Comics books are known for having many reformed criminals – such as the man we will be talking about today. Marvel Cinematic Universe shows this already with characters like Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch who began as villains in the comics and this was intertwined into their storylines throughout the Avengers movies. But there’s also way more intense situations like Frank Castle, known as The Punisher. In the comics, noted back in 2011, it was said that The Punisher had killed over 48,502 people and this number has obviously went up since then. Time is coming where Thunderbolts might just reshape the MCU as we know it.
There’s a lot of candidates for the Thunderbolts team, such as people have mentioned, Baron Zemo, Taskmaster, U.S. Agent and The Abomination. However, the team will be incomplete without one big figure, Frank Castle, The Punisher. Now that Disney+ has access to all the Defender’s shows, including The Punisher’s first two seasons, the Thunderbolt movie would be the perfect way to reintroduce his character and putting him into the MCU.
The Thunderbolts made their first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #449 back in January 1997, created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley. The Thunderbolts are a fictional antihero team, consisting of all reformed supervillains. They protect the world when the Avengers were declared dead after the events of the 1996 “Onslaught” crossover. However, in the final page of their first issue in their comic book series, they were revealed to be Masters of Evil in disguise, which was a surprise twist.
In subsequent storylines, the group rejects their leader Baron Helmut Zemo and attempts to become heroes in their own right, eventually under the leadership of the Avenger Hawkeye. Themes of redemption are what the Thunderbolts are mainly known for.
The Punisher joined The Thunderbolts in the comics for Thunderbolts Volume 2 #1 in 2012 and made a ready example of the kind of antagonist redeemed that the series thrives on. Frank Castle had began his comic-book life as a bad guy in 1972’s Amazing Spider-Man #129, believing that the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man was a criminal worthy of death like many of Castle’s other victims. However, Spidey defeats him. Then the anti-hero became a bit more like Wolverine, constantly seeking redemption from his darker instincts, which also reminds many of us of the famous Daredevil of Hell’s Kitchen.
The Thunderbolts is ideal place for him to join in on Phase Four, but we are unsure if/when he will be joining the Universe, but with his buddy “Red” having already joined the MCU and returning for his fourth season, we hope it won’t be long. If Jon Bernthal, who plays the killer, doesn’t get a third season to his show that was once on Netflix before being canceled and moving to Disney+, a team like the Thunderbolts is the most natural place for him to go next.
