Why Netflix’s ‘Daredevil’ Finally Got the Punisher Right

3. He’s Irreparably Broken

The cruel hand of fate itself set Frank Castle down his path. It wasn’t a specific mob family that killed those close to him, it was “mob violence,” a big, nebulous monster that can never be defeated. By setting a specific face to the Punisher’s pain in the previous films, they’ve allowed a certain measure of hope to develop that the Punisher can reach the end of his mission. If he kills the guy in charge then — bam — justice is his, he can drop his guns, mend his ways, and go home. No, though, it wasn’t a specific person, really, who killed Frank Castle’s family, it was a society that creates violence. That’s something Frank can’t stop (at least not by murdering), and so he’s doomed to continue firing guns at an enemy that can never be killed.