After months of what felt like endless rumours about Marvel Studios' Spider-Man: Brand New Day plans, it was recently confirmed that Jon Bernthal will reprise his role as The Punisher in the movie.
The actor made his official MCU debut in Daredevil: Born Again, and seeing how these two heroes mesh promises to be fascinating. On the page, Peter Parker has a storied history with Frank Castle, and any one of their previous adventures could inspire what we see in theaters next summer.
In this feature, we're taking a closer look at some of our favourite (and the most iconic) Spider-Man/Punisher storylines, exploring how they could influence their first MCU team-up...and which specific elements of these stories should be adapted for the big screen.
Check out what we're hoping to see in Spider-Man: Brand New Day by clicking the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
6. Omega Effect
During Mark Waid and Chris Samnee's Daredevil run, Matt Murdock gets his hands on the Omega Drive, a device with information on all the Marvel Universe's crime families. Now a target of several crime syndicates, the Man Without Fear enlists help from Spider-Man and The Punisher.
Frank Castle wants access to the Omega Drive, viewing it as an invaluable tool in his war on crime. On a side note, the drive is made from a tattered "4" logo from one of the Fantastic Four's costumes; the unstable molecules make it perfect for storing endless streams of data.
The story did a terrific job of exploring the dynamic between these characters, particularly the disdain Spidey has for The Punisher's approach to dealing with criminals. Crucially, an adaptation of this story would bring Spider-Man, The Punisher, and Daredevil together on screen.
5. The Punisher Strikes Twice
In Gerry Conway, Ross Andru, and John Romita Sr.'s Amazing Spider-Man #129, we were introduced to The Punisher. Frank believes the wall-crawler is a bad guy worthy of his lethal form of justice, and a fight ensues, which sees the Jackal also enter the fray.
When all is said and done, the vigilantes go their separate ways, with The Punisher vowing to take revenge on Jackal for attempting to manipulate him. At the very least, filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton needs to find a way to recreate the image above (as it's so incredibly iconic).
What could bring Spider-Man into The Punisher's crosshairs? Well, if J. Jonah Jameson has managed to convince everyone that Spidey is a menace and a killer, then that might explain why Frank decides to track him down...with them eventually teaming up, of course.
4. Does Whatever A Spider Can
In Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Marvel Knights Punisher #2, Spidey is pulled into a violent, wacky team-up with Frank as the third man in a battle between Frank and The Russian (who has been resurrected with his head on a buxom woman's body).
Poor Peter finds himself eventually used as a human shield by The Punisher. While he takes a beating and is KO'd, Frank realises he can use one of Spider-Man's web-shooters and sprays it in The Russian's mouth.
He chokes and falls to his death, and when Peter wakes up, he's completely unaware of what just happened. It's a fun sequence and one we could even see loosely adapted if rumours that these two are going to face The Hulk are correct.
3. Shoot-Out In Central Park
The second time Spider-Man and The Punisher crossed paths came in Amazing Spider-Man #135. The wall-crawler is busy battling Tarantula, and, yet again, Frank mistakes the superhero for a supervillain deserving of a bullet.
He soon realises that he's been duped, and we get a good 'ol-fashioned team-up as these two put their differences aside to stop Tarantula. That villain is rumoured to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, making this a potential subplot for the web-slinger's next movie.
There's not a great deal of material to mine beyond that, but combined with some of the other suggestions here, it wouldn't be the worst thing for Marvel Studios to borrow a few ideas from this memorable tale.
2. Headlines
Carl Potts and David Ross' Die Hard-inspired two-parter in Punisher War Journal #14 and #15 would make for a great premise in a movie. When a group of Neo-Nazis invade The Daily Bugle, Mary Jane Watson is caught in the crossfire.
Spider-Man and The Punisher reluctantly team up to try and save the hostages in a compelling self-contained tale. Ultimately, it drives home how differently they approach being "heroes."
In terms of sheer epicness, this would admittedly be a little small for a summer blockbuster. Even so, there are elements which could be adapted, even if antagonists like The Hulk and Scorpion are thrown into the mix, and this would be a fun way to bring these two together.
1. Civil War
Captain America: Civil War adapted Mark Millar and Steve McNiven's Civil War, but left out many moments from the event series. Among them was Spider-Man's decision to turn on Iron Man. After fleeing Avengers Tower, he's hunted down by Tony Stark's villainous Thunderbolts.
Drugged, beaten, and well and truly on the ropes, things look bleak for Spidey...until he's saved by Frank Castle. That's about as far as the series went in exploring their dynamic, but the moment above is one we'd love to see recreated on screen.
No one has said that The Punisher will have a lead role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, so if he is just getting an extended cameo role, then this should be the inspiration.