Spoilers for The Punisher Season 1 ahead . When we see the not-yet-dead Frank Castle again in Marvel's The Punisher on Netflix, he's in many ways understated. He doesn't talk much, he has a construction job and a new name. Pete Castiglione is the alias of Frank Castle in The Punisher It 's a nice nod to Marvel lore.
In the comics, Francis Castiglione was the name of Frank Castle, who changed his name after illegally enlisting on his third military tour during the Vietnam War. So there are many characters named Castiglione in Marvel comics: Frank's wife Maria, father Mario, mother Luisa, uncles Rocco and Fredo, and even his grandmother Esmeralda. There's no "Pete" Castiglione in the Marvel comics, but the last name is clearly a nod to this part of the Punisher's origin story.
So why Peter? This isn't really explained in the series. While The Punisher does sometimes share storylines with Peter Parker in the Marvel comics, and they both live in Queens, it would be weird to mention that in a Netflix series, especially after Civil War and Spider-Man : Homecoming officially places the two characters in the same cinematic universe. Maybe the Punisher's alias pays homage to a dead friend or family member. Maybe it's a tribute to someone in the real world.
Maybe it was just a short name that he thought would be easy to remember. This is often a good strategy for choosing a new identity - choose a name that sounds like your own name, or has the same number of syllables, or anything that will help you remember the lie you told.
Not only does Frank use this name at work in the first episode, but he continues to introduce himself as Pete throughout the season. When he started getting close to Mike's family, he was known as Pete. He doesn't create much of a backstory for himself, choosing instead to be a strong, silent, bearded "hipster" who troubles diners. Obviously, this won't last forever, and as the story continues and more and more people realize that Frank Castle is still alive, he will be forced to abandon the act.
Still, it's cool that the Punisher is so hardcore that he needs two secret identities. correct? This is one way of looking at the problem. Theoretically, "Pete Castiglione" is Frank's way of moving past the trauma of his past. This didn't seem to work in The Punisher Season 1, but it was an attempt. He could be someone else. In an interview with AV Club, actor Jon Bernthal said he never first thought of the Punisher character.
"He was a father and a husband that [his family] was deprived of. As a young father and husband, that came first to me before I could be anything else in this world. I Loving my family with everything I have, imagining what it would be like if they were taken away from me starts a spiral of fear, madness, and anger inside me that takes me to some pretty scary places. That's been the theory in my career. If something scares you, you run towards it, and that's what Frank Castle means to me."
In this new series, which picks up after the events of Daredevil Season 2, Frank no longer needs to be defined by what happened to him and can start a new life. He's still living with that and recovering from it, but that's what "Pete" is supposed to stand for - having a chance for a future. Maybe if Frank Castle's past didn't haunt him anymore.
