Born Again Episode 9 Post-Credits Scene, Explained

This post contains spoilers for the “Daredevil: Born Again” season 1 finale.

Things aren’t looking too hot for Daredevil (Charlie Cox). In the finale of “Daredevil: Born Again,” the Man Without Fear found himself on the back foot, realizing he needed an army and a new strategy to overcome Mayor Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), who had fully reverted to his old ways. Meanwhile, perhaps one of Matt’s most valued yet volatile assets was out of commission. After taking a beating from corrupt cops who had branded themselves with Frank Castle’s iconic insignia, The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) waged war against the morally bankrupt boys in blue and was imprisoned for it, along with the fan-favorite “Hawkeye” character, The Swordsman (Tony Dalton). However, the caged beast that is Frank Castle stays caged only as long as Frank Castle wants to be caged, as was made swiftly apparent in the episode’s post-credit scene.

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Bruised but not beaten, The Punisher is seen trapped in his cell, acting friendly with a guard on duty who is keeping an eye on all those imprisoned in Fisk’s off-the-books operation. Of course, it’s only a matter of minutes until, after some tedious small talk, Frank asks for a handshake and quickly uses it to continue this show’s ongoing trend of making a character’s limb bend in a completely different direction. From there, he makes a run for it before the screen cuts to black. The only question left to ask now is where Frank will end up, and more importantly, will we be around to see when he gets there?

As confirmed even before Matt Murdock’s return to Disney+, Jon Bernthal was deeply involved in developing a standalone story for The Punisher in a brand-new Marvel special. While there were no specific details on what it would entail, producer Brad Winderbaum revealed to Entertainment Weekly that the story originated during the production of “Daredevil: Born Again.” Considering this, could Frank’s story follow his first steps out of the cells as the character is on the run from whoever tries to put him back in? It’d be a downright fun route to see The Punisher’s prison break in an almost “Extraction”-like story, potentially leading to the kind of signature action sequence that these hard-hitting heroes are now known for.

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Alternatively, there’s every chance that Bernthal could be filling in the blanks and explore a mission that took place even before Matt Murdock came back into Frank’s life way back in the third episode of “Born Again.” It’s clear from his heavily tooled-up bunker that Castle has still been hard at work, so why not spend the one-off special showing The Punisher taking out the trash in a bullet-riddled short story that isn’t in any way connected to old horn-head, giving time to set up whatever they have planned for Frank going forward? All that we ask is that before he does, he regroups with Matt and joins the battle we’re itching to see him fight. 

He might have a small one-shot on the way, but getting Frank back in the fight with Matt Murdock is the place we really want him to be. Like the Man Without Fear said, he needs an army to take on Mayor Fisk, and who better to help in than the one-man army himself?

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Of course, backing up Daredevil isn’t the only reason for Frank to get in on the fun. After getting up close and personal with the police that have stained his name, Castle has a hit list of badge-carriers that he’ll no doubt want to make his way through. The only issue with that is just what kind of routine friction it will create from the guy who is not afraid to put people down permanently, and the hero dressed in red that still struggles with the idea every time he comes face to face with The Punisher.

Perhaps Frank could go a little easier on the wrong-doers that he and his horn-headed pal will be facing whenever “Daredevil: Born Again” returns for its second season. A broken arm here and a twisted ankle there might be enough to satiate Frank Castle’s desperate need for punishment. There’s going to be a bloodbath, but perhaps this time The Punisher doesn’t need to make it quite so deep.

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“Daredevil: Born Again” season 1 is now streaming in its entirety on Disney+.