Daredevil's first season was a massive success, receiving a green light for season two only 11 days after the show premiered on Netflix. Now, progress on the second season is chugging along with Jon Bernthal cast as one of Marvel's darkest anti-heroes, The Punisher, and beloved characters Elektra and Bullseye expected to be in the mix. While all of these characters have villain potential, it seems The Punisher may be the one to carry the mantle as season two's big bad.

Nerdist reports that new Daredevil's new co-showrunner Marco Ramirez (Sons of Anarchy) is referring to season two as "Daredevil vs. The Punisher". The report also points to David Lapham's Daredevil vs. Punisher: Means and Ends, in which Daredevil and the Punisher fight for the soul of Hell's Kitchen when the city descends into violent chaos after Kingpin's fall from power.

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Image via Marvel

Season one spoilers ahead. To be honest, it was always fairly obvious that The Punisher would act as an antagonist, if not an outright villain. While Matt Murdoch came awfully close to crossing some big ethical boundaries during his tenure as The Devil of Hell's Kitchen, the season finale saw Murdoch firmly resolved not to be a killer as he accepted his role as the "hero this city needs", shipped Kingpin off to prison, and finally became Daredevil.


No doubt, there will be major conflict between Daredevil and The Punisher a.k.a. Frank Castle, who unlike Murdoch, relishes dispatching bad men in gruesome, gory fashion. The two characters are diametrically opposed, and there is a long comic history of their clashes. However, I'd expect Castle to act more as a foil to Murdoch, as he is ultimately a Marvel hero, even if he is super into murder. With a genuine baddie like Bullseye in the mix, I'd expect the two will eventually come to (perhaps tenuous) terms and unite against a common enemy.

Regardless of who steps up as the major villain, season two is shaping up to be a fascinating step in the Marvel universe. Daredevil distinguished itself as a determinedly darker approach to the world of heroes, and with the likes of The Punisher running around Hell's Kitchen, things are bound to get even grimmer.

What do you guys think? Should The Punisher step up as the central villain or would you like to see an eventual alliance between the heroes? Which comic book stories would you like to see their narrative take a cue from? Sound off in the comments.

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Image via Netflix