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Perhaps sensing that it’s not an ideal time to promote vigilantes with a lot of guns,  The Punisher panel has been pulled from the NYCC schedule,  Deadline reports. The panel was planned for Saturday afternoon and would have introduced the upcoming Netflix series featuring Frank Castle:

“We are stunned and saddened by this week’s senseless act in Las Vegas,” Netflix and Marvel said in a joint statement today. “After careful consideration, Netflix and Marvel have decided it wouldn’t be appropriate for Marvel’s The Punisher to participate in New York Comic-Con,” the companies added of the gun and violence heavy Jon Bernthal starring series. “Our thoughts continue to be with the victims and those affected by this tragedy.”

Teased by the streaming service in recent weeks with a redacted launch date, the 13-episode Punisher showrun by Steve Lightfoot is based on the ruthless, firearm-wielding vigilante character first introduced by Marvel in the comic over 42 years ago. In many ways, with previews of the series expected at NYCC, the sensitive move to pull the panel comes as no surprise with the largest mass shooting in the nation’s history still very fresh in Americans’ minds.

The Netflix Punisher, portrayed by Jon Bernthal, debuted in the second season of Daredevil as a prelude to his own streaming series.

The Punisher, variously a vigilante and a villain,  has long been a character with controversy swirling around him, with his moral authority shifting depending on the prevailing mood. The mood at the moment is that unstable guys with guns are something to avoid.

 

5 COMMENTS

  1. “The mood at the moment is that unstable guys with guns are something to avoid.”

    I used to like Punisher comics in the ’80s. Now I find them unreadable. They’re basically about how hip, cool and fun it is to blow away lots of people with big guns. And get away with it.

    The only Punisher stories I like are the ones where Daredevil or Spider-Man beat him up with their fists. Which puts the bully in his place.

  2. I preferred the early days of the Punisher where basically he was a “bad guy” in Spider-Man. I preferred Wolverine as a guy who tried to fight the urge to kill. But it’s a changing society and we have Deadpool, Harley Quinn, Deathstroke, and others who are the “cool” characters that get featured alot more nowadays. Not that there can’t be good stories told with these characters, but using the Joker as an example, there’s almost a glorification in their high body counts in stories.

  3. I don’t understand the stupid big deal with of announcing the date when the series is going to drop. People already know it’s going to be around Thanksgiving anyway.

    I have the titles for all the episodes listed on my blog except for the ninth one. Purged them from my work data base.

    ~

    Coat

  4. The 80/90s Punisher was largely a power fantasy, barring a few more sensitive runs. Ennis’ MAX run was transformative and definitive. So, if you haven’t checked that run out, all 60 issues are pretty damn spectacular.

  5. In other violent entertainment news, Bruce Willis’ DEATH WISH remake has been delayed until March. Film critic Mark Harris had this great tweet:

    “Hard to know exactly the right date for a movie about the positive side of shooting people.”

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