Six years after last seeing Punisher in his own show, fans finally learned the answer to a question first posed nine years ago, thanks to his return to the screen in Daredevil: Born Again.
Fans first saw Jon Bernthal's take on Frank Castle in Daredevil Season 2. He served as both an antagonist and an ally, fresh off the unjust murder of his entire family.
Besides Daredevil: Born Again, Daredevil Season 2 is the only time in which Matt Murdock and Frank are seen onscreen together — Matt's story moves forward in Defenders and Daredevil Season 3, while Punisher branches off into his own series (though, Karen Page and Brett Mahoney do appear in both).
Major Daredevil Season 2 Punisher Cliffhanger Resolved
As of the last time fans saw the Punisher onscreen six years ago (in Season 2, Episode 13 of The Punisher), it was officially unknown if Frank had figured out Daredevil's secret identity for certain. However, Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, Episode 4 changes this.
In Season 1, Episode 4 of Daredevil: Born Again, Matt pays Frank a visit where he seems to be currently living while in hiding. Early in their conversation, Frank asks Matt (in a normal suit and tie, not in his Daredevil costume), "Are you in service, Red?"
This marks the first time Frank officially confirms onscreen that he knows Matt is Daredevil, referring to Matt Murdock by his classic nickname for Daredevil.
Interestingly, during their conversation in Season 2, Episode 3 when Frank has Matt chained up on a rooftop, Frank actually says that he does not care who is under the mask.
Still, by the time he and Matt reunite on screen in Daredevil: Born Again, he had found out anyway.
When Could Frank Have Figured Out Who Daredevil Is?
There are several theories out there about exactly when Frank realized his blind lawyer was also the vigilante he once shot in the head and chained up on a roof, as well as if and when Matt learns that Frank figured it out.
It is important to note that Matt has no real reaction to Frank calling him Red while he is not in the Daredevil suit, implying that Matt definitely knew, or at least suspected, that Frank had put two and two together.
With that in mind, the first theory is that Frank learned off-screen, in the time between Daredevil Season 3 and The Punisher Season 2, and Daredevil: Born Again.
Regardless of whether this was when he first learned, it is implied that the two have seen one another in that in-between time, even if just once or twice, so it very well could have happened then.
However, another theory covers both Frank finding out and Matt finding out that Frank found out in one. Frank watches Daredevil fight maskless against the hand on a roof in Daredevil Season 2, Episode 13.
It is not entirely clear if Punisher got a good look at Matt's face — he may have been too far away from the action to see it himself. Still, the last thing he says to Daredevil that season is, "See you around, Red."
It is left vague whether this was intended for Matt to hear, thanks to his enhanced senses, or was more something Punisher was mumbling for himself, but that Matt heard thanks to his enhanced senses.
Some have interpreted this as a nod to Matt's blindness, saying that it was meant for Matt to pick up on as an indication that Frank knows, but will keep it quiet.
Again, the answer was so vague that fans have spent the last nine years wondering — and it did not help that nothing in either season of The Punisher indicated anything either.
One of the other theories about when Frank figures out Daredevil's identity is when Matt first introduces himself to Frank as his lawyer in Season 2, Episode 6. The argument mostly relies on the argument that Matt does not disguise his voice enough as Daredevil, but that can be a matter of opinion.
Another theory argues that it happened in Season 2, Episode 8 when Matt gives a whole speech about vigilantes during Frank's trial that comes across as hitting closer to home than Matt may have intended.
Regardless, after all this time, fans finally have an answer.
The first four episodes of Daredevil: Born Again are available to stream on Disney+.
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
