The Punisher’s 7 Most Brutal MCU Takedowns, Ranked

Jon Bernthal first played the Punisher, Frank Castle, in Season 2 of Daredevil, quickly becoming known as one of the most intimidating characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The character then had two seasons of his own series, focusing on his violent methods. After the Netflix shows ended, the Punisher disappeared for a while. He returned in Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again in early 2025, and most recently starred in the Disney+ special The Punisher: One Last Kill. This special, which Bernthal co-wrote with director Reinaldo Marcus Green, sets up Castle’s story leading into Spider-Man: Brand New Day, coming July 31, 2026. Bernthal is confirmed to appear in that film alongside Tom Holland, marking Frank Castle’s first appearance in a theatrical Spider-Man movie.

What sets Jon Bernthal’s portrayal of the Punisher apart in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is its unflinching depiction of violence. Unlike other action sequences, his fight scenes don’t shy away from showing Frank Castle brutally taking down his opponents, and the camera doesn’t look away from the harsh reality of his methods. This makes the Punisher’s scenes some of the most intense and violent in the entire franchise.

7) The AVTF Fight (Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 9)

The season finale of Born Again really showed two sides of Frank Castle. First, he showed up to help Matt Murdock – Charlie Cox, of course – escape Fisk’s task force. There’s this intense scene in Matt’s apartment where they’re fighting through all these corrupt cops. Predictably, Frank just starts taking people out, and Matt’s desperately trying to get him to hold back. Then, after they deal with that, Frank overhears on a stolen radio that the task force is converging on Red Hook. He goes there completely alone and just unleashes hell, taking a beating but continuing to eliminate officer after officer until he’s finally overwhelmed. Seeing those two sequences one after another was incredible – it showed Frank at his most calculated, and then completely losing control in a burst of rage.

6) The Gym Ambush (The Punisher, Season 2)

In the second season of The Punisher, Frank Castle is ambushed by mercenaries in a gym, but they quickly realize they’ve underestimated him. Despite being unarmed and outnumbered, he swiftly transforms the gym’s equipment into weapons, even throwing a forty-five-pound weight plate at an attacker. This intense scene highlights Frank’s incredible ability to survive and endure pain, as he fights off the mercenaries while suffering multiple stab wounds, using anything metal he can find. The fight is brutal and exhausting, demonstrating just how dangerous Frank is even without his usual guns.

5) The Irish Mob Massacre (Daredevil, Season 2)

The Punisher’s first appearance in the second season of Daredevil is considered one of the MCU’s most impactful character introductions. Instead of a prolonged fight, the scene depicts Frank Castle ambushing a meeting of Irish mobsters from a distance. A burst of gunfire quickly eliminates the heavily armed criminals before they can react, and the sequence builds tension by focusing on the devastation and the criminals’ sudden understanding of their helplessness. This swift and brutal takedown also highlights the central conflict of the season, demonstrating Frank Castle’s willingness to use methods Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) wouldn’t in his fight against crime.

4) The Kandahar Compound Breach (The Punisher, Season 1)

The third episode of The Punisher‘s first season features a flashback to Frank Castle’s time in Afghanistan that dramatically changes how we understand his character. During a failed mission called Operation Cerberus, with casualties already mounting, Frank goes into a compound on his own, systematically eliminating every armed enemy before his team can leave. This sequence is shown with a country song playing and slow editing, emphasizing Frank’s cold and efficient killing. The flashback reveals that Frank wasn’t made into the Punisher by his family’s murder; instead, the tragedy simply gave him a reason to express the violent tendencies he always possessed.

3) The Rawlins Execution (The Punisher, Season 1)

Okay, so in Season 1, Episode 12 of The Punisher, things get intense. Frank spends almost the whole time tied to a chair while this CIA guy, Rawlins – the one who ordered the hit on his family – just relentlessly beats and stabs him. It gets truly horrific when Rawlins decides to try and gouge out Frank’s eye. Thankfully, Billy Russo, seeing what’s happening, subtly helps Frank break free. Frank takes a nasty stab wound, flips the situation, and basically unleashes all his rage on Rawlins, stabbing him repeatedly and then just… completely destroys his face with punches. And then, in one of the most brutal moments I’ve ever seen, Frank literally pushes his thumbs into Rawlins’ eyes. What’s really disturbing is how the whole thing is filmed – it’s all close-up, no cuts, no looking away. Russo just watches the entire thing happen, completely silent, from across the room. It’s seriously messed up and unforgettable.

2) The Little Sicily Rampage (The Punisher: One Last Kill)

Jon Bernthal’s portrayal of Frank Castle culminates in the lengthy and intense fight sequence that dominates the latter half of One Last Kill. After dismantling the Gnucci crime family, Frank becomes a target, triggering a prolonged battle that starts indoors and spills onto rooftops and city streets as he fights off wave after wave of assassins. Using any weapon he can find – from guns taken from fallen enemies to improvised melee weapons and even his bare hands – Frank endures brutal attacks, absorbs serious wounds, and relentlessly eliminates every criminal attempting to collect the bounty on his head. Director Green films the action with a visceral immediacy, making every blow feel impactful. The sheer scale, length, and body count of the sequence, combined with the punishment Frank withstands, dwarfs almost every previous Punisher fight scene in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite narrative and special effects issues elsewhere in One Last Kill, this sequence is perhaps the first time the MCU has truly captured the Punisher’s famously brutal comic book persona.

1) Cell Block A (Daredevil, Season 2)

In the second season of Daredevil, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) cleverly uses Frank’s arrival at Rikers Island prison to set a deadly trap. He tells Frank that a fellow inmate named Dutton (Erik LaRay Harvey), who ran the prison’s black market, was involved in the murder of Frank’s family. Fisk provides Frank with a weapon and seven minutes to reach Dutton’s cell block. Frank kills Dutton, but when he tries to leave, Fisk’s guards unleash the other inmates, who witnessed the attack on their leader. Frank is forced to fight his way through the entire block with only a single shiv, killing everyone in his path. The scene ends with Frank, covered in blood and standing amidst tear gas, being dragged to solitary confinement by a tactical team. It’s a memorable and powerful moment in the Daredevil series, and rightfully so.

2026-05-29 00:12