7 Female Villains Who’d Be Perfect for The Punisher Series

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The Punisher, despite some of the controversy surrounding the antihero, remains one of Marvel Comics’ most iconic and popular characters. To this end, the Marvel Cinematic Universe incarnation of the vigilante recently returned in the first season of Daredevil: Born Again. Not only will he likely be back in the follow-up season, but he’s also getting his own spinoff special on Disney+, with this project poised to have a female villain.

The identity of The Punisher Disney+ special’s female villain hasn’t been revealed, though many fans of Frank Castle feel that they already know who it is. There are a few options that would work, in one form or another, especially given the character’s grounded nature. If the suspected villain is selected, however, fans will truly be saying “Welcome back, Frank” for The Punisher’s next venture.

7

Madame Masque Could Appear Again In the MCU

First Appearance: Tales of Suspense#97 by Stan Lee and Gene Colan

Madame Masque is mostly known as a member of Iron Man’s fairly underrated rogues gallery, though she arguably never fit there. Being more espionage-focused and lacking any real superpowers, she’s far from a true match for ol’ Shellhead. Nevertheless, this espionage and stealth theme could make her a great rival for The Punisher in his upcoming Disney+ special.

The one caveat would be that the Whitney Frost Madame Masque was already seen (in a fairly altered state) in the arguably still-canonical Agent Carter TV show. The Punisher could feature a separate version that uses the birth name Giulietta Nefaria from the comics, tying her into the criminal Maggia. This would act as a strong reason why Frank Castle is going up against her.

6

Silver Sable Might Target The Punisher In the MCU

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #265 by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz

Silver Sable is something of an antihero herself, and the bounty hunter/mercenary is known for her dangerous yet highly trained “Wild Pack” group. Usually coming up against Spider-Man in some capacity, she regularly hunts down war criminals and similar threats that superheroes might avoid. This makes her placement as a hero or a villain tenuous, but regardless of this, she could definitely be a stumbling block for Frank Castle.

Silver Sable might start off as an enemy of The Punisher before becoming an ally, though the reverse could also happen. The main issue with Silver Sable appearing in the Disney+ The Punisher special is that Sony owns the rights to Spider-Man and his related characters. These rights supposedly aren’t as rigid when it comes to TV and streaming, however, so the Wild Pack could pack a punch against The Punisher.

5

Lynn Michaels May or May Not Be an Ally of The Punisher In the MCU

First Appearance: The Punisher War Zone #7 by Chuck Dixon and John Romita, Jr.

Lynn Michaels was once a police officer who actually allied herself with The Punisher after he helped her on a case, with public knowledge of this making her somewhat contentious among other cops. After losing faith in the system, she became a skull shirt-wearing vigilante herself and was even known as “Lady Punisher.” Unfortunately, a series of failures and breakdowns made her realize that she didn’t want to follow in Frank Castle’s footsteps and turn against such a lifestyle.

Lynn Michaels could be seen in the Disney+ The Punisher special as a cop who’s initially antagonistic toward The Punisher but becomes allied with him. This would allow her to follow his example in future projects before she completely turns on him and even blames him for ruining her life. She might also appear in other Marvel works, such as Daredevil: Born Again Season 2.

4

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine Can Appear Again In The Punisher

First Appearance: Strange Tales #159 by Jim Steranko

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine has been a recurring presence in the post-Avengers: Endgame MCU projects, with her most recent exploits seeing her form the Thunderbolts/New Avengers team. Incredibly unscrupulous, she’s something of a femme fatale character who’s neither a true villain nor a real hero. Likewise, her continued presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially for criminal and espionage-related concepts, might mean she could encounter The Punisher.

Of course, she’s already cast, so the casting for the show’s female villain is irrelevant to her. It’s possible, however, that another take on Madame Hydra could appear in The Punisher could also be used, especially since the MCU Punisher has connections to the CIA and other intelligence organizations. This could include remnants of Hydra and others that fund modern criminal organizations.

3

Lady Bullseye Could Put a Target On The Punisher

First Appearance: Daredevil #111 by Ed Brubaker, Marko Djurdjević, and Clay Mann

Bullseye is primarily a Daredevil villain, though he’s also faced off against The Punisher. An underrated variant of Bullseye is Lady Bullseye, who’s also known as Maki Matsumoto. Inspired by the original Bullseye, she was also an accomplished lawyer and a rival of Matt Murdock in the courtroom. This would be used to pit her against The Punisher in the MCU.

Lady Bullseye might be used in the Punisher TV special in the place of the Benjamin Poindexter Bullseye (who was last seen fighting Daredevil), the latter of whom might be reserved for Daredevil’s show. Lady Bullseye could hunt down The Punisher at the behest of the Kingpin, all the while acting against vigilantes in her civilian identity. This would fit the anti-vigilante initiative started by Wilson Fisk during the events of Daredevil: Born Again.

2

Lady Tanaka Didn’t Actually Debut In the Comics

First Appearance: The Punisher (1989)

The 1989 The Punisher movie was very different from the comics in some ways, and it featured several original concepts and characters. One of these was Lady Tanaka, who was the leader of the Yakuza in the movie. Created for the film, her appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe would cement her as an enemy of Frank Castle.

Lady Tanaka might be treated similarly to Madame Gao from the Netflix Marvel shows, acting behind the scenes and connecting various criminal factions. These organizations would have a field day given the lack of vigilantes to take them down. This is where the Jon Bernthal version of The Punisher could come in to wipe out Tanaka, the Yakuza and other gangs.

1

Ma Gnucci Is Almost Guaranteed to Be In the Disney+ Punisher Special

First Appearance: The Punisher Vol. 5 #4 by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon

Given the casting for a female villain, most fans expect that the Disney+ The Punisher special presentation will feature Ma Gnucci as the antagonist. A crime queenpin who rules the Gnucci family, her ire against Frank Castle is raised when he kills two of her sons, with her other relatives and associates being next on the list. When she tries to take Castle on directly, she eventually ends up losing all her limbs and later, her life.

Ma Gnucci’s family was mentioned in the Netflix The Punisher TV show, but she wasn’t seen during the show. This makes the new presentation the best place to feature her, as it will be the revival of Frank Castle’s mission. Given the successful rendition of Sofia Falcone seen on 2024’s The Penguin, it might be good to feature such an over-the-top female mob boss.

“}]] Fans believe that they know who the pending female villain in Disney+’s The Punisher special will be, but there are a few other options for enemies.  Read More