7 Marvel Villains Saved By The MCU
4. Jigsaw
Prior to the Punisher's big debut on Netflix, the character's feature films had a penchant for being aggressively average (if slightly underrated.) The same can just as easily be said for Jigsaw, one of Frank Castle's most notorious adversaries from the comics, who made his on-screen debut as the main antagonist of 2008's Punisher: War Zone.
To be fair, he served his purpose well enough and the makeup work was passable for a film that had a considerably smaller budget than other theatrical Marvel releases. (For reference, War Zone had a budget of $35 million, whereas Iron Man, which came out the same year, had $140 million.)
Ultimately, though, while the talented Dominic West did what was asked of him in the role, War Zone's Jigsaw was nothing to write home about. He was an entertaining pantomime villain, but a pantomime villain nonetheless.
The character fell into relative obscurity until being revived by Marvel's The Punisher, where he was fantastically brought to life by actor Ben Barnes.
The series follows Billy Russo as Frank Castle's friend-turned-enemy prior to receiving the injuries that scraped away his good looks and caused him to take up the 'Jigsaw' mantle. The character was well-written, nuanced, incredibly intimidating, and Barnes does a wonderful job at playing a character who as violent and vicious as he is charming (as anyone who's seen Westworld will tell you.)
Marvel's Netflix dramas have some truly great main villains to offer and Barnes' Billy Russo is easily one of the best.