Marvel's The Punisher: 9 Reasons It's A Disappointment

Let's start this off by stating the obvious: Frank Castle is The Punisher.

However, in terms of storytelling, there are Frank Castle stories, and there are Punisher stories. Marvel's The Punisher, in its first season on Netflix, is a Frank Castle story. And not a particularly good one, mainly because the death of his wife has been done so many times now.

The entire show suffers from a lack of The Punisher. Early on, we see him burn his iconic skull emblem, or at least a shirt its emblazoned on. It does not return until the final few episodes. Nor does the attitude of The Punisher. Instead we get Frank Castle being inconsistent. Frank Castle flirting with Micro's wife (who believes Micro, or David as she knows him, to be dead). Frank Castle getting caught up with a young ex-soldier who suffers from PTSD and feels the government has betrayed him. Frank Castle as a haunted man. Frank Castle, but rarely The Punisher.

The central themes are very much reminiscent of the comics. Castle is now a middle east veteran rather than a Vietnam vet, but much of the mythos is the same. The problem is, it's way too much Castle, and not at all enough Punisher. Perhaps Marvel's biggest mistake was not allowing The Punisher to appear in his own show.