Who Is Blacksmith In Daredevil? Real Identity & Punisher History Explained

The Blacksmith was one of Daredevil season 2’s main antagonists, and his origin is closely tied to that of the Punisher. Daredevil season 2 introduced the Punisher to the MCU, framing him as a villain of sorts for Matt Murdock before the series gradually revealed that the true villain behind the season-long Frank Castle storyline was the Blacksmith, a.k.a. Ray Schoonover. Although Schoonover’s story ended in Daredevil, his ties to Frank Castle’s origin story were expanded on in The Punisher. With appearances in both Daredevil season 2 and The Punisher season 1, Blacksmith has a fascinating history within the MCU, combining traits from several Marvel comic characters.

The MCU initiated a series of television shows on networks like ABC and streaming services like Netflix and Hulu during Phase 2 of the franchise. Although Kevin Feige was not involved in the production of the MCU’s Netflix shows, they were created to be canon to the franchise. The stories and characters of the MCU’s Netflix shows only occasionally mention material from the films, but they nevertheless fit well into the MCU’s timeline. With Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige now handling MCU TV shows, released exclusively on Disney+, the canonical state of the original MCU TV shows was in question among many viewers.

This changed with the release of Hawkeye and Spider-Man: No Way Home, which featured appearances by The Kingpin and Matt Murdock, Not only did their appearances (particularly Kingpin’s) reenforce that Daredevil was a canonical part of the MCU, but they also renewed interest in the MCU’s Netflix shows. Ray Schoonover, in both his civilian identity and his villainous alter ego, the Blacksmith, provides the connective tissue between Daredevil and The Punisher, being partially responsible for Frank Castle’s anti-hero origin and pitting him against Matt Murdock in a conflict of philosophies as much as fists and bullets. The MCU’s Blacksmith gets his name from several Marvel Comics characters while adapting the comic continuity’s version of Ray Schoonover.

Who Is Ray Schoonover? Blacksmith Real Identity

Ray Schoonover is introduced as a former commanding officer and mentor to Frank Castle during their US Marine Corps service. Schoonover was secretly a drug lord, however, who operated anonymously by using the Blacksmith alias. As revealed in The Punisher season 1, Schoonover and his Blacksmith identity were part of Operation Cerberus, a CIA assassination program that lacked congressional approval or any other form of oversight, requiring Schoonover’s heroin operation to fund it. As a US Marine squad leader, Schoonover co-led Cerberus Squad alongside fellow Punisher villain William Rawlins, a member of the CIA. Schoonover lost an arm during one of Cerberus Squad’s missions, but he and the rest of the unit were saved by Castle, leading Schoonover to speak favorably of him as a character witness during Castle’s trial.

Following Operation Cerberus’ failure, Schoonover continued his anonymous work as the Blacksmith, filling a vacuum left in New York City’s criminal underworld when Wilson Fisk was incarcerated at the end of Daredevil season 1. Tasked with covering up his involvement in Cerberus’s illegal torture and assassinations by Rawlins, Schoonover became one of the criminals responsible for Frank Castle’s Punisher origin. Schoonover set up a meeting between multiple crime organizations in Central Park, where Castle and his family were spending time together. Blacksmith caused a firefight between the gangs, intending for Castle and his family to die in the crossfire, but Frank survived, and subsequently became the Punisher.

Daredevil’s Blacksmith Connection To The Punisher Explained

Punisher serves as both an adversary and foil to Matt Murdock in Daredevil season 2. As Daredevil, Murdock neither kills nor permanently injures criminals, while the Punisher was on a mission to avenge his family, killing all criminals associated with the gangs who killed his family in Central Park. This led to a conflict between the two vigilantes, with Daredevil eventually capturing Punisher. Schoonover, meanwhile, used this as an opportunity to frame Castle for his crimes as Blacksmith, but the Punisher escaped captivity and learned that his former mentor staged the gang fight that killed his family. Punisher killed Schoonover but learned that there was far more to his family’s death than he’d thought.

The basis of The Punisher season 1 was Frank Castle’s unraveling of Schoonover’s conspiracy, showing the continuing presence of the Blacksmith, even after his death. As it turns out, Castle wasn’t the only person targeted for assassination by Rawlins. While the CIA member had Schoonover attempt to kill Frank Castle, he tasked a corrupt Homeland Security member with assassinating David Lieberman, an NSA analyst. Both attempts failed and the two gradually undid Schoonover and Rawlins’ illegal work, resulting in the death of Rawlins. Although Punisher exacted his revenge on those responsible for his family’s death, his combat training and vigilante activities were owed to Schoonover.

Is Blacksmith In Marvel Comics?

The MCU’s Blacksmith is based on several Marvel Comics characters, with Ray Schoonover (who does not use the Blacksmith alias) being the most prominent inspiration. Schoonover was, similarly, Frank Castle’s commanding officer, though he and Castle fought in Vietnam instead of Afghanistan as they did in the MCU. Given Marvel Comics’ use of a sliding timescale, the Vietnam setting would likely be updated in a modern retelling of his original appearances. Like his MCU counterpart, Schoonover was secretly a drug lord who later had members of his unit assassinated to maintain secrecy. Schoonover committed suicide after the Punisher forced him to reveal the truth of his illegal activities.

Unlike his MCU counterpart, Schoonover had nothing to do with the death of Frank Castle’s family, and subsequently his origin as the Punisher. In the comics, Castle’s family members were witnesses to a mob hit and were subsequently killed by the enforcers. The MCU’s Schoonover used the Blacksmith moniker to hide his identity, but this title was never used by his comic counterpart. Instead, the name “Blacksmith” was used by several minor villains in the comics, including a wrestler and a Skrull. The MCU’s version of both Ray Schoonover and his alias the Blacksmith made for a significantly important villain to both the Punisher and Matt Murdock, as shown in Daredevil season 2.

About The Author

David Miller
(618 Articles Published)

David Miller is a staff writer for Screen Rant, indie comic writer, and life-long lover of all things Star Wars, Marvel, and DC. He was born and raised in New York and has a degree in English from Rider University. He relates to Peter Parker maybe a little too much.

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