The Punisher: One Last Kill is out now on Disney+ — and, while it's a ninth episode of Daredevil: Born Again season 2 in all but name, it's nonetheless an important pitstop in Frank Castle's story.
Indeed, the Marvel TV Special not only reunites us with Jon Bernthal's fan-favorite anti-hero for the first time since Born Again's season 1 finale, but also reconfirms that — his forthcoming appearance in Spider-Man 4 notwithstanding — Castle's Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) journey is far from over.
What does the One Last Kill subtitle refer to in The Punisher's TV Special?
The paragraphs that follow describe scenes of a suicide attempt. Reader discretion is advised.
It's not spelled out, but my reading of One Last Kill's subtitle is that it relates to Frank contemplating committing suicide.
The TV special's first act reunites us with a Castle whose mental health has taken a nosedive since we last saw him. He's killed everyone who was involved in his family's death (more on this later), is plagued by memories of his fallen Navy Corps comrades, is trying to numb his anguish with a cocktail of drugs and alcohol, and has even given up The Punisher mantle.
When Castle leaves his new hideout in the downtrodden New York district of Little Sicily, then, we start to fear the worst. Indeed, aside from a brief stop at a local cafe to grab a cup of coffee, Castle's latest — and potentially final — walk takes him to the cemetery where his wife and kids are buried.
Sitting down at his daughter's grave, he tells his deceased relatives that he doesn't have the fight to carry on before drawing a handgun and placing it to his head. As memories of his family flash before his eyes, he prepares to pull the trigger. However, a hallucination of his daughter stops Castle in his tracks. He briefly looks away from her as he sets the weapon down, but when he looks back up he realizes she was just a figment of his imagination. I'm not sobbing, you're sobbing!
Is Curtis Hoyle dead in The Punisher: One Last Kill?
This is arguably the most difficult question to answer, but I'm inclined to say yes.
For context: Curtis Hoyle, aka one of Castle's fellow ex-Marines and his closest ally in Netflix's The Punisher TV show, is still alive and well at the end of said live-action series. However, considering he's another of Castle's hallucinations, the implication is that he must have died at some point between The Punisher season 2 finale and One Last Kill.
Unfortunately, we aren't given any evidence that Hoyle is actually dead, or that he's just a figment of Castle's imagination before One Last Kill ends. Here's hoping an answer is provided in a future MCU project that Castle is a part of.
Who is Ma Gnucci in The Punisher: One Last Kill?
Returning to his Little Sicily apartment block, Castle is greeted by a mysterious, wheelchair-bound woman, who's played by One Life to Live and Ugly Betty star Judith Light.
Initially, she seems quite pleasant, and she even goes as far as to compare her own trauma-filled past to that of Castle's. Her mask slips, though, when she reveals her identity to the MCU character: Ma Gnucci.
For the uninitiated: in the comics, Ma Gnucci — full name Isabella Carmela Magdalena Gnucci — is the head of Gnucci Crime Family. She's the primary antagonist of The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank, a 12-issue comic book series first published in April 2000. In it, Castle kills her three sons as he restarts his war on crime in New York City, thus instigating a feud that ends with Ma Gnucci's demise in its final chapter.
It's clear that One Last Kill draws heavily from the aforementioned literary works. Indeed, in the Marvel Phase 6 project's first act, a news bulletin reveals that Castle murdered Ma Gnucci's husband and three sons in retaliation for their involvement in the death of his loved ones. And, after finally tracking him down, Ma Gnucci now wants to exact her revenge on Castle.
What happens to Frank Castle in The Punisher: One Last Kill? And what is 'One Batch, Two Batch'?
Knowing she can't physically deliver the fatal blow, Ma Gnucci tells Castle that she's put a bounty on his head (anyone else getting John Wick Chapter 2/3 vibes?), meaning every nearby criminal is now out to get him. He only has until 6:47pm that evening to prepare, too. Why that time? Because that was the exact hour and minute that Castle killed the final member of Ma Gnucci's family right in front of her.
True to form, as 6:47pm arrives, a bloodthirsty mob shows up at Castle's apartment. In an unrelenting sequence akin to The Raid, Castle uses his expert marksmanship, close-quarter combat skills, and the proverbial fire reignited within him to dispatch every assailant he comes across in typically hyperviolent fashion. He even saves some of his fellow apartment building residents for good measure.
Eventually, a bloodied and bruised Castle makes his way onto the main street, where he spots Ma Gnucci. He makes a beeline for her, but his attention quickly turns elsewhere when he sees and hears that the owner of the coffee shop he'd visited earlier, and his family, are under attack.
Making a split-second decision, Castle lets Ma Gnucci escape in order to save those in need and, after another brutal battle inside said cafe, Castle defeats and kills myriad outlaws who want him dead. With the family safe and sound, Castle heads for the exit, but not before he's stopped by the shop owner's daughter. Heading to the back of the store, she returns with a hand-painted paper rose, which she gifts to a clearly moved Castle.
Returning to his family's graves, Castle wipes away the other trinkets he's laid at his daughter's headstone before placing the rose at its foot. He tells her that he isn't done yet before reciting a passage from 'One Batch, Two Batch'. That's the bedtime story he used to read to his daughter.
In the special's final scene, one of the thugs who killed an elderly homeless man's dog at the start of One Last Kill prepares to attack a married couple with a baseball bat. However, he's stopped by Castle, who's now sporting in his iconic Punisher attire once more.
Reuniting the homeless man with his veteran's cap that the thug also stole earlier, Castle learns from said rough sleeper that the criminal also murdered his dog. As the hooligan attempts to flee, Castle injures him with a well-thrown knife to the leg before executing him with a well-placed shot to the skull.
Are there any Marvel cameos in The Punisher: One Last Kill?
Yes, there's one significant cameo in One Last Kill: Deborah Ann Woll's Karen Page.
Admittedly, Page only briefly appears midway through One Last Kill as another figment of Castle's imagination. Nevertheless, given their shared history in Daredevil and The Punisher, which initially aired on Netflix, and its Disney+ sequel series Daredevil: Born Again, if anyone was going to cameo in The Punisher's TV special, it was going to be Page.
Does The Punisher: One Last Kill have a mid-credits and/or post-credits scene?
No. There's nothing to stick around for between or after the Disney+ special's end credits crawl. That's sure to disappoint some viewers, who might have expected some sort of tease for The Punisher's next MCU outing in the new Spider-Man movie. Speaking of which...
How does The Punisher TV Special set up Spider-Man: Brand New Day?
It doesn't. Okay, One Last Kill shows us how Castle gets his mojo back as The Punisher, which he needs to in order to appear as his vigilante alter-ego in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. However, The Punisher's TV Special doesn't set up any story threads for Tom Holland's next Marvel movie. If you were hoping for a surprise cameo from Sadie Sink's mystery character ahead of the latter's own appearance in Brand New Day, then, you'll be sorely disappointed.
Regardless, there's plenty we already know about, and have speculated on, concerning one of this year's most exciting new movies. So, be sure to find out everything we know so far about Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and see who'll join Holland, Bernthal, and Sink in it via my Spider-Man 4 cast and character guide.
Will there be a third season of The Punisher?
Nobody knows. Currently, Bernthal's only confirmed to appear in Brand New Day and, while I suspect he'll show up in Daredevil: Born Again season 3, there's nothing to suggest that The Punisher's own series will be revived.
For what it's worth, One Last Kill's director has said he and Bernthal "would love" to make a Punisher-led movie. However, that's fully dependent on how this TV special performs and whether there's audience appetite for more stories involving the anti-hero. Whether we get The Punisher season 3 or an R-rated film, then, is up to you and I.
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