Daredevil: Born Again has finally brought back one of the most iconic characters from the Defenders Saga. Episode 4 of the Disney+ series features the return of Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle, a.k.a. the Punisher, for the first time in six years. Castle developed a reputation for his brutal crimefighting tactics, which saw him kill hundreds of criminals, gangsters, and supervillains during the events of Daredevil and The Punisher. His return in Born Again proves that Frank hasn’t changed all that much since his last appearance.

Long before playing the Punisher in the MCU, Jon Bernthal starred in the first two seasons of AMC’s hit post-apocalyptic drama, The Walking Dead. Bernthal played Shane Walsh, a survivor whose world is thrown into turmoil when he discovers that his best friend, Rick Grimes, survived the outbreak of the zombie apocalypse–completely unaware that Shane has fallen in love with his wife. The drama plays out predictably, with only one walking away in the end. While this arc brought about Shane’s untimely demise in The Walking Dead, Bernthal’s Marvel antihero suggests that the post-apocalyptic series could have told more stories with his character.

The Walking Dead Killed Off Shane Too Early

Daredevil: Born Again Showcases Jon Bernthal’s Talent

If there is one thing the Punisher’s return to the MCU has proven, it’s that The Walking Dead killed off Shane far too early. In the post-apocalyptic drama, Shane gradually grows more unwieldy as he stews over Rick’s return. As tensions rise between him and Rick, it becomes clear that the two cannot work together for much longer. Eventually, Carl Grimes, Rick’s son, is forced to shoot Shane to protect his father, killing him in the penultimate episode of Season 2. While this was ultimately the right move from an in-universe perspective–the Grimes family and their friends could never have fully trusted Shane after his actions in Season 2–fans of The Walking Dead have long wondered what the series might have looked like had Jon Bernthal’s character survived a little bit longer. Bernthal’s star only began to rise since leaving The Walking Dead. In the last decade, the actor has proven his talent in other roles, starring in films like Baby Driver, The Many Saints of Newark, King Richard, and more. However, it is in the role of Frank Castle that he really proves how big a mistake The Walking Dead made with his character.

Although the Punisher is considered an antihero, his storyline is not too different from Shane’s villain arc in The Walking Dead. Like Shane, Frank Castle sees the world in black and white. When he sees injustice, he feels the need to act–even if his methods are decidedly fatal. Shane likewise does what he feels is necessary to accomplish his goal, even if it would be considered horrifying to his allies. The only difference is that Shaen’s primary motivation is selfishness, while Frank fights for the people around him. However, it is in their relationships with other heroes that Bernthal’s characters really shine. Shane was a terrific foil to Rick Grimes in the early seasons of The Walking Dead, challenging him as a leader and pushing him beyond what he felt to be the “moral” thing to do. In many ways, Shane transformed Rick into the protagonist that audiences grew to love in the later years of the series. While their relationship was cut short, viewers get glimpses of what Rick and Shane’s continuing dynamic could have been in the form of Matt Murdock and Frank Castle in Daredevil.

Murdock and Castle’s tenuous dynamic strongly resembles what could have been between Rick and Shane. Like Rick Grimes, Matt Murdock is someone with a strong sense of morality, but who can be swayed from that path of righteousness when pushed far enough. Like Shane Walsh, Frank Castle wants to be the person to give him that push, hoping that the hero will come to see the world the same way he does. In each of their meetings, Castle and Murdock heatedly debate their differing philosophies, often leaving the viewer to wonder which is right. While Murdock emphasizes mercy and hope, Castle reminds him that they live in the real world, where these qualities don’t always persevere. The Punisher maintains that the best way to ensure that someone never hurts anyone again is to hurt them back. While his methods have left him ostracized from the rest of the world, he gets more permanent results. Murdock’s merciful methods, on the other hand, always seem to leave him battling the same enemies over and over again. Neither character is presented as being wholly right or wholly wrong–more likely, the correct answer lies somewhere between the two. This makes their dynamic one of the most interesting in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe–and The Walking Dead could have easily pulled off the same trick.

How the Shane Could Have Improved Rick’s TWD Storyline

Shane Could Have Added a Unique Element to Later Seasons of The Walking Dead

Image via AMC

By keeping Shane around beyond its second season, The Walking Dead could have captured the same dynamic that exists between the Punisher and Daredevil in the MCU. Rick Grimes faces numerous challenges in The Walking Dead, each one pushing him further from the person he was at the beginning of the series. At first, Rick emphasizes mercy and nonviolence toward other humans, but the increasingly dangerous world around him slowly forces him to reconsider these ideals. Shane, on the other hand, doesn’t take long to adapt to the world around him. As early as in Season 2, he demonstrates his willingness to murder another innocent person for his own survival. It would have been extremely interesting for Shane to have been around to watch as Rick slowly transformed into him, prodding him along the way.

However, Rick’s journey in The Walking Dead ultimately doesn’t lead him to become Shane Walsh. Instead, he slowly finds his way back to the light, proving himself a hero by the end of the series. This is where Shane’s inclusion in the series would have proved to be fascinating. Still pushing for a more lethal way to deal with their enemies, Shane’s debate with Rick over their methods in later seasons of The Walking Dead could have formed the crux of the entire series. Rather than killing off the perfect foil to Rick’s character, the series could have continued to build up Shane as an opposing voice to his friend’s leadership style, leaving audiences to decide which of them is correct. Shane was always more interesting as a competing protagonist rather than an antagonist. Had he survived into Season 3 and beyond, he and Rick could have fostered one of the most compelling rivalries in fiction.

Why The Walking Dead Killed Off Shane

Shane Was a Major Threat to Rick Grimes

Image via AMC

Ultimately, Shane’s death was always going to happen sooner rather than later. The Walking Dead graphic novels kill off his character much sooner than the series, with Carl shooting Shane before the group ever arrives at Herschel’s farm. The series kept Shane alive for a full season longer than he survives in the source material, crafting a far more interesting character as a result. In the end, Shane always had to die for Rick to take full command of the group of survivors. It would have been difficult for Rick to take the reigns as a leader with Shane constantly sowing discord among the group. However, fans will always be left to wonder what interesting scenarios might have taken place had the series let Shane survive for longer.

The Walking Dead Franchise

Series
Years
IMDb Rating
Rotten Tomatoes Score
Streaming

The Walking Dead
2010-2022
8.1/10
79%
Netflix

Fear the Walking Dead
2015-2023
6.8/10
73%

The Walking Dead: World Beyond
2020-2021
4.5/10
46%
AMC+

Tales of the Walking Dead
2022
5.9/10
74%

The Walking Dead: Dead City
2023-Present
7.1/10
80%

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
2023-Present
7.6/10
79%
Netflix AMC+

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
2024
7.9/10
88%
AMC+

Audiences are not alone in this thought experiment. Interestingly, Robert Kirkman almost killed off Rick instead of Shane in the original comic books, which would have changed the entire trajectory of the story. One can only imagine how differently things would have gone if Shane had been present for the majority of The Walking Dead instead of Rick. In the minds of Kirkman and the live-action series showrunners, The Walking Dead was always going to be about Rick OR Shane–one would inevitably have to go for the other to survive. As such, there was never a world in which the two characters would have continued fighting side-by-side. If Rick and Shane can never have the alliance fans wanted, the Punisher and Daredevil’s relationship is the next best thing.

Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming on Disney+.

The Walking Dead is now streaming on Netflix.