Review: Marvel Legends The Punisher as seen in The Punisher: One Last Kill
- Mephitsu
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
"I shall never quit. To quit, to surrender, is to fail."
Jon Bernthal’s Punisher had a very good run across 2025 into 2026, returning to the Marvel Universe in Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again, followed by his own Disney+ TV special ‘One Last Kill’, and finally a role alongside Spider-Man in Brand New Day. That, of course, led to new figures of Frank Castle, the first of which was based on his Born Again appearance and arrived in 2025. This was followed up in 2026 with the announcement of a second Frank Castle Punisher as a Marvel Legends special release.
This 2026 Punisher figure started shipping at the very back end of July, almost to the day that Spider-Man: Brand New Day premiered in cinemas. The figure uses the usual single Marvel Legends box set in jet black with the Legends logo to the top left, and Hasbro’s logo at the bottom right. There was no specified source material for the figure; instead, it is branded only with the Punisher logo alongside the character name and on the bottom rail under the figure window.
To the sides, we had images of the figure itself, with a full-length image of the new figure on the back alongside background text that summarises Frank’s origin story, talking about the murder of his family and his transformation into a ‘vengeful vigilante’. Inside the box and backing the inner tray containing the figure is a backing card containing a large Punisher skull logo.
Out of the box, Frank arrives with his full beard, so despite the lack of a logo or a specified source on the packaging, this is The Punisher more or less as we leave him in One More Kill, fully kitted out and with a full beard. It was indicated by the Hasbro Legends team that the figure was based on concept art, and due to the changes in Frank's final costume on screen, this was released under a generic Punisher TV series header and not directly from One More Kill, or as some might have hoped, from Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The figure starts with a pair of black cast trousers, reused from the Hawkeye Disney+ figure from 2021, which does mean they include a thigh swivel and also have the variation in the plastic colour between the upper thigh and the rest of the legs. The upper body includes a hard cast combat vest with strapping and buckles all left unpainted. Around this is wrapped combat webbing and a belt with various ammunition pouches, a knife sheath, and a handgun holster. Over the top of the vest and down onto the ammo pouches is the Punisher skull logo, applied as though spray-painted into place.
The arms are short-sleeved, an inaccuracy in the figure compared to One Last Kill where Frank was wearing longer sleeves. Between the vest and hands, the skin tone is cast in the base colour and includes sculpted muscular detail and veins. Frank is wearing a pair of combat fingerless gloves, another reused part having been taken from the John Walker Thunderbolts figure.
The headsculpt on arrival is a neutral-looking Castle with a full beard, and part shaved back and sides. Facial printing enhances the likeness to Bernthal, and includes wound damage with a cut on the nose and over the left eye.
This can be swapped out for a screaming, angry Frank with the open mouth coloured to include the tongue, gums and teeth. The same battle damage is applied across this head. They swap out easily enough with each other, but be mindful of over-swapping, as this can result in the twin-sided ball joint popping out with the head rather than staying in the neck.
Frank can also have his hands swapped out, with a second set of clenched fists included - again courtesy of Thunderbolts John Walker - for hand-to-hand combat positions.
vs 2025 Born Again Punisher (right) inc. ability to headswap across both releases
When you compare this new Punisher figure side-by-side with the Daredevil: Born Again version, you will see similarities, but no obvious reused parts apart from perhaps the neck. This means the heads from both versions are interchangeable if you’d rather have this figure without the beard. Ironically, the longer sleeves on the Born Again version would have been a much better choice for the One Last Kill figure.
Accessories are plentiful in the set, starting with a pair of smoke grenades that are cast in black with silver rings and base trim. These have a socket on the reverse of each that connects to enlarged pegs on Frank’s belt. That means they are both part of the costume, or an accessory that he can pull from his belt and throw at his enemies.
Up next, and also stowed on his belt, is the combat knife that was included in the Born Again version. The knife includes a relatively crisp level of detail, including the grip and the blade serrations. It is, however, cast solely in a grey colouring. As well as being holstered, it can fit in either hand and be wielded in a forward or backhand grip.
The final holster on the belt is for Frank’s handgun. Again, this is the same as was included on the 2025 release and is also cast in one solid colour with no paint apps. It is intended to go in the right hand, but the issue with re-using John Walker’s hand here is that this is a pointing position and not one originally designed to hold a gun. The fit is ok, but you will struggle with the finger getting into place.
Up next, and another re-use, is the fire axe from the 2025 release. Similarly cast in grey and able to be slotted in either right or left hand, ready to be used in hand-to-hand combat, or thrown at approaching (or retreating) enemies.
And new to the set is a new shotgun piece, the most detailed of the lot with a painted brown stock and forend grip. There is also a sculpted bullet in the magazine picked out in silver on one side of the weapon. The grip into the right hand is problematic here also; in fact, it is worse than the handgun, with the extended finger not getting close to locking into the trigger, while the grip is tighter and further back than it needs to be to secure the shotgun. We can achieve some positions, but not fully firing positions.
To mimic firing, the final accessory is a plug-in effect piece that simulates muzzle flash. Cast in translucent orange, it securely slots into the barrels of either the handgun or the shotgun to give an enhancement for display.
All of these accessories and the various positions for firing, fighting, or throwing are achieved through 19 points of pinless articulation. As mentioned, the donated Hawkeye legs still include a thigh swivel, as well as a double-jointed knee and a robust ankle rocket. Castle can therefore kneel as well as sliding into wider leg stances or forward attacking positions, the more dynamic of which will require an aftermarket stand.
The arms are devoid of a butterfly at the shoulder, which is another impact to the shotgun positioning in particular. Down from the standard shoulder is a bicep swivel, dual-joint elbow, and a wrist pivot. The torso joint bisects the front Punisher Skull log, so while there is movement forward and backward, engaging this joint will disrupt the look of the figure. The final joints sit in the neck, top and bottom, giving the head plenty of range.
While it doesn’t say so on the box, this is very much a Punisher: One Last Kill release, mirroring much of the final outfit Frank Castle wears with the exception of the arms, which needed to be longer-sleeved. As a special release, it does command a slightly higher price of £26.99 RRP in the UK, but you cannot argue with that price considering the volume of accessories and parts.
As well as being inaccurate, the figures' arms are also problematic in terms of posing. The hand choice is not a good one for weapon grip, and while it just about works, there must be better options out there that Hasbro could have used for the shotgun in particular.
A solid overall release, but not one that will really go with your Spider-Man: Brand New Day figures considering how different Frank looked in the movie. I suspect that Brand New Day hole may not be filled any time soon, if at all, considering this release was likely developed to bridge the Disney+ One Last Kill and into Brand New Day. That in itself is a shame, as that leaves this figure standing solo on display with no contemporary figures to sit with it, and the Brand New Day display can’t complete the trio of Spider-Man and Punisher vs The Hulk.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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