One of many anticipated aspects ofDaredevil: Born Againis the return ofJon Bernthal’s Punisher to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Bernthal debuted in the role of Frank Castle in the second season of the originalDaredevilseries before going on to headline his own spin-off show. Fans of the previous series will be especially excited ifBorn Againfeatures a reunion between him and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), Matt Murdock/Daredevil’s (Charlie Cox) co-worker. Although Karen and Frank have rarely interacted during their respective comic book histories,Daredevilbroke away from the canon, establishing an unexpected bondbetween the pair that was considered by many viewers to be a highlight of both series.
Who Are Frank Castle and Karen Page in Marvel Comics?
Created byStan LeeandBill Everett, Karen Page first appeared inDaredevil#1 in 1964. She was Matt’s secretary and original love interest but waswritten out of the series after learning his secret identity, after which she moved to California to be an actress. Created byGerry Conway,John Romita Sr., andRoss Andru, Frank Castle first appeared inThe Amazing Spider-Man#129 in 1974.Frank Millerincorporated the character into his first, famed run onDaredevilin the 1980s with the two crime fighters clashing over Frank’s use of lethal force, but Karen was still absent from the title. She received her controversial reintroduction during Miller’s second run, most of which consisted of the iconicBorn Againstorylinefrom which the upcoming TV show gets its subtitle. However, Frank was not included in any of these stories. Although laterDaredevilwriters, such asAnn Nocenti, made use of both characters,Karen and Frank still rarely had anything to do with one another, and the main version of the former was killed off in the 1999 story,Guardian Devil.
Frank and Karen Develop an Unexpected Connection in Netflix’s ‘Daredevil’
In the TV series, this couldn’t be farther from the truth, withKaren being the most crucial supporting character in Frank’s story— even more so than Matt Murdock himself. Although in their first encounter, Frank shoots at a witness Karen is protecting for Matt’s law firm, terrifying her, she begins to sympathize with him even before fully meeting him. While investigating corruption in the District Attorney’s office after it develops a feud with the firm, she learns about the murder of Frank’s family, which has been covered up. She even breaks into his vacant house to learn more, seeing the children’s toys and other abandoned possessions that point towards the happy family Frank had before the tragedy.
It’s Karen who initially pushes for Matt andhis law partner, Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), to represent Frank after his arrest. Frank is a characteristically difficult client, and initially only agrees to speak to Karen about his defense strategy in exchange for her continued help investigating the conspiracy that led to his family’s deaths. Butduring these sessions, the pair developed an unusual, strong connectionthat viewers didn’t see coming. Eventually, Frank breaks out of prison and the conspiracy threatens Karen, after which they go on the run together to continue working to unravel it.
Since the first season, it has been frequently hinted that Deborah Ann Woll’s Karen experienced substance abuse issues earlier than her comic book counterpart, before she ever moves to New York and meets Matt and Foggy. The third season reveals her history in full, including the fact that most of her neighbors, and even her father,blame her for her brother Kevin’s (Jake DiFalco) death, which happened after the latter got into an altercation with Karen’s ex-boyfriend, with whom she sold and did drugs. Karen still feels guilty about her brother’s death and this is confirmed by the time of Frank’s appearances in Season 2. It is clear that her dark past influences both her intense desire to seek the truth and her dynamic with Frank.
Frank and Karen Might Be More Than Friends in ‘The Punisher’
Karen initially seems to view Frank as a kindred spirit, mostly because of her guilt over both Kevin’s death and that of criminal James Wesley (Toby Leonard Moore), whom she killed in self-defense in Season 1. Her frustrations with the legal system become so pronounced that she at one pointexpresses approval for Frank’s lethal brand of vigilante justice, disturbing Matt, in one of many confrontations that leads to the collapse of Karen’s burgeoning romance with the lawyer. She begins to see the error in her thought process, however, when Frank uses her as bait to lure out enemy operatives and then violently kills them while Karen cowers in the next room. At the end of the season when Frank has captured Ray Schoonover (Clancy Brown), his former commanding officer, who was a leading figure in the conspiracy,Karen pleads with him to expose Schoonover’s illegal actions rather than kill him. She says, “You do this, and I am done. That’s it; you’re dead to me. Do you hear me?” Frank replies “I’m already dead,” and kills Schoonover anyway.
Although this scene suggested the pair’s friendship would end, they ultimately reunited in Bernthal’s spin-off seriesThe Punisher. Shortly before the series premiere in 2017, showrunnerSteve Lightfootexplained that Karen had not been includedin the original plans for the spin-off. After seeing Bernthal and Woll’s shared scenes inDaredevil, however, he requested the character be written in. Despite the tense nature of their final meeting inDaredeviland her continuing disapproval of his tactics,Karen is a source of warmth for the series. She’s happy to see Frank in their first scene back together, possibly because after the events ofThe Defendersshe was in mourning for Matt, who was presumed dead.
Jon Bernthal Narrates a Harrowing New ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Teaser Pitting Frank Castle Against Matt Murdock
The series premieres tomorrow.
The Punishercontinued to develop the most surprising aspect of Frank and Karen’s relationship, which is its quasi-romantic element. Although they met when Karen was beginning to date Matt, and the idea of Frank being in any present-day romances seems unlikely given his grief over the loss of his wife,it’s becoming clear that their friendship isn’t purely platonic. Much ofDaredevilSeason 2’s narrative revolves around Matt becoming increasingly obsessed with his superhero activities and neglectful of the rest of his life. As he continues to miss important legal work and other obligations to Foggy and Karen, secretly spending his time fighting crime with anti-hero ex-girlfriendElektra Natchios (Élodie Yung),Karen begins to see Frank as more trustworthy, and this generates even more affection for him.
‘Daredevil’ Was Willing To Move Away From the Comics
While the idea of a romance between The Punisher and Daredevil’s secretary sounds ridiculous on paper, both series maintain their maturity by making Frank aware thatit’s not a healthy dynamic for Karen. Karen’s feelings for him become most explicit in her single episode appearance inThe PunisherSeason 2, in which she tells him, “You cannot keep loving people in your dreams,” and suggests that he could, “love someone else, instead of another war.” Frank remains adamant that she should stay away from him as he does not want to stop killing and that continuing to associate with him will corrupt her and/or ruin her life.He also repeats earlier advice on repairing her relationship with Mattbecause, despite the other man’s flaws, “He’s good,” while Frank recognizes that he himself isn’t.
This relationship isn’t the only major difference between the originalDaredevilTV series and the comics. Other big changes include the series’ choices to kill off reporterBen Urich (Vondie Curtis-Hall), one of the longest-running supporting figures in the comics, and to give a more detailed, sympathetic backstory toBen Poindexter (Wilson Bethel), the man who would become the supervillain Bullseye. The Karen and Frank relationship is a good example of why the series was able to make these changes while still earning positive responses from fans. Although it changes the plot,the relationship is born out of the creators’ thorough understanding of the characters.
Modifying the dark period in Karen’s history to be more acceptable to modern television audiences resulted in her character having an even more tragic family history than Matt himself, soshe is intuitively the protagonist who would develop the closest connection to Frank. This connection, in turn, is one of the key aspects that makes Bernthal’s version of The Punisher more believably human than other iterations. He longs for human connection following the loss of his family, even while realizing that his need to avenge them makes him a destructive influence on the other people whose lives he touches. To achieve similar levels of success and quality,Daredevil: Born Againwould do well to make similarly bold, but carefully handled changesto the source material to highlight its core themes in new ways.
Karen and Frank’s Next Meeting in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Might Not Be Happy
While many fans will simply be excited to see Frank and Karen together onscreen again,if they do share scenes inBorn Again, their relationship could become even more strained. By the end of his series, Frank had wiped out everyone involved in the conspiracy but also continued to operate as The Punisher afterward, suggesting that he was now waging lethal war on unrelated criminals as his comic counterpart does. AsBorn Againis not retelling the characters' origins, he will presumably continue to do so for much of his role in the new series. While Karen understood Frank’s need to find out the truth about his family’s deaths and his desire to avenge them, she might be less forgiving of him continuing to kill indefinitely. Things between the two could also become especially tense if Frank begins to exert a dark influence over Matt, as some promotional material suggests may be the case.
The series' trailerreveals that, for part of the narrative, Matt is no longer operating as Daredevil, with his explanation being that, “A line was crossed.” This has led many fans to speculate that, during a mission or battle, Matt breaks his personal rule against killing criminals. While his retirement suggests that he will predictably be guilt-ridden about this for a time,a recent promoalso shows parts of an interaction between him and Frank, with the latter noting that Matt clearly wants to hurt someone. This doesn’t necessarily mean Matt will be planning to break his rule again (and this interaction could simply occur before the aforementioned line is crossed), but the fact that he is calmly speaking with Frank rather than trying to apprehend him is itself telling. As close as Karen is to Frank, Matt is an even more important figure in her life. This means that she may very well stand against Frank if she believes she must to save Matt’s soul.
Daredevil: Born Again
