Warning: this article contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again Episode 4. If you haven't already, be sure to check out IGN's review of Episode 4.Marvel has made no secret of the fact that Jon Bernthal would be reprising his role as Frank Castle in Daredevil: Born Agains first season. Bernthal makes his long-awaited return in Episode 4, as the series follows up on a huge cliffhanger involving White Tiger (Kamar de los Reyes) being shot dead by a vigilante wearing the Punisher skull. We now have an answer as to whether it was actually Frank who killed White Tiger, but thats just the beginning of the shows dramatic new Punisher storyline.Bernthals return is exciting for any number of reasons, but the biggest by far is that Marvel has found a strangely perfect antagonist for Frank Castle in Daredevil: Born Again. Its a storyline with its roots in the real world, and its past time Marvel got around to telling it.Daredevil: Born AgainJon Bernthals Punisher in Daredevil: Born AgainIts been quite a while since weve seen Bernthals Frank Castle in the MCU. Bernthal last played the role in Season 2 of Netflixs The Punisher series, which debuted back in January 2019. All signs point to Frank Castle having stayed active in the MCU since then, targeting various criminals and gang members in New York City and earning a devoted following among members of the NYPD.That said, Frank is definitely a little worse for wear at the moment. Hes disheveled and unshaven. Hes living a hermetic existence in his makeshift hideout. Hes seemingly addicted to painkillers. All the pain and rage that fuels The Punisher is taking its toll on Frank Castle the man.It certainly doesnt help that The Punisher has inspired a wave of copycat killings. Frank claims not to care much about the fact that cops are donning his emblem and taking the law into their own hands, dismissing them as fanboys. He downplays the issue and seeks to reignite his old debate with Charlie Coxs Matt Murdock about the justice system and the need to respond to the evils of the world with nothing less than lethal force. But as much as Frank pretends not to care, its obvious hes genuinely bothered by the idea of police officers taking up his bloody crusade. Thats essentially where the series leaves Frank in Episode 4. He and Matt have it out and Matt loses his cool, leaving feeling as much disgust for himself as he does for Frank. Its clear Frank isnt going to be any help in the search for White Tigers killer. But this episode leaves us to wonder how long Frank can continue to stew in his hideout and let others co-opt the Punisher symbol for their own ends. Its a safe bet that hell be back before the season is done. PlayMarvels Ongoing Punisher ProblemWith Born Again, Marvel is finally diving headlong into an ongoing controversy surrounding the Punisher character. The idea that police officers (as well as members of the military and various right-wing militias) are adopting the Punisher emblem is not an invention of the series, but a sadly real-world phenomenon that has persisted for years. CBR traced that phenomenon as far back as 1988s The Punisher #8, which included a fan letter from an active servicemember. The trend has only accelerated over the last decade or so, with many pointing to the late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle as having cemented the link between The Punisher and the US military. The author of the autobiography American Sniper (the inspiration for the 2013 film starring Bradley Cooper), Kyle was known for adorning his equipment with the Punisher emblem and even nicknamed his unit "The Punishers."He righted wrongs. He killed bad guys. He made wrongdoers fear him, Kyle wrote of Frank Castle. We spray-painted [the skull logo] on our Hummers and body armor, and our helmets and all our guns. We spray-painted it on every building or wall we could, We wanted people to know, Were here and we want to f*** with you. Meanwhile, members of the Milwaukee Police Department allegedly spearheaded a rogue vigilante group also dubbed "The Punishers", prompting multiple internal investigations. A police department in Catlettsburg, Kentucky came under heavy criticism in 2017 for adorning police cruisers with Blue Lives Matter-themed Punisher logos. In October 2019, a Dallas police officer was seen wearing a Punisher logo during a contentious community meeting. And in 2021, Bernthal himself called out the fact that some January 6 rioters were spotted brandishing the Punisher skull.These people are misguided, lost, and afraid, Bernthal wrote on Twitter. They have nothing to do with what Frank stands for or is about.These people are misguided, lost, and afraid, Bernthal wrote on Twitter. They have nothing to do with what Frank stands for or is about.Clearly, these police officers and service members and other groups idolize Frank Castle and the way he takes the law into his own hands, meting out a lethal brand of justice. Thats despite the fact that The Punisher was never meant to be a character worthy of emulation. Hes a profoundly tragic figure - a man who lost everything and was failed by the system, driving him to become a remorseless killer. Despite what Kyle wrote, Frank Castle is not a man who rights wrongs. Hes the farthest thing from a hero. He simply pursues a selfish, single-minded quest to eradicate criminals, ignoring the justice system and the rule of law entirely. Hes meant to be pitied rather than admired, though that hasnt always been what fans take away from Marvels numerous Punisher comics, movies, and shows.The Punisher problem got to the point that co-creator Gerry Conway finally set out to reclaim the iconic logo for the Black Lives Matter movement in 2019. Conway launched a fundraising campaign dubbed Black Lives Matter: Skulls for Justice and spoke out against those co-opting the Punisher logo for their own ends."For too long, symbols associated with a character I co-created have been co-opted by forces of oppression and to intimidate black Americans, Conway wrote on the fundraiser site. This character and symbol was never intended as a symbol of oppression. This is a symbol of a systematic failure of equal justice. Its time to claim this symbol for the cause of equal justice and Black Lives Matter." Conways efforts only highlighted how little Marvel and Disney have done to address the growing Punisher problem over the years. Its only with Daredevil: Born Again that Marvel is finally tackling this controversy in a real and high-profile way.PlayMarvels Response to the Punisher ControversyAgain, Marvel and Disney have done surprisingly little to publicly fight against the misappropriation of the Punisher logo. They certainly havent tried to stem the flood of Punisher-themed Blue Lives Matter merchandise on the Internet, though as CBRs Brian Cronin has pointed out, Disney may be limited in their legal options. Prior to this series, Marvels most notable attempt to fight back against the exploitation of the Punisher logo came in 2019's The Punisher #13. In that comic, from writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Szymon Kudranski, an injured Frank Castle is approached by two NYPD officers who reveal themselves to be rabid fans. To their surprise, Frank reacts with disgust, telling them, "We're not the same. You took an oath to uphold the law. I gave all that up a long time ago. You don't do what I do. Nobody does."That comic was certainly a start, making it clear that Frank Castle doesnt condone killing in his name or the thought of police officers taking the law into their own hands. Frank at least has the presence of mind to know that no one should do what he does. For police to defy the system and act as judge, jury, and executioner is unforgivable. Again, The Punisher was never meant to be an aspirational figure.Art by Szymon Kudranski. (Image Credit: Marvel)That said, this Punisher meta-narrative amounted to a single scene in a single issue of a much longer series. The problem is that Marvel never built from there or sought to spread Franks message to the police to a wider audience. The Punisher #13 sold roughly 21,000 copies upon release, a small fraction of the number of people who have watched the Netflix series or the Punisher movies. Addressing the Punisher controversy in a single comic should have been a small first step for Marvel. Instead, for years it served as the sum total of their visible efforts to fight back against the characters misuse.Until now. At long last, Marvel is tackling its Punisher problem in a clear way, and on a much wider stage than before. Marvel fans who have never picked up a comic in their lives are now seeing the danger posed by rogue police officers who have adopted the Punishers symbol.Born Again shows a city being torn apart by vigilante violence, but not the kind decried by the newly elected Mayor Fisk. Men like Daredevil and White Tiger seek to work within the bounds of the system, using their powers to help their communities wherever possible. But even as they do, a subset of the NYPD has taken to dressing like the Punisher and working outside the scope of the law. They defy the very system theyre sworn to uphold in a way that makes even Frank Castle uncomfortable. They kill in his name, without authority or oversight.The question is simply when, not if, Bernthals Frank will be forced to respond to his fanboys. Theres a reckoning to come this season. Will Bernthal deliver a speech inspired by the one in The Punisher #13? Will he skip words entirely and simply kill the skull-clad officers with as much rage as he normally reserves for ordinary criminals? And will all of this play into the recently announced Punisher special that Bernthal is co-writing? He has a real attachment to Frank Castle as a character, and as seen by his January 6 comments above, the Punisher controversy bothers him as much as anyone. Whatever happens, were just glad to see Marvel finally and directly addressing its Punisher problem in an MCU project. The company has stayed mostly silent on the issue for far too long. The Punishers symbol should never be glorified. Its imperative that message come from Marvel itself.For more on Born Again, see the cast break down Episode 1's big twist and learn how an unexpected connection to the Netflix series could right a major MCU wrong.Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket byfollowing @jschedeen on BlueSky.