Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle went solo for the first time in The Punisher: One Last Kill, Disney+‘s latest special, which also took things back to a full circle. The new special is heavily linked to the future of the vigilante antihero as well as the original Netflix series. The special also brings Judith Light’s Ma Gnucci into focus, a criminal mastermind who will remain a threat in the MCU.
Why Punisher killed the Gnucci family in One Last Kill explained
The Punisher: One Last Kill seemingly indicates that Castle’s conflict with the Gnucci family is fairly recent, but it actually ties back to the Netflix series from nearly a decade ago. The Gnucci Crime Family was briefly introduced in The Punisher series.
The series featured Tony Gnucci, whom Castle massacred along with his associates. However, the special did not mention Tony directly.
Instead, One Last Kill established that the Gnuccis were the last criminal organization connected to the murder of Castle’s family. This was the reason Castle targeted the male members of the family and eliminated them one by one.
As established earlier, William Rawlins and Ray Schoonover orchestrated the murder of Frank Castle’s family, with involvement from the Kitchen Irish, Dogs of Hell, and the Mexican Cartel. However, the special suggests that the Gnucci family was also involved in the plan. The special does not clearly explain the extent of their involvement.
Castle ultimately avenges his family either way.
In the special, he shoots Ma Gnucci’s husband, Benny, in his pool. The Punisher kills Gnucci’s eldest son, Bobby, an NYPD officer, with a battle axe. Frank later takes down Eddie Gnucci with an automatic weapon outside the family’s restaurant in front of Eddie’s son. By the end, Castle also kills Carlo by stomping him to death.
Ma Gnucci later returns to seek revenge against Castle and places him in danger, but the Marvel antihero survives. Ma Gnucci remains alive in the MCU and could potentially play a larger role in future projects.
The Punisher: One Last Kill is now streaming on Disney+.
