Charlie Cox and Deborah Ann Woll have fired back at Punisher’s memory lapse in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The actors expressed mock outrage over a scene where Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle tells Peter Parker he has “never had a friend like that,” ignoring years of deep connections with both Matt Murdock and Karen Page.
Charlie Cox and Deborah Ann Woll aren’t happy about Punisher’s Spider-Man friendship
The offence stems from Spider-Man Brand New Day’s closing moments. Peter Parker lies wounded in a hospital bed after an uneasy team-up with Frank throughout the movie. The Punisher sits beside him and makes the friendship admission that has since divided fans. For those who don’t know Castle’s history, the line is a sign of character growth. For longtime followers of the street-level MCU, it erases history.
TikTok creator CinemaKaiNation raised the topic during an MCM Comic-Con Birmingham 2026 Q&A session with Woll and Cox. “Actually, I’m more offended by that for Karen, rather than Matt. Jesus Christ, Frank. Goddamnit. How many times have we saved each other’s lives?” the actor who plays Karen Page said.
Cox backed her up, talking about a firm line between mutual respect and genuine friendship. “Yeah, I think [Deborah] is right. Matt and Frank, I don’t know that they’d call each other [friends]. I think there’s a mutual understanding and respect, but they’re now mates,” he explained. When pressed to define the relationship status between Daredevil and the Punisher, Cox teased simply, “It’s complicated.”
Karen Page and Frank Castle built one of the MCU’s most unexpectedly tender bonds. Karen saw past the ruthless killer persona to the traumatized man consumed by grief over his murdered family. That connection extended through both seasons of The Punisher and into Daredevil: Born Again Season 1. She remained among the handful of people Frank genuinely trusts, which explains Woll’s immediate defensiveness.
Matt Murdock’s history with Frank carries similar weight. Their volatile dynamic started in Daredevil Season 2 and reignited when they set aside differences to battle Mayor Wilson Fisk’s Anti-Vigilante Task Force in Daredevil: Born Again. Ideological opposites who keep orbiting each other, they maintain something neither man can easily define.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on SuperHeroHype.com.