'The Punisher' photos reveal first look at Jon Bernthal in costume

What seems to be the first photo of Frank Castle sporting his “The Punisher” gear has recently surfaced. The picture in question shows actor Jon Bernthal (who portrays the titular character) donning body armour with the character’s signature skull.

Images of the actor in his new gear have circulated on several platforms on the Internet such as Reddit and Twitter. Since then, Bernthal has been the talk of the town, what with excitement for his upcoming show building up once again.

The character’s skull logo is iconic as it not only signifies Castle’s alternate persona, it also symbolises the character’s background and history. The skull is a symbol for the consequences criminals will face upon their showdown with the vigilante and is also an ode to the character’s days in the military.

“The Punisher” is an upcoming television series by Netflix that takes place in the same universe as other Marvel shows adapted by the network, such as “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones,” “Luke Cage” and “Iron Fist.” The character is primarily linked to the “Daredevil” series, especially since he was first introduced in the aforementioned show.

Castle as Punisher is a vigilante who takes on a more aggressive approach to cleaning up the dirty work in Hell’s Kitchen. Fans first got a taste of him in the second season of “Daredevil” and have since clamoured for the character’s own solo show. It was only a matter of time before Netflix gave in to the demands and announced the upcoming series with Bernthal playing the protagonist.

How the television series will pan out has yet to be revealed, but the hype surrounding the show’s debut has steadily risen, especially with how the other Netflix-Marvel stories will weave together in the upcoming miniseries, “The Defenders.” Though Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist band together to make up The Defenders, Castle’s solo series will centre solely on his story and is independent from the build up of “The Defenders.”

Bernthal can be previously remembered as the face of Shane Walsh in AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” The actor was part of the cast for the first two seasons before ultimately having his character killed off. He later returned to guest star on the show for season 3. His other works include 2013’s “The Wolf of Wall Street,” 2014’s “Fury” and “Sicario” in 2015. He has also starred opposite Ben Affleck in 2016’s “The Accountant.” “The Punisher” Netflix series is slated for a 2017 release.