Rarely does a day go by now without some rumor or leak regarding Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and one of the earliest confirmed appearances to be announced was Frank Castle’s Punisher. Modern Marvel fans would be forgiven for assuming that Daredevil and Punisher’s inspired pairing is more storied or colorful than Spider-Man and Punisher’s, especially due to the morally conflicted characters’ MCU outings in Netflix’s Daredevil and Punisher shows, as well as the Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again. However, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a quaint reminder that Peter Parker and Frank Castle’s history runs quite a bit deeper.
Punisher’s first appearance was in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974).
Meanwhile, Marvel’s Spider-Man has been diligently dedicated to standalone Spider-Man adventures, taking the opportunity to feature Peter Parker and Miles Morales, with Cindy Moon, known in the comics as Silk, teased as a character who’ll likely play a crucial role in Marvel’s Spider-Man 3. But if Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 finally chooses to have its cake and eat it, too, Punisher could be a phenomenal side character, antagonist, or cameo, trampolined by the heightened hype enveloping Frank Castle in next summer’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Marvel’s Spider-Man is Itching to Feature a Legitimate Superhero Cameo
Unlike countless comic book adaptations that have strived to ensure their titular protagonist is the continuity’s sole costumed hero, Marvel’s Spider-Man has ridden an odd line between explicitly sharing a world with Marvel icons and having those characters inhabit that same world in a physical space. For example, myriad Marvel landmarks are erected in Marvel’s Spider-Man’s open-world New York City, establishing that all their associated characters exist but refusing to let them actually be seen.
The closest that Insomniac has come is Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s Wong and Doctor Strange Easter egg. Here, a big, cinematic sequence is devoted to teleportation magic as Felicia Hardy’s Black Cat somehow masterfully wields the Wand of Watoomb, stolen from the New York City Sanctum Sanctorum.
And, as it concludes, Miles Morales receives a note from Wong. On the one hand, it’d be anticlimactic if Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise never had any legitimate, full-fledged cameos after everything it’s teased about characters in the Marvel universe. On the other hand, it’d also be commendable if the series adhered to its Spider-People exclusively without ever needing to lean into such cameos on a more grandiose scale.
Spider-Man and Punisher are Like Peanut Butter and Mayonnaise, But Somehow It Works
Because Punisher’s first appearance was in a Spider-Man comic book, it would be completely appropriate and significant to have him make an appearance, either playable or non-playable, in a Marvel’s Spider-Man game. Indeed, Punisher’s most prolific video game appearances, particularly ones where Spider-Man also plays a role, include him as:
- An NPC in NeverSoft’s Spider-Man; this is arguably Punisher’s best and most iconic video game appearance, especially when he’s seen playing cards with Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Captain America in one of Spider-Man’s hilarious final cutscenes.
- An explicit reference in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 concerning which side of the Superhuman Registration Act he should’ve been recruited into.
- An Easter egg of his presumed death in Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects.
- A playable character alongside Spider-Man in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, having debuted in the Marvel Knights: Curse of the Vampire DLC.
- A playable character alongside Spider-Man in Marvel Rivals’ roster.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 could have a ton of fun with a Punisher character, maybe in his own story-related DLC chapters like Black Cat received or potentially as an antagonist who players have to battle in the same vein as the tremendously difficult Silver Sable. That said, Marvel’s Spider-Man 3’s story is probably already packed to the gills with everything its predecessors have lobbed into the air for it, leaving not many chances of an unexpected superhero cameo anyhow.
- Release Date
- July 31, 2026
- Director
- Destin Daniel Cretton
- Writers
- Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Steve Ditko, Stan Lee
- Producers
- Amy Pascal, Kevin Feige, Rachel O'Connor
- Prequel(s)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Franchise(s)
- Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man
Cast
-
Spider-Man / Peter Parker -
ZendayaMichelle Jones -
Jacob BatalonNed Leeds -
Mark RuffaloBruce Banner / Hulk
- Main Genre
- Superhero
- Studio(s)
- Columbia Pictures, Marvel Studios, Pascal Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Sony
