Here I will not retell all the misadventures of Frank Castle, but will limit myself to a brief description of his appearance and development as a hero who has passed through several eras. My goal is to interest you, the reader, so that you yourself become familiar with this iconic anti-hero and my favorite character, because of which I started reading comics. So don’t expect a detailed retelling
his stories. And I will try to avoid major spoilers.
The Punisher was the brightest representative of the Bronze Age of comics. It usually dates back to 1973 – the death of Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man #121-122. It was an attempt to escape from the yoke of censorship imposed "Comic Books Act" in 1954.
The law was the product of a panic created by psychologist Frederick Wertman, who declared that comic books were causing “juvenile delinquency.”. As discussed in his book The Seduction of Innocence, he discovered that the shadows and details of the drawings contained information that subconsciously instilled lewd thoughts in the reader. Like the old joke: “So, all the inkblots, in your opinion, look like genitals? You’re definitely fixated on sex.". – "I?! It’s YOU showing me these dirty pictures!»
And in order to avoid having to deal with lawyers once again, all major publishing houses introduced strict self-censorship, and characters like the Punisher did not appear for fear of litigation.
The social order for outlaw avengers did not arise by chance. The 1970s in the United States were by no means simple. Firstly, demonstrations against the Vietnam War and social discontent turning into pogroms. The authorities did not hesitate to suppress them by force of arms, shooting entire demonstrations. Secondly, the war was associated with huge drug trafficking and police corruption (the film Gangster with Washington and Crowe is exactly about this), which did not contribute to faith in law and justice. Thirdly, the growth of ethnic organized crime groups and the constant bloody war for spheres of influence (Mafia 3 will be about this), the deindustrialization of cities (Detroit, for example) means an increase in unemployment, and with it crime. In short, the 1970s can be safely compared with the 1930s, with all that it implies.
In 1971, the cult film starring Clint Eastwood was released – Dirty Harry, about a policeman who does not hesitate to carry out extrajudicial killings of criminals. And even earlier, in 1969, Dan Pendleton’s novel was published The Executioner and talked about the relentless struggle of Vietnam veteran Mac Bolan against the Mafia and terrorism. The main character’s family also died. The mafia made GG’s sister a sex slave, and so the war began to a victorious end. The novels were successfully published until 1980. Doesn’t remind me of anything? The creators themselves never denied their sources of inspiration.
The heroes of the 1930s were federal agents who fought crime by any means necessary. And now Inspector Callahan on the screen, Mac Bolan in literature and, of course, Frank Castle in comics. When they say that “housewives scolded the Punisher for his methods,” we must not forget that eminent critics scolded Dirty Harry for the same thing. This trio was a response to the request for social justice, which was sorely lacking.
And now, in the year in 1974, on the pages of the comic book “The Amazing Spider-Man” No. 129, our “hero” first appears. The Punisher was created by Gerry Conway and Ross Andrew, who worked together on The Amazing Spider-Man. They were later joined by Marvel art director John Romita.
Frank Castle is a Vietnam veteran who, having returned home to his family, decided to live a normal life, forgetting about the horrors of war, but this was not destined to happen. One day, my family and I went on a picnic to Central Park, but they found themselves in the middle of a bloody Mafia showdown. During the shootout
his entire family died, and Frank himself was seriously wounded. Having risen to his feet, he hoped for justice according to the law, but the killers were not convicted and then he decided to deal with them himself. Having lost everything in life, he devoted himself entirely to fighting crime and took on the nickname “The Punisher.”.
In his Spider-Man debut, the Punisher was tricked into killing Spider-Man, believing him to be the leader of an organized crime gang. Despite the fact that in the same series Spider-Man managed to prove his innocence, the Punisher appeared several more times in his comics, where he again tried to deal with Spider-Man.
The Punisher has had a much bigger impact on comics than you might think. Its popularity grew steadily from the 1970s to the 1980s. And in order to emphasize all the gloom and noir character of the hero, they decided to tell the story in the first person. Alreadyin 1975 The Punisher: War Journal was published as part of Marvel Preview #2 demonstrating Frank’s subjective view of what was happening.
This practice spread to other comics, replacing the narrator’s detached comments. The comments, by the way, look much more archaic than they seem, since they give away obvious facts, such as: “two people are in a room hidden from prying eyes, where the forces of evil will begin to attack everything bright in this world”. As they say, appreciate the inventiveness of the narrative. But the authors’ innovative approach to the subjective presentation of history was not invented by them and not then. This feature, like the Punisher himself, was cut from a series of novels by the same Dan Pandelton – The Executioner.
The Punisher was a very contradictory hero in the sense that he contradicted the logic of the universe. The stories of that time remained very naive, stories where good always triumphs over evil, and the appearance of such a hero as the Punisher caused sincere bewilderment and questions “why is he doing this to them?”?». Frank circa 1974 crawled out of a parallel universe into the bright and carefree world of Spidey. It’s as if in the last Spider-Man movie he didn’t grab Rhino at the very beginning (Paul Giamatti), but found him an hour later in the alley with his fingers cut off and his skull broken, lying in a pool of his own blood. And then Frank would come out and say that this is the only reliable way to fight criminals. It seems like he’s saying the right things, but on the other hand, what’s going on?? This contradiction was insoluble in principle. Therefore, the Punisher appeared very rarely, but accurately.
In this form he existed until his first comic book line (1986), in which he fought mainly with the mafia. Unless, only, in Spectacular Spider-Man #82 (1983) a certain Bill Mantlo portrayed him as a psychopath who shoots civilians. It was more likely not the author’s view, but a new trend in art. At that time, it was very popular in the press, cinema and literature to depict psychologically broken war veterans. Rambo: First Blood (1982) — was about exactly that, whereas the original novel by David Morrell "First Blood" published in 1972, it was about a man whose rights the system, represented by the local sheriff, refused to respect at its whim. That’s when John declared war on the system in general and the local police in particular. Also a kind of protest against the state, of which there were a great many in various forms at that time.
From 1987 to the mid-90s, the comic slowly declined. At first, of course, it was interesting to watch how the Punisher defeats evil terrorists and mafiosi, but this motive was not eternal. It’s gotten to the point where Frank became a black man for several issues. Unfortunately, there’s not much to say about him. These were innovative stories just for their time. Having read them now, it’s clear that these are quite funny and exciting crime stories, but nothing more. The same as most militants of that time – they did not carry any special cultural value. At the end of the 90s, Marvel decided to reboot the hero and it was so bad that it doesn’t even deserve a mention here. But, for special connoisseurs, here is a list of some content:
"The Punisher" from writer John Ostrander, in which the Punisher joined organized crime and fought the X-Men and Marvel super-spy Nick Fury. Writer Christopher Golden, in the four-part series "The Punisher: Purgatory" (November 1998 – February 1999), killed the Punisher and then resurrected him as a supernatural agent of angels and demons.
But there was one act of prudence in this kingdom of hopeless insanity. It was called Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe (The Punisher destroys the Marvel Universe) — comic yearbook 1995 edition. It was written by the famous Garth Ennis, who will divide the Punisher into what he wrote and everything else.
The first 8 pages including the cover are simply beautiful. It was here that the main problem of the Punisher as a character within the Marvel universe was first clearly shown. The plot is shown in full on the cover. Frank is here, as expected, taking revenge. But this time for superheroes. Because a byproduct of their latest exploit is the death of Castle’s family. Having arrived at the place and seeing the dead family, he becomes furious and demands fair retribution. Cyclops couldn’t come up with anything better than saying “I’m sorry”. Frank, having heard this, without talking or the slightest hesitation, shoots Cyclops and Jubilee and Hawkeye to the heap. Further, by the will of circumstances, he opens a hunt for superheroes. Which is what happens over the next 40 pages, but the whole idea fits into the first 8. At first, the genocide of hundreds of superheroes by one person seems absurd. But the idea here is different, it is important to show that Castle is not systematic.
The problem with all the heroes is that they are clowns with an overwhelming sense of carelessness. And in order to somehow ensure their victory over the forces of evil, their opponents must be the same. Faced with the reality that Castle represents, they don’t stand a chance. He does not waste time on monologues and warnings – he simply kills everyone in his path. The heroes think on a completely different plane. They are simply morally incapable of developing and accepting the necessary methods of fighting the Punisher, even under pain of their own death.
It was from these ideas that the famous reboot of Garth Ennis was born, which we will now talk about.
The breakthrough came in 2000 with the 12-issue Marvel Knights, again titled The Punisher (April 2000 – March 2001), when Irish author Garth Ennis took over. He breathed new life into the Punisher. On the one hand, the action took place in the Marvel universe with Spider-Man, Wolverine and others. Frank here is a very dark and cynical killer who always shoots first. The episodes are rated “T+”, that is, for teenagers. But already from the first issue you wonder how such a terrible thing was missed at all? Torture, murder, rivers of blood, decomposed corpses and all this close-up. It is not surprising that such a character constantly mocked his colleagues in a dangerous profession and openly despised them. I even felt sorry for the unfortunate Daredevil from the mockery of his entire worldview that he experienced, at the behest of Frank. Other heroes from an integral part of the universe have turned into an entertainment element full of banter. Except, as I said, Daredevil, which has a really powerful story about the value of human life and what justice is. They have a long history of relationships and are at least interrupted by the location of the action. Cooked in a common cauldron, so to speak. This plot is called “The Choice” from The Punisher Vol. 4 (in Russian version included in volume 3) #3.
It is on such contrasts that the entire series is built. This is a pretty nice and easy read. It may even make some people think about the good and evil that Frank brings into the world through his actions. In the last episode of season 6 Dexter main character said: "I’m where I’m supposed to be. After all, there is a place in this world, even for someone like me. Light cannot exist without darkness. Everything has a purpose. And if my darkness has a purpose, then maybe it is to bring balance to this world.". This generally characterizes the character’s way of thinking.
There are not so many similar plots; most of the time Frank fights with the usual mafia, terrorists, mercenaries and other mundane opponents.
Having just appeared in 1974, I had a question. If he acts like this and is not completely a villain, then why is Spider-Man still alive?? Why do his opponents, personifying all 7 deadly sins of the year, not have the same determination?? From a sign of the times, the Punisher became a hero in himself. He has more in common with Deadpool than anyone else. If the first one makes fun of everyone around him, then Frank simply despises and probably does not understand how he got here. Inspired by the success of the series, Marvel made the only right choice – it entrusted Ennis to transfer the character into the dark and cruel MAX universe, which allowed him to realize all his wildest ideas.
I note that the Russian version is a complete mess, so all issues from 2000 to 2004 are included in Punisher vol 3 / Punisher volume 3 And Punisher vol 5 / Punisher volume 5. There is no volume 4 and don’t look for it.
But before we move on to the crown jewel of the Frank Castle stories, let’s remember his incarnations outside of the comics.
In 1989, an action film https://bingobillycasino.co.uk/bonus/ was released with Dolph Lungren — The Punisher, in the USSR – Executioner. All that’s left from the comic is the Punisher’s skull. And even then on the handle of a knife. The plot and characters had nothing to do with the original. For this it is worth saying thanks to the masterful director. The film itself was a solid action movie about a lone avenger, molded according to all the canons of the 80s. And, of course, there was Dolph Lungren in his best years. And this immediately adds several points.
The next appearance of Frank Castle on the screen can be considered the 3rd season of the same cartoon about Spider-Man from the 90s. There he hunts Parker, who has mutated into a monster, with the help of the old BattleVan and his assistant coordinator, Microchip. Since the entire animated series was not spared by censorship, it does not kill anyone on the screen, but only threatens to start shooting to kill (even at ordinary bandits). I also remember the disgusting English voice acting and divine Russian dubbing.
Next, well almost, comes the 2004 film and again it’s simple and succinct The Punisher With Thomas Jane as the Punisher and John Travolta as the main bad guy – Howard Saint. Here, Frank’s biography was greatly changed: from a veteran of the Vietnam War, or at least some other war, he became an FBI agent. During one of the operations there was a shootout and, partly through his fault, Howard Saint’s son died. The upset father finds out about this and orders Castle’s entire family to be killed, but Frank himself survives and guess what happens then.
If as a child I liked this Film and the Punisher himself more than others, then, having watched it now, I understand that it is just boring. Frank himself is not very tough and kills rather in self-defense (except for the last scene). If the director wanted to make the action realistic (in some places it turned out that way), then the reasons for the existence of frankly comic scenes with the Russian and duels filmed according to all the laws of spaghetti westerns of the 70s are not clear: Throwing away the coat from the holster, playing with nerves, fixing the camera on the eyes of the shooters and other classic techniques. As an action film it is too drawn out, as a drama – the characters’ characters are not developed. A passerby, in short.
But what was amazing was the game released the following year in 2005 – The Punisher. The plot, which was based on the 2000-2001 comics by Garth Eniss and somehow tied into the events in the film. For example, Jigsaw turned out to be not the canonical Billy Russo, but the surviving son of Howard Saint from the film. If, as a shooter, it was quite mediocre (especially compared to Max Payne), then everything else was a solid A. Frank was a gloomy, methodical and cynical killer who mowed down hundreds of villains per level, but was not shy about regularly making jokes. The humor, as you understand, was purely black. The main thing that the Punisher was loved for was his ruthlessness, against the backdrop of, ad nauseam, the right superheroes.
This was not only left here, but also increased. It would be more correct, even to say, elevated to absolute. People could be burned in crematoria, drowned in toilets, fed to piranhas, thrown on rhinoceroses, tortured with electricity, boiled alive in soup and much more. This is not counting standard torture with beatings and strangulation. High-quality dismemberment allowed any poor fellow to be torn to shreds with a machine gun or fried to a crisp with a flamethrower.
The icing on the cake was the amazing voice acting of the Punisher from Thomas Jane himself. Replies like: “This is the only place in New York where you can smoke indoors.”. He said this after he personally fried a prisoner in the electric chair. The author of this masterpiece was Volution, under the roof of the deceased THQ. Despite 2 million copies sold in the first 10 weeks, there was no sequel, which is a pity.
We only had to wait 4 years for the next Punisher movie. IN 2008 there was a reboot called "Punisher: War Zone" starring Ray Stevenson.
This film adaptation turned out to be very dark and gloomy, filled with blood, guts, dismemberment and action. What can come of this? Only a single-celled trash movie that you can watch and forget. And so it happened. The only thing that looks decent is this Frank himself (obviously lifted from MAX comics). Well, the shootings are done well – not without invention. Things like plot and characters went out for a smoke during the script writing stage and didn’t come back.
We have the Punisher, who carries out a massacre with dozens of corpses for any reason and whom no one is looking for (and they don’t even pretend that they are trying). There is a single-cell plot in which a gangster disfigured by the Punisher, sputtering in fits and starts, together with his crazy cannibal brother, takes terrible revenge and is naturally defeated by, you know who.
It was a shame to pass this off as a plot even in comics 10 years ago. Development of heroes, their interaction? Pfft, who needs this nonsense?. Everyone here walks around with sour faces and tries hard to play or jokes sadly from time to time. If Frank’s stoniness and silence are justified (the man, after all, lost his family). Others don’t try very hard to look like real people with their own interests and characters. The director of the imperishable film, Lexi Alexander, apparently thought that people would run to a simple Mochilovo without an ounce of meaning and received a logical result in the form of a complete failure both in terms of box office and critics’ ratings. To top it off, she reliably buried the hope, among the studios, for a normal film about the Punisher.
In 2012, the short film The Punisher: Dirty Laundry was released, starring Thomas Jane and Ron Perlman. It is notable only for the fact that the Punisher kills a crowd of gopniks with a bottle of Jack Daniels. The video was shown at Comic Con to attract investors to a potential sequel, but it didn’t work out.
Frank’s closest on-screen role will be as Daredevil’s adversary in season two "Daredevil". There he will be played by the actor known for his role as Shane from the series The Walking Dead Jon Bernthal.
And if Lexi Alexander didn’t see anything other than guts and shooting in the MAX version of the Punisher, then you and I will now correct this misunderstanding.
"This city is afraid of me. I saw his true face, the streets are an extension of the gutters, and the ditches are filled with blood. And when the drains are completely clogged, then all this scum will begin to drown… When the accumulated filth of lust and murder foams up to their waists, all the whores and politicians will look up and cry: “Save us!", and I will whisper: "NO""
Even though Rorschach said it in Watchmen, it was These words perfectly characterize the MAX universe of the Punisher. There is not even a hint of superheroes in it (Spider-Man, if he got into this world, would have died either from a heart attack or from a break in the pattern), but all that is there are murderers, rapists, maniacs who populate the streets of New York and there is the Punisher, who has been waging a war with them for 30 years. This episode was serialized 18+. And for a reason. Swearing, blood, guts, nudity are available here.
But this is enough for a third-rate comic from an unknown literary black. There was also a truly ambiguous main character and a lot of charismatic bastards, of varying degrees of bastardity. They are mostly sadists and thugs, but with a twist. There is a thoroughly cynical CIA officer, ready to do anything for the sake of his goal, and justifies any lawlessness as a matter of national importance; a notorious black Irishman who relishes cutting people into pieces; a young and ambitious mafioso, who, for the sake of Don’s place, as a child, killed his entire family, and then slept with his fat aunt, having fun torturing and killing unwanted people in the basement of the house, and of course there is the eternal enemy of the punisher – JigSaw (Saw, Puzzle), in this version of The Heavy (Problem), which sparkled with new facets of frostbite.
“When I want to know something, I find someone who knows more than me and ask.”. “I love assassins. No matter what you do with them, your conscience doesn’t bother you.”.
— Marv, Sin City
These guys are made for each other.
Of course, the characters described above evoke quite unambiguous feelings, but the story is not made up of them alone. In some cases, questions arise about the justification of such cruelty. After all Frank does not spare anyone involved in crime – be it a woman or a teenager. He follows his commandments like a gloomy religious fanatic and does not distinguish between living people. If a former ally takes the side of the enemy, then the punishment will be cruel and inexorable. You can’t help but wonder if he’s a maniac who kills for his own pleasure? And if there had been no war, he would have started it himself? This topic also comes up. The final volume of the MAX line about King Pin – Punisher MAX / Punisher MAX from 2010 to 2012. Unfortunately not from Ennis, but still very high quality. There is also a backstory limit of 4 episodes Born (2003) give an answer to this question.
It is this mixture of a methodical and determined punisher with completely unpredictable psycho-villains that creates the necessary tension and the effect of surprise, but always the swiftness of what is happening. You won’t find long monologues or scenes like: "You beat me, but next time I’ll get you, Spider-Man». If they can kill, they kill without hesitation or hesitation. The madness of the heroes even creates scenes filled with mincemeat of heroes at the most unexpected moment or when it should only escalate the tension and lead to a large-scale denouement, everything breaks down into a fierce battle, without waiting for the end of the issue or, especially, the next issue.
Each plot is perceived as a full-fledged season of a quality series. In addition, the stories raise topical topics such as terrorism, the Albanian mafia (considered the toughest and most impregnable mafia, both in Europe and America. New York police officers have been forcibly taught Albanian for several years, and it is not at all easy. You can watch her in “Taken” with Liam Neeson. By the way, the release of the series coincided with another intensification of ethnic organized crime groups in the USA and the emergence of a new scarecrow for citizens. If in the 70s they were looking for communist spies under every stool, now their place has been taken by terrorists of all stripes. This is presented with a healthy dose of satire. Ennis has no problem with this at all. Take a look at the same Preacher. Needless to say, the plot itself felt like a strong action movie with a detective component and could even lay claim to some realism and to emphasizing certain undertones.
This, of course, has nothing to do with the story about Russia. Here the Siberian Gulags, eternal winter, totalitarianism and the list goes on. This is not even presented as an international operation, but as contact with an extraterrestrial civilization. Here comes the completely unnecessary globality in such a story. Will definitely pop out from around the corner
Morgan FreemanNick Fury will tell you what the UN thinks and what the fate of the world is like there. The feeling is like the first third season of “House of Cards”, after watching the first two.
What makes the events even more gloomy is the fact that Frank Castle is not getting any younger over the years and after 30 years of fighting crime it is becoming more and more difficult to fight. He is such a dog beaten by life and just a man, behind whom there is emptiness and there is nowhere to wait for help. Frank shut himself off from the rest of the world and locked himself away on a social day among murderous drug dealers and rapists. After all, as he himself says: "Frank Castle died with his family", and the Punisher has no place among people. He exists only with the dregs of society, and the more disgusting they are, the stronger his craving for existence.
Speaking of noir, one cannot fail to mention the limited edition Punisher Noir / Punisher Noir (2009). The story took place in the 30s of the XX century. Frank Castiglione, a World War I veteran, raises his son Frank, teaching him everything he learned in the army. And now Frank Jr. becomes the Punisher. In addition to the atmosphere, the plot is also notable for the fact that it elegantly incorporates all of Frank’s classic enemies such as the Russian, Jigsaw and Barracuda.
But all good things come to an end and the MAX series ended in 2012.
In parallel with it, in 2011 he began publishing Punisher vol 8 / Punisher volume 8 within the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Despite a completely different story, Frank still resembles his version from the MAX line in his habits. Unfortunately, only by habits. Greg Rucka/Rucka. For the sake of dynamics, he abandoned internal monologues and focused on action.
The first issues it was completely unclear what motivates him, what thoughts are in his head. But this was done deliberately and quite justifiably. There are two storylines, Frank, of course, and the Marine girl, whose entire family was also killed. They develop in parallel and we see, in her face, young Frank who is still trying to live on, and in Frank himself an experienced ruthless killer with a fully formed idea of good and evil. It won’t be a spoiler if I say that they will team up and this will greatly affect the character.
Even the sermons of the heroes, which at first glance look like a mockery of common sense, closer to the end, prove the right to their existence and, even, adequacy. Although while I was listening to Murdoch’s reasoning, the idea that mass murderers should be spared looks completely senile. He, moreover, knows that according to the law he cannot attract them, and he explains this great truth to a girl whose entire family and friends were killed by these same bandits right at her wedding. After a remark in the spirit of the unforgettable, "otherwise they will win" I wanted to hit him in the face and even kick him. Here for the first time it is shown how blood is intoxicating and how easily the heroes shoot, even innocent people, on the way to their goal. That behind the abandonment of the past is the loss of oneself. And all this is shown precisely through the actions and dialogues of the characters. And only in such a world that has not completely sunk, can one still criticize the Punisher for his methods.
On the other hand, such seriousness is instantly destroyed when costumed villains jump from the pages and hordes of zombies in Time Square. And in general, any overly fantastical element evokes a strong sense of surrealism in this dark story.
Punisher vol 8 / Punisher volume 8 (2011) and its continuation, Punisher: War Zone / Punisher: War Territory (2012) one of the best Punisher stories. Both in terms of action and characters. It’s not as dark as the MAX version, but that’s its advantage. The death of characters is not perceived as commonplace, and there are not very many guys in tights jumping across the roofs. This is a really powerful piece of work that shows that being the Punisher is not for everyone.
If the MAX version is a completely independent work, then Punisher vol 8 / Punisher volume 8 And Punisher: War Zone / Punisher: War Territory (2012) a great chance to see a hero with the prospect of continuing his acquaintance in comics in the Marvel universe.
But, you need to be prepared for a bunch of cliches designed to support their confrontation for years, which is more like a game with enormous damage to others. One of the villains openly states that it “was a game and no one was seriously injured.”. And as soon as a simple person appears, ready to go to the end and kill without hesitation, they begin to feel stupor. If their classic opponents had been as determined as the Punisher, there would have been no Justice League, no Avengers, no one for a long time.
But only these teams contain various gods or simply invulnerable characters. This creates a serious imbalance and the game begins with one goal. It seems like the Punisher is a tough killer, but even if he wants to, he can’t do anything. This is especially evident from Punisher War Journal vol 2 / Punisher War Journal volume 2 (2007-2009)
We are talking about the Civil War that preceded the Dark Reign. Castle finds himself drawn into the struggle of superheroes (under dubious pretext, to be honest) and you can see how the creators are trying to make him part of the team and, moreover, a useful part of it, but it looks very forced. He still remains a man with human ambitions and possibilities.
The authors pulled off a similar trick in Thunderbolts vol 2 / Thunderbolts volume 2 (2013), uniting the Punisher into a team with Deadpool, Venom, Red Hulk and Elektra, and General Ross led their gang.
This question was once raised in Dark Reign: The List / Dark Power (Dark Reign): List (according to the plot, it goes between issues 9 and 10 Punisher vol 7 / Punisher volume 7). There Norman Osborn decided to kill all his enemies, including the Punisher. Just like that, simply and without further ado. And even then this struggle was very conditional. The immortal son of Rassomakha was thrown onto Frank (a common man). The forces were too unequal, and in order to organize a worthy rematch, the Punisher was turned into FrankenCastle, endowed with the same indestructibility and strength.
Castle himself in his new look looks only a little better than he sounds. Having moved into the category of the undead, he changed his enemies to all sorts of cyborgs, ninjas, zombie Nazis and stuff like that. This is a miracle – Punisher vol 7 / Punisher volume 7 came out in 2009, and already in 2010 it came out – Punisher: In The Blood / Punisher: Bloody Revenge, where everything was returned. Consisting, however, of only 5 issues. And Castle, a Batman cosplayer (he even has his own sewer cave and personal Robin) fights the familiar Jigsaw and other bandits, stoically despising the methods of the Avengers as counter-productive.
“The world has gone crazy… they should have killed Osborn on the first day. But this is not their method. Their method is drawn out, slow, chock full of useless ideology. An ideology that destroys cities, demolishes houses, kills civilians. They forgot that this is war. Half measures cost lives, so I do my duty and do what they can’t. And I’m going to do this for a very long time.”.
— Punisher: In The Blood / Punisher: Bloody Revenge
We started for health, and we will end for peace.
Unfortunately the last one The Punisher vol 9 / Punisher volume 9 (2014 -. ) turned out to be not the best.
The synopsis is as follows. Hunting a dangerous gang, Frank moves to Los Angeles. And in the city of Fallen Angels, his affairs noticeably improved. He hangs out with chicks, hangs out in a cafe after killing another villain. Where, without hiding, over a cup of coffee and omelet, he talks about his adventures to the owner of the establishment and a sympathetic young policeman. Without forgetting to share his rich life experience and help with advice. He lives in a trailer around the corner and keeps a wild coyote. The military supplies him with weapons directly from the base (including Javelins and chemical weapons). He chose a place in life that was not stressful. I firmly believe that his calling is to help the police with those whom they cannot reach, but who are too small and insignificant for superheroes. The balance of power is more reminiscent of Batman (Batman: Arkham Knight to be more specific), where the police look like completely pathetic worms and can only help them Batman Punisher.
Honestly, it looks and sounds like it. I opened volume 9 with faith in a worthy continuation. Moreover, a new location, a new atmosphere. Previous releases gave such confidence. Instead of a cynical fanatic for whom the war against crime is the meaning of all existence after death, who despises the soft-bodied Daredevil and all those like him. I got this miracle, in the style of Freakazoid, Mask or Hancock.
This whole series looks as if logic went out for a walk, and the places of the real heroes were taken by cosplayers, who, after playing, gather in a cafe and share their impressions. One complains that the holster is rubbing, another boasts of a ring from a finger cut off a couple of hours ago, and so on.
The most annoying thing is that it all started for health. On the first pages, Frank, without any questions asked, separates the fingers of a mafioso with a shotgun, and after squeezing all the information out of it, feeds it to the crocodile. Only crocodiles seem to be in part of Florida, not California. In the east there are tropics, in the west there is desert – it seems like that.
Let. Even with such starting points, you can write a fascinating story. But they didn’t. Instead, we have an evil organization that has decided to take over the city. And not through bribing officials and establishing control over the media and the economy, but literally – with tanks and soldiers. Moreover, their main argument is Electro, who, outlining his brilliant plan, says: "This city is going to burn to the ground, Castle. And you are with him". Well, after a tense fight, it’s best to go to the club and drink beer. In short, complete finish. I don’t want to talk anymore about this masterpiece.
the main problem is that all this is considered canon and if you want to understand the character’s story completely, you will have to read everything starting from 2000.
At the beginning I said that this is not a retelling of the character’s story, but an attempt to awaken in you the desire to get acquainted with his adventures for yourself. So let’s move on to the section “What to read and in what order”.
If you like a hard crime action movie, then warm up with the limited edition Born (2003), and then enjoy Punisher vol 6 / Punisher volume 6 (2004-2009) and Punisher MAX / Punisher MAX (2010-2012). Then we move on to Punisher vol 8 / Punisher volume 8 (2011) and Punisher: War Zone / Punisher: War Territory (2012). If it doesn’t cause any rejection, then open Punisher vol 3 / Punisher volume 3 (2000) and read until you get bored or it seems that the story is going crazy and insanity begins.
If superheroes don’t bother you, then just open Punisher vol 3 / Punisher volume 3 (2000) and read everything in order, paying attention to the release date, just in case. MarvelWikia will always help with this with a list of all comics. But, as I already said, in the Russian versions there are problems with numbers, so take a closer look at the cover. Then you can’t go wrong.
In conclusion, I don’t want to repeat everything that has been said regarding the character, only in a condensed form. And many images of the Punisher will complicate this matter.
I would like to look at the hero from the height of his 40 year history. When I gulped through comics written in various eras, it reminded me of my acquaintance with Rex Stout’s novels about detective Nero Wolfe. They were published steadily from 1934 to 1975, until the death of the author. The main character always corresponded to the era. At the beginning he fought the Mafia, then in 1942 he wanted to enlist in the army and go exterminate the Nazis, when the Cold War began, communist agents appeared on his way, and so on. So the Punisher started with Italian and Irish mafiosi and ended up… and ended up with them. But it’s like watching the first Bond films and then Bourne. The down-to-earth Punisher allows you not only to see the same difference, but also to trace the entire development of the series, which perfectly reflected the trends and themes of American action films over the past half century. There is a certain nostalgia and pleasure in seeing with my own eyes the growth from caricatured Italian mafiosi to cruel and cynical sadists.
