The Punisher is a Marvel Comics character who has hardly ever had a great on-screen adaptation. Nevertheless, ever since his first comic appearance in 1974, he’s remained popular among comic fans, earning himself his own series. The antihero has had four on-screen adaptations, the most successful and acclaimed being Netflix’s The Punisher which has since left the platform but will reportedly be released again on Disney+.

So why does the hero keep getting rebooted, especially when he’s not as popular as other well-known heroes like the Avengers? Well, no one seemed to like the 2004 version of the character, who has been notoriously difficult to bring to life in the right way. There is strong interest in a great version of the character, as indicated by anticipatory talk of another Punisher series in the works for Hulu; after all, even the 1989 Punisher movie dominated Netflix for a while.

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This only happened after some time, though. Fans of the Punisher character were so disillusioned by the 2004 movie that the Punisher was largely discarded for quite some time, never making an appearance in the massive multimedia MCU. Fans found the film to be similar in name and costume only, while the actual character was nothing like the original Frank Castle. With a 29% Rotten Tomatoes score, and barely making its budget back at the American box office, the 2004 iteration of the character seems to be the most derided. Here’s part of the reason why the The Punisher movie from 2004 did so poorly.

The Movie Rewrote Castle’s Origin

     Marvel Comics

e Instead of the streets of New York, 2004’s The Punisher movie is set in Tampa, Florida. While the setting isn’t the biggest issue, as Marvel Comics are set all over the world in various editions, it does make the tone a little different, as the bright and sunny streets of Florida are a lot different from the grim and rainy New York of the comics.

However, no matter where he is, when you rewrite his origins, it changes the character completely. The origins are the most important part, for they are what drives the hero, villain, or anything in between to become said hero or villain. Once changed, the motivation is different, and the hero or villain might not even make sense anymore, or the path they follow has changed to become nearly unrecognizable. Altering the Punisher backstory altered its quality.

In the comics, Frank Castle is a retired military officer. His family is killed in Central Park, after they were in the wrong place at the wrong time; the mafia killed them for accidentally witnessing a different mafia murder. This moment is what drove Castle into the antihero business. He wants to do the right thing, but will not let morals get in the way, meaning by the time he tracked down the mafia, he didn’t hesitate to kill them all for murdering his family. However, he didn’t stop there — Castle went on to continue fighting against organized crime as the Punisher in order to prevent other families from meeting the same fate as his.

In 2004’s The Punisher, Castle is a member of the FBI, who’s undercover mission ended with the death of the mafia boss’ son. Enraged, he orders the death of Castle and his family, who are all killed at a family reunion and Castle himself is left for dead. After being nursed back to health, he is determined to get his revenge on the mafia, and with no help from the FBI or the police, decides to take matters into his own hands. By changing his family’s death to a purposeful execution rather than them being at the wrong place at the wrong time, it makes the plot more like a revenge story than a hero origin story, and removes all the ethical ambiguity that helps make superhero stories interesting.

The Punisher is a Vigilante Fighting Against All Crime

     Lions Gate Films

When we hear the word ‘vigilante,’ there are several heroes who might come to mind. Batman, Robin, Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Moon Knight are all examples. There are a lot more too, from both Marvel and DC. Vigilante heroes are self-appointed, trying to uphold the law without having any actual legal authority. More often than not, it’s because they either think no one else can handle it, or they think the current law enforcement isn’t as effective or isn’t doing enough. Castle is definitely considered a vigilante, even as an antihero. However, the effects of the new origins make it harder to believe in The Punisher movie.

Another issue with changing Castle’s origin the way they did is that this purposeful family death undermines what was meant to show how violent crimes can be. While the comics’ version of Frank Castle does still go after the mafia that killed his family first, bent on revenge, it makes his turn to a vigilante superhero more believable. He wants to protect innocent lives from those intending to hurt others, to keep people from having the same fate as him and his family. The Punisher movie basically makes it seem like the killing of his family was his fault to begin with, so why would he want to try and help others when it was more like a hazard of his job?

He Isn’t FBI

Making the Punisher an FBI agent also changes things, as becoming a vigilante when you were a part of the law enforcement is different from just returning home from military service. Comics Castle sees that the mafia killed his family, and knows they’d kill countless others without hesitation if they aren’t stopped, and takes matters into his own hands. Movie Castle still tries to turn to the FBI and the police, only going after the mafia himself when they won’t help him.

Sure, he decided at the end of the movie to take it upon himself and start fighting against crime, but considering most vigilantes are just citizens taking the law upon themselves, it feels more like he regrets retiring and would like to be back on the force. What made the short-lived Netflix series better is the pure vigilante violence of the Punisher, an authentic far cry from the 2004 iteration. Plus, the cast of The Punisher surely has something to do with it; Thomas Jane seems to be no Jon Bernthal (or even Dolph Lundgren). Fortunately, Kevin Feige of Marvel and many fans of the Netflix series (and 1989 film) seem to be advocating for a better, and maybe even great, return of the Punisher in the future.