Last time we saw Russo, he had just barely survived a severe beating from Castle. Russo had undergone surgery for eleven hours and the doctors weren’t sure if he would regain his brain function ever again. They also weren’t sure when, or if, Russo would wake up or what he would remember if he did wake up. Although there are no details on THE PUNISHER Season 2, it looks like the writers are setting up Russo’s other identity, Jigsaw.
Jigsaw first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 161 in October 1976. Len Wein and Ross Andru created him and although his first appearance was in The Amazing Spider-Man, Jigsaw is known to be a major rival of the Punisher. In the comics, Billy Russo was kicked out of his abusive home at just ten years old. He eventually became a hitman for the Costa family and he was known for his good looks. After the Costa family murdered Castle’s family, Russo was hired to clean up loose ends and finish Castle once and for all. Russo planted a bomb inside Castle’s home, but the bomb failed and Castle began to seek out Russo for his revenge. Castle tracked down Russo to a nightclub and killed all of Russo’s associates, but left Russo alive to send a message to his employers. However, Frank threw Russo through a glass window. Russo’s injuries resulted in jigsaw-like scars all over his face. Russo started a new criminal life as Jigsaw and began to plan his revenge against the Punisher.
Jigsaw has no superpowers but is a skilled foe. He is a skillful hitman and has experience in fighting and weaponry. Jigsaw is a skilled strategist and strong enough, both physically and mentally, to match the Punisher.
The Netflix version of Russo, portrayed by Ben Barnes, is quite different in terms of his backstory. In the Netflix series, Russo was Castle’s best friend and they served together in the military for eight years. Russo still did come from a troubled family like his comic book counterpart, but the live action Russo was abandoned by his drug-addict mother rather than being kicked out of his home by an abusive father. Both versions of Russo are involved in crime, but in THE PUNISHER had Russo run a successful private military company where he could hide any illegal activities.
Netflix’s Russo also differs from his comic book counterpart because he was part of the operation that resulted in Castle’s family being murdered. Once Castle found this out, he didn’t smash his face through a window like in the comics. Instead, he severely beat Russo and slid his face across shattered glass. Russo has proven to be a worthy opponent and his return as Jigsaw is sure to be no different. My guess is that he will wake up and mysteriously disappear from the hospital to plot his revenge against Castle. At the end of Season 1, Castle seemed ready to give up fighting for good. Jigsaw might be the thing that will force Castle to fight yet another war.
THE PUNISHER is currently streaming its first season on Netflix.
Written by James Philbrick, Character Profiles
Related Posts:
THE PUNISHER Season 1 Review: One of Marvel's Stronger Shows on NetflixFirst Reviews For Netflix and Marvel's THE PUNISHER Series Arrive Online
PUNISHER Profile: Get to Know Micro
Comments
Post a Comment