One of Marvel's most brutal anti-heroes, The Punisher, is set to join the Netflix series universe - and it doesn't get more merciless than this. He's not the first comic book character to venture out on a bloodthirsty quest for revenge, but no-one exacts it quite like him.

Jon Bernthal as The PunisherJon Bernthal as The Punisher

Jon Bernthal gets his very own Netflix series reprising his role as Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, from 'Daredevil'. Based on the comic books by Gerry Conway and John Romita Sr., and created by Steve Lightfoot ('Hannibal'), this series follows how the character came to be the man he is after losing his family to a ruthless murderer.

After his wife and kids are killed in their home, Frank Castle truly has nothing left to lose. He gears himself up to take down the men responsible for their deaths, but that only leads him to realise that there is a criminal conspiracy in New York that even spreads into the FBI. He becomes a kind of vigilante, fighting crime as sadistically as his family were murdered.

The series also stars Jason R. Moore as Castle's friend Curtis Hoyle, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Castle's assistant and former NSA analyst David Lieberman and Deborah Ann Woll as reporter Karen Page. Thirteen episodes are confirmed for the first series, with directors the likes of Andy Goddard ('Law & Order: UK'), Dearbhla Walsh ('Fargo'), Kevin Hooks ('Prison Break'), Marc Jobst ('The Paradise'), Kari Skogland ('The Handmaid's Tale S2'), Jeremy Webb ('Merlin') and Stephen Surjik ('Person of Interest').

'The Punisher' joins a number of other Marvel Netflix shows including 'The Defenders', 'Jessica Jones', 'Luke Cage', 'Iron Fist' and, of course, 'Daredevil'. It's certainly not the first time The Punisher has been depicated in live action, however; there have already been three movies based on the character with Dolph Lundgren playing him in 1989, Thomas Jane in 2004 and Ray Stevenson in 2008's 'War Zone'.

More: What to expect from 'Daredevil' season 3

'The Punisher' is set to hit Netflix later this year, though an exact air date has yet to be confirmed.