Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for The Punisher: One Last Kill
While fans were already excited to see Jon Bernthal’s Punisher back in action after his absence in Daredevil: Born Again season 2, his new MCU special features some pretty cool parallels to Keanu Reeves’ John Wick.
Featuring a major turning point for Frank Castle, Punisher: One Last Kill is easily one of the most brutal MCU projects yet. After Castle killed the last criminals connected to his family’s murders, Frank’s now facing major consequences thanks to Ma Gnucci, the last remaining member of the Gnucci Crime Family, seeking vengeance on Punisher for killing her husband and sons.
With Ma Gnucci putting a bounty on Frank’s head, The Punisher finds himself targeted by every criminal in Little Sicily. That alone carries a similarity to the plot of the John Wick movies, though there are even more direct parallels between the two killers that are fascinating to think about as The Punisher enters a brand new MCU era following One Last Kill.
The Punisher’s Legend In The MCU Now Shares A Major Connection With John Wick
Frank Castle giving a side glance in Punisher One Last Kill
One of the biggest reasons Keanu Reeves’ John Wick became such an instant action icon is the legend surrounding the formerly retired hitman. In the very first John Wick movie, Reeves’ character is said to have once killed a man with “a f—ing pencil.” Likewise, this brutal feat is eventually shown on-screen in John Wick: Chapter 2, a major piece of Wick’s terrifying legend as “Baba Yaga.”
Interestingly, Frank Castle now has his own version of John Wick’s legend in the MCU. While fighting off all the criminals seeking to collect the bounty on his head, Frank chooses to save and protect an innocent family rather than go after Ma Gnucci. Near the end of the fight inside the café, a particularly large thug gets the drop on Frank and even stabs him with a screwdriver. However, Frank takes a blue pen and repeatedly stabs his attacker, driving the pen multiple times into his arms, chest, and face.
Without a doubt, this is one of the most brutally savage and bloody kills the MCU has ever shown on-screen (while also mirroring John Wick and his pencils). As such, it stands to reason that The Punisher’s legend has just grown after One Last Kill, his blue pen kill being just one of several that will instill even greater fear among New York’s criminals, especially now that Frank’s moved on from personal vengeance alone.
Punisher: One Last Kill Even Sees Frank Getting Vengeance For A Murdered Dog
Remarkably, the John Wick similarities don’t stop with improvised weapon kills, either. One Last Kill also features a key parallel to the emotional inciting incident that launched the entire John Wick franchise in the first place. At the beginning of the new MCU special, the widespread chaos in Little Sicily sees an elderly man’s dog being senselessly killed by a thug. However, the ending of The Punisher: One Last Kill sees Castle taking this same thug out at the man’s request, getting vengeance for the brutal crime and tragic loss.
S.H.I.E.L.D. · Clearance Assessment How Well Do You Know The Avengers?
🌏OriginsAssembled
☠VillainsInevitable
⚡BattlesEndgame
🛡TeamInitiative
💫LegacyForever
01
The Avengers first assembled in Marvel Comics in 1963. In the original comic, the team formed to battle a villain who had been manipulated by his adopted brother. Which villain brought the original Avengers together?
✓ Correct! In Avengers #1 (September 1963), Loki manipulated the Hulk into going on a rampage, which led Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp to band together. They defeated Loki and decided to form a permanent team — the Avengers were born.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Loki. In the original 1963 comic, Loki tricked the Hulk into a rampage, which brought together Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp. Ultron came later, Thanos is a cosmic threat, and Kang is a time-traveling villain.
02
In the MCU, Tony Stark famously declared “I am Iron Man” at a press conference, breaking the superhero tradition of secret identities. In which year’s MCU film did Tony Stark first appear as Iron Man?
✓ Correct! Iron Man (2008) launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe and starred Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. The film’s post-credits scene with Nick Fury teased the Avengers Initiative, kicking off the most successful film franchise in history.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is 2008. Iron Man premiered on May 2, 2008, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr. It was the first film in the MCU and set the stage for everything that followed.
03
Thanos, the Mad Titan, sought to collect all six Infinity Stones to achieve his genocidal goal. In Avengers: Infinity War, he succeeded in his plan. What did Thanos do with the completed Infinity Gauntlet?
✓ Correct! With a single snap of his fingers, Thanos wiped out half of all living creatures in the universe. Known as “The Blip,” this devastating act erased trillions of lives and set the stage for the Avengers’ desperate time heist in Endgame to undo the damage.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is that Thanos snapped away half of all life in the universe. His twisted philosophy of “balance” drove him to commit universal genocide with a single snap, making it one of the most shocking moments in cinema history.
04
In Avengers: Endgame, Captain America proved worthy of wielding Thor’s enchanted hammer during the final battle against Thanos. What is the name of Thor’s hammer?
✓ Correct! Mjolnir, forged in the heart of a dying star, bears the inscription “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” Captain America wielding it in Endgame was one of the most celebrated moments in MCU history.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Mjolnir. Stormbreaker is the axe Thor forged in Infinity War, Gungnir is Odin’s spear, and Jarnbjorn is an axe Thor used in the comics before Mjolnir. Mjolnir is the iconic enchanted hammer.
05
Black Widow, born Natasha Romanoff, is one of the founding MCU Avengers. Before joining S.H.I.E.L.D., she was trained as an assassin in a secret Soviet program. What is the name of this program?
✓ Correct! The Red Room was a covert Soviet training facility that turned young girls into elite spies and assassins known as Black Widows. Natasha was subjected to brutal conditioning and sterilization. Her escape and defection to S.H.I.E.L.D. was explored in the 2021 Black Widow film.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is The Red Room. HYDRA is a separate evil organization, the Winter Soldier Program created Bucky Barnes, and Department X is from the comics. The Red Room is the infamous Soviet program that forged Natasha into Black Widow.
06
The Hulk was created when Dr. Bruce Banner was exposed to massive amounts of radiation during a weapons test. What type of radiation transformed Banner into the Hulk?
✓ Correct! Dr. Bruce Banner was caught in the blast of a gamma bomb he designed, absorbing a massive dose of gamma radiation. This transformed him into the Hulk — a being of near-limitless strength whose power increases with his rage. Gamma radiation remains central to the Hulk’s mythology.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Gamma Radiation. Cosmic Rays gave the Fantastic Four their powers, Pym Particles are Ant-Man’s shrinking technology, and Terrigen Mist activates Inhuman abilities. Gamma radiation is what created the Incredible Hulk.
07
In the MCU, after Steve Rogers retired as Captain America, he passed his shield to a new hero to carry on the legacy. Who became the new Captain America?
✓ Correct! At the end of Avengers: Endgame, an elderly Steve Rogers chose Sam Wilson — the Falcon — to carry on the Captain America legacy. Sam’s journey to embrace the shield was explored in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series, and he fully took up the mantle as Captain America.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Sam Wilson. While Bucky Barnes was Captain America in the comics, Steve chose Sam in the MCU. John Walker was temporarily given the shield by the government, and Isaiah Bradley was a forgotten super soldier from the past.
08
Ultron is an artificial intelligence who becomes one of the Avengers’ deadliest enemies. In the MCU’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, which Avenger inadvertently created Ultron?
✓ Correct! Tony Stark created the Ultron program as a global peacekeeping AI, using technology from Loki’s scepter (which contained the Mind Stone). The AI became sentient and immediately decided humanity needed to be eradicated. In the comics, Hank Pym created Ultron, but the MCU shifted this to Stark.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Tony Stark. While Hank Pym created Ultron in the comics, the MCU changed this to Tony Stark. Bruce Banner assisted but it was Tony’s initiative. Vision was actually created from Ultron’s technology, not the other way around.
Mission Debriefing Your Avengers Clearance Level
/ 8
Are you worthy of lifting Mjolnir — or still a S.H.I.E.L.D. trainee?
Naturally, the tie to the John Wick franchise is hard to ignore. After all, Wick’s murdered dog is what brought John out of retirement, having been a critical emotional link to his recently deceased wife. Although Frank Castle’s circumstances in One Last Kill differ emotionally, the thematic parallel is still pretty clear. If anything, it certainly highlights the significant overlap between the two characters as brutal killers who’ve lost everything and are now seeking the most lethal forms of vengeance and/or justice.
Looking forward, it’s going to be very exciting to see what’s next for Punisher and his renewed purpose in the MCU, both later this year in Spider-Man: Brand New Day and hopefully beyond with future appearances.
The Punisher: One Last Kill is now streaming on Disney+ from Marvel Studios.
Release Date
May 12, 2026
Runtime
60 Minutes
Director
Reinaldo Marcus Green
Writers
Reinaldo Marcus Green, Ross Andru, Jon Bernthal, Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr.
