Complete, Punisher, the Anti-Hero in Short

Complete, Punisher
by Jacob Malewitz

Writer A Writer’s Eye, A Reader’s Eye, A Comic Eye, Chasing Heaven, Story And Script

The Punisher has always been one of the more popular heroes in the Marvel universe. Readers must have gotten sick with the same old “fight the bad guy and save the lover” that was found in countless stories featuring Spider Man or Superman.

Punisher’s real name is Frank Castle. He is a Vietnam vet who lost his family in a mob hit. After the hit, Castle took it upon himself to make sure that what happened to him never happened to anyone else. He couldn’t be everywhere at once, but by killing his foes he ended the threat of them committing crimes again.

Killing junkies and gun runners is what made Punisher an anti-hero. This also had him conflict with many other super heroes in the Marvel universe, including Spider Man, Captain America, and lesser known characters like Night Hawk.

Punisher had no personal life; there were few Mary Jane’s (Peter Parker’s wife) in his life. He devoted himself to stopping crime. Instead of solving crimes with justice, he acted as an executioner.

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The villains of the Punisher mythos aren’t tops in the Marvel universe (probably because Punisher ends so many of their lives) but some do bring weight to the comic books.

Kingpin is one major crime boss who the Punisher has tangled with, along with Jigsaw.

Punisher’s motives for fighting crime is similar to Batman’s, but Frank Castle is willing to extinguish the life of his enemies and Batman isn’t. What made Batman and Punisher different? Perhaps Punisher’s experiences in Vietnam gave him the will to end a life.

In Punisher “Final Days”, the Punisher finds himself battling both the law and crime bosses for his life. In the graphic novel “Welcome Back, Frank,” Punisher is reimagined by famed comic book writer Garth Ennis.

The Punisher comic went through years of waning popularity, but when famed British writer Garth Ennis (Preacher, 2000 AD) began the Punisher Marvel Knights storyline, the old Frank Castle was back. Ennis added in bits of coy, dark humor to the same story. Ennis also introduced many new popular villains, like The Russian.

The success of the Marvel Knights series led to more Punisher comics. No longer was Punisher an anti-hero put into a comic to boost sails. Marvel entrusted Ennis with a hit new Punisher Max series after a successful regular series.

There will always be a readership that gets sick of the usual super hero drama. Like Batman, Punisher is troubled character who is human. Frank Castle is just a man.

In the end, Punisher is an important figure in the comic world.