As the surprisingly few of you who will glimpse at the Fan Fic section of ComicBookMovie from time to time may know, I have uploaded a couple of articles on what I would do if I could make a Punisher Animated Series. For those of you who aren’t familiar with my articles, here’s the rundown:
About a month ago a thought came to me: “What if they (again, they being anyone except 20th Century Fox) made a Punisher Animated Series?” You may find it strange, but just bear with me here. When my girlfriend, Sam and I saw Punisher Warzone (which I loved, by the way) she could not stop laughing at all the gore, as well as most of the surprisingly few people in the theater (considering it was opening night). It frustrated me. I came to realize that the Punisher, if you’re going down the gory, Punisher MAX road, which I have a feeling that people are going to be making a, if any, Punisher media anything with said method, it shouldn’t be live action. Think of the Punisher MAX comics. Why did you take the goriness serious? Because seeing gory things in live action promotes laughter (tell me I’m wrong, you know it does.) That’s why I think they should consider a Punisher Animated series or an animated movie at least.
Since the thought came to me, I have been writing down my vision for how to make a Punisher Animated Series. So here it is, PunisherMax12 presents: The Punisher: The Animated Series.
Channel of Broadcast: AMC (Based off the great job they did with The Walking Dead)
Basic Plot Synopsis
The Punisher (Voiced by Ron Perlman), a Vietnam vet whose family was killed at a picnic when they witnessed the execution of an informant, has been waging a one man war on crime in all its forms, from highly ranked Mafiosos to lowlife street thugs, for over 30 years, and is showing no signs of letting up. The Punisher, aided by his trusted and only partner Micro (Voiced by Wayne Knight), continues this war on crime as a new age brings new and more dangerous foes in the form of the both physically and mentally scarred Jigsaw (Voiced by Mark Hamill), the sadistic, insane Mafioso Nicky Cavella (Voiced by Jack Nicholson), the brute known as the Russian (voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan) as well as an assortment of others.
Roles of Recurring Characters from the Comics and Voice Actors
The Punisher- Main Character and Main Protagonist-Voiced by Ron Perlman
Jigsaw- Main Antagonist-Voiced by Mark Hamill
Micro- Semi-Main Protagonist-Voiced by Wayne Knight
Nicky Cavella- Main Antagonist-Voiced by Jack Nicholson
Ma Gnucci - Semi-Main Antagonist-Voiced by Glenn Close
The Russian-Side Antagonist-Voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan (not the most original casting, as Michael Clarke Duncan is almost always the “big man” but I couldn’t think of anyone else. Any one got any better ideas?)
Bushwhacker - Side Antagonist-Voiced by Nolan North
Roles of Series Exclusive Characters (See Below)
Two-Finger Tony- Side Antagonist-Voiced by John Dimaggio
Dmitri Koruk - Semi-Main Antagonist-Voiced by Vin Diesel
Bios for Series Exclusive Characters
Two-Finger Tony- Once a hit man for the Italian Mafia, “Too-Tough” Tony Zerrelli would repeatedly boast that he would be the one to kill Frank Castle. However, when the two met, Zerrelli was proven very wrong. Being swiftly beaten, Zerrelli was then tortured for information by Castle, who cut off all but two fingers on his right hand. Upon returning to his fellow mafiosos, Tony was heavily ridiculed for being so easily defeated, with his peers dubbing him “Two-Finger Tony.” Seeking redemption, a furious Zerrelli engaged them in a firefight, but was again beaten and left to die in a dumpster that read “Here lies Two-Finger Tony.” Zerrelli was found by Jigsaw, who trained him as his protégé. Tony is still quite arrogant and harbors an immense hatred for The Punisher.
Dmitri Koruk- A very old Russian Gangster, Dmitri was only a 4 year old when he witnessed the death of his parents when they were hanged as workers in Yekaterinoslav by the Czech soldiers during the Russian Civil War. Because of this, Dmitri grew up with an immense hatred for the world which he carried over to America as he grew bored of his comrades in the Russian Mafia and looked to “conquer new ground.” An ally of Jigsaw in the Jigsaw Mafia (see “My Updated Punisher Animated Series Fancast!” under Jigsaw for details), Koruk is quite talented at the manipulation and the deceit of others, even managing to manipulate a police detective working against the Jigsaw Mafia, Dugan Gray, into going completely insane so that a corrupt detective constable on Jigsaw’s payroll, Byron Pierce, could take his place. This talent is especially useful due to the fact that Koruk must be in a wheelchair and frequently relies on a pressurized oxygen tank due to his severe asthma in his old age. Koruk wears a black suit jacket over a grey button shirt and black pants, has next to no hair, speaks with a thick Russian accent and is always seen in a wheelchair. Physically, he is quite frail, so for his dirty work he relies on his henchman, a skilled knife fighter named Oleg Khmelnitsky who took an oath of silence when he was 14.
And now as a final treat for you, here is an excerpt of my script from episode 2, An Eye for an Eye, featuring Nicky Cavella (in his first appearance), who, in the series, has become the Don of the Italian Mafia.
(Cut to a shot of the New York Skyline)
(Shot of a group of black gangsters entering a room. A large table is set up in the room. At the head of the table is NICKY CAVELLA, a Don in his mid-forties with black hair in a comb over, with his back facing them. He is wearing a black suit with a green tie. On the right side of the table sitting are 5 or 6 Irish gangsters, led by SEAMUS, who is wearing a grey suit jacket over a white shirt.)
SEAMUS
(Sees the blacks, stands erect, angered)
The [frick] is this?
(TYRONE, the leader of the blacks, sees Seamus and too looks angered)
TYRONE
What the hell?
SEAMUS
I’m not working with some [frick]ing dirty [racial slur] Cavella!
TYRONE
[frick] did you call me? (Pulls out a glock)
SEAMUS
A [frick]ing dirty [racial slur]! (Pulls out a glock)
(The room explodes into arguments except for Cavella, who turns to face them quickly)
CAVELLA
(Shouting) GENTLEMEN! (The shouting ceases) (Calmly) Can I at least tell you why you’re both here before you break each other’s balls? (No one responds) Tyrone, Seamus, please sit down. (They sit down) For the rest of you, as Tyrone and Seamus were the only ones I discussed with, my name is Nicholas Angelo Cavella. Call me Nicky. Now I know that the two of you (chuckles) well, you two don’t exactly get along, but just bear with me here. Because, well, let’s just say some of my partners, well, long story short don’t have what it takes to get this job done. Now, there is a matter I want to discuss. As all of you are clearly aware, for the last 30 years or so, there has been a certain pain in all our asses. (Takes on a solemn stare) The Punisher. Now we all know he’s bad news, its common sense, ya know? But last night…last night I heard of something that greatly disturbed me. You see my boy over there, Dudley (points to a man standing at the door) last night he sees somethin’. Last night, at about 11:00, while walking through MY (puts his fingers to his chest for emphasis) territory, he sees… (puts head down and sighs) he sees two kids, a boy and a girl, no older than 14… (sighs again) makin’ out, alone, in a [frick]in’ dark alley. (Pauses then slams the table with his fist) (Shouting) [frick]ING 14 YEAR OLDS! (Points to the large window overlooking the city behind him) Those people out there, they aren’t [frick]in’ scared of us anymore! And do you know why? Because the Punisher is out there beatin’ the crap out of us every [frick]in’ night! Before the Punisher came along and went open season on our asses, if you went out at night by yourself, if you weren’t one of us, you were dead [frick]in meat! He’s inspired those people, intentionally or not, that they don’t need to be scared of us anymore! We used to [frick]in run this city, goddammit!
TYRONE
So what do you wanna do about it?
CAVELLA
I want to eat his [frick]in heart, I want to throw his body off the Empire State Buildin’, (pounds fist to table with every two words) I want the Punisher dead!
SEAMUS
Whoa, whoa, you want us to help? You want US to help YOU? Man, this is the Punisher we’re talkin about! I had a brother, James, was 6 foot 10, 280 pounds. Punisher comes along, pow! Broke his [frick]in neck like he was nothing! Why don’t we just hire somebody and not risk our own asses?
CAVELLA
(laughs) Hire somebody he says… (approaches Seamus from behind. Looks over the top of him then grabs him on the back of the neck and pounds his head on the table) BECAUSE, you piece of shit, (slams his head with every word) THAT IS NOT HOW YOU GET A JOB DONE! YOU GOTTA BE THOROUGH! (Stops, but keeps his head on the table) Think about it, Seamus, you Irishmen used to [frick]in run this country until what? You self destructed on booze and coke! And that’s why we stepped in, because you thought you could just give a half-assed effort when in reality, if you wanna get something done, you gotta be willing to have the balls to put forth the [frick]in effort! So we aint gonna just hire some hit man, no, no, we’re doin this ourselves, you got that cocksucker?!?
SEAMUS
(terrified and in pain) YES! YES!
CAVELLA
Good! (Lets him go) (Stands erect and is suddenly calm clearly indicating insanity) Now does anyone else have a problem with that? (The rest of the room gives a collective “no”.) Good. (chuckles) So, gentlemen, let’s go whack the Punisher.
And so that’s it for my overview. Tell me what you think in the comments section! Comments, people comments! And don’t hold back. I’m not afraid of a little criticism.