Killing Timers are ahead of the curve, as usual. As soon as we put up our poll last month asking who should be getting Marvel Netflix shows, Marvel was all over the issue. When voting began, The Punisher was dominating with as much as 83% of the vote, but then Marvel came up with a plan for Frank Castle. Marvel is describing season two of Dardevil as “Daredevil vs. Punisher”. We also know that Elektra will be added to the show, the Kingpin isn’t going to stay in that cell for long and the specter of Bullseye and the classic DD/Elektra/Kingpin/Bullseye saga looms. I can’t imagine that they can fit all of that into one season. Frank is problem enough, plus they also set up the Owl and the Gladiator. I hope the show-runners take their time like they did in season one and allow us to get to further know Matt, Foggy, Karen and Wilson while slowly layering on new participants to the war in Hell’s Kitchen. But, your request has already been answered. The Punisher is coming to the MCU.
Close behind the punisher were Moon Knight, Ghost Rider and The Winter Soldier for the second slot. I think of these three, Moon Knight is the best fit for the tone of Hell’s Kitchen. Marvel is hesitant to drop supernatural elements into their street-level, gritty corner of the universe. Dr. Strange will get that playground going next year. If Civil War goes as it does in the comics, Sebastian Stan is going to be very busy making movies, so as awesome as it would be, Winter Soldier looks off the table. What Marvel Films honcho Kevin Feige has said is that he wants more film characters to appear in these shows and that these shows are natural growing boxes for future film franchises. Look for a lot more crossover in character interaction as soon as Iron Fist and Luke Cage next year.
That being said, every candidate got votes with the exception of Silver Sable (what, no love for the Wild Pack?). DD was Marvel’s House of Cards. It set a standard. If Jessica Jones can engage people at that level, any of the characters we listed are fair game for Netflixation. Thanks for voting and look for this month’s poll soon!
Killing Time 
The Punisher is a psychopath, and will be a hard sell. That said, it’s exciting to know he’s on the way.
Did you ever get into Dave Sim, and Cerebus? I stuck with it for as long as I could, but spending so much time inside Sim’s mind became increasingly uncomfortable, until I could’t stand it anymore. But I remember his Punisher spoof being one of the good ones.
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Never read him; heard he’s kind of misogynistic. The Punisher would have to be set up by this season to sustain a direction that a show would support, which if I had to guess would be the aim of the show runners.
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Sim is not just kind of misogynistic. If I had known what kind of person he was I wouldn’t have gotten hooked, but it wasn’t clear for a while. Continue to steer clear, because there is something wrong with him.
If they can get Punisher right, they can get any character right. I think I’ll start watching DD this weekend. It sounds like the TV stuff Marvel is doing is a lot bolder than the stuff they’re doing onscreen.
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Moon Knight would be awesome.
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I like what the punisher has to offer the mcu but I don’t really like him alone. Going solo his movies are just a typical revenge and vigilante story. I believe punisher is better as a tv show support character because it gives the viewer the chance to peel back more layers while seeing the contrast of a hero that doesn’t kill. That contrast is what made the batman and joker so poetic in the dark knight.
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That may be well what they have in mind for him, especially given the failure of his solo ventures. He could be a thorn in the side of the whole MCU that shows up occasionally. Great point.
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