‘The Punisher’ Season 2 Stan Lee Tribute Is… A Choice

Spoilers for Season 2 of Netflix’s The Punisher past this point.

At the end of the second season of Marvel and Netflix’s The Punisher, two rival gangs are facing off. “You wanna dance?” says one of the thugs, as they all pull out guns. Then, enter Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), who has finally embraced his calling as the vigilante The Punisher, dressed in his signature skull vest/shirt and coat from the comics. “Hey!” he growls. “I’ll dance with you.” He pulls out two enormous guns and screams as he shoots at the thugs/directly at the screen. The theme music plays as the screen cuts to black, holds there for three and three quarters seconds, and then a title card fades up stating, “In Loving Memory of STAN LEE.”

And that, as they say, is a choice.

It’s not that Lee, who passed away on November 12, died in a hail of gunfire or anything (he didn’t). It’s the juxtaposition of Bernthal’s deep growl, the “fuck yeah” moment of The Punisher finally revealing that he likes to dance (just kidding) with a somber title card. But it’s also that Lee isn’t usually associated with The Punisher.

Spider-Man? Sure. Thor and Captain America? Yep. The Hulk? Definitely. And even characters like Deadpool, who are only related to the Marvel creator in the most tangential way possible pay tribute to “The Man.” The Punisher is also the first Marvel/Netflix show to debut since Lee passed, so the thought process of paying tribute to him makes logical sense.

But The Punisher was actually created for the comic “Amazing Spider-Man” by writer Gerry Conway — who also created the iconic skull design — and John Romita, Sr., who was Marvel’s Art Director at the time. Frank Castle was first penciled by Ross Andru for the issue, based on Romita and Conway’s design. Stan Lee’s contribution? The name, which he cribbed from a previous Marvel character.

Anecdotally, Conway wanted to call the character Assassin, which Lee thought was too harsh for audiences. Instead, he used the name of a robot/cyborg character named Punisher who had first appeared in 1966’s “Fantastic Four #49.” Conway’s response, according to Lee? “Okay.”

This is by no means meant to diminish Lee’s contribution… The Punisher may not have become nearly as popular of a character without Lee’s quick change of nomenclature. Perhaps it’s the use of “In Loving Memory” that makes the moment feel strange, instead of “In Memory”? It also might be that Lee never made one of his signature cameos in any of the Marvel/Netflix shows, though they often hide his image and name in seasons as Easter Eggs. Of note, he was completely missing in the first season of The Punisher, so his hasty inclusion at the end may add to the effect.

But regardless of any curious feelings the title card might leave with viewers, one thing is clear: Lee would have been thrilled to have his name on the show. No punishment necessary.

Stream Marvel's The Punisher on Netflix