10 Comic Book Movies You Didn't Know Were Linked

8. The Punisher Totally Saved Nick Fury In Captain America: The Winter Soldier

One of the more amusing discussions which followed the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier was the identity of the person driving the yellow Penske truck which creams a fleet of crooked cops chasing down Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) early in the film.

It was just a matter of time before someone asked the Russo brothers themselves, and Joe Russo gamely offered up his own opinion. He said, "The man who drives that truck is very highly trained. He thinks on his own terms. He’s got a plan and a very specific skill set."

Though the comment was said with a certain degree of jest, it nevertheless left fans assuming, quite understandably, that the driver was none other than Frank "The Punisher" Castle.

Obviously at this point in time Netflix's Punisher series hadn't yet been given the green light, so we were left to defer to either Thomas Jane's Frank Castle from the 2004 movie, or - gulp - Ray Stevenson's version from 2008's ultra-violent Punisher: War Zone.

Given that Stevenson was already playing Volstagg in the Thor movies by this point in time, the choice was pretty clear - it was Thomas Jane's Punisher, who following the success of 2012's "Dirty Laundry" short film actually had a somewhat believable chance of joining the MCU, giving a helping hand.

And then Jane's version morphed into Jon Bernthal a few years later, naturally. Don't ask.