The Marvel History of PUNISHER: ONE LAST KILL’s Gnucci Family Eric Diaz | amznusa.com

The Punisher: One Last Kill shows Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) at his most lethal, racking up a higher body count in this one special presentation than in maybe one entire season of his Netflix series. (Someone besides us will have to do a kill count.) The source of all his pain in One Last Kill is the New York City crime family, the Gnuccis. In particular, Ma Gnucci, portrayed in One Last Kill by ’80s sitcom mom Judith Light, from Who’s the Boss? But the Gnuccis weren’t created for the Disney+ Special Presentation; their origins lie directly in the comics. In fact, they are the brainchild of writer Garth Ennis, co-creator of The Boys.

80’s/90’s TV Icon Judith Light Plays Ma Gnucci in One Last Kill

In One Last Kill, the Gnucci family is one of the last mafia families left responsible for the death of Frank Castle’s family. He systematically goes after each male in the family, eliminating them all in increasingly gruesome ways. The head of the family, Benny, dies first, shot in his swimming pool. Eldest son Bobbie, a crooked cop, gets his throat sliced by Frank while hooking up with a woman. Next, middle son Eddie was gunned down in front of the family restaurant, along with his bodyguards.

However, Frank fails to take out the now de facto head of the family, Ma Gnucci. In fact, he kills her favorite son, Carlo, right in front of her. Ma Gnucci, who is a wheelchair user, vows revenge on Frank, and puts a bounty on his head that would put Han Solo’s to shame. She tells every thug and would-be-killer in the city to converge on Frank’s apartment complex at 6:47 p.m. That’s the exact same time Frank Castle took out Carlo. Let’s just say, it does not go well for the assassins who come for Frank, but Ma Gnucci evades any justice.

The Boys’ Co-Creator, Garth Ennis, Created Ma Gnucci in the Comics

In the comics, the Gnucci family has no involvement in the death of Frank’s family. The Castles were merely collateral damage in a mafia kill. But the Gnucci family, particularly Isabella “Ma” Gnucci, does have comic book origins. She first appeared in Marvel Comics’ The Punisher (vol. 5) #4, published in 2000. Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, the same creative team behind DC’s Preacher, were behind it. In the series, we learned that Frank kills Ma’s three sons, Carlo, Eddie, and Bobbie, which causes Ma Gnucci to task her consigliere with hiring three assassins to take him out. Frank, of course, kills the three assassins and the consigliere, and then, he kills Ma Gnucci’s brother, too.

Marvel Comics’ Ma Gnucci Is Mauled by Polar Bears

Eventually, Frank Castle tracks Ma Gnucci and her entourage to a secret meeting. They spot him, and chase him into the Central Park Zoo. Ever adept in his ability in inflict creative violence, the Punisher unleashes several polar bears from captivity, who then rip apart all four of Ma Gnucci’s limbs. Yet somehow, she lives. (It’s comics, folks.) We guess the pure hate fueled her reason to stay alive. The amputee offers $10 million to anyone who can kill the Punisher, and even hires a superhuman mercenary known as the Russian. But Frank kills him, and then sets Ma Gnucci’s mansion on fire, where she burns to death. But not before she bites Frank’s leg, one last act of hate toward the man who destroyed her bloodline.

Does MCU Ma Gnucci and the Gnucci Family Have a Future Still?

The MCU version of Ma Gnucci is somewhat less cartoonish than her comics counterpart. She’s merely wheelchair-bound, and not just a torso and head. However, she is just as motivated by revenge toward Frank Castle as in the comics. She pulls out all the stops to see him taken out, but ultimately fails. We last see her riding away in her luxury car angrily, probably vowing to take Frank down once and for all. Will a future Punisher special pick up this storyline and see Frank burn down her house, with Ma Gnucci still in it? We can’t imagine Marvel allows this plot thread to just dangle forever. We have a feeling Ma Gnucci, or some until-now unheard of surviving members of her family, will present problems for Frank Castle in the future.

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