Frank Castle’s rechristening as the Punisher was formulated through tragedy. Watching his wife and children gunned down by gangsters made for “one bad day” for the military draftee. Using his special set of skills to put the law into his own hands was the only way he could ensure justice for his fallen family. Still, Castle has been forced to carry that tragedy with him for his entire life.
What’s worse and often overlooked about the Punisher’s origin story is that his family’s violent death isn’t the only tragedy that he has suffered in his existence. It’s the tragedy that kickstarted his superhero career and arguably remains the worst tragedy that he has ever endured, but it’s far from the last tragedy that Frank has ever endured. His anti-hero’s journey has been paved with twists and turns that continue to leave blood on his hands and trauma in his mind.
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The Hand Resurrects the Punisher’s Wife
Punisher #1 Jason Aaron, Paul Azaceta, Jesús Saíz, Dave Stewart, and Cory Petit
The Hand is best remembered as the ninja organization that Daredevil finds himself combating night in and night out, but Matt Murdock isn’t the only superhero they’ve crossed paths with. The Punisher has a storied history of his own with the Hand, once even swearing allegiance as a former leader. During his time as leader, he elevated the Hand to new heights, and as a token of appreciation, they revived his wife. However, horrified by what Frank had done in his family’s honor, she shoots him at point-blank range.
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A Single Sentence Changed Everything I I Knew About Punisher’s Bloody Work
One Marvel story states that the Punisher wasn’t always a violent man. In fact, Frank Castle never wanted to go to war in the first place.
The moment makes Frank’s run as Punisher all the more bittersweet. For years, Frank killed countless people in the name of his wife Maria and his children Lisa and Frank Jr. He justifies his violence as a way of honoring them, but upon seeing Frank’s brand of justice firsthand, Maria doesn’t see her husband or a hero, only a monster.
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The Punisher’s Wife’s Last Words Were to Ask for a Divorce
Punisher #11 by Jason Aaron, Paul Azaceta, Jesús Saíz, Matt Hollingsworth, and Cory Petit
Perhaps even more bittersweet than Maria Castle knowing what her husband has done since her death is readers knowing that their marriage was rocky before either Maria or their children were killed. The Punisher #11 drops this bombshell in, ironically, the same issue where Maria shoots her husband. Punisher readers have seen the flashback of Castle’s family being gunned down during a picnic several times over, but this time, it’s revealed that moments before being shot unexpectedly, Maria had asked for a divorce.
Maria dies before she can get that last word out, but the moment recontextualizes the Punisher’s declaration to use his mission to honor his fallen family in a new light. He’s not just trying to honor their murder out of justice or because he misses them, but instead out of guilt for a marriage he couldn’t save.
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The Punisher’s Entire Life Was Steered by the Hand
Punisher #2 by Jason Aaron, Paul Azaceta, Jesús Saíz, Dave Stewart, and Cory Petit
The Punisher’s entanglement with the Hand dates back further than his leadership role – and even further than he even realized initially. The Hand had been watching Frank since he was a small boy, and his training to join them had begun at that stage in his life, even if he didn’t realize it at the time. Revealing the Punisher’s true origins not only changes how his path was carved for him, but defines the man he is today.
It’s easy to look back at Frank’s initial origin story and say that the Punisher was born when he watched his family killed in front of his eyes.
It’s easy to look back at Frank’s initial origin story and say that the Punisher was born when he watched his family killed in front of his eyes. However, the Punisher may have been born with or without tragedy thanks to the shadowy guidance of the Hand. Much of Frank’s violent streak stems from being born to be the Fist of the Beast, according to the Hand.
7
The Punisher Has a Daughter
The Punisher #50 by Garth Ennis, Howard Chaykin, Edgar Delgado, and Cory Petit
The last time the Punisher fought his R-rated nemesis, he left Barracuda in shark-infested waters with four severed fingers and an eye stabbed out. Bloodthirsty for revenge, he wants to hurt Frank Castle more emotionally than physically. He embarks on the former by digging into Frank’s past, unearthing a secret daughter, Sarah O’Brien.
Frank had slept with Kathryn O’Brien after she saved his life in The Punisher #23. She didn’t get to tell Frank that they had a child together before her death in an earlier issue, instead letting the girl be raised by her aunt and uncle. After killing Barracuda and saving the girl’s life, Frank returned Sarah to her guardians, convinced that she was safer away from him and unaware her father existed. Nonetheless, canonically, there is still a little Castle child running around somewhere in the Marvel Universe, who theoretically could resurface any minute.
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The Punisher Made a Deal with Death to Keep Fighting and Killing, Leading to the Death of His Family
Born #4 by Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Tom Palmer, Paul Mounts, and Rus Wooton
Frank Castle had a penchant for killing long before becoming the Punisher, especially after surviving three tours in the military. As is the problem with many former soldiers, it’s hard to adjust to living a life of calm after being in an environment that was anything but. The Punisher needs violence to remain sane, as insane as that may sound. That part of Castle is exposed in ways he doesn’t even remember when Punisher: Born reveals that he made a deal with Death during his third tour to be gifted the forever war that he always wanted.
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The Punisher’s Deadly Sidekick Found a Way to Revive His Son But at a Big Cost
The Punisher’s motivation has always been to avenge his family, but when his son finally came back to life it was in one of the darkest ways possible.
Upon returning, he is contacted by Death, reminding Castle that their deal comes with a price: Frank’s family, though Death promises he’d never remember making the deal or speaking with Death. Still, this twist reveals that the Punisher’s punishing spree is Frank’s fault. His family’s blood is on his hands.
5
The Hood Resurrects the Punisher’s Family, Only for Frank to Burn Them
The Punisher #10 by Rick Remender, Tan Eng Huat, Lee Loughridge, and Joe Caramagna
Frank Castle’s path as the Punisher is defined largely by his family’s death, to the point that many readers assume that getting his family back would be the only way to convince Frank to stop being the Punisher. That theory is challenged when the Hood – long before his comeback as the new Ghost Rider – uses magic to bring Frank’s family back to life. Rather than accept the offer, Frank orders Firebrand to torch his wife and children.
The Hood presumes that Frank doesn’t trust his magic and that he doesn’t want his family used against him. However, a conversation with Henry Russo reveals that Frank never wanted his family resurrected. There’s a small implication that he never wants to find peace – not even with his family – because he wants to keep punishing, recontextualizing his mission as the Punisher in the most haunting way possible. Perhaps he never wants to stop his violent crusade.
4
The Cosmic Ghost Rider Is a Future Frank Castle Who Is Driven Mad by Serving King Thanos
Thanos #13 by Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, Antonio Fabela, and Clayton Cowles
Earth-TRN666 encapsulates an alternate future for the Punisher, one where, during the hero community’s last stand against Thanos, Francis Castle gets bonked upside the head by a piece of debris that kills him. After being sent to Hell, he makes a deal with Mephisto to become the Ghost Rider, just so that he can get a second chance at payback against Thanos. Unfortunately for Castle, Thanos was already gone and the planet decimated when he returned to Earth to enact revenge. Mephisto ignored Castle after scamming him, driving him insane.
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Frank’s desire for vengeance becomes so great, he makes a deal with Galactus to become his herald in hopes of reaching Thanos. Not only does this produce an evolution of Castle as a hero, but it gives him a new life and new opportunities for storytelling outside just being the Punisher.
3
History of the Marvel Universe Retcons the Punisher as a Vet of a Fictional War
History of the Marvel Universe #2 by Mark Waid, Javier Rodríguez, Álvaro López, and Joe Caramagna
Since his debut, the Punisher was established as having endured the Vietnam War, but in 2019’s History of the Marvel Universe, Marvel re-establises the Punisher as a Siancong vet. The Siancong War is a fictional war that is exclusive to the Marvel Universe, now eternally retconned into the origins of both Frank and Iron Man.
Rather than have Castle walk around as a seventy-something vigilante, creating a fictional war gives the Punisher more of a timeless feel.
It makes sense as to why Marvel would make such a drastic change to the character, knowing that placing him in Vietnam dates the Punisher in modern times. Punisher: The Tyger #1 first confirms that Frank Castle was born in 1950, meaning he would have served in Vietnam in his twenties. It’s hard to keep him as a superhero in his thirties in modern comics when the United States’ involvement in Vietnam ended fifty years ago. Rather than have Castle walk around as a seventy-something vigilante, creating a fictional war gives the Punisher more of a timeless feel.
2
Microchip Debuts as Punisher’s Iconic Helper, Revealed to Have Been Helping Off-Panel for Years
The Punisher #4 by Mike Baron, Klaus Janson, and Ken Bruzenak
The Punisher #4 was a pivotal issue in the character’s history as it marked the debut of his long-lasting sidekick, Microchip. The issue establishes that former Ford weapons and systems designer Lowell Bartholomew Ori (later revealed as an alias for David Linus Lieberman) had become an infamous hacker as the dawn of the Internet. In retirement, Castle had become his only client, buying battle vans from him for a decade.
Afterward, his origin story is elaborated upon in The Punisher: The Origin of Microchip, revealing that Professor Halliday had blackmailed Microchip into defrauding the bank out of $100,000. Halliday is then murdered, along with his wife and two children. Microchip barely evades death himself. Forced to go on the run without his wife and child, Microchip seeks out the Punisher, under the impression that they have a common enemy, marking the start of a beautiful friendship.
1
The Punisher Finally Dies
PunisherMAX #22 by Jason Aaron, Steve Dillon, Matt Hollingsworth, and Cory Petit
The death of Frank Castle was promoted as a Punisher story that fans would never expect to see, and understandably so. The Punisher has endured the worst punishment and battle damage imaginable, even before becoming a superhero assassin, considering that he endured three tours in Marvel’s version of Vietnam. That third tour made the Punisher who he is today, but his encounter with Bullseye provided his final fate.
The Punisher actually dies in PunisherMAX #21, while #22 is dedicated entirely to Nick Fury viewing Frank Castle’s body in the morgue, surveying the crime scene, then putting him to rest for a funeral. The 22nd issue is meant to establish that his death is no trick; there’s no last-minute revival or twist in which he survived. PunisherMAX #22 makes it clear that Frank Castle is dead, and, for the remainder of the series at least, he’ll stay dead.
In PunisherMAX #17, the Punisher begins his final onslaught against Kingpin. He has had little to no rest, but endured plenty of stabbings and bullets. Once he finally kills Wilson Fisk, Castle is convinced that he just needs to walk home and rest his untreated wounds. The Punisher collapses before getting there. He endures unparalleled damage across several issues, but Frank uses his last breath to trek down a warpath. As Fury says upon seeing his body in the morgue, it’s the only way that the Punisher’s story could have ended.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
