawlins will sink to get what he wants.
- Upper-Class Twit: His family is uber-old money Virginia gentry, and it is all but stated that he is in his position solely because of his family's influence and connections. He also fits the "twit" part, as he is equal parts incompetent, vainglorious, and cruel, and the lengths he will go to to cover up the many awful deeds and colossal failures he has to his name are exceeded only by his sadism and brutality.
- Villainous Breakdown: After Deputy Director Marion James learns about his illegal operations, she informs him that his name will be kept out of official inquiry, and Schoonover and Russo will take the blame for the deaths that happened, but Rawlins will be forced to retire. And then James warns him that if he doesn't go along with this, she will turn him over to Homeland Security herself. Having lost his entire career, Rawlins also loses all traces of sanity, and settles for just gaining petty revenge against Frank for taking his eye.
- Villain with Good Publicity: As far as the CIA is concerned, Rawlins is a respected operative with years of experience and a highly respectable family name. No one suspects what a corrupt, sadistic and treacherous scumbag he is.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He has Russo kill Colonel Bennett once his usefulness as bait has come to an end, as well as a prostitute he was using as a spy to alert him of Frank's presence. He later plans on throwing Russo under the bus to save his career.
- Would Hurt a Child: Rawlins was the one behind the deaths of Frank's two children, and he later kidnaps and threatens to kill Micro's son.
Ray Schoonover / The Blacksmith
Colonel Ray Schoonover / The Blacksmith
"Alright, they call you the Punisher. Prove it; prove you don't need me anymore."
Species: Human
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: Clancy Brown
Appearances: Daredevil | The Punisher
"This is who we are now. This is Operation Cerberus and you are my dogs of war. The enemy operates without regard to honor or rules. So neither will we. Our mission is simple. We capture, interrogate and execute high-value targets."
A member of the United States Marine Corps who was Frank Castle's commanding officer, whom he deeply respected for his determination and loyalty in the battlefield.
- …And That Little Girl Was Me: Throughout his testimony, he makes reference to an idiotic commanding officer who foolishly endangered his men. When Reyes questions how he could know such details without being there, he comments that he was the idiotic commanding officer.
- An Arm and a Leg: He lost his right arm after leading his men into an ambush that Frank had to save them from, due to him and Rawlins disregarding Frank's protests.
- Ascended Extra: His counterpart in the comic books was a one-shot villain unconnected to the massacre of the Castle family.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: Alongside William Rawlins, aka Agent Orange, he was one of the leaders of Operation Cerberus, a death squad funded by trafficking heroin into the United States.
- Big Bad Ensemble: With the Hand in Daredevil Season 2, though the Blacksmith plays a fairly passive role compared to them. It's Frank's search for him to avenge his family that drives the plot.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He is the only person Karen can find who has nice things to say about Frank Castle during the trial. Then it turns out that he was the one responsible for the death of Frank's family.
- Boom, Headshot!: How he meets his end at Frank's hands.
- Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: Inverted. In the comics he doesn't go by the Blacksmith alias.
- Cool Old Guy: He's seemingly a deep-voiced war veteran who takes responsibility for his past mistakes and is the only person to have something nice to say about Frank.
- Defiant to the End: Spends his last seconds mocking Frank and daring him to kill him.
- Disc-One Final Boss: Killed by Frank in the penultimate episode of the second season of Daredevil.
- The Dreaded: Due to his morbidly ruthless methods, and expertly trained and experienced mooks who all have a case of Undying Loyalty to him, even the likes of Madame Gao are terrified of him. She outright warns Daredevil in a rare moment of Pet the Dog that even she doesn't want to risk provoking a war with him, and is content to remain in her basement squeezing out her heroin when she can.
- The Dog Was the Mastermind: After being Frank's commanding officer, he's one of the players who ordered the death of his family.
- Evil Counterpart: To Stick. Both are mentors to seasoned killers (Frank and Elektra), both get killed by said apprentice, and both have mutilated right arms (right arm for Schoonover, right hand for Stick).
- Evil Sounds Deep: A given with Clancy Brown; he has a deep gravely voice.
- Evil Versus Evil: His heroin operation is a huge problem for The Hand, not only due to his logistics and distribution tactics very quickly taking over their territories, but also the fact that most of his men are highly trained and experienced former black book spec-ops, making any sort of direct engagements - even for century-old ninjas! - an extremely risky endeavor at best. It gets to a point where Madame Gao is forced to hide in a bunker and forge a temporary alliance with Daredevil in an attempt to curb his operation.
- A Father to His Men: After Karen realizes Schoonover is the Blacksmith, he says he is very upset that Frank killed one of his loyal soldiers. One of his underlings, Gosnell, served under him during the war and had such fierce Undying Loyalty for Schoonover that he requested to serve him again as an enforcer for his drug trade.
- Faux Affably Evil: When Karen meets him at his house for a chat, he is very warm and courteous. It glides down after Karen notices a photo of Schoonover posing with a soldier she recognizes as one of the bodies she saw getting zipped up at the docks, and realizes Schoonover is the Blacksmith that Frank is looking for.
- Foreshadowing: Before the Punisher kills him, he alludes to Frank's actions in Kandahar being the reason his family died. In Frank's series, it's shown that in Kandahar, Frank and Schoonover were involved in an illegal wetworks program, Cerberus. After a firefight turned bad, Frank brutally punched out Agent Orange's left eye. So they ordered the death of Frank and his family to keep him quiet about the illegality of Cerberus, as well as Rawlins wanting revenge for being at someone else's mercy.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: Before turning to crime, Schoonover was a decorated Marine colonel and Frank Castle's commanding officer. The whole time, he was also illegally smuggling heroin into the United States.
- Greater-Scope Villain: He doesn't actively drive the plot for most of the season, but he was indirectly responsible for the death of Frank's family, making him the very reason the Punisher exists to begin with.
- Hidden Villain: The Blacksmith's identity is kept in the dark for the majority of the season, until it's discovered by accident by Karen Page, and in the same episode he meets his demise.
- In Name Only: There is a character who goes by the name "Blacksmith" in Marvel comics, but he's an alien with no relation to the MCU version whatsoever.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: He is about to call Frank a "stupid son of a bitch", but Frank shoots him in the head.
- Miles Gloriosus: He implies this was the reason he walked his men into an ambush, rather than admit he was forced into it by Rawlins. He was just lying to cover the wetwork his squad was doing.
- Pet the Dog: Granted, it was more out of pragmatism than anything, but the fact remains that he was the only person from Frank's past willing to testify on his behalf as a character witness. His curt, professional and no-nonsense testimony - along with his injury - doubtless would've won over some of the jurors if Frank hadn't nuked his own testimony. In fact, Schoonover was so charismatic that Reyes was absolutely fuming that anyone could speak so highly of him.
- Posthumous Character: He makes a couple of flashback appearances in the first season of The Punisher, months after he died during the second season of Daredevil.
- Sociopathic Soldier: He is a retired US Marine colonel with no qualms about murder. The same counts for his men.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Considering the fact that Frank saved the lives of his men, and himself, when Rawlins' disregard for Frank's concerns almost got them all killed - and cost Schoonover his right arm - and he not only caused the deaths of Frank's family and proceeded to mock him when cornered he definitely counts.
- Would Hit a Girl: He holds Karen at gunpoint once she realizes he's the Blacksmith and makes her drive away in her car. Until Frank suddenly shows up and crashes a truck into the car.
Billy Russo
William "Billy" Russo / Billy the Beaut
"Who's pretty now?"
"This face... has everything that I ever did wrong written all over it."
Species: Human
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: Ben Barnes
Appearances: The Punisher
"If you beat a dog long enough, it goes crazy. Doesn't matter how good it was before. After that happens, the dog that you knew is never coming back."
A former Marine lieutenant and best friend of Frank Castle who initially runs Anvil, a private military contractor firm.
- Abled in the Adaptation: In his first appearances, the comic version of Jigsaw had to wear a neck brace. This is not the case with the show's version, although he conversely gets a lot more harm done to his psyche.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Billy's face as "Jigsaw" is nowhere near the horrific scarring of his comic counterpart, with his mask being more akin to that look. At most, he has a few deep cuts on one side of his face, which have the overall effect of making him look intimidating, but not grotesque and does very little to take away from Ben Barnes' good looks. This is explained In-Universe as the result of several reconstructive surgeries he underwent following his disfigurement at the Punisher's hands.
- Adaptational Badass: Billy is a former marine as opposed to starting out as a petty thug.
- Adaptational Dye-Job: He has blue eyes in the comics, but his actor's dark brown eyes in here.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: In the comics, Billy is a mob hitman who abused his wife and son, and then gets even worse when Frank turns him into Jigsaw. In some incarnations, it's also Billy who set up the shootout that got Frank's family killed. Here, he was part of Frank's Marine unit and he thought highly of their fraternity to the point he was treated like a Honorary Uncle by the Castles and had no part in the actual killing of Frank's family, and he even says that he felt sorry that it happened. That said, he knew of the upcoming massacre and deliberately kept his mouth shut for the sake of self-preservation, and he's showcased to be pretty atrocious in other ways, like the manner he treats the mother that abandoned him. His differences are played up in Season 2 once he is scarred and goes by the name Jigsaw: genuinely Affably Evil and having a fondness of sorts for Frank, this version of Billy Russo is much nicer than the Ax-Crazy criminal he usually is, and even falls into Even Evil Has Standards on multiple occasions.
- Adaptation Origin Connection: Billy Russo of the comics was a mob assassin with no connection to Frank outside of being hired to kill him after the massacre in Central Park. In the show, Billy and Frank have a shared background of serving together in the Special Forces.
- Affably Evil: Billy is a rather unusual example of this trope, as his politeness and affection for people are often completely genuine, as is his code, but none of them stop him from carrying out or going along with despicable actions for his own benefit, even against people whom he sincerely cares about, such as Frank and his family.
- Alas, Poor Villain: He was a pretty sick bastard, but by the time he died, he was alone, had nothing, lost most of his memories, and generally had little to no idea what he did to Frank way back when. It can be hard not to feel sorry for him when Frank kills him mid-sentence.
- Ax-Crazy: While in Season 1, he was more stable, but wasn't above brutally murdering someone in cold blood, he had somewhat changed in Season 2, where he's pretty much lost his mind and becomes an unhinged psychopath that has taken his killing spree way too far.
- Bad Boss: He kills Tom Weems, one of his own mercenaries, to keep him from getting arrested by Dinah Madani and risk getting exposed.
- Beard of Evil: Sports a five o'clock shadow.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted in the Season 1 finale, when he is hideously scarred by the Punisher. Played straight in Season 2, where the scars aren't nearly as bad as the Season 1 finale would have had viewers believe, and he still looks very good, albeit intimidating, in spite of them.
- Berserk Button:
- He takes pride in his good looks, and completely loses his cool in the fight with Frank the first time his face is seriously damaged. In fact, his rage over his face seems to be a major part of his beef with Frank in Season 2.
- Ironically considering the above, he hates being called pretty. This is understandable though; his prettiness made him a target for sexual abuse as a child.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: Of The Punisher Season 1, along with Agent Orange/William Rawlins of the CIA, as he helped Rawlins set up the Blacksmith's drug smuggling operation in Kandahar, and is working with Rawlins to help silence anyone who could expose their illegal and corrupt activities. Interestingly, Rawlins believes that he is the sole Big Bad who makes the plans and Russo is The Dragon who does the dirty work, but it's clear that it's a partnership.
- Big Bad Ensemble: With the Schultz's in Punisher Season 2, who send John Pilgrim after Frank and Amy. Both parties pose great, but completely unrelated threats to Frank.
- Big Bad Friend: Russo really did consider Frank a friend, to the point where Frank's kids considered him their Honorary Uncle, but he did nothing to stop the assassination attempt on Frank's life which ended up killing Frank's entire family. He does claim to regret what happened, but that doesn't stop him from trying to kill Frank anyway for his own self-interest.
- Blade Below the Shoulder: In the present day, his signature weapon is a retractable blade on his right arm.
- Blood Knight: In the very first episode he appears in, he confesses how he enjoyed killing people back in Afghanistan.
- Boom, Headshot!: Nearly always goes for a headshot to finish off his enemies. Not surprising, given that he's a former Scout Sniper.
- Character Death: In season 2's finale, he gets in a brutal final fight against Madani, who shoots him three times, leaving him dying even with help from a Back-Alley Doctor. Cruel Mercy is not on Russo's side this time; when Frank tracks him down, the Punisher just guns him down for good so that the nightmare can be put to rest.
- Cold Sniper: A former Scout Sniper with many confirmed kills.
- Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: He's never called Jigsaw on-screen, merely a "jigsaw-faced bastard". However, he actually is called "Billy the Beaut", which was his nickname in the comics before being disfigured.
- Composite Character: Russo is a combination of the comics Billy Russo as well as Von Burian, a member of Frank's unit in Punisher War Journal: Sniper (the comics arc that most directly inspired the backstory for the show) that was close friends with Frank.
- The red and blue details in his mask that evoke the USA flag are reminiscent on Nuke's facial tattoo, which also depicts the USA flag. Nitro, like Russo in the MCU, is a black ops operative.
- His role as Frank's partner in the war and being involved in a drug-smuggling operation within the army stems from the comics' version of Curtis Hoyle. It doubles as Decomposite Character.
- Cop Killer: He kills Sam as well as numerous other DHS agents in the shootout that follows Madani's attempt to smoke him out.
- Cruel Mercy:
- His mother was abusive and neglectful before she finally decided to give him up for adoption. Now that she's sickly and bedridden, he keeps her alive but constantly sedated in a hospital as a way to exert control over her.
- At the end of Season One, rather than simply killing him, Frank decides to hand him over to the government after severely mutilating him so that he has to live with the pain.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Abandoned by his mother before the age of 10. Placed in a group home where he was attacked by a child molester. With a childhood like that, it's no wonder he has so many issues.
- Darker and Edgier: After being scarred, he doesn't look nearly as bad as his other interpretations, but it's obvious he tangled with something bad. With his mask on, he's creepy. With the mask off, his appearance isn’t “over the top” or hammy. Rather than seeing a comic book villain, you’re seeing a deeply disturbed individual, with intimidating scars, who is getting progressively worse.
- Disabled in the Adaptation: This version of Jigsaw got brain damage from his mutilation, giving him amnesia.
- Dragon Ascendant: In the first season's penultimate episode, Rawlins tries to kill a subdued Frank for ruining his career. But since Billy had promised Frank just moments ago that he'd kill him himself, Billy lets Frank loose on the man and becomes the primary antagonist for the final episode.
- Dragon-in-Chief: Downplayed, as he and Orange are a Big Bad Duumvirate. Orange is the head of the drug smuggling operation, but the two are partners in covering it up, and while Orange thinks he's in charge his own unnecessary sadism and lack of competence leads to Russo having to pick up the slack. When Orange tries to reassert that he is The Dragon, Russo finally gets fed up with him and lets Frank kill him.
- Dual Wielding: In his final fight with Frank, he uses both his Blade Below the Shoulder and Frank's own knife against him.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: Served together with Frank in the same Marine Force Recon company, then later, the same CIA-sanctioned Special Forces squad.
- Enemy Mine: As effective as their alliance is, him and Rawlins are ultimately this as Russo actually dislikes him and disapproves of some of his actions, such as the assassination attempt on Frank that killed his family. The moment Rawlins insulted him is the moment where he finally loses his patience with him. Then Russo cuts off Frank's binds and then waits for Frank to unleash hell on him.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Subverted. At first, it appears to be a straight example, since Billy pays for his bed-ridden mother's care in hospice. Then it turns out he only does this to mock and abuse her as revenge for abandoning him as a child.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: A zigzagged example in that he genuinely cared about Frank, Maria, and the kids, and it broke his heart that they died, but he still did nothing to save them, even though he knew. Billy can sincerely care about people, but that won't prevent him from selling them out if he has to.
- Even Evil Has Standards:
- He takes Curtis' warning against hiring the mentally unstable Lewis Wilson to heart and turns him away, though this may have been for more to do with Lewis being a liability than anything.
- He prides himself on always keeping his word. Rawlins disregarding his promise to give Frank a quick death gets him to set Frank free for revenge, and he lets Curtis live after it was part of the arrangement for his final showdown.
- Russo says he refused to take any part in the assassination attempt on Frank, which resulted in the death of Frank's entire family. Russo claims he regrets what happened, but Frank obviously still despises him since he knew about it and said nothing.
- In general, he seems to really dislike Rawlins and finds his behavior and personality repulsive. He even says he should have let Frank kill him back in Afghanistan.
- When he mugs some asshole for his clothes after escaping from the hospital in season 2, he takes everything except his "I Got A Big Dick" shirt.
- In Season 2, he develops genuine affection for the other veterans-turned-criminals in his gang, and at the end he disbands the gang rather than drag the survivors to their deaths on his quest for revenge against Frank.
- He also stops Moke, a member of his crew, from sexually harassing one of the women at one of the gang's parties.
- Evil Counterpart: To Frank. He has the same skills and dogged determination to survive that Frank has. What makes them different is that Russo has none of Frank's morals or code of honor. In essence, he is what the Punisher could be if he ever truly went off the deep end.
- Evil Former Friend: Once Frank's best friend, now one of his greatest enemies.
- Facial Horror: Frank drags his face across a mirror, pressing hard enough to break it, all while Billy gives one of the most realistic screams of agony you'll ever hear. He then keeps shoving his face into the mirror until chunks are sticking out of his face as a way to make him feel the same pain Frank has been in since his family's death. The damage ends up so bad that he's rendered comatose with doctors unsure if he'll ever regain higher brain function. Come Season 2, the damage is admittedly pretty minimal, but treated as horrific anyway.
- Freudian Excuse: He was abandoned by his mother as a child, giving him severe self-worth issues and a desire for advancement to prove he's a somebody.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: Since leaving the Marines, he became the head of a PMC with a very shady contract to Rawlins.
- Get It Over With: After Frank mutilates his face, and possibility out of guilt over his own betrayal or despair over losing everything, Russo begs Frank to just kill him. Frank opts to spare him so he'll have to live with the pain and horror of what his life's become, just like what Frank does everyday.
- Good Hair, Evil Hair: His slicked back hair is quite a noticeable tell.
- Good-Looking Privates: Russo is quite the womanizer. Frank even nicknames him "Billy the Beaut".
- The Heavy: Rawlins may objectively be the bigger threat to Frank's livelihood and is more directly responsible for the death of the man's family, but Russo is a much more personal foe to Frank because despite being his closest friend, he knew what Rawlins' plans were and yet said nothing at all purely to spare himself from the eyes of the law.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: He and Frank were this a long time ago. Needless to say, things have changed and not for the better.
- Honorary Uncle: He was this to Frank's kids who treated him like he was part of the family and it's clear he cared about them too.
- I Gave My Word: Russo promises Frank a quick death if he gives him and Rawlins the code to shut down David's computers. When Rawlins remains adamant that he gets to kill Frank slowly for revenge, Russo covertly cuts Frank's bonds. He later spares Curtis's life after making a deal with Frank to let him go.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: Billy is pretty full of himself, but it's a cover for being insecure due to his trauma of being abandoned and later sexually abused as a child.
- Informed Attribute: Frank chides him a bit for his man-whore ways, asking if he wants to settle down, choose quality over quantity. While he does hook up with Madani quite quickly, we never see him with another woman.
- Informed Deformity: A lot of characters act like he is severely disfigured or his scars could only come from a dark past when he is not only still handsome but people attacked by domestic animals can look worse off.
- I Take Offense to That Last One: When Frank asks Billy if he had something to do with the death of his family, Billy is actually taken aback for a bit before he admits that he wanted no part of, and ultimately played no direct role in, their assassination...but since he also knew Rawlins planned to have Frank's family killed and yet never once warned Frank himself about it, it still doesn't do him any favors.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: Shot twice in the chest in the middle of telling Frank he apologizes for "whatever he did".
- Ladykiller in Love: Russo exhibits some traits of this in the relationship he forms with Madani as they use each other for information. Of course, Russo probably isn't a practitioner of this trope most of the time, as when Frank suggests he settle down and pick "quality over quantity," he playfully protests, "God made me this way for a reason. I mean, it'd be wrong not to share the wealth, you know what I'm saying?"
- Lean and Mean: In contrast to Frank, Russo's much taller and more slender and in an even bigger contrast, much more morally bankrupt than Castle.
- Love-Interest Traitor: Russo gets into a relationship with Dinah Madani, but later turns out to be Rawlins's partner in crime and murders her partner, Sam Stein. When Dinah finds out, she makes it her mission to bring him down for what he's done.
- A Man of Wealth and Taste: As a way to distance himself from his humble background, Russo is noted for his three-piece suits, his expensive Rolls Royce Wraith, and pursuit of pleasure. All paid for with the blood money of Operation Cerberus.
- Masking the Deformity: He wears a mask after Frank Castle crushes his face on broken glass. Soon after, his fellow robbers start to wear masks, too.
- Moral Myopia: In Season 2, even after learning that he betrayed Frank and played a part in the death of his family, he acts as if what Frank did to him in return was worse and that he is entitled to get revenge.
- Mr. Fanservice: Episode 8 opens with a close-up of his personal grooming in Mundane Made Awesome mode and his post-coital scenes with Madani show him off even more than her.
- Murder by Inaction: His role in the deaths of Frank's family amounts to this. He had no actual part of it, but he did nothing to stop it or warn Frank.
- Never Be Hurt Again: As he explains in his Motive Rant to Frank while the latter is being tortured, he doesn't surround himself with luxury just because of simple Greed. Instead, this is his method of distancing himself from the Parental Abandonment and sexual abuse that defined his childhood.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Russo has more than a little in common with Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater. Both are former elite military officers (Marine Scout Sniper for Russo, Navy SEAL for Prince) who founded Private Military Contractor companies after their military service and were involved with CIA black ops in Afghanistan.
- Nouveau Riche: He flaunts his wealth as a way to distance himself from his humble origins.
- Obviously Evil: Hair slicked back, sharp clothing, and head of a mercenary company as his legal venture, Billy doesn't inspire confidence.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted as he shares the same first name and even initials with William Rawlins, but it's made distinct by Rawlins being called Bill while Russo is called Billy.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Assuming his Casanova ways aren't just stories he tells Castle in Afghanistan, then the fact that he turns down sex with Madani in order to comfort and help her through her partner's death (without admitting he's the one who killed that partner) is pretty serious.
- Parental Abandonment: His mother abandoned him when he was a child, giving Billy some severe self-worth issues.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Happens twice.
- In season 1, he frees Frank from his restraints, thus finally giving him the chance to brutally murder Rawlins after all the horrible things he's done, including the massacre at Central Park.
- In season 2, he kills Arthur Walsh, who abused and molested him as a child.
- Pet the Dog: While he's definitely an unrepentant asshole, he does seem to have a soft spot for fellow military veterans. He admitted that he bore Curtis no ill will and planned to spare him, and after finding out about Lewis' instability making him unfit for Anvil (see below), he still offered to find Lewis some (admittedly menial) work.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: He dismisses killing Afghans to Curtis as nothing wrong, claiming that they're already doing that among themselves.
- Pragmatic Villainy: He refuses to hire Lewis at Anvil upon learning how unstable Lewis is from Curtis.
- Pretty Boy: Frank calls him "Billy the Beaut". Sam makes fun of Madani's relationship with him by calling him "pretty." When Russo murders Sam, he quips, "Who's pretty now?"
- Private Military Contractors: Russo is now the head of Anvil, a private military contractor funded by the illegal heroin smuggling and assassination program that he was a part of in Afghanistan.
- Rags to Riches: He grew up in an orphanage and is now very wealthy.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: He has a pale skin complexion and black hair and beard.
- Rejected Apology: As Russo lays dying in Curt's basement and Frank comes to see him in his final moments, Billy seems to start trying to apologize for all the shit he's done to him. Frank shoots him dead before he can get the words out.
- Second Episode Introduction: He makes his debut in the second episode of The Punisher.
- Self-Made Man: Russo's parental abandonment resulted in him developing a strong desire to prove himself. He takes pride in how he rose up from an orphan child to the head of Anvil. It turns out he isn't completely self-made, as he relied quite a bit on Rawlins to help him advance, something Rawlins isn't keen on letting him forget.
- Semper Fi: He's a former Marine Lieutenant.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: He's frequently wearing a nice suit which is indicative of his wealth.
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: It is when it makes you vulnerable to sexual assault at a very young age. This is probably why he's so sensitive over being complimented for his looks, and why he's so hungry for power — he's desperate to be known for something other than what got him exploited as a youth.
- The Sociopath: Played With. He claims to have truly cared for Frank and his family, but in the end, he was willing to keep his mouth shut on the fact that Rawlins planned to assassinate them all. There's also the fact that killing a man's as easy to him as breathing, and that he was willing to smuggle heroin from Afghanistan into the USA by way of stuffing the drugs into the bodies of those who were KIA.
- Ben Barnes more or less describes him as one in an interview, noting that even if Russo does have a fondness or admiration for someone or something, at the end of the day, he doesn't really understand how relationships or love "work" because he values himself above all else, and thus he'll throw anyone under the bus at the first opportunity to either save himself or acquire power.
- The tell-tale signs are when he plays Madani's grief like a fiddle and accidentally outs himself by not quite gauging the emotions and information right, all for adding a bit of "I know and you don't" risk. And, truly not grocking why admitting to his deliberate inaction would never, ever work as an explanation for Frank.
- He also develops genuine feelings for Doctor Dumont, to the point that he was bringing her flowers, disbanded his gang so he could safely get her out of the country, and launches a brief Roaring Rampage of Revenge when she's thrown out of a window while fighting Madani.
- Ben Barnes more or less describes him as one in an interview
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: He's over six feet tall with dark hair and he's very good-looking.
- Trauma-Induced Amnesia: For a large part of Season 2, Billy has amnesia due to the physical trauma of his battle with the Punisher.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: A rare, perfectly justifiable example. Despite the numerous issues Lewis had buzzing around inside his head, the fact is that he was healing while undergoing prospective employment at Anvil. He was sleeping better, he was connecting with others, and he was finding some stability through newfound purpose. However, the moment Billy found out about the foxhole in his backyard, he may as well have had "Section 8" tattooed on his forehead. To Bill's credit, he did offer him a lifeline via alternative employment at Anvil, with the possibility of moving from a desk job to something more active once he's proven to be more mentally stable, but Lewis in usual fashion saw it as a pity-handjob and refused it. End result? A Mad Bomber who also unintentionally blows Billy's cover to Madani.
- Villainous Breakdown: As Frank undoes Russo's plans time and again, the latter gradually grows more unhinged and his calm demeanor begins to give way to unbridled hatred. This culminates to him going completely off the rails when Frank manages to shoot him square in the cheek with a bullet.Billy: Alright, that's enough Frank! I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH OF THIS SHIT!
- Villain Respect: He and Frank are honor-bound as ex-Marines, so while they may want each other dead by the end of the first season, both Billy and Frank give each other their dues even during their climactic fight.
- We Used to Be Friends: Russo was Frank Castle's best friend back in the Marines, but he was actually working to further the goals of Operation Cerberus and profit from them.
- Would Hurt a Child: Kidnaps Micro's son and is willing to kill him unless Frank and Micro hand themselves over. He later uses two teenagers as hostages in his showdown with Frank.
Cerberus Squad
Carson Wolf
Special Agent in Charge Carson Wolf
Species: Human
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: C. Thomas Howell
Appearances: The Punisher
Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Homeland Security's New York City field office. He's the MCU version of an obscure ivory trader that appeared in a single issue of All Winners Comics in 1941.
- Asshole Victim: No one sheds a tear when Frank kills him. Even Dinah and Sam seem more curious about who killed him rather than the fact that he died at all.
- Beard of Evil: Wolf has a goatee and he's pretty much a glorified hitman disguised as a Homeland agent for a Government Conspiracy.
- Curb Stomp Cushion: Frank injures him way more in their fight but Wolf gets in enough hits to drag the fight out way longer than usual by Frank's standards.
- Dirty Cop: Rawlins and Russo paid him to murder David. He later coerced Mitchell Ellison into burying the story about David, and he was one of those who planned out the Central Park deal that ultimately killed Frank Castle's family.
- Evil Old Folks: Wolf appears to be in his 50s or 60s, but still proves himself to be a tough opponent for Frank.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Ignoring what he did to David and Frank (Especially what he says to the later), he's also just a jerk to both his coworkers and regular people. All these traits make it so you don't feel too bad for Wolf when Frank kills him off.
- Neck Snap: Frank snaps his neck at the end of his torture session.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: One of his first actions onscreen is shutting down Dinah's investigation into her partner's death, and he also pressured Ellison to lock away the story he had on David. And unlike his much more reasonable and genuinely confused coworker Rafael, Wolf is just trying to cover his tracks and possesses no redeeming qualities.
- Suspicious Spending: His house is rather luxurious even for a man of his position. After his death, Madani and Stein discover he had millions in offshore holdings.
- Villainous Valor: Puts up a strong resistance against the much younger and more skilled Frank, manages to resist torture, break free, and disarm Frank. When Frank reveals the gun is empty, Wolf's first reaction is to attempt to pistol whip Frank, before getting his neck broken.
Morty Bennett
Colonel Morty Bennett
Species: Human
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: Andrew Polk
Appearances: The Punisher
"Man, oh man, the week I have had. You have no idea what it's like living on a base with a bunch of cretins. A thousand men all looking for me to tell them what to do and when to do it. If I didn't tell them, they wouldn't know whether to shit or fall back in it."
The Colonel in charge of Fort Bryant, in on Rawlins, Russo, and Schoonover's criminal activities.
- Bald of Evil: A balding man in league with a Government Conspiracy.
- Bondage Is Bad: Bennett entertains every Saturday night at home like clockwork. When Frank finds Bennett, he's in the middle of being "punished" by a dominatrix. His preferences are subject to much mockery.Billy Russo: You know, without us, Frank Castle would have your balls wired to a car battery by now. You'd probably love that though, would ya?
- Canon Foreigner: The only leader of Operation Cerberus who is an original creation for the MCU.
- The Coroner: He ran the army mortuary in Afghanistan, and his job was stuff heroin into the corpses of recently killed in action soldiers.
- Desecrating the Dead: He, Rawlins and Schoonover smuggled heroin by stuffing it inside the bodies of KIAs.
- Dirty Coward: The reason Rawlins and Russo decide not to warn him that Frank is after him is because he has "the instincts of a rat and the courage of a rabbit." Judging from his reaction when Frank comes calling, it wasn't an inaccurate assessment. Of course, Bennett isn't too happy with Russo and Rawlins for keeping him in the dark.
- Gutted Like a Fish: Courtesy of Russo, who kills him by stabbing him in the stomach several times. As well as the dominatrix who had been used by Russo as a spy.
- Meaningful Name: He worked in the mortuary and his name "Mort" means "Death."
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Russo murders him on Rawlins's orders after Frank went after him and he's no longer useful as bait.
Others
The Blacksmith's operation
Gosnell
Gosnell
Species: Human
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: Nicholas Tucci
Appearances: Daredevil
"After a war, some men turn their backs on you, they want to forget, not Gosnell, no. Took the worst part of an IED on a recon, left half his face on a dirt road, spent the better part of a year in hospital. That kid never gave up, never gave in."
— Ray Schoonover
A former member of the United States Marine Corps who is now an enforcer for Colonel Schoonover, AKA the Blacksmith.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Karen sees his corpse being zipped up in a body bag after the Blacksmith's boat is blown up. Later, while interviewing Colonel Schoonover, she sees a wounded Gosnell posing with Schoonover in a photograph and realizes that Schoonover is the Blacksmith.
- The Dragon: He leads the team of men sent by the Blacksmith to kill Frank Castle.
- Expy: His status as the Schoonover's The Dragon, and his blond hair are heavily reminiscent of Richard von Burian, the (second) Sniper.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: From a marine fighting in Iraq to a drug dealer and criminal enforcer in his home country.
- Kill It with Fire: He's killed in an explosion after falling into Frank's trap.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: If he hadn't yelled "Been a long time, Frank!" and identified himself as a former fellow soldier, Castle probably wouldn't have been able to make a beeline to the Blacksmith.
- Semper Fi: He was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps in the same unit as Frank Castle.
- Sociopathic Soldier: He's a retired Marine with no qualms about murdering a former member of his unit.
- Two-Faced: A villain that got half of his faced badly burned in an explosion.
- Undying Loyalty: Despite his injuries, he remained loyal towards his former commanding officer, which leads him to become his enforcer in his criminal organization.
Chaney
Chaney
Species: Humans
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: Michael Kenneth Carey
Appearances: Daredevil
A hitman working for the Blacksmith.
- Defiant to the End: Chaney tries to defy Castle, but in the end he cracks and reveals the location of the drugs transport boat.
- Facial Horror: The beating Frank gives Chaney after shooting him is pretty graphic, with broken bones sticking out of his cheek.
- Those Two Guys: He's partnered with Speed while working for the Blacksmith.
Speed
Speed
Species: Humans
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: Adam John Hart
Appearances: Daredevil
A hitman working for the Blacksmith.
- Boom, Headshot!: Is killed by Frank with a shot to the head.
- Those Two Guys: He's partnered with Chaney while working for the Blacksmith.
Anvil
In General
Anvil
Appearances: The Punisher
A private military firm founded by Billy Russo. They provide military and security services.
- Equal-Opportunity Evil: Anvil employs several female mercs. Frank respects their equal-opportunity stance by mowing them down alongside their male compatriots without a moment's hesitation.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Anvil is probably meant to be based on Blackwater, given its sketchiness. At one point, when hiring operatives for the SWAT team ambush, Russo tells one operative who says he's had a hard time finding employment, "Listen, there's not much of anything I can do about a YouTube video of you guys opening up on a bunch of Iraqi civilians."
- Private Military Contractors: Is explicitly this. Russo uses it to help with his and Rawlins' illegal activities, including dispatching his troops to try and kill Frank on more than one occasion.
- Role-Ending Misdemeanor: In-universe, a squad of Anvil personnel were fired from Anvil and became fugitives wanted for murder after the appearance of YouTube footage of them shooting unarmed civilians in Iraq in the course of providing diplomatic security for the State Department surfaced.
- Small Role, Big Impact: The former mercenaries brought in by Russo to hunt the Punisher don't survive long, being killed in the ambush by Homeland Security, but it's the discovery of their connections to Anvil that lead to Dinah learning of Russo's betrayal.
- Sociopathic Soldier: A lot of members of Anvil have no problem with opening fire on Homeland Security agents on Russo's order, among other dirty work. A few are mentioned to have opened fire on civilians during duty and Russo likes recruiting veterans in support groups (although he won't take an obviously unstable person like Lewis). It's no wonder Ori is hesitant about hiring those guys as security during a speech about a shell-shocked veteran turned terrorist having access to guns.
Personnel
Jack
Jack
Species: Human
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: Renee Ifrah
Appearances: The Punisher
The leader of a team of Anvil mercenaries sent to kidnap Micro's family.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: His realization that he's walked his team into being ambushed by Frank when he's described how he found Micro's lair.
- Impersonating an Officer: He disguises himself as a police officer to abduct Sarah and Zach.
- Mook Lieutenant: He leads the team of Anvil mercenaries sent after Micro's family.
- Would Hurt a Child: He leads Zach's kidnapping and also sought to kidnap Leo.
Thomas Weems
Thomas Weems
Species: Human
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: Graham Wolfe
Appearances: The Punisher
A former Anvil mercenary, now fugitive, recruited to capture and eliminate Frank.
- Boom, Headshot!: Weems is wounded by Dinah and Sam trying to escape. Russo finishes him off by headshotting him with a pistol.
- He Knows Too Much: Russo executes him to keep him from being put into custody and interrogated and possibly selling Russo out.
Spencer Geiger
Spencer Geiger
Species: Human
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: Quincy Chad
Appearances: The Punisher
A former Anvil mercenary, now fugitive, recruited to capture and eliminate Frank.
- Scary Black Man: He's an African-American mercenary responsible for the deaths of civilians showing no signs of remorse over his actions.
- Token Black: He's the only black man among the team assembled by Russo for the SWAT team ambush, and the only one in Anvil besides Issac Lange.
Jim Pruitt
Jim Pruitt
Species: Human
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: Patrick Michael Walsh Jr
Appearances: The Punisher
A former Anvil mercenary, now fugitive, recruited to capture and eliminate Frank.
- Beard of Evil: An unrepentant murderer of civilians with a big bushy beard.
Mike Bashille
Mike Bashille
Species: Human
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: Kage Yami
Appearances: The Punisher
A former Anvil mercenary, now fugitive, recruited to capture and eliminate Frank.
- Token Minority: The only Asian on Russo's team.
Others
