Netflix's The Punisher pulled from Comic Con after Las Vegas shooting
A promotional event for the vigilante comic-book adaptation The Punisher has been pulled from Comic Con New York after Marvel and Netflix deemed the show not “appropriate” following the mass shooting that took place in Las Vegas over the weekend.
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In a joint statement, the streaming service and the comic giant said that the event on 7 October to push the show, which does not have a confirmed premiere date from Netflix, would no longer take place amid sensitivity surrounding guns and gun violence.
“We are stunned and saddened by this week’s senseless act in Las Vegas,” read the joint statement. “After careful consideration, Netflix and Marvel have decided it wouldn’t be appropriate for Marvel’s The Punisher to participate in New York Comic Con. Our thoughts continue to be with the victims and those affected by this tragedy.”
The Walking Dead star Jon Bernthal plays the lead role of the vigilante Frank Castle, who uses violence to avenge wrongdoing and has been described as Marvel’s “most gun-friendly anti-hero”.
The character has been portrayed on the big screen multiple times, with Dolph Lundgren, Thomas Jane and Ray Stevenson all attempting to capture the protagonist. Bernthal’s version of Castle first appeared on Netflix’s Daredevil series, before earning a spinoff.
Sensitivity about the show and its portrayal of gun use isn’t surprising. Castle’s affection for firearms and proclivity to use them regularly are well-known facets of the comic, and critiques surrounding the series called for creators to do more than rely on big guns and violence.
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The Punisher comic was first published in 1974 and is widely regarded as one of the most innovative in any genre. Under the Irish writer Garth Ennis, the comic tracked the life of Castle from a 10-year-old boy to a grizzled and weatherbeaten middle-aged man, an ambitious effort that saw it dubbed the comic world’s “greatest creative achievement of the decade”.
The show is the latest project to be affected by a mass shooting in America. The first season finale of Mr Robot was postponed after a mass shooting that took place in Virginia in 2015. Another USA Network show, the sniper-themed project Shooter, was postponed twice because of mass shootings.
In 2013, an episode of Hannibal was pulled in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, and in June this year NBC’s The Carmichael Show postponed an episode that directly dealt with the issue of gun violence because of a spate of mass shootings that took place in Alexandria, Virginia and San Francisco.