Frank Castle wages a lonely war on crime as The Punisher. One might think he would welcome the help of some like-minded soldiers. However, the finale of Daredevil: Born Again found Frank rejecting an army of police officers that had adopted his symbol as their own.
One ongoing subplot of Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 involved a gang within the New York Police Department. Composed of “every bad apple in the barrel,” many members of this gang were recruited into the Wilson Fisk‘s anti-vigilante task force. One of them was also responsible for murdering the superhero White Tiger. All of them had tattoos of the Punisher symbol and later painted the skull emblem on their tactical armor.
Photo Credit: Marvel Studios
“Straight to Hell” found Frank Castle once again suiting up as The Punisher. He went after the Anti-Vigilante Task Force and was surprised to be taken alive. Confusion turned to disgust when the officers expressed their admiration for what Frank had done and said they wanted to “serve with him.” Frank dismissed them as “a circus” and “a bunch of clowns.” This confused some viewers, who thought that Frank might welcome an army to assist in his war on crime.
The Punisher’s rejection of a gang of crooked cops makes sense given the character’s history in the comics. Frank Castle has an explicitly simple, black-and-white view of morality. There is good and there is evil. Accordingly, evil must be punished. That includes everyone who would bend the law to their own purposes, regardless of whether or not they serve “law and order.” Indeed, depending on the writer, the Punisher seems to harbor more contempt for corrupt authority figures than he does petty criminals.
A prime example of this may be found in 2019’s The Punisher Vol. 12 #13 by Matthew Rosenberg and Szymon Kudranski. Frank encounters two police officers who talk about admiring him and show him the sticker with his emblem on their squad car. Frank pulls the logo off and tells the officers, in no uncertain terms, that he will go after them if he hears about them following in his footsteps.
(Image Source: Marvel Comics / Szymon Kudranski)
Despite being an unrepentant killer, the Punisher has consistently shown respect for honest police officers and soldiers. While the system may have failed him, Frank Castle still respects those who honor an ideal, even if it is one he no longer believes in. This is why he routinely surrenders to police he knows to be clean. It is also why he works with heroes like Daredevil, who he knows to be a good person even if they disagree on the acceptability of lethal force.
(Image Source: Marvel Comics / Mike Zeck)
Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 is now available in its entirety on Disney+