Revenge is a dish best served cold
Explore More
■ PunisherI did enjoy The Punisher quite a bit, which was a win, considering that I thought Iron Fist and The Defenders were lackluster. Ever since The Punisher appeared on Daredevil, I knew he would spin off in his own series… and I was right. I’ve always liked the Punisher, ever since that amazing limited Steven Grant and Mike Zeck mini-series in 1986 (can it really be over 30 years old?) and followed his stories in his ongoing series, plus his War Journal and War Zone, I ate all of it up.
Punisher: One Last Kill
Ahead of The Punisher’s appearance in the new Spider-Man: Brand New Day, this Punisher: One Last Kill special takes place after his appearance in Daredevil: Born Again.
I am a big fan of the Punisher (Frank Castle), particularly during the Mike Zeck’s five-issue mini-series that launched his ongoing 1987 book. The character was so popular that Marvel launched War Journal and War Zone in the late 80s and 90s… and even Marv Wolfman and George Perez had to create their version, named Vigilante, for DC Comics.
As the years went on and various reboots, the Garth Ennis took the character to a new level with “Welcome Back, Frank” storyline for an adult Marvel Max line. I think to this day, it’s Ennis’ version that all the modern Punisher stories and movies and television line are based on. Of course, to keep it more modern, The Punisher TV show made Frank Castle a marine in the middle east.
I don’t mind the changes, just as long as they keep his origin that his family was killed by the mob and he is hunting and killing the entire mafia. Everyone can relate to a good old revenge story, and that’s what the Punisher is – just pure vengeance.
The Punisher: One Last Kill is a very short (44 minutes), but sweet re-introduction to the character. The story is simple, Frank wiped out a mafia family, except one survivor. We don’t know how she ended up in a wheel chair, but if I can remember from the comics, didn’t Ennis had Frank throw her in a tiger’s den at the zoo and they tore her apart? We found out she survived, but had to wear a wig, fake eye, horribly scarred, and missing two legs and an arm. For the show, they definitely tamed the Punisher so it’s never revealed that he will kill women too, if they’re part of the mafia. Anyway, the lady in the wheelchair puts a bounty on Frank’s head so now the entire city (New York?) is out to get him.
It is sort of ridiculous that there are like a thousand criminals killing everyone in Frank’s apartment and then destroying the entire city. There are so many bad guys, that I swear Frank killed the same ones a few times. It felt very video gamey, but that’s fine. My favorite is the first scene when they set fire to his door. It just goes into this ballet dance of death as Frank brutally take down each bad guy, using whatever he can get his hands on.
Then the story just ends. It just felt so incomplete. There is no “last kill”, as the title suggested. That is the biggest negative to this special, that it only felt like a first part of a story. I guess we’ll just have to wait until the Spider-Man film to see the resolution to the woman in the wheelchair?
Explore More
■ OzarkI got into watching Ozark, because critics and fans were comparing this show to Breaking Bad (which is one of my favorite TV shows). While I find it unbelievable, the series is coming to an end… and their last season is possibly the best yet. The final fourth season is divided into two parts… and first part was released on January 21, 2022, while the second part is pending release.
M.I.A.
I saw this ‘upcoming’ feature on M.I.A. (Missing in Action), from the creators of Ozark, and I was interested. M.I.A. is about a family that was murdered by a cartel and our hero, a young girl named Tiger is on the road to take revenge by killing everyone who murdered her family. On paper, that sounds like something right up my alley. Who doesn’t love a good old fashion revenge story?
Unfortunately, this is not a good show. The acting is not believable, especially with our star, played by Shannon Gisela, has to carry the show, but she just doesn’t come off as a tough girl. She’s too pretty and dainty that it was just hard for me to accept her as a killing machine. Plus, I hated Tiger. The writers make her like a brat, she’s a know-it-all, she’s a terrible worker, and worst, she has no issues breaking and entering and doing all sort of shady stuff. She’s just not a very likeable character.
The other problem is that her family got killed because of Tiger. Her family was already dirty, working with the cartel to transport drugs, and then human trafficking… so I didn’t really feel that bad when her entire family was wiped out by the cartel. I mean, you gotta pay the piper in this line of work.
So, Tiger is the last survivor and she ends up mixed in with this illegal Caribbean woman and a guy and his kittens.
The tone is all over the place, from comedy, to overdramatic, seriousness, to just being stupid. Why are the cops so dumb? Why are the cartels so dumb? I think the writing is just bad. I will admit that despite it being on NBC’s Peacock, it was surprisingly violent and risqué at times… so it’s not following any all-ages television rating, for sure.
That’s just two or three episodes in, it’s not going anywhere for me. There’s too much goofing around and not enough revenging. I know from the previews, that she’ll eventually trained with an assassin, but at the moment, I’m not seeing that.
I’m having a debate on continuing watching this.
