Punisher

punisher max

The Villain

Origin And Characterisation

Francis David Castle was  born in Queens, New York.  When he was ten years old,  He witnessed a shocking act of violence, which left a horrible scar on his psyche. At 19, he began training as a roman catholic priest, but after a few months he quit, and lied to the few friends he had there as to why he left. The real reason was that he could not forgive or forget people who did evil. Later on in life, he would completely forget why he ever decided to join the priesthood. He was married to his wife Maria and had a daughter named Lisa and a son named Francis Jr. But before he joined the United States Marine Corp, he  and his wife Maria were expecting Lisa to be born before he enlisted with the Army. He completed Basic Training and then trained in Infantry, Reconnaissance, Force Reconnaissance and then in Sniper Schools. Castle was able to attain dockets that would  permit him to go through U.S. Army Airborne Training. He served as a point man, a sniper and a paratrooper. He became a sergent Major Marine.

During his first tour of duty in Vietnam, Castle found out that his Commanding Officer, Mikuta, was taking money from soldiers for a promise of getting them out of the war. What he was actually doing is killing the soldiers so they would be declared Missing In Action and keeping the money for himself. Frank ended up killing Mikuta with no remorse. A Colonel with no name found out what happened and promised Frank that he would look into it further. Instead of looking into it further, he pushed Castle’s tour into dangerous territories. This is when Frank figured out that Colonel No-Name was in on it with Mikuta. When Frank’s tour of duty was up, the Colonel was there to see him off, happy to be rid of him. Castle then told him that he was going to re join,… coming back for another tour of duty. Though it depends  on the origin and writer, Castle served 3 tours of duty in the vietnam war, then joined Marine Recon, with the Garth Ennis version stating he served 3 times and then another illegal tour, while another, more modern version shows him serving in the Persian Gulf War in a Kuwait battalion.

On his final tour, His garrison, Forge Valley Firebase, came under heavy assualt. As his fellow marines were killed around him, as his enemies closed in to finish off the last survivors, something happened to Frank. A voice spoke in his head, growing steadily louder until it drowned out the noise of battle. Suddenly, Frank was fresh with  a new vigour, and took the fight back to his enemys. When rienforcements did arrive at the garrison, they found over 700 bodies, but only one survivor. Captain Frank Castle stepped out from one the bunkers, covered in cuts and blood. He joined marine recon soon afterward.

When he returned home, a decorated soldier on extended leave, He was alienated from his family, and tried to rebuild his relationship with them. His wife, Maria, took the family to New Yorks central park, where the family made a kite and the children played with it. But the day was seemingly destined to end in horror and violence, as the family stumbled upon a group of mafia enforcers hanging an informant from a tree. The thugs shot them down, and Frank was the only survivor. Frank ignored police aid in the case, and withdrew away from everyone around him. He became borderline alchoholic, and brooded on his past and memories . He even went so far as to attempt suicide. Before he pulled the trigger, he remembered the voice in his head. He remembered everything he had done that day, on that hill, at the firebase. He came to only one conclusion; His war was not over. he  deserted the army, and begun his never ending war on crime.

 His one man vigilante war has come to  dominate his every thought and emotion.  He is obsessed with vengeance, fighting crime with utter finality and no compassion. He kills with no remorse, no regrets, and no mercy. He ignores law enforcement officials, and they regard him as a sociopath, a mass murderer, and a danger to society. Of course criminals treat him with utter disdain, and react to him with fear. He has been encarcerated in maximum security prisons, but has found means of escape. He never questions his own dubious morality, and has fought many other, more heroic vigilantes, such as Batman, Daredevil, and Captain America. He even once allowed Captain America to beat him down during the Superhero Civil War, while they were partnered. In and effort to spite his ethics, He told  Rogers that he knew that he was teaming with a killer vigilante like Castle, a fact which Castle is completely unashamed of.  However should he kill an innocent person, he will voluntarily surrender himself to police. It has been suggested his main reason for not  killing innocents is simply because he will not allow himself to become what he hates most. Writers like Garth Ennis and Chuck Dixon have explored his (a)moralitys, suggesting Castle lies to himself when he says he cares about innocent people, and that his vigilantism is driven by nothing but hatred and anger. Garth Ennis's The End explored how much he hates not only criminality, but all of humanity itself.
Since his war began, he has killed over 2000 people. He fights mainly in New York,New Jersey and Conneticut. He has fought in the Mexican border town of Tierra Rota.

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Origin of the Skull

During Castle’s last tour of duty he was serving as a sniper. He was asked to hunt down a Viet Cong sniper known as “The Monkey”. The VC sniper wore a monkey’s skull around his neck for good luck. Castle ended up being captured, but during his escape he tied a dead Viet Cong to a tree and painted a white skull on his chest as a message to “The Monkey” that he was coming for him. He would use the white skull as his calling card during his hunt, and even painted one on his own chest. He ended up killing “The Monkey” in a sniper duel in the jungle.

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The 80s

During the eighties the Punisher was at the height of his popularity. So much so that Marvel had three ongoing titles and a large amount of spin-offs, specials, and one-shots. During the time the Punisher was much more of an anti heroic superhero than he would be later. He also had a sidekick, computer genius Linus Lieberman a.k.a. Microchip. He also had hundreds of weapon stashes, hideouts, and advanced battle-vans stationed throughout the country.

The Final Days

Earlier in his career the Punisher crossed the Kingpin one too many times. Kingpin's frustration plus the deteriorating security around Micro and Frank led to a huge problem. Kingpin eventually found not only Frank's current location, but also the identity of Microchip. Kingpin captured Micro and used Frank to take down some of his competition. This turned out to be a trick and Punisher ended up arrested and locked up in Riker's island prison for the third time. On the inside he was widely feared and hated. He eventually came into contact with his old arch nemesis, Jigsaw, who planned to return the favor to Frank's face.Jigsaw eventually caught up with him and tore up his face. Frank managed to escape. On the outside Frank caught up with Microchip who escaped Kingpin and changed his appearance. Micro set up an appointment with a former surgeon with a drug addiction. Frank was weary but accepted. Before the procedure began he told her to make him look different than before.

This is just one of many versions of the character.

Characteristics

Gender--Male

Height--6' 1"

Weight--200 lbs (91 kg)

Eyes--Blue

Hair--Black

Unusual Features-- various scars over his hands, one on his neck, several on his left shoulder, another on his right thigh, and another on his shoulder.

Powers

Castle does not possess any super powers, but has an extensive background with weapons and hand-to-hand combat. He has a keen military mind, and pursues his goals wholeheartedly, with an almost self destructive fervor. However his missions are always well planned, and carried out with the utmost preparation and attention to detail. He has a keen military mind, able to asses and adapt to just about any situation and turn it to his advantage. He has a very high threshold for pain, able to undergo surgery without any kind of anasthaesia, and his reflexes are second to none. Castle sticks to a balanced diet based on his military philosophies.  He exercises his body and marksmanship rigorously every two days. A master of just about every firearm known to man, even able to grasp the most advanced weaponry, though he prefers his more traditional armory made up of shotguns, assualt rifles,
sub machine guns, bows, knives, pistols, and explosives. He is also an astute detective, able to analyse a criminal and/or predict their actions. Castle is also a skilled tactician able to create plans based on various military strategems including guerrila. He knows many ways of physical and phsychological torture, enabling him to obtain information to continue his never ending war on crime.
His preferred methods are simply to aim a pistol at the eye of an enemy,and apply pressure until his victim talks. Another, more violent method is to locate and sever the major tendons of a victims legs. He can also kill several enemys unarmed, if neccesary. All of his skills (apart from those he learned in the army) are mostly self thought.

However, in The Punisher: Born, it is suggested that Castle may have made some sort of pact with a death-related deity (Such as the Grim Reaper), to fall into a rage driven stupor that quickens his speed and reflexes, as well as making him super aware of his surroundings, completely merciless and next to unstoppable. The price of these new attributes would require the sacrifice of his humanity.  Could this be the cause of his incredible drive to kill, and his tolerance for pain? Another explanation of this is that he allowed himself to be consumed by his own killer instinct.

Gear/Resources

The Punisher mostly uses conventional firearms which would include, but need not be limited to: handguns, rifles, shotguns and machine guns. He is also known to be very effective with knives and explosives. Most of these weapons are confiscated from  dead criminals. however Frank Does have favourites among his weapons. He keeps these weapons both in his apartment and in a disused garage in New Jersey, which is a backup armory.

While The Punisher is constantly changing his gear depending on the mission, he uses a large arsenal of firearms, from handguns to rifles to rocket launchers. One of his more notable items is a spring-loaded knife that allows the blade to be launched at an enemy. He tends to customize his weapons so they can all use identical calibers but he prefers the of  use weapons of military origin like the Colt M1911 or pistols based on its design. He also uses The M16 assault rifle, and a customised M4. He also has various sights, scopes, silencers and grips for his preferred guns which he cleans and repairs every other day.

Guns commonly used:

  CLASSIC WEAPONS: M16 assault rifle( Sometimes Customised), Mossberg 500 Pump Action Shotgun (Customised), Flamethrower, Light Anti Tank Weapon, SWM500 Hand Cannons.
 HANDGUNs:Colt Python,  Colt 1851 Navy  (dual) , Walther P99 (dual), MP 412 REX, Walther PPK (Silenced)Colt Python (2.5 inch barrel)
SHOTGUNS:Browning Over/ Under, Remington 870 (sawn off), Remington 870 (Tactical)
RIFLES: LE no.1 MRK. 3, Benelli Sport, Beretta M82A1.
SMG: HKMP5K PDW, FN P90 (silenced), HK 416(optional attachments:C more red dot sight,Surefire Millennium Universal Weapon Light, which is fitted on the right rail of the firearm ),MP5 RAS.
BLADES: Defender Blade, Tree man Blade(the "cookie blade")

Castle also has made an explosive for his personal use; He calls it "The Final Word", and he makes it from spent plutonium.

He has personally turned his small, cheap apartment into a formidable armory, with an automatic locking system on the front door, as well as  drop down metal shields on the windows. Frank 
designed the apartment to function, with only the minimal attention to comfort. He has also armored his 1968 chevrolet to aid his vigilantism.
                       
His more personal belongings include his military dog tags,  His War Journal, various books on the human anatomy,  and Several  supposedly classified documents on old cold war intelligence agencies such as the KGB and the FBI. He used to keep pictures of his family, but not anymore since he finds they distract him from his missions at hand.

 Alternate Realities

Earth-295

In the Age of Apocalypse reality Frank Castle was separated from his family during one of the first American sweeps, where Apocalypse searched out humans for purposes of killing them. He fled from certain death until he came across a hidden monastery. Castle became a monk, searching for inner peace, until the monastery was finally discovered by Apocalypse's agents. All the monks were killed, as were many of the humans and mutants that they had offered refuge. Frank Castle was once again able to escape, though his location is unknown.

Earth-2149

In the Marvel Zombies universe Frank is stilla vigilante with all the hallmarks of the regulartcontinuitys.. In Marvel Zombies Vs. Army Of Darkness #2 he meets Ash. Ash and the Punisher partner up to beat down some Zombie, but first The Punisher guns down The Kingpin, The Owl, and Hammerhead after they offer to ally with him. Sadly Zombies overwhelm him because his bullets aren't harming them, while Ash runs away. Punisher is turned and later seen eating Scarlet Witch in Latveria later in the series.

Earth-1610

Ultimate Punisher is an ex-NYPD cop whose family was killed by corrupt cop that was going to be be exposed by Frank. He was the one that killed the corrupt cop and informant to the Kingpin, Jean DeWolff.

Earth-928

There are two Punishers in the year 2099, a man and woman.

Jake Gallows is the first Punisher. He was a cop in the Public Eye, the police force of the future. After the murder of his mother, brother and sister-in-law, Jake came across the war journal of the original Punisher, Frank Castle, in the archives of the Public Eye. From then on, he took the mantle of the Punisher.

The second Punisher is a laboratory-bred humanoid named Polly. when she released herself from her mental limiters, she gained free will, intelligence and superhuman strength, but she also became psychotic. she called herself Vendetta, and though of replacing Jake Gallows because she deemed him as obs elite. Although in the end, they became partners.

Earth-2992

In the Marvel Mangaverse, Punisher is a woman named Cossandra Castle who goes by the alias of Cossandra Natchios. She is the daughter of Frank Castle and Elektra Natchios and has a son named Franklin. When she is diagnosed with cancer, Cossandra sets out to teach her son everything he needs to know to become the next Punisher. Upon her death, Franklin chooses not to take over, allowing the Punisher title to end with his mother.

Earth-58163

In the House of M, Frank's family survived the mafia attack and is still the Punisher. But now he is apprehended and recruited by Thunderbird to be with a human strike force called the Brotherhood. Disgusted about mutant's disregard of humans, he later joined Luke Cage's version of the Avengers to fight Magneto's mutant supremacy over humans.

Earth-8311

Frank Castle and his alter ego are turned into a shark named Frank Carple and is also known as the Punfisher.

Earth-9939

In this reality, he is an adventurer who is also a member of the Avengers. He was on a mission to retrieve a time traveling device, but was killed by Charnel.

Punisher MAX

In these stories,  the Punisher was born in February 1950, lives in what is essentially the real-world, a place free from any sort of superhero (the only other member of the mainstream Marvel universe to appear is Nick Fury).
He fights Eastern European  slave traders,whatevers left of the Italian Mafia,The Irish Mob, and mercenaries. He is essentially just a world weary vigilante in this continuity.Garth Ennis is probably the most signifigant creator for these stories, but crime writer Gregg Hurwitz has recently left a strong mark on the character with the Girls In White Dresses story.
Limited series and one shots of Punisher;MAX  include The Tyger, Born, Naked Kill,The Cell, Force Of Nature, and The End, and most of these stories seek to explore his dark psychosis and the roots of his character , in contrast to the main stories of Punisher MAX. In 2009, after four years since the volumes initial creation, the name was changed to Frank Castle: The Punisher.

Similarities:

Similarities have been drawn between The Punisher and Rorschach, as they both see the world in completely black and white terms. This is also reflected in their costumes. Both are also anti-heroes, and show absoloutely no mercy to their victims.It could be said that Alan Moores  inspiration for Rorshach actually came from The Punisher, as he has been around since 1974, and Watchmen has only been around since 1986. Another character that bears more than a passing similarity to Castle is the Foolkiller, another amoral, violent Marvel vigilante, who has recently returned to mainstream comics, under Gregg Hurwitz. There has also been a recent MAX story called White Angels in which the two partnered.