by Joshua H. Stulman

Punisher Season 2 debuts this week on Netflix. To celebrate the latest exploits of Frank Castle, we thought we would give you the run down on Marvel’s most famous anti-hero.

Punisher was created by artist John Romita and writers Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas in 1974. The early 1970’s saw a lot of political turmoil in the US especially in regards to opposition to the Vietnam War, the rapid rise of drugs, and increase in crime in places like New York City. Marvel took a cue from Hollywood and Clint Eastwood’s anti-hero, Dirty Harry. The re-invented modern American Cowboy had an independent spirit and law-taking attitude that was perfect to address a world full of corruption and greed.

Conway submitted a simple drawing of a man with a small Death’s Head “Pirate” skull over his left breast. John Romita took the concept and fleshed out the visuals. He centered and dramatically enlarged the white skull cast against a black costume. The contrast was simple and effective and reinforced the character’s ideology. The costume design also was purposely reminiscent of the 1940’s hero The Black Terror, who also bore a large white skull.

Amazing Spider-Man # 129- Punisher debuts as a Villain

The debut of two new villains, the Jackal and the Punisher! In his premier appearance, the Punisher works with the Jackal to target Spider-Man. The Punisher is offended by the Jackal’s deceptive methods, and turns on him when Spider-Man reveals the Jackal’s double cross. The Punisher “blew away” fans and earned him additional appearances as a villain in the Amazing Spider-Man before he was given a sympathetic origin in Marvel Premiere # 2 (1975).

   Giant Size Spider-Man # 4 – 3rd app. Punisher

The Punisher is one of the first heroes to have his identity brazenly revealed to the world. The cover of Giant Size Spider-Man # 4 describes the Punisher as “Gangland’s Executioner.” In fact, The Executioner was a prototype name before Stan Lee dubbed him, the Punisher. It turns out that writer Gerry Conway based the Punisher on Don Pendleton’s novel entitled, the Executioner. The book features a Vietnam Vet that returns to the US to wage a war on crime. Sounds pretty familiar?

Amazing Spider-Man #162 – Jigsaw: Punisher’s first Super-Villain

Admist a crossover with X-Men’s Nightcrawler, Spider-Man is encountered once again by the Punisher. Another mistaken identity case, the Punisher is tracking a new crime boss named Jigsaw. A little different than the Netflix version, Jigsaw is a former nobody street thug that is disfigured by the Punisher and his strict sense of justice.

Punisher # 1 (1987) 1st ongoing solo series

After an iconic appearance in Frank Miller’s Daredevil run and Mike Zeck’s Punisher mini-series, the Punisher finally earns his own ongoing solo comic series. Illustrated by Klaus Janson (adapting Frank Miller’s style), the Punisher expands his ruthless war on crime. Punisher’s first series would run from 1987-1995 and reach 104 issues in its initial run.

Punisher #4- Introducing Micro: Punisher’s sidekick

The Punisher finally receives an ally in his fight against crime! This time he is joined by Microchip, a computer whiz, whose family was also the victim of crime. Microchip becomes a major help to Punisher throughout the series and provides an interesting counterpoint over the Punisher’s ideology.

Punisher: War Journal # 1 – 2nd Punisher Solo Series

Punisher: War Journal was the second solo series for the character. The artwork was Jim Lee’s first high profile comic book work along with veteran artist/writer Carl Potts. The two worked on the series for the first 25 issues. This run saw Jim Lee draw the Punisher alongside many super-hero team ups including Spider-Man, Daredevil, and the Wolverine. The series would run until issue #80 when all Punisher series were cancelled in 1995.

Punishers vs Wolverine &  Punisher vs Daredevil

The two most popular team ups for Punisher are always Wolverine or Daredevil. All three characters gained popularity because of Frank Miller’s work on each. For Wolverine, both are considered anti-heroes with deadly methods. The only question is how far are they willing to go, and will they meet as friends? With Daredevil the question is always over ideology and the ethics of Justice and the law. This has been played out several times in comics, the first being Frank Miller’s anti-drug storyline from  Daredevil # 181-184.

Punisher (Vol. 5) # 1 – New Look

After 1995, all three Punisher series were cancelled alongside many other Marvel titles. The character continued to appear in mini-series and one-shot specials throughout the mid-late 1990’s.  Punisher was even killed by Marvel and then resurrected as an avenging spirit. With the Marvel Knight imprint in 2000, the Punisher was returned to his roots by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. The creative team previously worked on DC’s gritty and adult oriented Preacher series. They similarly returned the Punisher to his rutheless roots while instilling a sense of dark humor to the character. Punisher (Vol. 5) series is also well known for its iconic covers by Tim Bradstreet. Both Punisher feature films were based on aspects of this redefining series.

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Joshua H. Stulman

Owner, BrooklynComicShop.com