SPOILERS: THE PUNISHER - 25 Amazing Easter Eggs, Cameos, And References You Need To See
The Punisher is the latest Marvel series to hit Netflix and it likely won't surprise you to learn it's crammed full of hard to spot Easter Eggs. Hit the jump for our breakdown of the ones you need to see.
The Punisher hit Netflix a week ago and by now, we're sure you've made your way through all thirteen episodes of the Marvel series. A spinoff from Daredevil season two, the show will more than likely earn Jon Bernthal the Emmy he should have got for his first appearance as Frank Castle and it feels like a much-needed return to form for Marvel TV after the disappointments like The Defenders and Iron Fist!
While the show focuses more on the vigilante getting revenge on the people responsible for the murder of his family as opposed to various criminals, it's still very faithful to the source material and is packed full of Easter Eggs that fans of this character and his comic book adventures will appreciate.
What you'll find here then is an in-depth look at all of The Punisher's best Easter Eggs, cameos, and references, and we're confident when we say we don't think you'll have spotted most of these. Whether you've finished the show or not, keep reading to find out what you should look for!
To view the list of Easter Eggs in its entirety, simply click on the VIEW LIST (ONE PAGE) button below!
Muhammad Ali Vs. George Foreman
We spend a fair bit of time with Lewis, a soldier suffering from PTSD, and his father can at one point be seen watching the Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman match. This may be a coincidence but bear in mind that fight took place in 1974, the same year The Punisher made his debut in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man #129. Frank is also told he'd look good in purple, the colour he wears here.
Moby Dick
In the first episode of The Punisher, we see Frank reading Moby Dick, the 1851 Herman Melville novel about Captain Ahab, a whale hunter who sacrificed his happiness to kill the white whale that destroyed his life. That should sound familiar to you as it's clearly a similar path to the one the vigilante is on in this series and the comics. However, it's not the only literary reference made here.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Billy Russo can be seen picking up The Picture of Dorian Gray at one point in the show and that too references his story arc. The novel tells the story of a wealthy man who sells his soul to retain his good looks and then pays dearly for it just as Billy does when he clashes with The Punisher (actor Ben Barnes also starred in the big screen adaptation of the novel).
"Welcome Back, Frank"
When Micro first makes contact with The Punisher, he utters the phrase, "Welcome back, Frank." Does that ring a bell? It should, because that was the title of Garth Ennis' twelve issue series from 2000 which finally brought the character back to the forefront of the Marvel Universe after a series of terrible stories in the 1990s. This tale also featured a crime family who was mentioned in the first episode...
The Gnuccis
When Frank's workmates decide to pull off a heist, we learn that they're planning to rip off the powerful Gnucci family. The Punisher ends up taking them all out but that group were at the forefront of the story arc mentioned above and were led by the psychotic Ma Gnucci. With any luck, we'll see her cross paths with the vigilante in season two. The question is, will that polar bear show up as well?
The Defenders
There's no sign of any of The Defenders in The Punisher but we do see a newspaper headline in Karen Page's office which reads, "CHAOS UNDER THE STREETS!" That's clearly a reference to the Netflix series and it makes sense that this story takes place shortly after The Hand was defeated.
The Zodiac Killer
With the press claiming that Frank has killed upwards of 37 people, he responds by saying that's only the number they know about. This is a reference to the real-life Zodiac Killer as he once claimed to have killed 37 people too but was suspected of having taking out even more.
Pete Castiglione
Pete Castiglione admittedly isn't the best moniker Frank could have come up with to disguise his identity ("Castiglione" is basically an Italian riff on "Castle") but it's one which should be familiar to fans of the comics as that surname was revealed as the pre-Ellis Island moniker for The Punisher's family in The Punisher: Circle of Blood #1 in 1985 and The Punisher: War Journal in 1990.
Pinball
Well, this was unexpected! In episode four, one of the criminals Frank faces winds up being thrown on top of a pinball machine and that has to be a reference to this Diamond Select action figure.
The Dogs Of Hell
This biker gang has appeared a fair few times in the Marvel Cinematic Universe now (well, on the small screen anyway) and they make their return here as Frank takes them out in the deep south.
The Dragon
Curtis Hoyle is one of Frank's most loyal allies in The Punisher but he has roots in the source material as a villain. After serving alongside Frank in Vietnam, he later became a private contractor who gets on the wrong side of his old friend and ultimately takes on the moniker of The Dragon.
Turk
Rob Morgan's Turk has shown up in nearly every Marvel TV show on Netflix so it probably won't surprise you to learn that he pops up in The Punisher as well. There's no sign of Claire Temple in this series (she clearly doesn't want to enlist him in The Defenders) so it's good to get a crossover of some sort!
The Punisher (2004)
The show is obviously very different to the movies but it appears as if we get at least a reference to the one starring Thomas Jane when Frank spray paints the skull on his body armour. That scene was also going to be included in the 1989 movie but was cut from the final version of that.
Jigsaw
If you're anything like me, you probably spent the whole of The Punisher waiting to see Billy Russo become Jigsaw. Well, it happens in the finale when Frank grinds his face into a shattered mirror and leaves him horribly scarred (he also shoots the villain through the cheek). When the series ends, Billy is comatose, but it's hard to imagine him not waking up in time for the upcoming second season!
Another Nod To The Punisher (2004)
When Billy Russo taunts Frank about his family's demise, he asks if he expected their confrontation to take place in broad daylight on a pier. Well, that's the location The Punisher's family were killed at in the 2004 movie and it's hard to say whether this was a tribute to that or a not so subtle dig.
Stan Lee's Cameo
Stan "The Man" Lee has never made a physical appearance in one of these Marvel shows on Netflix but his face once again shows up here, this time on that same NYPD poster at the carousel.
Full Metal Jacket
The Punisher offers a fascinating insight into the inner workings of war and so it probably won't surprise you to learn that it references a great war move in the form of Full Metal Jacket. That comes when Billy asks, "So, does this mean Ann-Margret's not coming?" The same line was reeled off in that movie when one of the soldiers mocked those in charge.
The Origins Of Agent Orange
Agent Orange is pretty much a newly created character but his roots definitely lie in the comic books. You see, there was an Agent Orange who battled Captain America and Nick Fury, while another character named Rawlins appeared in Garth Ennis' Punisher MAX and was a crooked CIA agent who tried to use the government to take down Frank for his own means.
WHIH
When it's revealed to the public that The Punisher is still at large, we see that the news is being reported by WHiH, a fictional cable news outlet frequently referenced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
No Sign Of Spider-Man (Or Avengers Tower)
This is sort of an anti-Easter Egg as it wasn't there but despite the fact that The Punisher makes Queens his stomping ground in this series, there's never any sort of mention or reference to Spider-Man. Shots of New York City once again leave out Avengers Tower as well which is baffling.
The Rolling Stones
Curtis at one point describes Billy Russo as "a man of wealth and taste," a well-known line from The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil." There are definitely similarities between the song's protagonist and the story arc which plays out for the future Jigsaw in this series.
Battle Van
The comic book version of the character can frequently be seen driving a Battle Van full of weapons and state of the art tech and while Micro doesn't put that together for Frank in the series, the vigilante can be seen using a similar vehicle for transport throughout and that's obviously a reference to the van that The Punisher has been driving around in since nearly the very start.
Senator Ori
The well-meaning (and cowardly) senator becomes on of Lewis Wilson's targets for his anti-gun stance but his comic book counterpart isn't quite so good natured. In fact, he's a villain whos son - a dirty cop - was killed by Frank. Ori then makes it his mission to get some revenge!
Brett Mahoney
Another cameo linking The Punisher to Marvel's other shows on Netflix, Brett Mahoney obviously has a history with Frank Castle from Daredevil, a show he was introduced in way back in 2015.
WNEX
Shockingly, when Karen Page goes on the radio to weigh in on the actions of Lewis Wilson, she surprisingly doesn't do so on Trish Talk. However, the show she's on is part of the same broadcasting network, WNEX!
Did you spot all of these Easter Eggs in The Punisher's first season? Are there any we missed? As always, be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below.
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