Punisher

[thecolorsblend]

I rationalize the Punisher more or less the same way as Dexter Morgan.

Castle is a psychopath. Murder is in his heart. If it wasn't one type of person then it would be somebody else. But not being a murderer was never on the table for either Frank or Dexter.

So, with that in mind, they're both being true to who they are. And they've found methods of satisfying their urge in a way that arguably benefits society.

In one issue of Punisher MAX, the Punisher blasts a pair of people who made THOSE kind of videos featuring children. Is anybody going to argue that society would've been better off if the Punisher had spared them?

Dexter similarly disposed of someone who hurt children, even tho it technically violated his code.

I can't and don't condone vigilante actions. But if those two characters never had a chance of being anything else besides a murderer (and I don't believe they did)... well, they chose their victims well, I'll give them that much.

I don't think audiences are supposed to approve of either character or their actions tho.

[The Dark Knight]

The Punisher's cold and ruthless personality makes him likable for an audience wanting pain and suffering meted out against criminals. He's not going to be likeable as a dinner guest and I don't want him serving that function.

Castle had such a strong reaction to crime that he shut himself off from seeing perpetrators as human. They're just vermin who inflict pain on society, so he must inflict harder pain on them. Now that Castle is in the groove of killing I propose he doesn't want crime to vanish. He wants targets out there every night to satisfy his addiction of bloodlust. As soon as the skull shirt went on, Castle's soul was blackened even if his pursuit was beneficial to others. I think he views himself as already dead, thus anything goes.

The world has reached a point where the courts can no longer be trusted and the streets are awash of thugs and drugs. People can load up their trolley, trash the store and walk out with zero repercussions. It's no wonder why people find vigilantism attractive when you see what's going on. Justice is rarely being dealt to those that deserve it most. People have to decide what they are willing to take, because help isn't coming.

[Slash Man]

I've heard it said before (I think by Chuck himself) that the Punisher is a wish fulfillment character for people whose communities been impacted by crime, or who were the direct victims of such. You admire someone who just goes out and solves the problem themselves.

I understand the controversy with lawmen and soldiers carrying Frank's symbol, but I can't judge people for relating to a comic book character... that's something that's getting awfully hard to do nowadays. Writers like Dixon have gone to great lengths to write Frank's combat veteran background as accurately as possible.

It came off as a bit obnoxious when Marvel made a meta reference in the comics to Frank disavowing any policeman than supports him. That's just corny as hell.

[The Dark Knight]

What happens if a group Marvel doesn't like starts using the Spider-Man logo? Do they burn years of history and change that as well? Where does it end? If Marvel want to play the woke game I'll accuse them of cultural appropriation with the Japanese style logo they've gone with, which is completely and utterly foreign to the history of the character. Whether they like it or not the skull is the iconic image that people associate the brand with.

With recent comic arcs having the character reject the name The Punisher and just being called Frank, the guts of the character have been shot out to the point he may as well no longer be used. Marvel and the creators seem to be ashamed of using him, turning him into something near unrecongizable. To the point Conway said he wants Castle to be racebended into a black man so he can be "proud of him again". It's amazing that I, a very casual Punisher reader, has more respect for how the character actually is and has always been than Conway. I'd be fighting to keep things preserved. Conway wants it all uprooted because he got triggered - and yes, that's a gun pun.

[Silver Nemesis]

Chuck Dixon explains why Marvel hates the Punisher. From the 22:30 mark.

[thecolorsblend]

Wouldn't have thought to phrase it in quite that way. But the elitist thing has a lot of merit to it.

Relating the Punisher's appeal back to Archie Bunker is an apt comparison. They're both supposed to be villains that, ahem, people with a certain worldview should boo every time they appear.

It is ironic that those types of people don't understand how and why those characters would be appealing to others.

It's also kind of interesting that the Punisher has reached this level of pop cultural awareness considering Marvel's sustained efforts to suppress him.

I've always thought it says a lot that those who adhere to that type of worldview would much prefer to destroy "their" IP's rather than create media that people actually want to buy.

[The Dark Knight]

The street level reality is what I like about the character. He's down on the ground like the rest of us, seeing and living what the rest of us are. He's not out of touch, looking down from a skyscraper and advocating for rehabilitation because that's the accepted but failed talking points to parrot in 'civilised' circles. He knows that's all a waste of time and money. Just sort the problem out.

My opinion is what gets labelled 'vigilantism' is completely acceptable and moral when a government abandons its responsibility to enforce basic property rights. There is something primal and unique about getting a physical beating that serves as an unforgettable lesson. It might even help rewire the brain.

Criminals need to know that if they try anything illegal they WILL be dealt with right there and then by the property owner or assault victim. No waiting around for late police or a court date where insufficient punishment are given, or nothing at all. No one is getting profiled - I'm very much live and let live. Leave me alone and I'll do likewise. But if a crime is committed I say you should be fair game.

[thecolorsblend]

The street level reality is what I like about the character. He's down on the ground like the rest of us, seeing and living what the rest of us are. He's not out of touch, looking down from a skyscraper and advocating for rehabilitation because that's the accepted but failed talking points to parrot in 'civilised' circles. He knows that's all a waste of time and money. Just sort the problem out.

My opinion is what gets labelled 'vigilantism' is completely acceptable and moral when a government abandons its responsibility to enforce basic property rights. There is something primal and unique about getting a physical beating that serves as an unforgettable lesson. It might even help rewire the brain.

Criminals need to know that if they try anything illegal they WILL be dealt with right there and then by the property owner or assault victim. No waiting around for late police or a court date where insufficient punishment are given, or nothing at all. No one is getting profiled - I'm very much live and let live. Leave me alone and I'll do likewise. But if a crime is committed I say you should be fair game.

To piggyback off this, the Punisher debuted in 1974. To be fair, it was a kinder, gentler, more Comics Code-friendly Punisher.

But (A) that was a compromise even then (B) that iteration of the Punisher didn't last very long and (C) iirc, all we have to go on is his word that he was using rubber bullets.

To put all that in a broader context, Dirty Harry came out in 1971 while Death Wish debuted just a few months after the Punisher, also in 1974.

The common denominator in those characters is a complete refusal to accept crime and societal rot.

Now, it is true that Harry Callahan, Frank Castle and Paul Kersey all have different motives and methods from one another. But the double-barreled, take no prisoners approach to justice is self-evident connective tissue linking those (and other) characters together.

Yes, Dirty Harry was somewhat inspired by the irl Zodiac murders while you could say that Paul Kersey and Frank Castle took their inspirations from New York City where crime ran rampant at the time.

A big part of the Punisher's appeal to the blue collar community that Dixon described came largely from their own experiences with violent crime... and, let's face it, their desire to see someone bring violent criminals to heel.

When considering the Punisher's rise in popularity, we should consider who (at least in America) has been most affected by violent crime in recent times. Namely, ahem, people who live in major metros. I'm sure you can guess which political party they've usually voted for in the past.

Except now that crime is on their doorstep in places like San Francisco, Portland and even Manhattan, one wonders if their attitudes (if not their voting patterns) might begin changing. Whether anyone likes it or not, the Punisher DOES address real problems.

I'm not predicting that anyone will literally take matters into their own hands, Punisher-style. But it would be shortsighted for anyone to think that, at the very bare minimum, the Punisher won't be a "hero" (of sorts) for people who grapple with these problems.

I live in a pretty red area, all things considered. Portland's 2020 Summer Of Love would NEVER be tolerated here. If those criminals had come to this area looking for trouble, the criminals would have to hope the cops reach them before the local population does. My specific area has a VERY low bar for self-defense. It's been tested recently in court, in fact, in some fairly high profile cases.

But areas with laxer laws, more corrupt elected officials and weaker police forces are filled with people who now have good reason to look at the Punisher, shrug their shoulders and at least admit that their children and families would be a lot safer if someone in their area took out the trash permanently.

I'm not predicting violence or a mass changing of political parties. I'm simply saying that the Punisher is becoming a wish fulfillment fantasy for some very unlikely people now. And that attitude WILL trickle down into other areas of society.

Sorry if this went long.

[Slash Man]

I was lucky to find a comic book shop carrying the Kingpin Rules Epic Collection. Starting out, I was a little underwhelmed by the titular arc; a lot of potential and interesting moments that really just fizzled out by the end. Between this and Jigsaw Puzzle, it might seem like Baron can't quite stick the landing for these longer arcs, but I think the inconsistency in artists plays a role. Once it gets back into one-off stories, things really heat up again, and I think this is where the Punisher shines.

There's always something new to explore with the Punisher. What if he goes to X, or what if he's undercover as a Y? The possibilities are endless, and it's always a blast. Sometimes it's triumphant, sometimes it's bittersweet. At the end of the day, the war goes on.

Also at this point, Erik Larsen was penciling the book, and the format of mostly self-contained stories interconnected by a loose overarching narrative was proving to be successful. One mission takes Frank from going undercover as a boxer in Philly, to infiltrating a karate school, to going to Japan.

From the annual, there's also a cool team-up with Moon Knight. I'd like to point out that characters meeting doesn't have to be some kind of grand event where they work out their differences or bond over something. Punisher and Moon Knight just happen to run into each other working the same case, compliment each other's work, and then set off to work together. That's all you need. The Microchip backup story is also as good as, if not better than a lot of the Punisher stories at the time.

In all, the Punisher was still riding a high into the late 80s.

[Slash Man]

Re-read Punisher Epic Collection Volume 2, and was surprised by how quick of a read it was. This was essentially the beginning of Punisher's solo appearances*, and it's no surprise to see why he caught on like he did. They introduced him and built up mystique through guest appearances, and finally tested the waters with a limited series an entire decade later. As such, I think the miniseries is the strongest point of the collection. Steven Grant's writing with Mike Zeck's pencils have all the grit and unhinged action that the Punisher demands. Still, Mike Baron keeps the momentum and further fleshes out the character. Not a bad story to be found in the bunch.

Another standout is Punisher's scuffle with Daredevil; it's a fresh and unique experience to read accounts from both heroes' points of view. I even prefer the Punisher issue over the more veteran crew behind Daredevil.

Finally, it's all wrapped up with the graphic novel Assassin's Guild. Despite the drastically different art style, Jo Duffy manages to capture the essence of Baron's Punisher characterization, which makes it read well alongside the ongoing comic. Jorge Zaffino and Julie Michel create a very cinematic art style that works for the character.