Contributed by Rhen Miller
As psyched as I am to see The Avengers: Age of Ultron take to the big screen in May, of all the upcoming Marvel projects, it’s the upcoming Marvel Netflix Series Universe, highlighted by The Defenders that has me most intrigued. And I say that despite seeing the original Ben Affleck Daredevil debacle in theaters.
Thus far, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a little…Disney-ish. Yes, I know that they’re owned by Disney, and to their credit, most of the movies have been supremely enjoyable. However, it’s hard to escape the fact that the danger in the movies never really feels all that dire. The heroes always win, the villains (with the exception of Loki) are always one-dimensional cut-outs who inevitably fall, and we all go happily along to the next caper.
The Netflix series’ (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and The Defenders) offer us the chance to explore the other aspects of the Marvel Universe. Netflix, over the last few years, has produced such excellent adult dramas as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, and I’m hopeful we’ll get to explore a grittier and more morally complicated corner of Marvel when the shows debut later this year.
Grittiness aside, an additional benefit to the small screen is the ample time it has to explore characters. This is equally exciting to me, as it will allow at least the opportunity to develop some villains and supporting characters who have actual characters. Perhaps this is the medium where we’ll finally get to see some antagonists more interesting than the standard “I have a power cube and I’m gonna blow up the world for no apparent reason” villain we’ve been treated to so far.
Now, the Defenders are interesting because they’re all little darker than what Marvel’s done so far, but what if this is simply the company testing the water of their grittier material? What if they have bigger plans than these relatively unknown heroes?
I can’t help but hold out hope for an idea that is admittedly far-fetched, but so intriguing that I simply can’t shake it. Let’s assume Marvel continues to shatter box-office records over the next five years while the darker and more complicated Netflix series’ become modest hits.
Marvel could then decide that they want to explore that darkness a little deeper and bring another character to the small screen who’s been badly treated by the cinema. A major, popular character, and perhaps the only one able to fill the anti-hero vacuum that Wolverine’s absence has left in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I’m talking about the one, the only, Punisher.
Sure, Thomas Jane’s 2004 version left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, but Daredevil bombed and he gets a reboot. Punisher deserves no less. Here are just a few reasons why I think this would be an exceptional focus of a dark, HBO, Adults-Only type of show:
- His character and backstory are something that really require time—time that a 90-minute movie can’t spare. But a season of a TV show runs for 12 hours. It has the freedom to dedicate 2-3 hours on setting up the characters and the premise.
- Punisher’s story lends itself well to an episodic crime drama. It’s a tried and true format for TV, from Law and Order to True Detective.
- It could be done really well without an enormous budget. Yes, we can still have explosions and car chases, but Frank Castle’s story doesn’t require CGI. He handles everything much more…personally.
- If the show proves successful, it’s one more property that’s free to show up in the other small screen productions. We all know Robert Downey Jr. isn’t showing up for an extensive, five-episode story arc in Agents of Shield. And if they wanted to go further down the rabbit hole of dark, badly treated Marvel characters, they could always bring in (and eventually spin off) the Ghost Rider for a few episodes. He and the Punisher teamed up a few times in the comic books, so why not try it on the small screen?
- Most importantly, it’s a side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that’s entirely new from what we’ve seen so far: dark, bloody and complicated. No wise-cracking raccoons, no billionaire playboys, no super soldier serums nor any magical hammers. Just having Punisher exist in the same world as the rest of the light-hearted romps we’ve all enjoyed, would help bring real stakes and danger to the rest of the shows and films.
Is it unlikely? Yes. Marvel is much more likely to toe a PG-13 line—they want the ability to sell action-figures, lunch boxes and more comic books, something that an adult-focused show would be hard pressed to do. But I just can’t shake it—for me, it sounds like too much of a slam dunk hit to resist. So this year, as I stretch out and binge on Daredevil and the rest of the Defenders, I’ll be excited. Because if I squint hard enough, I can almost convince myself that the Punisher is hiding, just out of sight, lurking in the shadows.
