History Characters / MCUThePunisher

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!!''Lt. Frank Castle, US Marine Corps / Franchise/ThePunisher''

!!''Lt. Frank Castle, US Marine Corps / ComicBook/ThePunisher''

* BatterUp: He went to Clint's store and bought some supplies from him. As Castle attempted to leave Clint offered Castle some child pornography. This [[{{Understatement}} irritated]] Castle and he picked up a baseball bat which he then used to beat Clint to death with.

[[folder:# - K]]

[[folder:L - Z]]

* NotSoDifferent:

* RaisedCatholic: Frank was at one point Catholic. [[NotSoDifferent Another thing he has in common with Matt.]]

* SadisticChoice: As a MythologyGag to [[ComicBook/WelcomeBackFrank the comic the scene was based off of]], The Punisher is out to snipe Grotto. Daredevil attempts to stop him, insisting that Grotto deserves a second chance at rebuilding his life. Castle manages to incapacitate Matt and bind him up with a gun with one bullet in his hands pointed at Castle's own head. Frank then has Grotto at gun point after Grotto admits to Murdock all the people he killed (including an elderly lady) and Castle is set to kill Grotto. Supposedly, the only way Daredevil could stop The Punisher's vigilante justice would be to violate his own ideals by fatally shooting Frank himself or let Grotto die. Matt [[spoiler:chooses to pull the trigger, at his own chain, freeing him. But it's too late as Castle had already shot Grotto in the stomach]].

* ColdSniper: A ruthless vigilante who during his time in the Marines was a scout sniper.

* DiscOneFinalBoss: He was hyped as the main antagonist of ''Daredvil'''s second season, but serves as the main antagonist just for the first four episodes. Afterward, [[spoiler:the Blacksmith and the Hand]] take over and Frank becomes a more neutral character for ''Daredevil'', then the lead protagonist for his own show.

* TheDreaded: The Punisher quickly establishes himself among criminals as something even more terrifying than Daredevil. The latter might break a few bones and smash up your operations but the former ''will'' send you to your grave without a second thought. This also makes him this to the police and District Attorney, since he can start gang wars by himself. In ''Series/LukeCage2016'' one of Blake Tower's arguments against arming ESU cops with [[DepletedPhlebotinumShells the Judas bullets]] is that a guy like Frank Castle might get his hands on it.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:At the end of the first season of ''The Punisher'', Frank's managed to kill everyone who had anything to do with his family's death and appears to be making his first real steps at growing into a relatively healthier individual by attending PTSD therapy sessions. Plus, he's officially legally dead as far as the law is concerned, so he's now completely free to start a new life as Pete Castiglione.]]

* EnemyMine: He has no love for Wilson Fisk, but he takes the man's offer simply to find out information about who was behind his family's death. [[spoiler:Once that's done, Fisk tries to have him killed, which naturally doesn't pan out.]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In "[[Recap/Daredevil2015S2E2DogsToAGunfight Dogs to a Gunfight]]", Frank walks into a pawn shop and buys illegal police-tracking equipment and a shotgun, paying full-price without engaging in any small-talk. He tries ignoring the pawn-shop broker when he tries selling him more illegal stuff, only to stop and flip the shop's sign to "closed" when he mentions having child-porn, where he then finishes his coffee, takes a baseball bat and beats him to death with it. This shows that while Frank is more than willing to engage in illegal activities and does not have any reservations in killing, [[PayEvilUntoEvil he reserves his wrath for real scumbags]], ''especially'' people who WouldHurtAChild.

** When Finn, whose son he killed, has him captured and is preparing to torture him for...his money Castle stole. Even though Frank made it his mission to slaughter people like this, he's still rather incredulous about this kind of attitude.

* EtTuBrute: When Micro brings up the possibility of [[spoiler:Billy Russo]] being involved in some way with the death of Frank's family, Frank calmly refutes his theories while insistently declaring that [[spoiler:Russo]] is family to him. [[spoiler:Sure enough, when Frank discovers that yes, Russo indeed had a major hand in the death of his family, it hits hard.]]

* GoodOldFisticuffs: Frank is a trained military man, but his fights with Matt show the differences in their styles. While Matt is flipping around and pulling off acrobatic martial arts, Frank prefers to throw hard punches and slams, using the bare minimum of movements to conserve energy but inflict an effective amount of damage on his opponent.
* GreyAndGrayMorality: With Matt being ALighterShadeOfGrey. While both are obviously incredibly flawed individuals, his approach is clearly presented as the morally more dubious one, though he's certainly not without his supporters.

* TheHeavy: A major antagonist at the beginning of the second season of ''Series/{{Daredevil}}'', with a large amount of focus on stopping his rampage. Even after he's quickly defeated, the secondary plotline while Matt deals with the Hand concerns uncovering the perpetrators behind his family's massacre, with the sheer violence Frank commits essentially making him the [[VillainProtagonist Villain]] {{Deuteragonist}} of the season.

* HollywoodHealing: Sometimes. Frank is often left with ''horrific' bruises and cuts to his face after a fight, yet will normally be perfectly fine by the next episode.
* HopeIsScary: He comes to this realization at the end of Season 1 [[spoiler:after completing his revenge on Rawlins and Russo. As he shared with Curtis's veteran support group, he's scared that he has to find a reason to live other than having a [[BloodKnight war to fight]] or obtaining [[CrusadingWidower vengeance for his family]].]]
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: For all it's worth, when it comes to friends or his family, Frank sometimes can be very gullible. He has such utmost trust in Billy Russo that he never realizes until it's too late that Russo is in league with Rawlins, and he is easily tricked into being used by Fisk to get rid of Dutton.
* HorrifyingHero: Being saved by the Punisher isn't the most relieving experience unless he personally know you. He just kills every bad guy around in a very violent and frequently-gruesome way and then says you can leave.

--> '''Frank''' (to Karen): Just get away from this thing. Get away from me. ....just stay away from me.

--> '''Frank''' (to Matt): When are you gonna learn!? Mind your own [[PunctuatedPounding god! damn! business]]!

--> '''Frank''' (to Donny): Look, Donny, thanks for the sandwich. You know, I... appreciate that. But I'm not looking for a pal, yeah? ... And whatever it is you're looking for... I'm not it.
* ImplacableMan: Once Frank gets moving, there isn't much that could keep him down. Gunshot wounds, severe beatings, out-manned and outgunned. He'll stop at nothing until whatever he wants to kill is dead.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Not to Matt's super-powered level, but put a rifle in the man's hand and if he wants to hit something, he will, as any Scout Sniper should. He also pulled off what was possibly the first ever warning headshot in fiction. Goes even further in his series, where he lands a perfect headshot on a target '''two miles away'''.
* InPrisonWithTheRogues: In ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'', Season 2 had Frank Castle being apprehended and put into the same prison as Wilson Fisk, who had managed to take over the compound and was running it as his own personal kingdom. There Frank is tricked into a trap where Fisk unleashes a whole block of angry inmates on Frank. However [[BadassNormal Frank]] [[OneManArmy manages to kill every single one of them]] with nothing but his bare hands and a few weapons he managed to snatch off the criminals.
* IneffectualLoner: He has no interest in making friends as seen when he was working as a construction worker where he worked tirelessly without breaks for six months with almost no human contact towards his co-workers with the exception of occasionally meeting with Curtis Hoyle. Despite this, he has shown the capability to grow emotionally attached to people in his life regardless of his hardened exterior as seen with David Lieberman and Amy Bendix. Although he first acted cold and distant towards her, he eventually warmed up to and became protective of Bendix. He expressed a very genuine concern for her well being and threatened to kill a hitman if he was to harm Amy in any way. Later, when Bendix was about to leave to return to a normal life, he said he would miss her and even hugged her, a sign of affection that he rarely showed to others.

* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: [[spoiler: What ultimately becomes of Frank and Karen's shared feelings for each other. Karen wants Frank to find an 'end' to his war and Frank could never allow Karen to get hurt.]]
* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: He enrolled in his SERE course, and is thus well-versed in interrogation tactics, such as employing intimidation techniques to extract information from suspects. He was able to successfully perform a reverse interrogation on Carson Wolf which allowed him to learn the truth about his family's murder. He was also able to extract information from Jake Nelson a fellow war veteran who took the SERE course through torture.

** While he's brutal and at times rude, Frank isn't wrong about how his trauma and [[WarIsHell experiences]] differ from [[TheCowl Matt's]]. Matt has a SecretIdentity and can hide behind a mask to deflect criticism and blame onto his other self in theory, while for soldiers like Frank was, it ''is'' him, not a false face identity, that is hurting people, forcing him to live with his actions every day.

* KnifeNut: He often prefers to incorporate knife slashes into his combat style, making him all the more lethal. He has also showcased skills in knife-throwing, such as when Anvil operators ambushed Micro's Hideout.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler: In order to truly break Frank in season 2, Russo deceives Frank into believing he accidentally shot and killed innocent women behind a wall when he thought he was getting Russo. Frank breaks down almost immediately and doesn't even bother fighting back when the cops arrive to arrest him.]]

* NeverHurtAnInnocent: With very few, select exemptions, and the damage is never permanent. Frank punches and quickly disarms a cop after having a gun pulled on him, and is more than happy to beat the hell out of Matt. Normally he'll avoid so much as scratching an innocent person but if they try and stop him they'll be eating floor. He once threatens to kill an old man if Matt alerts him to what's going on, but admits quickly afterwards that he was bluffing.
* NiceToTheWaiter: Played with; in an early episode of Season 2 he has to buy equipment from a crooked pawn shop owner, and even though he had no intention of killing him ([[BerserkButton before the idiot offered him child porn]]), he was extremely taciturn and abrupt. Of course, that guy was pretty rude from the getgo and [[ObviouslyEvil clearly a slimy individual]]. In contrast, when in a diner in a later episode, he is courteous and amiable to the waitress. When dealing with honest people, Frank will either be polite or leave them alone altogether, unless they get in his way while pursuing a target. He will tolerate shady characters to a point, but that point is one of no return.
** This continues in the standalone series, with Frank maintaining a reserved-but-polite attitude towards waitresses and food-service staff.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Frank's most brutal moments are the times where he beats his opponents to death. Especially with his pragmatic nature where he uses his environment to ruthlessly kill in a murderous rage.
* NotMeThisTime: [[spoiler:The murders that happen between when he escapes prison and when he fakes his death on the boat, are in fact the work of Schoonover and Rawlins's assassins.]]

** Over the course of ''Daredevil'' and his own series, Frank is attributed with single-handedly killing ''at least'' two hundred people. [[note]] For comparison, WordOfGod says 74 people were killed in [[Film/TheAvengers2012 the Incident]]. Frank Castle is deadlier than an ''entire alien army''.[[/note]] The police already have enough evidence to charge him with murdering 37 criminals halfway through the season. We see Frank single-handedly taking out 32 Taliban fighters all by himself to save the rest of his unit after Rawlins leads them into an ambush on bad intel. Brett Mahoney even confuses Frank's actions for the work of an entire ''gang'', with "knowledge and hardware to take out half the city."
--->'''Matt Murdock:''' Tell me. Tell me who they are.\\

* PayEvilUntoEvil: For many crimes, Frank is not an advocate of the rehabilitative effects of prison. He prefers the morgue. If there are remains enough to send there.

** Aside from him being genuinely nice when interacting with Karen, Frank seems to have retained strong sympathy and respect for other war veterans. When meeting with a Vietnam veteran on the roof, he displays genuine camaraderie toward the old man, and he refuses to use a PTSD defense during his trial because he feels it would be insulting to people actually suffering it. And then there is of course his literal dog-petting as he genuinely cares for the dog he saved from the Irish mob.

* RatedMForManly: The man is a formidably armed ex-marine with excepcional knowledge in combat. He's also MadeOfIron '''and''' OneManArmy. Not to mention that during his fights, things end up very similar to what a violent scene by Creator/QuentinTarantino would do. To call him a badass would be an understatement.

* RedemptionRejection: [[spoiler:Kills Billy by the finale of season 2, just as Billy attempts to apologize for "whatever he did" to Frank's family. The fact that Frank shoots Bill in the chest literally ''just'' as Billy tries to say the word "sorry," implies that Frank deliberately killed him before the guy could properly make out the rest of his apology]].

* ShellShockedVeteran: [[DefiedTrope Defied]] by the man himself, and in detail. While Frank is clearly suffering severe mental trauma, Frank says that he "never had a problem" with killing, in combat or otherwise. When Karen tries to suggest using PTSD as a defense, he promptly clarifies for her that whatever happened to him psychologically, his tours in the Middle East had nothing to do with it; he knows men that ''did'' crack, has nothing but sympathy for them, and refuses to cheapen their sacrifices by claiming PTSD when it is explicitly not true. Instead, it's entirely the death of his family after he returned from war that drives him now, [[spoiler:to the point that despite knowing members of his unit committed war crimes, he never thinks of targeting them till ''after'' it comes to light they were involved in killing his family and trying to kill him]].

** Subverted to a degree later as his series shows his tours did affect him, Frank is mostly in denial that [[spoiler: his participation in CIA's torture project broke him emotionally, although that [[ExactWords wasn't technically on the battlefield]]]], and the loss of his wife and children made the existing damage much, much worse. Frank's recurring nightmares indicate just how much he blames himself for their deaths.
* ShipTease: The chemistry he has with Karen is ''insane'', but really it [[TheNotLoveInterest doesn't go anywhere]], neither in ''Daredevil'' or his own series. This is mainly while it's obvious that both of them care for each other, he also knows that her heart belongs to Matt, while he considers himself still married to Maria even long after her death.

* SingleTargetSexuality: Despite his attachments with Karen Page and Sarah Lieberman, Frank has made is clear that Maria is the only person he ever wanted to be with, in life and in death. However, in Season 2 he goes into a brief fling with a woman named Beth.
* SirSwearsALot: To the point that the trial judge has to tell him to watch his language [[spoiler:when he testifies in his own case.]] He also drops the only PrecisionFStrike in the second season of ''Daredevil'', which was also the first example in the MCU where it is clearly audible[[note]]not [[SoundEffectBleep bleeped out]] or [[CurseCutShort cut off]][[/note]].

* StrongAndSkilled: In terms of human qualities he is this as he is a trained Marine and is very strong. He can usually over power and slam grown men like ragdolls and is very pragmatic/brutal with his skill. This makes Frank an incredibly great fighter as he is shown to take out multiple opponents and quite literally is a OneManArmy.

* ThatManIsDead: [[spoiler:Tells Karen that he's 'already dead' before he kills The Blacksmith. And at the end of season two, he burns down his family home, destroying every last piece of his old life and embracing his Punisher persona completely. That is, until he takes out the last of the Irish, at which point he retires and tries to rebuild his life while staying solely in touch with Curtis Hoyle. It doesn’t work in any sense, as he still loves and misses his family and is tormented by nearly-nightly nightmares about their deaths.]]

* TisOnlyABulletInTheBrain: Got shot in the head at point blank range and survived. Downplayed, because the injury put him in a coma and when he was taken off life support he died. While he was able to come back from it after a minute, Dr. Lee confirms that the bullet caused brain damage that keeps him in a permanent state of emotional volatility.

* TranquilFury: This seems to be Frank's ''default state of mind'', after the damage done to his brain from a point-blank gunshot. Upon learning that the clerk he's buying weapons from is selling child pornography, his response is to calmly turn the "open" sign to "closed", grab a baseball bat, and beat the man to death.

** This characteristic gets de-emphasized between Frank's guest stint on ''Daredevil'' and season 1 of his own show, and then down another notch in season 2, suggesting that it may be related to his trauma.

* WeUsedToBeFriends: He and Billy Russo, by way of AdaptationOriginConnection, were best friends when they both served as marines in Afghanistan, to the point where Frank regarded Russo as part of his family. And then Russo became an active player in Operation Cerberus and allied with the people who had Frank's family killed.

* WouldntHurtAChild: He ''really'' doesn't like kids getting hurt. [[spoiler:The Pawnshop owner should've watched his words when [[TooDumbToLive he admitted having child pornography in Frank's earshot]].]] Makes a lot of sense since he [[PapaWolf was a father himself at one point before he]] [[OutlivingOnesOffspring lost his son and daughter.]]
* WrestlerInAllOfUs: In his first two fights with Daredevil and in the prison fight later in the same series, we see him employ several take-downs such as chokeslams and suplexes. In his own series, he uses a bodyslam on Billy Russo and spears Carson Wolf, then hip-throws him onto a table.

* ChestInsignia: He eventually sprays his iconic white skull onto some bulletproof chest armor in the last episode of ''Daredevil'' Season 2. He drops the vest in the first episode of his own series after killing the last members of the Dogs of Hell, the Kitchen Irish, and the Mexican Cartel, but wears it once again after he embraces the Punisher persona at the end of Season 2.

* CameBackWrong: Taking a bullet to the head and being taken off life support for a minute before miraculously reviving has left Frank with permanent brain damage. ''Daredevil'' Season 2 says he's now in an ongoing state of extreme emotional disturbance as a result, constantly feeling as if his wife and children have just been killed in front of his eyes, even years after the event.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:At the end of the first season of his own series, Frank's managed to kill everyone who had anything to do with his family's death and appears to be making his first real steps at growing into a relatively healthier individual by attending PTSD therapy sessions. Plus, he's officially legally dead as far as the law is concerned, so he's now completely free to start a new life as Pete Castiglione.]]

** Also do not call him [[YoureInsane insane]]. [[spoiler:The first time he visibly loses his cool in the series is when Matt calls him "a nutjob" which leads to Frank punching him in the face, knocking him out.]] This makes defending Frank in his trial difficult for Foggy and Matt. He refused insanity and PTSD as a defense. In the latter case, Frank obviously has a much better understanding of what Post-Traumatic Stress really is than the average Hollywood character (or writer), and he makes it clear that it'd be an insult to people who genuinely suffer from it.

* CameBackWrong: Taking a bullet to the head and being taken off life support for a minute before miraculously reviving has left Frank with permanent brain damage. ''Daredevil'' season 2 says he's now in an ongoing state of extreme emotional disturbance as a result, constantly feeling as if his wife and children have just been killed in front of his eyes, even years after the event.

** Also, "You're Goddamn right." Usually said after someone questions one of his [[ShootEverythingThatMoves straight-forward, violence-laden]] plans.

* ChickMagnet: He was in a happy marriage with Maria. Sarah Lieberman gave him a kiss. And during season two of his own series, he had a brief fling with a waitress. Then, there's his heavy ShipTease with Karen Page.

* DefiantToTheEnd: When bound hand and foot and facing ColdBloodedTorture at the hands of the Irish mob, he taunts and insults them, and tells them to bring it on. At one point he pretends he's going to tell Finn what he wants to know, and talks softly so Finn will get close enough for a headbutt. This prompts Finn to get out the [[AgonyOfTheFeet drill]], and Frank still doesn't stop talking smack.

* DiscOneFinalBoss: He was hyped as the main antagonist of the season, but serves as the main antagonist just for the first four episodes. Afterward, [[spoiler:the Blacksmith and the Hand]] take over and Frank becomes a more neutral character for ''Daredevil'', then lead protagonist for his own show.

* TheBerserker: When out of plans, he relies on his instinct and just charges in screaming, best shown during his tour in Kandahar where he starts screaming to psyche himself up before clearing out the ambush by using whatever is at hand. Also, like the Berserkers of old, he becomes almost impervious to pain when he gets fully pumped up and it takes ''a lot'' of opponents throwing everything they have at him to even slow him down.

* ChestInsignia: He eventually sprays his iconic white skull onto some bulletproof chest armor in the last episode of ''Daredevil'' season 2. He drops the vest in the first episode of his own series after killing the last members of the Dogs of Hell, the Kitchen Irish, and the Mexican Cartel, but wears it once again after he embraces the Punisher persona at tne end of season 2.

* BatterUp: He went to Clint's store and bought some supplies from him. As Castle attempted to leave Clint offered Castle some child pornography. This disgusted Castle and he picked up a baseball bat which he then used to beat Clint to death with.

* BreakoutCharacter: The praise for Bernthal's portrayal in season 2 of ''Daredevil'' led to Frank getting his own show.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: In Season 2 of his own show, Frank has mellowed out somewhat, and is perfectly capable of interacting with others at a bar in a friendly manner. It's a far-cry from how we first saw him, and he's laughing and joking around just like anyone else. However, once a group of thugs show up, he rips through them like paper.

* BigDamnHeroes: In the finale, when Matt finds himself both outmatched by Nobu and outnumbered by his goons, Frank arrives on the scene with a sniper rifle and starts picking them off.

* BadassLongcoat: Downplayed as he normally wears jackets, but eventually dons his signature black trenchcoat in the ''Daredevil'' season 2 finale.

* AntiHero: Of the UnscrupulousHero kind, with the entire run on Daredevil Season 2 juggling if he's this or a NominalHero. He targets criminals, but unlike Matt seeks to kill them. He also has one hell of a temper, and is not afraid to unleash it (non-lethally) on people who get in his way. He also isn't shy about using dark methods to make a point.

* ArcVillain: The first four episodes of ''Daredevil'' season 2 are dedicated to getting him off the streets.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Matt and Foggy insist upon using the PTSD defense in his case, but Frank adamantly refuses to be classed as such as he believes it to be offensive to actual sufferers of the condition since his trauma did not come from actual combat. Part of it is Frank's denial of [[spoiler:the war crimes he took part in]] and another part is Frank not understanding that combat is not the only thing that could lead to PTSD.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Matt and Foggy insist upon using the PTSD defense in his case, but Frank adamantly refuses to be classed as such as he believes it to be offensive to actual sufferers of the condition since his trauma did not come from actual combat. Part of it is Frank's denial that [[spoiler:the war crimes he took part in]] and Frank not understanding that combat is not the only thing that could lead to PTSD.

!!!'''Voiced By:''' Andrés Skoknic (Latin-America Chilean Spanish dub); Mark Ullod (European Spanish dub), Takayuki Sakazume (Japanese dub)

* AMFMCharacterization: He's a fan of Music/EarthWindAndFire, Music/BruceSpringsteen, Music/WuTangClan and Music/ShooterJennings.

* YouKeepUsingThatWord: Inverted, with regards to his refusal to identify his mental issues with PTSD. He repeatedly insists that whatever trauma he suffered has nothing to do with his time at war, and thus refuses the PTSD defense. This might give the impression that he thinks that PTSD ''only'' comes from combat, however this is mostly in response to Matt and Foggy trying to use a "traumatized vet" narrative in his legal defense. Frank rightly regards this as low-hanging fruit and considers it insulting to veterans with actual combat-related Post-Traumatic Stress. He knows that the condition can arise from non-combat-related trauma, he knows that witnessing the murder of his wife and children messed him up psychologically (causing Extreme Emotional Disturbance, which is ''not'' the same thing), and he knows that the things he was involved with on his last tour do weigh on his conscience, but he won't put convenient labels on it.

* AMFMCharacterization: He's a fan of Music/EarthAndWindAndFire, Music/BruceSpringsteen, Music/WuTangClan and Music/ShooterJennings.