Marvel's The Punisher New Trailer Breakdown: 11 Things You Need To See
4. Billy Russo
Netflix
In the comics, Billy Russo is a mobster turned supervillain left heavily disfigured by Frank Castle after a particularly brutal run-in with the vigilante. In 2017's Punisher series, he's actually Frank's friend, with the two having served together in Afghanistan during the War on Terror.
The Russo of the series also owns a private military corporation, called Anvil. No word on how that'll factor into the show's story of conspiracy and betrayal, but it's fair to say that PMCs are always shady, both on and off the page. Given Russo's criminal credentials too (as well as the fact he's doing the villainous stride of pride in the above image), it's possible he'll be getting that evil turn much earlier than expected, perhaps in the series' closing moments.
Known more for his dashing good looks than his criminal knowhow, Russo was left heavily scarred by Castle to the extent that he took up a new name: Jigsaw. We previously saw that transformation take place in the aforementioned War Zone, in which Dominic West played the character, and it was gruesome enough there. Can you imagine what Netflix could do with a scene like that?
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
