Ray Schoonover

: "It's like a candy store in here. Go ahead. Go ahead. I had to teach you how to hold a gun. Do you remember? Eighteen, and you'd never held a piece before. Come on! They call you the Punisher. Prove it!"
: ―Ray Schoonover to Frank Castle[src]
Ray Schoonover was a Colonel of the United States Marine Corps Force Recon division and secretly a powerful drug lord called the Blacksmith who used profits from selling heroin to fund Operation Cerberus under William Rawlins' supervision. When Schoonover and Cerberus's actions were under risk of being uncovered by Frank Castle, he and Rawlins authorized the massacre of Castle's entire family.
When Castle jeopardized Schoonover's drug operations in New York City, Schoonover attempted to frame Castle for the massacre and afterwards ordered a kill order on his former war comrade following his escape from Ryker's Island. When Schoonover attempted to kill Karen Page to cover up his tracks, Castle rescued her and executed Schoonover before stealing his arsenal of weapons to further progress his own vigilante agenda.
== Biography ==
=== United States Marine Corps ===
==== Service in the Middle East ====
: "After a war, some men turn their backs on you, they want to forget, not Gosnell, no. Took the worst part of an IED on a recon, left half his face on a dirt road, spent the better part of a year in hospital. That kid never gave up, never gave in."
: ―Ray Schoonover to Karen Page[src]
During the War on Terror, Schoonover served in the United States Marine Corps and was made the Commanding Officer of an eighteen year old Frank Castle, teaching him how to fire a weapon and training him for several years until he came to deeply respect Castle for his determination and loyalty in the battlefield, believing him to be one of the finest soldiers he had ever encountered. Sometime later, one of Schoonover's most loyal Marines, Gosnell, was nearly killed by an explosion, damaging much of his own face; however, Gosnell still remained loyal to Schoonover in spite of the injury.
==== Operation Cerberus ====
: "This is who we are now. This is Operation Cerberus and you are my dogs of war. The enemy operates without regard to honor or rules. So neither will we. Our mission is simple. We capture, interrogate and execute high-value targets."
: ―Ray Schoonover to Cerberus Squad[src]
Major Schoonover joined forces with William Rawlins of the CIA and together they had founded Operation Cerberus with the aim of illegally assassinating high value targets to speed an end to the war. With the aid of both Morty Bennett and Billy Russo, Schoonover had begun funding Cerberus by selling and transporting high quality heroin from Afghanistan which they would transport in the corpses of those killed in action, as Schoonover became a drug lord, taking on the name of Blacksmith.
With everything in place, Schoonover and Rawlins gathered together soldiers from different branches of the United States Armed Forces to create Cerberus Squad, with Russo also joining the new Squad. Schoonover stood by as Rawlins gave a speech, explaining their mission as the men listened closely, with Frank Castle questioning if the United States Congress had approved of their missions which Rawlins claimed they had. Once Rawlins had finished with his own speech, Major Schoonover then introduced Castle and Russo as the Squad's team leaders before finally ending the meeting.
==== Ambush in Kandahar ====
: "This terrain means we won't be able to land near the compound without alerting the enemy, so we're gonna land here, north of this ridge. Move in on foot. Once both teams are in position, we'll hit the compound.""No air support?"
: ―Ray Schoonover and Billy Russo[src]
With Operation Cerberus still going underway, Major Schoonover's men were able to kill the high value targets with precision. However, when Ahmad Zubair of the Afghan National Police had discovered Schoonover stuffing a corpse with his heroin, Schoonover had his men capture and murder Zubair, keeping the reasons for Zubair's death secret. Once intel had come in of another target's current location, Schoonover called Frank Castle and Billy Russo for a meeting.
During the meeting, Schoonover explained that their target had been located in Kandahar and due to the terrain, they would attack on foot without any other air support in order to not alert the enemy. Castle, however, expressed his doubts about their mission, claiming that it was likely a trap as their target had now made their whereabouts well known in a highly dangerous position. William Rawlins ignored all of the warnings and, despite Russo backing Castle up, Schoonover chose to side with Rawlins and ordered them to get Cerberus Squad ready for actions, despite all of Castle's continued warnings.
As Castle predicated, the mission turned out to be an ambush, which had lead to multiple members of Cerberus Squad being killed. During the attack which continued getting worse, Schoonover lost one of his hands due to a mortar, after which Frank Castle took over command, checking on Schoonover's condition during all of the chaos. Single-handedly, Castle managed to clear their helicopter's landing zone of enemy fighters. Eventually, Schoonover and most of his servicemen returned to the United States of America, but not before Schoonover was promoted in rank to Colonel despite the failure of the mission.
=== Life as the Blacksmith ===
==== Massacre at Central Park ====
: "I never met him; he never showed his face. All I know is he had a line of pure heroin, shit shipped from the Middle East. They call him the Blacksmith."
: ―Dutton to Punisher[src]
With heroin from Afghanistan, Schoonover became one of the most powerful drug lords, known as the Blacksmith. He plotted to take over the entire drug trade within New York City, developing a rivalry with Madame Gao's own heroin trade. Using his position, Schoonover continued shipments of heroin into the country covertly, avoiding any DA Samantha Reyes' attempts to take him down.
Later, he was contacted by William Rawlins who learned that someone leaked the footage of execution of Ahmad Zubair to NSA analyst David Lieberman. They blamed Frank Castle and decided to scratch both of Castle and Lieberman out of the list to make sure that their involvement in Operation Cerberus will not be exposed. While Rawlins ordered Carson Wolf to assassinate Lieberman, Schoonover planned a murder of Castle.
Schoonover knew about Castle's homecoming tradition to spend some time with his family in Central Park. Knowing that if there were enough dead bodies, nobody would really care to look close enough at any of them, Schoonover arranged a meeting in the park between Kitchen Irish, Mexican Cartel, the Dogs of Hell and drug dealer Dutton. Schoonover did not show up to the meeting, resulting in the gangs getting rattled and opening fire on each other. However, Castle managed to survive while his wife, daughter, and son were killed in the crossfire.
==== Defending Frank Castle ====
: "If you had to sum up Frank Castle, how would you do it?""I'd say Frank Castle is a man who would gladly give his life to keep others safe."
: ―Foggy Nelson and Ray Schoonover[src]
Schoonover was called as a character witness to Frank Castle's trial after Castle had been accused of murdering dozens of criminals all across New York City in search of the men who were responsible for his family's deaths during the Massacre at Central Park. As he was questioned by one of Castle's own lawyers, Foggy Nelson, Schoonover described Ambush in Kandahar, without any classified details, telling how Castle saved their unit's lives, and how he now viewed Castle as a hero who had served his country and deserved the medal of honor for all of his many heroic actions overseas.
With Nelson and Murdock having now finished their questioning in defense of Castle, the lawyer for the prosecution, Samantha Reyes, stepped forward and tried to question Schoonover's story, noting that while he had told a nice story of how Castle had been a hero, he could not prove it really happened. However, Schoonover revealed that Castle had saved his life as well and he was the colonel in his earlier story who had lost his arm and as a result been demoted. Unable to better this defense, Reyes informed Judge Cynthia Batzer that she had no more questions to ask Colonel Schoonover.
==== Covering his Tracks ====
: "Just one body. Shit-ton of bullets, and a whole lot of blood. All signs point to Frank Castle.""No, no. It's not his style. No, really, I know him. He wouldn't...""What do you mean, Not his style?"
: ―Mitchell Ellison and Karen Page[src]
Following Frank Castle's subsequent conviction and escape from Ryker's Island, Major Schoonover took the opportunity to cover his tracks and frame his former subordinate. He planted Castle's x-ray outline in Samantha Reyes' daughter's schoolbag, making her believe that Castle was targeting her and her family. When Reyes and Blake Tower had a meeting with Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson, and Karen Page, Schoonover then took a sniper position and gunned down Reyes, but Murdock pulled his friends down, saving their lives, though Nelson was injured. This attack gave the impression that Castle was seeking revenge against those who put him in prison. Schoonover then moved onto his new target, Gregory Tepper, killing him in the same way he did Reyes. His third target was Page, but she was saved by Castle, convincing her that Castle was not behind the murders. He then sent many men to kill Castle. Leading the Punisher to destroying his ship.
==== Interview with Karen Page ====
: "All the violence these days, the media would have you believe that that's all there is in the world. I'm glad you're writing this article about Frank. The real Frank.""Well, that's the goal. To show people that Mr. Castle wasn't just the Punisher."
: ―Ray Schoonover and Karen Page[src]
Schoonover was later visited by Karen Page inside his home and he welcomed her in with a smile and offered her a cup of coffee. Page explained that she was there because she now wished to do a profile on the real Frank Castle and she believed that Schoonover was the only person who had any good things to say about Castle. Schoonover told her that he was grateful to her for writing the article to prove Castle was not just a murderer just the media believed.
Page began the interview by asking Schoonover if he liked Castle as a man and Schoonover told her stories of their time together in the United States Marine Corps. Schoonover was told by Page about an explosion at the docks which Castle was involved with and it was believed that he had been killed. However, as they were speaking, Page soon realized Schoonover's identity as the Blacksmith when she noticed a picture of Gosnell, who's burnt corpse she had seen at Pier 81 while she was looking for Castle. Realizing he had now been made, Schoonover drew his gun and took Page hostage.
Schoonover led Page outside by gunpoint and ordered her to get into her car and drive away from his house, as they started the car, some music began playing loudly which Schoonover ordered her to turn off while keeping the gun aimed at her head. Page then tried to reassure Schoonover that nobody would believe her story as she was not a real reporter at the New York Bulletin but Schoonover did not listen, instead he told her she should have let the story go down with the boat and Castle's body before ordering her to pull over on the side of the road so he could execute her and then bury her body.
==== Executed by the Punisher ====
: "Alright, they call you the Punisher. Prove it; prove you don't need me anymore.""One shot, one kill. You taught me that.""You stupid son o-"
: ―Ray Schoonover and Frank Castle[src]
Suddenly, Frank Castle drove out of the shadows and drove into the side of the car, injuring Schoonover whose face became covered with blood. Castle ripped Schoonover from the car and dragged him through the woods without saying a word to his former friend. As they walked, Schoonover mocked Castle over his family's deaths, insisting they would be alive if he'd joined his organization and sold heroin.
As Castle threw Schoonover to the ground, Karen Page eventually caught up with the pair and tried desperately to convince Castle to let Schoonover go. Seeing no way out for him, Schoonover instead continued mocking Castle, hinting to him that his family's deaths were more to do with Operation Cerberus and Castle's actions while in Kandahar, with Page demanding to know what he was talking about which neither Schoonover or Castle explained. Despite Page still begging Castle to let him go, he instead dragged the wounded Schoonover inside of a nearby cabin in order to kill him.
Once they were alone in the cabin, Schoonover watched as Castle began looking at all the various weapons he could use to torture and slowly kill his former commander. Schoonover reminded him that he had taught him everything he knew, even how to hold a firearm. Eventually, Schoonover told him to prove that he was the Punisher once and for all. Castle said that Schoonover taught him about one shot, one kill and before Schoonover could reply, he fired a single shot into Schoonover's skull, killing him instantly. With Schoonover dead, Castle found his armory and stole the guns.
=== Legacy ===
==== Cerberus Investigation ====
: "Now I want you to get me whatever we have on a Marine Force Recon colonel called Schoonover, the explosion and drug bust at the 41st Street docks last year, and everything available on one of his men, Lieutenant Frank Castle.""The Punisher? He's dead.""Castle and Schoonover served in Afghanistan, same unit, then both are dead one day and 20 miles apart, right here in New York. That strike you as a coincidence?"
: ―Dinah Madani and Frank Castle[src]
Dinah Madani obtained a footage of Ahmad Zubair's execution and started her own investigation to uncover the truth behind the death of her partner. She managed to identify Schoonover and Frank Castle as members of the Cerberus Squad which was responsible for the whole incident. Meanwhile, Castle was approached by Micro and together, they discovered the illegal undertones of the Operation Cerberus ran by Schoonover and William Rawlins. Eventually, they teamed up with Madani and the Homeland Security, exposing Rawlins and putting an end to everything he built with Schoonover.
== Personality ==
: "You should be at the bottom of the Hudson. Losing a hundred million in heroin would have been worth it to take you down. But here we are. Could have been part of it like Gosnell; you could have been rich, and maybe you could have taken your family to the Bahamas instead of Central Park."
: ―Ray Schoonover to Frank Castle[src]
Ray Schoonover had a military, abrupt and tactical character, had ideologies about the war, since he spoke about his way of life and its structure. He was also rude and sarcastic, as when he speaks inappropriately and with unpleasant words or phrases in court or when he mocked The Punisher in his last moments. Schoonover became obsessed with power after becoming a drug dealer. Ruthless, paranoid, violent, and psychopathic, the Blacksmith did not hesitate to remove the clues about his identity, being his targets Samantha Reyes, Gregory Tepper and including Karen Page, then uncovering his picture with Gosnell, retaining it as hostage.
== Abilities ==
* Master Tactician: During his time served in Afghanistan, Schoonover partnered with William Rawlins and selected a group of soldiers to conduct Operation Cerberus. When it became evident that someone leaked a video depicting Zubair's assassination, Schoonover tipped three gangs in New York to meet in Central Park in the hopes of killing Frank Castle alongside his family. When Castle and his family were believed dead, Schoonover continued a drug empire going under the name of Blacksmith. When former soldiers like Gosnell proved loyal, Schoonover let them in too. Schoonover was soon summoned to the trial of Castle as he survived the attacks. Schoonover defended Castle to take attention off of himself so he could later try to cover his tracks. This led to him assassinating Samantha Reyes, Gregory Tepper and atempting to do the same to Karen Page all while framing Castle. He also sent men after Castle to kill him. However, his actions soon caught up to him when Page arrived at his door for questioning. Schoonover turned on Page and tried to use her to escape, only for Castle to kill him.
* Expert Marksman: Schoonover's experience in the military has made him a skilled marksman despite his old age. He notably killed both Samantha Reyes and Gregory Tepper in a similar fashion to the Punisher while attempting to kill Karen Page.
== Equipment ==
=== Weapons ===
* Beretta 92FS: Schoonover pulled a Beretta 92FS he kept at home in order to threaten Karen Page, who had visited him to interview him regarding Frank Castle's whereabouts. Once he realized that Page had correctly figured out he was the Blacksmith, Schoonover threatened her with the gun, ordering her to go to her car and drive.
* Ray Schoonover's Arsenal: Schoonover possessed an impressive arsenal of military-grade firearms that he stashed at the cabin near his residence. After he was murdered by the Punisher, the entire arsenal was obtained by Castle, who used it in his hunt for criminals.
** Smith & Wesson Model 327 Performance Center TRR8
** M60E4
** Sentinel Arms Striker-12
** M60E4 MK43 Mod 1
** Sig-Sauer MPX-P-9
** Glock 17
** KRISS Vector GEN II SMG
** M1 Carbine
** Dillon M134 Minigun
** Bulletproof Vest
=== Other Equipment ===
* Bulletproof Vest: During his time in Afghanistan, where he served with the United States Marine Corps, Schoonover would wear a protective bulletproof vest, which he was pictured wearing alongside Frank Castle and Gosnell. While he was leading Cerberus Squad on a mission in Kandahar, which had been arranged by William Rawlins, Schoonover would wear his bulletproof vest, although he was still wounded during the battle, losing an arm.
* Prosthetic Hand: Having lost his hand during a battle, Schoonover eventually replaced it with a prosthetic claw hand, which he would wear at all times.
=== Vehicles ===
* Blacksmith's Ship: To be added
== Facilities ==
* Cerberus Squad Compound: Starting the Operation Cerberus, Schoonover and William Rawlins organized military base in Afghanistan where the Cerberus Squad was stationed. Together with Rawlins, Schoonover greeted the members of the squad and briefed them about the purpose of the operation. Following the failed mission in Kandahar, Schoonover was taken to the compound for medical treatment, as he lost his arm.
* Schoonover Residence: Schoonover was visited by Karen Page at his house where she asked him to answer her questions about Frank Castle. While he was telling her stories about his times with Castle, Page noticed the picture of Gosnell and realized Schoonover's true identity. Threatening her with a gun, Schoonover forced Page to drive away from his house together with him.
== Relationships ==
=== Family ===
* Wife
* Children
=== Allies ===
* United States Marine Corps
** Gosnell † - Former Subordinate
* Cerberus Squad
** William Rawlins †
** Morty Bennett †
** Carson Wolf †
** Billy Russo † - Former Subordinate
* Chaney † - Subordinate
* Speed † - Subordinate
* Kitchen Irish
* Dogs of Hell
* Mexican Cartel
* Dutton †
* Cynthia Batzer	
=== Enemies ===
* Afghan Insurgents
* Afghan National Police
** Ahmad Zubair †
* Frank Castle/Punisher - Former Subordinate and Killer
* Gunner Henderson † - Former Subordinate
* Hand
** Madame Gao - Rival
* New York City Police Department
* Samantha Reyes † - Victim
* Blake Tower - Attempted Victim
* Nelson and Murdock
** Foggy Nelson - Attempted Victim
** Matt Murdock - Attempted Victim
** Karen Page - Attempted Victim
* Gregory Tepper † - Victim
== Trivia ==
* In the comics, Ray Schoonover was the commanding officer of Frank Castle in the Vietnam War, who secretly directed a human traffic of cocaine. He tried to kill all the former members of his squad, only to be found by Castle and forced to commit suicide.
* In the comics, the Blacksmith alias was used by Winslow Smith, a wrestler who was given super powers by the Power Broker.
== Behind the Scenes ==
* Christopher Jon Gombos was a stunt double for Clancy Brown in the role of Ray Schoonover.
== References ==
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Ray Schoonover.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of quotes related to Ray Schoonover.
# ↑ Jump up to:1.0 1.1 Daredevil: 2.09: Seven Minutes in Heaven
# ↑ Daredevil Season 2 Overlaps with Luke Cage Season 1
# ↑ Daredevil: 2.13: A Cold Day in Hell's Kitchen
# ↑ Jump up to:4.0 4.1 Daredevil: 2.08: Guilty as Sin
# ↑ Jump up to:5.0 5.1 5.2 Daredevil: 2.12: The Dark at the End of the Tunnel
# ↑ Jump up to:6.0 6.1 6.2 The Punisher: 1.03: Kandahar
# ↑ The Punisher: 1.02: Two Dead Men
# ↑ Jump up to:8.0 8.1 Daredevil: 2.10: The Man in the Box
# ↑ Daredevil: 2.11: .380
# ↑ The Punisher: 1.01: 3 AM
# ↑ The Punisher: 1.12: Home
== External Links ==
* Ray Schoonover on Marvel Database
* Blacksmith on Marvel Database
* Ray Schoonover on Wikipedia