Finn Cooley was an Irish mobster who came to New York City looking for his son's killer, the vigilante known as Punisher, to retrieve the money he stole from him. Despite the fact that he managed to capture and torture the Punisher, the vigilante ended up escaping and murdering Cooley.
Biography[]
Kitchen Irish[]
Leaving the United States[]
| “Anyone crosses us, we'll paint the streets red with their blood and when they're gone we'll make your father proud!” |
| —Nesbitt to Kelly Cooley[src] |
Finn Cooley was one of the main leaders of the Kitchen Irish, developing a feared and respected reputation. Although his son begged to be allowed to join the mob, Cooley tried to persuade him otherwise but he insisted. When Wilson Fisk's criminal empire took over New York City, Cooley left America to return to Ireland, leaving Nesbitt in charge of the mob in New York.[1]
Death of a Son[]
| “I didn't want him to follow my footsteps, but he insisted. He came over to make his fortune and now look.” |
| —Finn Cooley[src] |
When Cooley learned that his own son had been killed, along with both Nesbitt and several of Kitchen Irish members, he caught the first flight to return to New York City to attend the funeral. When he arrived he was greeted by many Kitchen Irish mobsters, led by Seamus who had Rory give Cooley a drink of whiskey in order to welcome him back with a sign of respect, once Cooley got the drink he made a point that he recognised Rory. Cooley looked at his son's body and told the group how he had tried to protect him from this world of violence and had failed, noting that his son had two sons of his own who had now lost their father due to the massacre.
Seamus tried to comfort Cooley as he poured himself another drink by reminding him that death was a part of the deal when going into their line of work. However this only enraged Cooley as he grabbed a knife and stabbed it into Seamus eye, pushing it slowly into his brain as Seamus screamed in agony and died. With Seamus now dead, Cooley got another drink and ordered the men to find the Punisher and bring him to him, alive so he could torture him and locate the money he had stolen from him.[1]
Hunting the Punisher[]
| “Oh, thanks for thinning out the herd. You're surrounded son, now be a good lad and drop the iron. Come on, you seem like a smart one.” |
| —Finn Cooley to Frank Castle[src] |
Cooley had Rory take charge of the hunt and through a fierce search in during which they tortured anyone who may have the slightest connection to their target, they eventually located the Punisher's own apartment through hearing of a man walking a dog matching his description. Cooley and his men from the Kitchen Irish stormed into the apartment where they found a full armoury of guns, Max the dog as well as detailed maps of New York City but despite a brief search, none of the lost money could be found anywhere in the apartment.
What Cooley was able to work out however was that the Punisher was connected the a massacre in Central Park which Cooley had been involved with, when the Blacksmith had failed to appear leading to a shootout. With this information Cooley left the apartment with his men, taking the dog with them, and came up with a new plan to hunt down and capture the Punisher. What Cooley did not realize however was that as they were leaving, the Punisher was just across the street, watching their every move and making a plan of his own.
The Punisher was tracked to the carousel in Central Park where his family were massacred and Cooley sent Rory and a team to ambush and capture him. After a brief shootout where Rory was injured after injecting the Punisher with a syringe, Cooley appeared and calmly greeted his enemy, who still held a gun up despite struggling to stand. Cooley then ordered his men to shot him with multiple tasers until he finally collapsed on the ground despite trying to fight back and was taken away for a very painful questioning.[1]
Torturing Frank Castle[]
| “Your kid's in a box, but you want your money?" "The Irish may not have invented revenge, but we sure as hell took some time perfecting it! Don't think you're showing me something I haven't seen before, cause your killing spree has all the signs of a man seeking retribution. Am I right?” |
| —Frank Castle and Finn Cooley[src] |
When the Punisher finally awoke, Cooley commented on his talent with guns, noting how he'd killed Nesbitt, his own son Kelly and many others during the recent Massacre at the Burren Club. Cooley promised that the Punisher would die but they was a chance to make his death less painful if he willingly surrendered the location of the money he had stolen from the Kitchen Irish, mockingly taking painkillers while explaining how he planned on torturing him.
When the Punisher insulted Cooley's priorities in the wake of his son's death, Cooley began beating the Punisher multiple times while telling him that his killing spree was pathetic. Punisher seemingly gave in and promised to hand over the location of the money, however just as Cooley leaned in to get the information, the Punisher head-butted him, laughing at his pain. In response to this Cooley grabbed a drill and began drilling into the Punisher's foot while he furiously ranted that he would kill all of them in return for the pain.
When this tactic failed to get results, Cooley changed his plan and ordered his men to bring in the Punisher's dog Max. Cooley promised that if he did not hand over the money, then everything the Punisher had suffered would happen to the dog as well. The Punisher surrendered in order to protect his dog and gave up the location of the money, so Cooley sent his Kitchen Irish men to retrieve it and call him when they had found it, telling the Punisher that he would be kept alive until the money was in his hands.[1]
Final Moments[]
| “Now I can ask you face to face, who's the guy who did it? Who killed my family?" "Your family? Who cares?” |
| —Punisher and Finn Cooley[src] |
As Rafe was sent to find the money, Cooley stayed on the phone with him to get constant updates. However when Rafe claimed to have found it, the phone was suddenly cut dead as the bomb in the van was detonated killing the men and destroying the money. Furious at having been tricked into destroying his precious money, Cooley turned to kill the Punisher, only to find he had escaped from his chair and began killing the Kitchen Irish men, shooting Cooley twice in the back.
As Cooley desperately tried to crawl away, the Punisher grabbed a shotgun and walked over to him, ignoring the pain in his badly damaged foot. The Punisher then held the gun to Cooley's face and demanded to know who was responsible for the massacre at Central Park which had killed his wife and children. Cooley insultingly claimed that no one cared who killed his family and did not provide him with an answer. As the Punisher heard more men coming he fired a shot straight into Cooley's face, killing him instantly.[1]
Personality[]
Being from Ireland, Cooley used strong Irish slang and lingo repeatedly while speaking to anybody. A high-ranking member of the Kitchen Irish, he was respected but also rather feared for his unpredictably violent personality at times. He cares for family, both his biological and criminal one, exacting revenge on anyone who disrespected either, including Seamus whom enraged Cooley by attempting to comfort him over his son's death and Punisher who murdered and stole from the Kitchen Irish. Cooley enjoyed torture and was heavily sadistic, claiming that the Irish had perfected revenge before drilling into the Punisher's foot.
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Kelly Cooley † - Son
- Brian Cooley - Son
Allies[]
- Kitchen Irish
- Rory
- Rafe †
- Nesbitt †
- Johnny †
- Blacksmith †
Enemies[]
Trivia[]
- In the Punisher MAX comics, Finn Cooley was a former member of the IRA who lost half of his face in a close-range explosion, and was forced to wear a mask to hold what was left of his flesh in place. He became involved in a power struggle in Hell's Kitchen and tried to kill the Punisher, only to die in an explosion.
- His death by being shot in the face is a reference from his counterpart in the comics, where a bomb disfigured his upper face.