Atta Girl: Frank Castle, The Female Gaze, and the Appeal of the Anti-”Anti-Hero”
warnings: n/a
word count: 4.5k
a/n: In which I sat down and wrote my first-ever big girl essay about the shocking phenomenon of Frank Castle as (imo) the MCU’s most feminist character, and why I and so many women are drawn to him — for reasons other than thirst. (Though that’s fine too.) Didn’t intend to have this finished as part of the Bernthal Big Bang going on this week, but the timing worked out incredibly well, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ There’s no real point, and it’s a little dense (hence why I posted externally), but a year-plus of feelings about Frank and safety and comfort characters and we’ve landed here — a place I think plenty of others can sympathize with. Happy Bernthirst week y’all!
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I’ve spent much of this year rewatching a lot of old favorites when it comes to television. Partly because there hasn’t been much in the way of new, interesting TV coming out this year (excluding Ted Lasso, of course), and partly because the ongoing stress of living in a pandemic makes my brain want to leak out of my ears, so I need something a bit more comforting than Halston or Brand New Cherry Flavor.
One of those old favorites has been The Punisher. Y’know, the Netflix Marvel series starring Jon Bernthal as a former Marine hellbent on finding who’s responsible for the death of his wife and children? Not outwardly my bag as someone who tends to stick to rom-coms, I know. But it’s a show I discovered in a pandemic, which I am now rewatching in the same pandemic. For the...fourth time, I think? I’ve lost count. It might’ve beat out Narcos by now. (I know. Don’t judge me.)
I’ve been picking this show apart since day one — pulling apart how and why the show does female characters better than any other superhero property, breaking down its differences from Daredevil, its sister show, occasionally psychoanalyzing Billy Russo to figure out why he’s such a punk ass bitch.
But the theme I keep coming back to, over and over again, is something that almost has nothing to do with the plot of the show itself. It has nothing to do with Frank Castle’s quest for revenge for his family, his blood streak of tearing down former commanders from the inside — but rather, it has everything to do with Frank himself.
He’s violent. He’s a killer. He has a mean streak a mile wide and a temper as easily triggered as a well-placed tripwire. On the surface, he’s the poster child for masculinity.
Author's note: Over a month ago, @slavic-empress was kind enough to make two requests! This is the first. It was for Shane Walsh from the Soulmate AU prompt list. Imprint was chosen. The prompt meaning the soulmates touch will leave an imprint on their skin. The term touch was taken a little liberally. I based it upon touch being a conscious decision, the giver giving the receiver the touch and therefore the imprint so that one soulmate could imprint the other without their knowledge. This is also the first submission to the @bernthirst-events Bernthal Birthday Big Bang in honor of the man himself and celebrating Jon's birthday.
You have been friends with Rick Grimes for a long time. Which meant that for an equally long time, you had to put up with Shane Walsh. The two of you got along like cats and dogs; not at all. With the two men friends and coworkers, it was often that any get together put the two of you in close proximity. Being the polite one, not wanting to ruin anything for your friends or cause a scene, you often did the tried and true method of grinning and bearing it. The snide comments, the cocky attitude, the general asshole nature of the man just grated on every one of your nerves. The exact opposite of everything you have wanted to deal with in a human, all the traits that just drove you crazy. But you had to suck it up and deal with it. He was close friends with Rick and it wasn't like that was going to change. Neither was your friendship with the man. So, you were the adult in the situation.
Shane had been particularly unbearable the last few weeks. Apparently some relationship that he had been in, one that shockingly and for the first time in years had been going well, ended when the woman met her soulmate. Admittedly, you couldn't blame him for being miserable and grumpy about that. Then again, you had decided a few years ago that it wasn't worth waiting or banking on ever finding your soulmate.
Gathering at your godson's birthday party, you knew that today might be a challenge. Even if everyone was here for Carl. That was the mindset that you did your best to hold onto, the young boy excited about his day, greeting you at the door with a large grin and a hug.
"Hey bud." You returned the hug. "Happy birthday. You ready for all the party fun we are going to have?"
"Yeah! All my friends should be here soon. Are you going to get in the pool with us?"
"Of course. What kind of silly question is that?" He giggled and stepped back. "You wanna help me bring the food in birthday boy? Then maybe I'll just sneak you the first of your two presents. But we can't tell anyone." You winked playfully and he nodded, eagerness overriding everything. Quickly, he was out to your car to help you. There were only a few things that you brought, some homemade salads and the like to be able to help Lori so she didn't have to do everything on her own.
Once everything was carried in and settled, you could hear Carl hopping around, excitement over the prospect of a present making you laugh. That youthful sort of enthusiasm was always refreshing.
"All right, I think you definitely earned your first present." You shifted through your bag for a moment. You had gotten him the latest model of remote control car that you knew he had been wanting for months. That would be opened later. The other had been the next in his favorite book series and that's what you had. "Here it is."
"Thank you." He tore it open just as the door opened, Shane walking in. You shifted your focus back to car, smiling as he realized what he had.
"Woah, what's going on? I thought presents were supposed to happen later." Carl looked up, clearly nervous about it as Shane spoke and you could have smacked the man. Normally, he didn't give a shit about the rules so you didn't know where that came from.
"Y/N said I could. It's only one. And there's another to open later." You reached out and ruffled his hair.
"I did. And it's perfectly fine. Go ahead Carl, go and get ready. I'm sure your friends are going to be here soon." You sent him off and glanced back towards Shane. "Really?"
"What?"
"Did you need to get on his case like that? It's not like he snuck the present off the table. I was here with him, gave it to him, and gave him the okay."
"It's not like that's your choice. Maybe Rick and Lori didn't want that happening."
"And that it makes it yours to ruin the moment for him? It was a book. That's not your choice, by your logic Walsh. So just back off and bring your surly ass somewhere else. If you're going to be an asshole, just make your appearance and leave." You weren't going to put up with his shit today. Not after that little stunt.
"Oh for fuck sakes. Stop being so damn stuck up. You were wrong and caught about it. So stop whining." You couldn't help but roll your eyes, knowing that he was just going to be more uptight and snarky with you because he was in a bad space.
"Stuck up? You're the one being stuck up. The kid opened one present, a book, and you were ready to throw him under the bus. Just because whatever her name left you, doesn't mean you can take it out on everyone around you. Guess what, it happens. People find their soulmates. Some people actually want to. Move on and don't be a dick to everyone around you." That struck a deeper nerve than you had managed before, apparently, as you watched his jaw tense. He was in front of you before you could blink. Trying to stand your ground, there was a moment you were actually worried about your well being.
"You have no idea what you're talking about so why don't you stop sticking your nose where it don't belong. And I wouldn't be talking about soulmate shit. You clearly ain't got one and if you do, I feel sorry for the poor fuck. Being stuck with you would be a living hell. No one should have to put up with you. If I was him, I would ignore it and go on being with whoever I was with." The words stung. While you had given up on finding your soulmate, it didn't mean that things like that didn't sting. Your anger got the better of you in that moment, your frustrations with him boiling over. Before you could think, you were reacting, hand cocked back and flying towards his face.
He caught it before you could slap his cheek, hand tight around your wrist. The two of you stared at one another before the sound of Lori calling out ended up pulling you from the moment. You yanked your hand back, turning on your heel. Your wrist stung where he had squeezed. Looking down as you made it to the bathroom, your heart stopped.
There it was, the thing you had given up on. Of all the people in the world. Shane Walsh's touch had caused an imprint. Your stomach churned. In the years that you had known each other, apparently you had never touched but you didn't have any sort of imprint. Eyes couldn't move off the mark as you braced against the sink. With the panic welling, you needed to leave.
Once the panic settled, you would feel bad that you had left Carl's party, that he had wanted to have you there. No, all that was in your mind was putting distance between you and the man that you couldn't even look at in the moment.
