It's hard to believe they've already released two seasons of Daredevil, one season of Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage is filming now. It's also hard to believe that the Netflix shows have been as good, and as successful, as they are. They haven't been perfect, but they're still miles ahead of what everyone else is doing.
Due to both insomnia and what Nietzsche would have called my "will to power," I managed to get through the entire second season of Daredevil last night. I'll admit it wasn't easy, but I had the combined sex appeal of Elodie Yung and Deborah Ann Woll to keep me going.
The Season in a Nutshell (Spoilers)
The Punisher is shooting up Hell's Kitchen, and Daredevil is trying to apprehend him. Eventually the Punisher is caught, and details about the murder of his family surface. Then, about halfway through the season, Elektra shows up, and we learn more about her character as both she and Daredevil try to foil The Hand's designs on Hell's Kitchen. The Punisher's trial and his eventual incarceration strain Matt's relationship with Karen and Foggy, and as the episodes progress he finds himself increasingly alienated from his small circle of acquaintances. The season ends with a big ninja fight on top of a building, and near the conclusion of this fight Elektra is killed by Nobu, the leader of The Hand's ninja army.
High Points
John Bernthal is a great Punisher. He makes previous movie incarnations of the characters look extremely bad. Yes, his backstory is too convoluted for its own good (drawing it out lessens the impact), but that scene with him in the prison is THE BALLS.
Elodie Yung is amazing as Elektra. She even talks the way I always imagined Elektra talking. Not only is she stunning, but she can also act. And while I think some of Elektra's motivations are difficult to understand in the later episodes, I really hope they bring back this character at a later date.
In my dreams they'd use her for the strangest, most faithful adaptation of Elektra: Assassin possible, though I know this will never happen.
Bringing the Kingpin back was another great move. Vincent D'Onofrio is still one of the best things about this show, and his performance in season two outshines anything he did in season one. He has this wonderful, tortured way of delivering his lines, and that scene between him and Matt in the prison is excellent.
The season really hits its stride about a third of the way in, and it's consistently good up until maybe the last episode. Yes, ninjas tend to look kind of ridiculous in open, well-lit rooms, but the action scenes in smaller, darker quarters all look good. The best fight scene is an early one, wherein Daredevil fights a biker gang down a flight of stairs.
Low Points
I don't think the writers thought through the love triangle between Matt, Karen, and Elektra well enough. At times it's hard to understand why Karen is so pissed off, or why he doesn't just go ahead and bang Elektra.
Some of the dialogue in both the earlier and later episodes is somewhat embarrassing. By the last episode it falls firmly within the realm of comic books, and diminishes some of the "realism" built up in earlier episodes.
The low(er) budget of this show shows in certain scenes. The ninja fight at the end, for example, looks as if it could use a few more ninjas.
And as with the first season, the biggest problem with season two is that it fails to reach a truly satisfying conclusion. In the first season, the biggest issue was the fact that everyone knows the Kingpin's going to be back again, and his incarceration is something of a nonevent. In the second season, the biggest issue is this half-explained "Black Sky" business, and the fact that Elektra is embroiled in a vague crisis that's hard to care about, or even to understand. All of Daredevil's struggles with The Hand are never sufficiently concluded, and one gets the feeling that they're saving all the really good stuff for The Defenders, or Luke Cage, or the third season of Daredevil.
What's Next
Luke Cage will be released in September. It seems like a long time, but then again there are a several major superhero movies between now and then. One of these, Captain America: Civil War, might even tie into what Netflix is doing.
And no, I'm not talking about Stan Lee.
...or Adam Warlock.
...or even Spider-man (though he is missed).
The character I'm talking about is The Punisher. You remember him, don't you? The guy with all the guns and the revenge fixation? The guy without any super powers? The guy with the big skull on his chest?
I think it's high time we saw Frank Castle make his appearance in the MCU, and here are some reasons why:
1. Contrast
With all of these super-powered beings flying around, it would be great to see your average, everyday psychopath take up arms and surprise a few of them. After all, why let the superheroes have all the fun? Having The Punisher skulk around in their shadows would provide an interesting bit of contrast.
2. The Chance to Get Him Right
So far we've seen two movies that tried to introduce The Punisher. One, filmed in the 90s with none other than Dolph Lundgren, was less than convincing. The other, filmed in the 2000s with Thomas Jane, didn't strike the right balance between (black) comedy and breathtaking outbursts of violence. Yeah, that scene where he fights the big dude in his apartment is awesome, but the rest of the movie didn't live up to expectations.
There was also the sequel to Thomas Jane's Punisher, Punisher: War Zone. This featured Ray Stevenson (who now plays Volstagg!) as Frank Castle, and although this movie was violent enough (sometimes cartoonishly so), it was also a disappointment.
The Punisher is one of the most easily understood characters in the Marvel Universe. His family gets killed by bad guys, he goes a little crazy for a while, and he ends up giving the bad guys a taste of their own medicine. It's a story as old as The Iliad, and there is a very simple, human reason that it has been retold throughout human history.
3. What Goes Around Comes Around
If you are my age, male, and probably Caucasian, you will remember a point in your childhood when The Punisher was unspeakably cool. Why is that, I wonder? Part of the answer, I think, lies in the late 80s/early 90s version of "superhero fatigue."
I will agree that a lot of great comics came out in the late 80s and early 90s, but about 80% of what the major and minor publishers were putting out was crap (however collectible). By that time many of us were sick of superheroes, and The Punisher was a welcome change of pace.
We might be living in a similar era with regard to superhero movies. Hence the oft-repeated phrase "superhero fatigue." Since 2000 we've seen a slew of superhero movies from both Marvel and DC, and in the next few years it's going to get even worse. Some of us, by the time Avengers 3 rolls around, are probably going to be a bit tired of superheroes. So why not introduce a superhero who's not a superhero? Why not introduce The Punisher?
4. Civil War
In case you've failed to notice, the next Captain America film is subtitled "Civil War." This Civil War will not feature the Confederacy or the Union, but rather two groups of superheroes, divided over the question of the Superhuman Registration Act. Captain America and Iron Man are key players in this struggle, and so is (alas!) Spider-man. But the Punisher also had a great bit in the Civil War comic book, and the movie might be a good chance to bring him into the superhero fold.
5. A Suitable Replacement
Elsewhere on this blog I have voiced the desire to see a Marshal Law movie. In my thinking, such a movie would be the perfect antidote for "superhero fatigue." I am, however, a realist, and I realize that we will NEVER see a Marshal Law movie that does the character (or the comic book) justice.
This said, The Punisher does offer many of the same opportunities for critiquing the Marvel Cinematic Universe from within. You could easily show the bad side of superheroes, and the deleterious effect such superheroes would have on a less-than-democratic society.
Let's say the superheroes trigger a major conflict in another country, let's say two countries engage in some kind of "super powers arms race" against one another, and in the end you have a story very similar to what Pat Mills and Kevin O'Neill did in Marshal Law. I'm not encouraging plagiarism here, but The Punisher presents such a possibility. Again, it's probably the closest we'll ever come to a Marshal Law movie.
6. Brand Recognition
Just about everyone is familiar with The Punisher. He's been in three films, and his comic books have enjoyed varying degrees of popularity. With The Punisher, Marvel also has the opportunity to play upon people's preconceptions of the character, and could do so in a way that adds a much-needed gravity to a world full of gods and monsters.
So come on, Marvel Studios! You OWN The Punisher now! Let's get it done!
