Jon Bernthal’s Punisher gets a War Machine upgrade one year before his MCU return in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. As Peter Parker’s superhero journey receives a new beginning, Spidey is set to cross paths with Jon Bernthal’s Punisher and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk. Given that Spider-Man: Brand New Day is his first big-screen appearance, Bernthal’s Frank Castle will likely need an upgrade to fight literal superhumans.
On Instagram, @fabsfigures shares a custom figure of Jon Bernthal’s Punisher wearing James Rhodes’ War Machine armor. The figure seems to be a fusion of Captain America: Civil War‘s War Machine Mark III armor and Daredevil season 2’s Punisher figure, both from Sideshow’s H๏τ Toys line. Check out the full Punisher custom figure below:
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What The Punisher Suit Art Means For The MCU
Frank Castle’s War Machine armor first appeared in 2017’s Punisher: War Machine, where Nick Fury hands him James Rhodes’ old suit of armor to dismantle a rogue nation’s military. The result is one of the wildest Punisher reinventions in Marvel history, as the Punisher’s merciless vigilante methods are amplified by Stark technology. It wasn’t permanent, but it left a mark on Frank Castle.
Jon Bernthal’s Punisher could easily receive a similar upgrade in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Set footage shows Spider-Man pursuing Frank Castle in a truck, which opens the possibility of seeing the Punisher hunt down stolen gear. If Vulture could scavenge high-level Avengers tech in Spider-Man: Homecoming, there’s no reason Frank couldn’t get his hands on leftover Iron Man or War Machine suits.
Jon Bernthal’s Punisher wielding Stark tech may also be narratively necessary. Whether to fight Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s main villain or to neutralize a rampaging Hulk, the Punisher may need special firepower. Otherwise, Frank Castle would be overpowered by the rest of the Spider-Man: Brand New Day cast.
Our Take On The Punisher Suit Art
Frank Castle thrived in grounded, street-level wars on Netflix and Disney+, but the MCU’s movie scale is far beyond mob bosses and small-time cartels. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk have fought villains as powerful as Thanos. For the Punisher to hold his own against opponents of that caliber, a War Machine-style Iron Man suit of armor would make his transition to the big leagues believable.
Just a year before Spider-Man: No Way Home, few would have believed Spider-Man would face a multiversal Sinister Five. Likewise, a War-Machine Punisher seemed impossible before Frank Castle’s return in Daredevil: Born Again. If War-Machine Punisher is on the table for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, then Franken-Castle or even Cosmic Ghost Rider don’t seem out of reach.
