There are plenty of crossovers that are difficult to make happen in real life due to various rights and logistics issues, but in the realm of fan art, anything is possible. Take John Wick and The Punisher. Both are skilled killers, with one hailing from Lionsgate’s library of content, and the other having been a Marvel Comics mainstay for decades. If those two went head-to-head, who would emerge victorious
That’s ultimately up to your imagination, but artist BossLogic recently mocked up a cool image of Jon Bernthal’s Punisher about to attack Keanu Reeves’ John Wick. And if you ask the folks over at Lionsgate, or at least its social media team, they’re naturally on Team John Wick in this fight.
Over his three theatrical appearances thus far, John Wick has certainly shown a talent with eliminating opponents using everyday objects. Case in point, in the beginning chunk of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, John dispatched an opponent who was after the $14 million bounty on his head using a book, as their fight occurred inside the New York Public Library. I guess words can hurt after all.
So provided he has a book in hand, Lionsgate believes The Boogeyman, a.k.a. Baba Yaga (as John Wick’s known in the criminal underworld) would be the winner. Of course, Frank Castle is armed with an automatic rifle in this artwork, so logically speaking that gives him an edge right off the bat. But hey, this is John Wick we’re talking about! He’s managed to get out scraps messier than this.
As for why John Wick and The Punisher would be fighting in the first place, it’s not difficult to come up with a plausible scenario. Frank Castle has dedicated his life to killing criminals, and while John Wick retired from the assassin life years before the events of the films begin, he left quite a body trail during his formative years. Even if John is now just fighting for his life and/or seeking vengeance against those who wrong him, his dog or his car, it’s not unreasonable to assume that Frank would still think John deserves to be eliminated for past crimes.
Alas, the chances of John Wick and The Punisher ever fighting in an official project are likely next to impossible. Even a comic book crossover would be difficult to pull off, so you’ll just have to play out such an altercation in your head. Just keep this in mind: if both John and Frank are each armed with a book and no other weapons, who will be able to do more damage with it?
While Punisher last appeared on the big screen in 2008’s Punisher: War Zone, Jon Bernthal debuted as the character in Daredevil Season 2 n 2016, and went on to lead his own series. As with the other Marvel Netflix shows, The Punisher was cancelled, and it remains to be seen if Frank Castle will return to live action anytime soon, let alone if Jon Bernthal will reprise him or a new actor will be brought in.
John Wick, on the other hand, still has a bright future ahead of him on screen. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum is the most commercially successful movie in the film series to date, and like its predecessors, it also received a lot of positive critical reception. John Wick: Chapter 4 is scheduled to come out on May 21, 2021.
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