By Sam Coles:
Introduction.
The Punisher is one of Marvel’s most iconic and controversial characters ever to grace comic book panels, mostly due to the graphic violence within the pages. This is all before the MAX line of comics, his unflinching approach of dealing with the criminal underworld shook the world due to the fact he is one of the few Marvel characters that flat out kills people in cold blood, but there is more to his character than the graphic violence. Granted the violence adds an emphasis to his rage and loss, but he is an interesting character to study and read about. This is an experiment where I want to talk about comic books, and where better to start off than my favourite character in Marvel; The Punisher.
Let’s give a brief history of the character, The Punisher started off as a Spider-Man villain all the way back in 1974 in Spider-Man #129. He was not the anti-hero we all know now, but a crime fighter to take down Spider-Man at the time, the character was created by Gerry Conway where people speculated where he got his inspiration from. Most theorised at the time as he was introduced in the 1970s that he was based on the Paul Kersey character from Deathwish, but instead he took inspiration from Don Pendleton’s Executioner series of books. Both feature an ex-military operative losing their family and taking on crime, where their books are presented in a war journal style of writing. As interesting as The Punisher is, his back story is rather by the numbers to put it plainly.
The Punisher we know today: Garth Ennis.
However, it wasn’t until Garth Ennis first got his hands on the character in the mid-1990s when he wrote The Punisher: Kills the Marvel Universe. He took the character to new and brutal levels, he flipped the concept of The Punisher on its head, where instead of criminals killing Frank’s family what if he was in the middle of a scuffle with The Avengers and X-Men and his family are killed via collateral damage. It made for an interesting case about superheroes taking responsibility which Garth Ennis would do again with The Boys later in the 2000s, but Frank in this book takes it upon himself to take down every single one of them in very creative ways which I will not spoil.
Garth Ennis reshaped The Punisher as we know it today, his first run in 2000 of the “Welcome Back Frank” saga within the Marvel Knights publication was legendary. After the fumbling of the character throughout the 1990s (not all bad, Punisher Warzone is a highlight), especially the questionable FrankenCastle stories he rebooted The Punisher in a grounded setting. He mixed over the top violence with dark humour, while having a profound message throughout addressing politics at the time and it was a smash hit. After that, he did another line of Marvel Knights Punisher comics before we got to what I think of the definitive depiction of The Punisher put to comic books panels, the MAX Comics run.
The Marvel MAX line of comics/graphic novels was a direct response to the comics code authority, that restricted a lot of adult material, whether that be graphic violence, profanity and other adult subjects. Jessica Jones: Alias was the first to debut on the line giving a more cynical take on the superhero genre, but I would say The Punisher really defined the line of comics. In The Beginning was the first Punisher MAX graphic novel to debut in 2004, and it was nothing that we have never seen before with the character. It was Frank Castle at his meanest and most brutal, no longer was Garth Ennis bound to the strict rules he could unleash the pure rage of Frank Castle in this line of comics. However, at the same time he could show the more sympathetic side of the character where he goes into his mental health throughout the line. There are moments of course showing him doing what he does best, blowing criminals away with his vast array of weaponry but at the same time it shows his sensitive side when he has to save a woman from a slave trader to name an example. It shows a bit of his life before he donned the skull on his combat vest, that he was once a family man, but that all disappeared when his family were brutally murdered by criminals, which the justice system fails him, and he takes it into his own hands.
There was more character development of Frank Castle in the MAX line, not just Garth Ennis’ novels, there are a lot of quiet moments when Frank is alone where he is reflecting on past events. Whether it is the death of his family, or the recent firefight he has just endeavored, it adds layers to the character instead of him being your standard vigilante on the streets of New York. The MAX line is easily the best version of The Punisher, not only because of the unflinching graphic violence but because of the development of Frank’s character, which would be the inspiration for 2017’s The Punisher TV series.
The Punisher TV Series (2017-2019)
(Some Spoilers)
Originally debuting in Daredevil season 2, which was originally on Netflix (now on Disney+ if you want to watch), The Punisher was something different and more human. Don’t get me wrong, when he is in Daredevil season 2 he is terrifying, portrayed by Jon Burnthal he has a cold stare of a killer, but as the season goes on we see a human and sympathetic side of the character when he has more one to one encounters with Karen Page, where they both learn to open up with each other.
This transfers directly into the standalone TV show, as Frank in this series doesn’t want to continue The Punisher mantle as he wants to live a normal life, but he realises this is who he is and he can’t stop. The first season begins six months after the events of Daredevil season 2, where he is trying to hide out and put the Punisher moniker behind him. However, he can’t help but get involved when innocent people are getting hurt, so he deals with some criminal scum the only way he knows how and finds a new home for a sledgehammer. However, throughout the series he struggles with own mental health as he still has dreams about his wife which ends horribly, and he wakes up every night at three AM. It is Frank struggling to find his real self, he wants a normal life but his past haunts him and all he can do to bury it is to kill everyone associated with it.
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Season 2 takes a different turn, after the events of the first we see Frank happy for the first time in a long time. He is on the road, relaxing and enjoying a beer while listeing to the live band in a small local bar. He even meets a woman that he gets romantically involved with, while using his fake name Pete but after that night he tells her his real name and opens up about his past. It is the first time we have seen him so vulnerable as he talks about the death of his family, it is a both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. It is almost like he wants to start over, but his violent and paternal instincts kick in when he sees a young girl in trouble and swoops in to protect her. He massacres an entire gang to protect her, an overblown response some would say but he sees his daughter in this young girl Amy, and as he says when they have time to talk “If you were a guy I would have left you, but I am old fashioned” so there is an element of chivalry too.
He learns to appreciate people again in season 2, you see him laugh and smile a lot in this season, which was very unusual to see in the comics, but ultimately, he realises he can’t have people in his life as they will always be in danger. By the end of season 2 he is The Punisher once more, with the memento mori imprinted on his vest as The Punisher is a constant circle in his life. The season ends as it starts with violence, but this time you can almost see a bit of sadistic glee as he mows down gangsters with two assault rifles in hand, with the skull prominent as the screen fades to black.
The television series was received well, but some didn’t really vibe with the more human side of The Punisher despite it taking a lot of inspiration from the source material of the MAX comics. It was more character driven with dialogue, like the other shows within that universe but also the comics were more about the characters rather than the action. That is what made these MAX/Marvel Knights comics and the TV shows interesting, were the characters and development it made them more relatable especially Daredevil and The Punisher although I am not condoning or glorifying what Frank Castle does within those pieces of media.
I wish Marvel would go into more human stories with both comics and live action interpretations again, and it seems they are with the upcoming Echo and Daredevil: Born Again series. Maybe one day we will get another Punisher film or TV show, showcasing Frank’s human side but we will have to wait.
I hope you enjoyed my comic book post, let me know if you would like more of this as I want to cover Daredevil and Jessica Jones.
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