Two Controversial Marvel Movies are Part of a Long-Running Mystery

Marvel Studios has been around a lot longer than the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with founders like Keven Feige having a hand in the universe since 2000’s X-Men. As a result, there has been a lot of growth and evolution that includes iconic hits like Iron Man and Spider-Man as well as colossal flops like X-Men Origins: Wolverine and 2003’s Daredevil. But with every high and low, there were solid attempts to try something new that went even beyond the movies and television that brought many beloved characters to a wider audience.

With the consistency of the MCU, many other branches of the universe have been established, from the more obvious Marvel Television and Marvel Animation to the niche Marvel Spotlight and clever Special Presentations like Werewolf by Night. But before all of that, two of Marvel Studios’ most controversial and ill-fated movies, Punisher: War Zone and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, tried to shepherd a new branch of the studio into the public eye with Marvel Knights. However, this studio imprint was quickly pushed to the wayside, leaving a cool concept as both a doomed outing and an enduring mystery of what it was and why it existed in the first place.

Marvel Knights Represented Marvel Comics’ Dark Side

Characters like The Punisher had beloved comic runs thanks to the Marvel Knights imprint. Even high-profile heroes like Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four had Marvel Knights runs. Marvel Knights has since evolved into a new imprint, Marvel Red Band, which has more violent and mature stories.

Introduced in the late ’90s by Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti, the Marvel Knights imprint was a chance to bring the struggling brand out from the dregs of bankruptcy. While the main goal proved to be a success, the real victory of the imprint was how many stories led to the resurrection and redefinition of some beloved characters like Daredevil, the Punisher, and even the Inhumans. Not tied to the larger ongoing stories and given a greater focus on artistic quality with names like David Mack and Steve Dillon lending their skills to the initiative, newer tales helped to solidify a new era of Marvel Comics.

In a post-9/11 America, media got grittier and angrier, rightfully so. The country was hurting, and as such, characters like Daredevil and the Punisher were the first to take the country’s pain and anger and aim it at those criminals who deserved it. This popularity grew so much, in fact, that both characters got theatrical movie releases in 2003 and 2004. Since then, the mark left by the Marvel Knights imprint has remained long after the brand was retired. Now, it’s hard not to think of Ghost Rider as a Hellblazer-esque character who took on the grittiest parts of Hell or Jessica Jones as a blunt, flawed and pained heroine doing her best to put aside her past to save a life. Ultimately, Marvel Knights brought the grittiness of Marvel to the forefront, and rather than treating it as a passing fad that worked with the times, Marvel instead carried it with them into modern retellings and stories in all forms of media. What resulted was beloved shows like Daredevil, which borrowed heavily from this era, as well as Spotlight miniseries like Echo that took a little-known character and made her so much more.

Marvel Knights in the Movies Was Ambitious But Heavily Flawed

Both Punisher: War Zone and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance ironically acted as solo stories that felt like sequels to what came before. Sadly, both movies were commercial and critical failures. Only the Punisher has returned in live action, while Johnny Blaze’s Ghost Rider only a cameo in Season 4 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Before reaching live-action, the Marvel Knights imprint first appeared in a couple of motion comics like Iron Man: Extremis and Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers. But its big debut came in 2008’s Punisher: War Zone. The Ray Stevenson starrer leaned heavily into the camp of the Marvel Knights and Max imprints of the character, where The Punisher was overtly violent and served as a stoic reflection of a colorful and outrageous criminal underworld. While the movie embraced its comic roots, it failed to connect with the audience as its campiness came at a time when serious superhero movies like The Dark Knight and even Iron Man were all the rage. That said, it has since been remembered as a fun and ambitious take on the character that was necessary for Jon Bernthal’s take to be as successful as it has. But for better or worse, it was a promising start to a branch of Marvel Studios that wasn’t afraid to get bloody in the name of justice.

It would be three years following War Zone that another Marvel Knights movie would hit the big screen, and it came in the form of Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, another pseudo-sequel that followed the 2007 movie starring Nicolas Cage that had the actor return to Johnny Blaze for a wild ride. The movie saw Blaze at his lowest as he was forced to care for a young boy who was hunted by the Devil and his followers, all the while trying to control the Ghost Rider, something he has had a harder time with as the years went on. Again, the premise was something that could’ve worked as a strange supernatural Terminator 2: Judgment Day story about a killer defending a child. Instead, what came was a story with a similar pace as the directors’ previous work, Crank. As a result of this, fans couldn’t relate this movie to the Ghost Rider film that came before, and since then, the rider hasn’t been seen on the big screen again.

The Marvel Knights branch of Marvel Studios was something ambitious and new, but the strangest part was that it was quickly swept under the rug. Now, few casual fans even remember these movies, and if they do, they may not even know it was technically a Marvel Knights film. With that in mind, it makes sense that a mystery surrounding said branch was so easily perpetrated.

Marvel Knights Has Lived on in Other Ways

Characters like Echo and Daredevil had thrived thanks to what Marvel Knights provided. The Marvel Knights branch’s brutality was shown best in the Netflix era of the MCU. Marvel Knights could still return in some capacity.

It’s very likely that two failed projects under the Marvel Knights branch led to the end of the unique banner being shown before a movie or show. Plus, as Marvel Studios began to establish its identity, introducing another branch would cause confusion in a world where Sony and Fox were still releasing their own content under the Marvel banner. What resulted was a promising idea that was sadly ended before it could begin. But the real mystery isn’t the why it ended but rather why no one has spoken about it since, even as a passing comment.

While that answer may not come any time soon, like the comic imprint, Marvel Knights can still be felt in the MCU. Firstly, it was clearly present in the Netflix era of the MCU with shows like Daredevil and Jessica Jones leading the charge in establishing gritty content to the beloved universe. However, when that era ended, it was shows like Moon Knight and Echo that kept the dream alive, while Daredevil: Born Again could mark a glorious return to form for the Marvel Knights-esque content that fans can’t get enough of. In fact, as Marvel Studios experiments again with branches of entertainment, it could be a chance to see an idea like Marvel Spotlight evolve into a Marvel Knights of sorts or the brand itself return for grittier content geared to a more mature audience. In the end, one thing that’s for sure is while two failed movies may have continued the mystery of the Marvel Knights brand, they also set up a bright future that could see the title return in a big way.