The Punisher: One Last Kill

On the surface, "The Punisher: One Last Kill" lives up to that hype as a gory, standalone, and dark rumination on the tortured man underneath that skull symbol. The only problem is, well, there's nothing beyond that surface. Neither long enough to tell us anything we didn't know about the antihero, nor interesting enough to merit this brief detour, this special ends up the exact opposite of its title character: inessential, forgettable, and, at worst, a cautionary tale of superhero stories that are never allowed to end.

But despite a ruthlessly kinetic and blood-soaked second half that threatens to top any action sequence that Marvel has ever done before, One Last Kill is a bit of a disappointment. It retraces the steps that every other MCU Punisher story arc has done before, and offers nothing else new.