The Punisher: One Last Kill is now streaming on Disney+. The Special Presentation opens with Frank Castle at his lowest. His PTSD has overcome the former Marine, and the anti-hero contemplates taking his own life before some encouraging words from the daughter he imagines before him.
Not helping Frank's state of mind is the fact that his decision to kill Ma Gnucci's husband and sons has plunged Little Sicily into chaos. They were the last crime family connected to the murder of his family, but in enacting his revenge, he's only caused more suffering.
When Ma Gnucci shows up to take vengeance on him, she reveals that every gangster and thug in the area will invade his apartment building—killing everyone in sight—at 6:47 pm, the exact time The Punisher murdered her favourite son.
Chaos ensues, as Frank (who has none of his armour or weapons) is forced to use whatever comes to hand to take out his would-be assassins. It's an insane action scene inspired by The Raid and very R-rated.
Eventually, he's faced with a choice: pursue Ma and allow innocents to die, or save the people in the neighbourhood he's condemned to becoming a warzone. Frank goes with the latter, saving a little girl who reminds him of his daughter. With that, he visits his family's gravesite and vows to continue his mission.
Back in classic Punisher garb, Frank brutally deals with a hood who killed a fellow veteran's dog in the opening few minutes and has renewed purpose heading into Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
This Special serves as a raw, character-driven bridge for Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle, emphasising that revenge ultimately breeds more suffering. His war on crime is inherently destructive to the very communities he claims to protect; Frank realises he can’t escape who he is, but he can choose why he fights, and his war on crime now has a little more humanity.
That goes a long way in explaining why he seemingly protects Sadie Sink's character in the next Spider-Man movie. Meanwhile, Ma Gnucci being alive and well is the perfect way to set up a potential sequel, whether it's another Special, a TV series, or a feature.
In the Special Presentation, as Frank Castle searches for meaning beyond revenge, an unexpected force pulls him back into the fight.
"Marvel meets The Raid in The Punisher: One Last Kill, a relentless, no-holds-barred exploration of grief and PTSD, and an ultra-violent, pitch-perfect take on The Punisher," we wrote in our review. "This is Jon Bernthal's magnum opus as Frank Castle."
The Punisher: One Last Kill premieres on May 12.