Francis David "Frank" Castle Sr. is a fictional character portrayed by Jon Bernthal in two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) television series—based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name—commonly known by his alias, The Punisher. Introduced in the 2016 second season of Daredevil, Bernthal signed a deal to return for a spin-off series, The Punisher (2017–2019); his portrayal of the character has been positively received.