• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Comic Book Herald

A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans

  • Reading Orders
    • Marvel
    • My Marvelous Year
    • DC Comics
    • All Comic Book Publishers
    • Most Recent
  • Beginner Guides
    • Beginner’s Guide To Comics In 2023
    • Marvel 2023: Where to Start?
    • DC 2023: Where to Start?
    • Best of Lists
    • Tablets for Comics
    • Guides for Digital Readers
  • Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
    • DC Comics
    • Comic Book Movies
    • Comic Book TV
    • Video Games
  • Podcasts & Video
    • My Marvelous Year
    • Best Comics Ever (CBH)
    • CBH on Youtube!
  • About Me
    • My Favorite Comics of All Time
    • Columns
    • CBH Email Newsletter
  • Support Comic Book Herald
    • Ways to support
You are here: Home / Reviews / Comic Book TV / Marvel Netflix Punisher Review!

Marvel Netflix Punisher Review!

March 3, 2018 by Dave 2 Comments

In some very unexpected ways, I’ve found myself appreciating Punisher more and more after seeing and thinking about Black Panther.

While the entries in the MCU are very different, I repeatedly found myself extending praise toward Black Panther for approaches the Punisher mirrors. Most notably, Black Panther is the rare Marvel Cinematic Universe film that can combine sheer fantasy entertainment with very real debate around relatable, complex human issues.

Punisher on Netflix TV

Related: Punisher reading order

As I stated in my Black Panther review, “Black Panther is quite good at raising hard questions, playing out the conversation on screen without pretending to have simple solutions. The debate about Wakanda’s responsibility to defend people of color around the globe between Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) and T’Challa (Chadwick Bosemon) is poised to embrace discussion well after the final credits tease what’s up next.”

The Punisher is astonishingly comparable in this regard. To its credit, Punisher is not the glorified celebration of violence many expected. There’s violence and blood of course – this is *still* the Punisher – but there’s substantially more time spent reflecting on the impact war has on soldiers returning to an unfamiliar home that doesn’t quite know what to do with their heroes.

Support For Comic Book Herald:

Comic Book Herald is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a qualifying affiliate commission.

Comic Book Herald’s reading orders and guides are also made possible by reader support on Patreon, and generous reader donations.

Any size contribution will help keep CBH alive and full of new comics guides and content. Support CBH on Patreon for exclusive rewards, or Donate here! Thank you for reading!

Likewise, the thirteen episode series tackles issues fearlessly and pointedly. Whereas I felt Daredevil season two ran from the issue of gun violence, Punisher literally sits us down for mock debate class on the issue between Karen Page and a Senator. Your political affiliation may well color the “fairness” of the dialogue, but for my money the show runs surprisingly down the middle, vilifying a Democratic senator while simultaneously making a strong case for greater protections.

These are not easy conversations to work into entertainment, especially given the harrowing reality of gun violence in America. There mere mention of the topic in today’s political and social climate elicits visceral reactions from the vast majority of the populace, and for good reason. Punisher isn’t a one-sided “answer” to the debate – this isn’t the story of Frank Castle taking a vow to destroy all his arms (amputated as it would make him) – but acknowledging the problem and allowing space for debate is effective.

Karen and Frank talk in the Punisher

Wisely, Punisher points its sights more deliberately on the issue of veteran’s rights and mental health issues. In many ways this is the overlooked truth of the Punisher’s story, and a murkier problem at the heart of America since at least Vietnam.

Likewise, Jon Berenthal’s Punisher is significantly more vulnerable than I’ve ever imagined the character. I found this initially unappealing – the Punisher would *never* be brought to tears by a betrayal! – but it’s actually progress to make Frank Castle less of a walking vigilante-fantasy. Sure, Frank is acerbic, callous, and as tunnel-visioned as ever, but he’s also still suffering from devastating loss and not without empathy.

To a degree, I bristle at the decision to “Year One” the Netflix Punisher series given the character’s introduction in Daredevil S2. Nonetheless, for a “Year One,” Punisher does an admirable job of crafting and building an engaging world of spies, surveillance, and corruption. It’s a well-made television series, with complex points of view, and I’m genuinely curious to see where Marvel and Netflix take the series next.

Where Does Punisher Rank in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Marvel Netflix Punisher show




Tier 1: The Best

1) Avengers
2) Alias aka Jessica Jones
3) Guardians of the Galaxy
4) Captain America 3: Civil War
5) Thor: Ragnarok
6) Black Panther

Tier 2: Great

7) Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier
8) Spider-Man: Homecoming
9) Daredevil (Seasons 1 & 2)
10) Iron Man

Tier 3: Good

11) Captain America: The First Avenger
12) The Punisher
13) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
14) Iron Man 3
15) Avengers 2: Age of Ultron
16) Ant-Man
17) Doctor Strange

Tier 4: Mixed Feelings

18) Runaways
19) Luke Cage
20) Thor 2: The Dark World
21) Defenders

Tier 5: I’ll Watch With a Comic In Hand

22) Thor
23) Agents of SHIELD
24) Agent Carter (Season One, pretending Season Two didn’t happen)
25) Incredible Hulk

Tier 6: Nope

26) Iron Man 2
27) Teenagers talking loudly in a crowded theater
28) Iron Fist

Filed Under: Comic Book TV, Featured Tagged With: Punisher

Heroically Support Comic Book Herald!

If you like Comic Book Herald, and are able to donate, any small contribution will help keep CBH alive and full of new comics guides and content. Donate here! Or, support CBH on Patreon for exclusive rewards! Thank you for reading!

Become a Patron!

About Dave

Dave is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Comic Book Herald, and also the Boss of assigning himself fancy titles. He's a long-time comic book fan, and can be seen most evenings in Batman pajama pants. Contact Dave @comicbookherald on Twitter or via email at dave@comicbookherald.com.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kyle says

    March 17, 2018 at 12:55 pm

    When doing a “ripped from the headlines” thing, I’m normally annoyed. But I loved both punisher and black panther. Here’s the thing that always gets said regarding vertical integration of sociological issues: awareness. So, totally, in black panther there is no real misunderstanding in the awareness and that’s awesome. The issues are right there, and maybe you saw the film with other motivations but you understand by the end the point.

    With punisher there is a huge difference. Regarding gun violence I know that there are a lot of people (teens for sure) who watch something like this and, while they do understand hopefully what the veiws are intending, psychologically it can get pretty muddied up by the last few over the top violent scenes. I get what the people who make these films intend, but they also slip in this “grand theft auto style marketing pull” that negates their intentions. I feel like black panther didn’t really do that. It wasn’t harmful or almost hypocritical the way punisher was. Although I actually liked punisher more, and I like the violence, I’m just pointing out what I feel should be obvious.

    Reply
  2. Joe Harman says

    March 4, 2018 at 9:04 am

    I thought this was the best marvel show so far. I’m kinda surprised how high you have Jessica Jones. It had its moments but over 13 episodes it kinda dragged (a common problem with the Marvel shows).

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

The Comic Book Herald Podcast!

Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsRSS
My Marvelous Year Podcast and Reading Club 1

Recent Posts

  • Fall of X Teasers & Al Ewing’s Sins of Sinister | Comic Book Herald Live! March 24, 2023
  • “Sins of Sinister” Part 6: Immoral X-Men #2—in Review! March 23, 2023
  • DESTINY OF X | The Krakoan Empire Divided March 22, 2023
  • “Secret Identity” with Alex Segura | CBH Interviews #107 March 21, 2023
  • 2002 Pt. 3: Daredevil & Elektra March 20, 2023
  • Immoral X-Men #2 and Wolverine vs. Dark Beast! | Comic Book Herald Live! March 17, 2023
  • X-Men: The Animated Series Season 2 Rewatch! March 16, 2023
  • “Sins of Sinister” Part 5: Nightcrawlers #2—in Review! March 15, 2023
  • My Marvelous Interview: Paul Jenkins on Wolverine Origin, Inhumans, Spectacular Spider-Man, & More! March 13, 2023
  • The Dark Knight Trilogy 15 Years Later: Film & Comic Influences! March 11, 2023
  • Sins of Sinister: Nightcrawlers, X-Men #20, New Mutants: Lethal Legion #1 | Comic Book Herald Live! March 10, 2023
  • 2002 Variant A: Ant-Man & Wasp Quantumania TAKEDOWN! March 6, 2023
  • Steve Orlando’s Marauders #1-5—Annotated! March 4, 2023
  • “Sins of Sinister” Part 4: Immoral X-Men #1 in Review! March 3, 2023
  • “Sins of Sinister” Part 3: Nightcrawlers #1—in Review! March 1, 2023

Popular Articles

DC Rebirth Guide

Batman Reading Order

DC New 52 Reading Order

Marvel Ultimate Universe Guide

Civil War Reading Order

Marvel Cosmic Reading Order

The Best Comics of All Time!

Deadpool Reading Order

Justice League Reading Order

Complete Thanos Reading Order

X-Men Reading Guide (Modern Era)

Age of Apocalypse Reading Order

Modern Marvel Universe in 25 Trades

Best Tablet For Digital Comics

Is Marvel Unlimited Worth It?

Footer

New to Comic Book Herald?

Hey there - my name's Dave and this is my comic book blog. It's my way of sharing my borderline obsessive addiction to the comic book medium, and I hope you like some of what's going on here.

Most people that come here are looking for my (WIP) Marvel reading order guide. You can probably also get a sense if CBH is for you by taking a look at some of my columns.

If you like what you see, let's connect on Facebook or Twitter. Or, leave a comment on the blog here, I'm always looking for new awesome people in the comic book community.

More on Comic Book Herald

  • Home
  • About
  • Support CBH
  • My Marvelous Year
  • Join!
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service

Recent Posts

  • Fall of X Teasers & Al Ewing’s Sins of Sinister | Comic Book Herald Live!
  • “Sins of Sinister” Part 6: Immoral X-Men #2—in Review!
  • DESTINY OF X | The Krakoan Empire Divided
  • “Secret Identity” with Alex Segura | CBH Interviews #107
  • 2002 Pt. 3: Daredevil & Elektra

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in