The Punisher | Allies | The Italian Mafia | Irish Criminals & Associates | The Kingpin's Syndicate | Other Criminals & Psychopaths | Military & Government | Other Characters
The Italian criminal element of New York.
WARNING: Unmarked spoilers abound.
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The Cesare Family
One of the most powerful and influential families in all of New York. Lately they've fallen on hard times thanks to a certain vigilante's increasingly vicious attacks directed against them. Don Massimo Cesare
Debut: The Punisher Vol. 7, #1
A hundred year old godfather and head honcho of the Cesare Family, respected by all the families. On his 100th birthday, every crime family in America sends a representative to the party to pay tribute. That is until the Punisher decides to crash the party.
- The Alcoholic: Implied. His capo, Jackie, noted that Massimo drank a bottle of scotch a day.
- Authority in Name Only: Like Puppet King down below points out, he's a Don in name only. These days he spends most of his time shitting himself and getting his diaper changed.
- Boom, Headshot!: Courtesy of Frank Castle
- Dark Lord on Life Support: He wears an oxygen mask.
- Died on Their Birthday: Frank Castle walks inside his lavish mansion when he is celebrating his 100th birthday with every family member and associate in attendance and shoots him between the eyes, killing him.
- Dirty Old Man: One of his capo says that he had sex with hookers every night when he was eighty five. Right now he is simply too old and downright senile.
- The Don: Subverted; it's made clear early on that he is a "Don" in title only, with the other high ranking Lieutenants running things.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He kicked Nicky Cavella out of town after the latter was shown to be too Ax-Crazy.
- Evil Old Folks: He was the don of a powerful crime family and was 100 years old by the time Frank killed him. Up is Down and Black is White revealed that around the time that Nicky was kicked out of New York, Massimo was eighty five years old and still active at the time.
- Posthumous Character: Despite dying two pages into the series, his influence is shown several times afterwards, though Massimo himself never appears on-panel again. For one, he's the reason why Nicky Cavella had to go into exile as shown in flashbacks because of Cavella's brutal and idiotic handling of dealing with a Chinese mob boss (he killed his youngest son and served him as food). His widow also appears during the "Kingpin" arc, and she makes it clear that her late husband would never have stood for the pathetic joke the mob has made of itself.
- Puppet King: According to Frank, he's a "Don" in title only and spends most of his days shitting himself and having his diapers changed.
- Small Role, Big Impact: After his death, he becomes the primary reason why The Mafia decides to seek revenge against the Punisher, prompting them to make a desperate attempt to contact the exiles in Boston to eliminate him—the same crew Massimo exiled for their brutality.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: The most extreme example in the entire series. He get's all of two panels before getting his head blown the fuck off by the Punisher.
Jennifer Cesare
See the Allies page for details on her.
Cavella's Crew
In General
A stable of extremely ruthless and sadistic mobsters, whose violent methods resulted in them getting exiled to Boston. Now, in an act of desperation, the Cesare Crime Family has brought them back. In the hopes that they will help them deal with Frank Castle.
- Always Chaotic Evil: While the other Capos in the Cesare Family take a much more business-oriented approach to their villainy, Nicky and his boys are always evil. It's deconstructed to some extent, as their extremely vicious way of going about their business leads to them getting kicked out of New York and having to relocate in Boston.
- Ax-Crazy: Every single one of them.
- Badass Crew: By far the most dangerous and badass crew in the Cesare Crime Family, and quite possibly in all of New York.
- Berserk Button: They all seem to have one, but the most obvious way to collectively piss them off is to impersonate a Boston accent.
- Card-Carrying Villain: An entire crew of 'em.
- The Friends Nobody Likes: Thanks to their Ax-Crazy reputations, not a single one of the other crews wants anything to do with them. This is made especially apparent in ''Up Is Down, Black Is White. Where they all unanimously oppose the idea of Nicolas taking over as Don.
- The Mafia: More specifically one associated with the Cesare crime ramily, and by far the most ruthless of their crews.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: After Nicolas' "inventive" way of trying to intimidate the local Triad boss backfires on him and kickstarts a Mob War between the Cesare Family and the Triads, he and his crew are disgracefully exiled from New York and forced to relocate to Boston.
- Terrible Trio: The crew was originally made up of Nicky (the leader), Pittsy (the muscle), and Ink (the brains). After Pittsy and Ink are killed off in the first arc, Nicky decides to bring in Theresa Gazzera, who just so happens to be Pittsy's sister.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: They're the first criminal group to pose a serious threat to the Punisher.
Nicky Cavella
"Please, just call me Nicky."
Debut: The Punisher Vol. 7, #2
"Fuck you, dad. An' fuck you, mom. Fuck you, Karen, you pointless bitch. Fuck you, Uncle Jimmy. Fuck you, Auntie Mo, you big fat fuckin' cunt. Fuck you, Kai, an' all your dead brats alongside you. Fuck you, Jackie. Fuck you, Don Massimo Cesare, you pussy-the Punisher did us all a favor when he blew your fuckin' old head off. Fuck you, Ink, an' fuck you, Pittsy. A lotta use you two pricks turned out to be. Fuck you, Castle. I ain't finished with you yet, not by a long way. And when I get to Heaven, I'll tell them fuck you too."
The leader of his crew and also the most psychotic and immoral out of all of them. Previously he had been exiled by his fellow Capo's for his unnecessarily cruel tactics. Just recently he has been brought back into New York, to help them kill the Punisher. And he's made sure to bring along his "friends".
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Definitely. For all his posturing and swagger, once The Punisher has him at his mercy he immediately resorts to pleading for his life.
- Anti-Climax Boss: He gets built up for two full arcs but when it finally comes down to a one on one showdown between him and Frank. All it takes is for Castle to give him a Breaking Speech that proves so effective, he breaks down completely, allowing himself to be taken in without putting up any sort of resistance.
- Arch-Enemy: Subverted. He clearly views The Punisher to be this towards him, however, the feeling isn't mutual. As Frank makes it crystal clear in their final encounter that to him, Cavella is little more than a spineless worm no different than the riff raff he kills on a daily basis.
- Armored Closet Gay: It's revealed in a very jarring way that he is this way with Rawlins.
- Asshole Victim: Quite possibly the most deserving victim in this series. No doubt he deserved every second of agony he had to endure before he died.
- Ax-Crazy: Although it's not readily apparent at first thanks to his Faux Affably Evil act, the more we see of him, the more obvious it becomes that he's a psychotically sadistic capo prone to acts of extreme violence and grotesque debauchery.
- Bad Boss: He treats his mooks like cannon-fodder, considering them to be expendable, and not caring for their livelihoods. Of course this comes back to bite him in the ass hard when his boys, deciding that their no longer gonna take his shit anymore, abandon him. Leaving him to face the Punisher by himself.
- Big Bad: Of the volumes In the Beginning and Up is Down and Black is White.
- Big Bad Wannabe: That said, in Up is Down and Black is White, he's little more than a footnote in the Punisher's long list of victims, especially when compared to the much more dangerous and lethal Nikolai Zakharov and William Rawlins. What's more is that both Frank and Rawlins can easily see past his false bravado and see him for the coward that he really is.Rawlins:I killed my sister and fucked my auntie, I'm such a badass! You talk in your sleep, you dumb little cunt.
- The Bus Came Back: After making a daring getaway at the end of the first arc, he doesn't reappear until three arcs later.
- Cluster F-Bomb / Country Matters: He drops the mother of all these (quoted above) in his second appearance. Where he curses the name of everyone from his dead family, his old comrades, The Punisher, and even the angels in the sky.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: According to Word of God, his physical appearance was based on Andy Garcia.
- Cop Killer: As if to further drive home how evil he is. Near the end of In the Beginning, he blows the head off of one cop and later kills his partner.
- The Corruptible: His aunt more or less made him into a sociopath that would kill his entire family and anyone who gets in his way.
- A Day in the Limelight: Issue #20 is entirely dedicated to his backstory. Made especially notable in that it is the only issue of the main series to not feature the Punisher.
- Depending on the Artist: When he first appeared, he was realistically drawn to resemble a man in his 40's. However when he reappeared a few arcs later, he looked noticeably younger and more boyish.
- Depraved Bisexual: In his second appearance he is revealed, in a very disturbing way, to be one. Unlike most examples he's highly secretive about it.
- Dirty Coward: Although not noticeable at first, the moment his plans begin falling apart this trope becomes glaringly obvious, as he's reduced to a sniveling little weasel willing to use a child as a human shield.
- Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: Averted. It's eventually revealed that as a young boy, his aunt would routinely sexually abuse him. This is treated as a very disturbing revelation and something that played a big role in making him the man he now is.
- The Dreaded: Zig-zagged; he certainly seems to think he's this, and Stu Westin later confirms he has a terrifying reputation with the police. However, the reason why the other Capo's don't want him around isn't because they think he's terrifying. They just find him and his tactics revolting.
- Enfant Terrible: We learn in Up Is Down and Black is White that he murdered his whole family, including his kid sister, in order for his Aunt to gain control of the Cavella family. At the age of five.
- Eye Scream: Its revealed in a later arc that when his body was finally discovered two weeks later that his eyes had been pecked out by a couple of birds.
- Face Death with Despair: He spends his finally few moments alive crying, begging, shitting himself, and suffering an overall, very undignified death.
- Faux Affably Evil: He may come across as suave and graceful, but it's all a smokescreen meant to hide the true monster that he is.
- Fingore: When attempting to execute Frank at point blank range. Frank simply leaps forward before he can pull the trigger and bites several of his fingers off.
- First-Name Basis: He always insist that people call him by his first name, as par of his Faux Affably Evil act.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: No one but a few idiots in the Cesare family wants anything to do with him, they keep him in the family since his crew are good for dirty work but every experienced capo wants him out of New York.
- Freudian Excuse: Of the Tyke Bomb variety. Auntie Mo got her hooks into Nicky at a young age, turned him against his family, and coerced him into killing them so that she could take over their enterprises and become Nicky's legal guardian, which allowed her to exert further influence over Nicky. Mo had the preadolescent Nicky attend Mafia meetings, torture and kill people, etc. while she also had sex with him against his will, all to toughen him up and ensure that he grew up to be the ultimate Mafioso. While it is unknown if Nicky was bad even before Mo got ahold of him, it is clear that she screwed him up royally regardless, as she was shown to still haunt him even in the present day, going by Nicky's PTSD-like Freak Out response to being aggressively hit on by Theresa.
- Hate Sink: He was a nasty piece of work in his first appearance, but he displayed a semblance of charm and competence. But in his next and final appearance, he's deliberately designed to be the most smug, horrid, and despicable human being imaginable, making his ultimate demise all the more satisfying. Even his backstory of being groomed and molested by his aunt doesn't diminish this, as you need to be pretty screwed up to be willing to kill your own parents and younger sister, especially when said family runs on the Evil Is One Big, Happy Family trope.
- Hates Everyone Equally: He freely admits to hating everyone in the whole world, and believes that when he dies he'll be able to tell God how much he hates Him.
- He-Man Woman Hater: His aunt's abuse left him traumatized and while Theresa is as attractive as a car accident, Nicky's outburst at it shows that he really doesn't like any women touching him.
- Humiliation Conga: So he urinates on the corpses of Frank's dead family, hoping that he'd be able to mess with Frank's head enough such that he and his men would be able to overcome him, during their eventual and inevitable confrontation. Instead, Frank slaughters hundreds of criminals on a nightly basis, promising to carve his way through the criminal underworld until the city would properly rebury his family. This leaves Cavella without backup outside of those already a part of his immediate crew. Eventually, they turn on him once they realize how much of a powerless coward he is, leaving him at the mercy of Frank. As if that isn't enough, Frank unintentionally gives Cavella the ultimate kicker when Cavella realizes Frank isn't going to torture or mutilate him—rather he's just gonna shoot him in his guts and leave him for dead. Castle even states that what Cavella did merely amounts to him getting "a little more pain than most," meaning Nicky never even really had the satisfaction of truly hurting the Punisher.
- I'm a Humanitarian: The man earned his reputation as follows: during a sit-down in a Chinese restaurant with an overconfident Triad boss named Joseph Kai, Kai is eating a dish and arrogantly telling Cavella that he and his crew won't back down in the face of the Cesare Family, claiming he has three strong sons backing him up— to which Cavella retorts with "two strong sons", and informs him that he and his two henchmen had arrived early and replaced the kitchen staff, and that the boss' youngest son, "never made it home from school". It's then revealed what happened to the boys body. Cue the horrified expression on the Triad boss' face as he realizes what he just ate.
- Jerkass: Despite his charming demeanor, his politeness is very superficial and condescending and it's plainly obvious that he has no regard for anyone but himself.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: By the end of the "In The Beginning" arc, he manages to escape, avoiding any kind of deserved punishment. However, the reader will have to wait until "Up is Down and Black is White" to witness his well-deserved comeuppance.
- Karmic Death: He inadvertently suffers one of the most psychologically tormenting deaths of the whole series; when the Punisher drags him out into an isolated forest with the intention of killing him, much like how he had done to his family as a boy, and he has a giant freak out. It's implied that the forest was the exact same one that he murdered his family in.
- Kinslaying Is a Special Kind of Evil: "Up is Down and Black Is White" starts with a flashback of him murdering his immediate family, in order to establish how twisted he is.
- Left for Dead: At the end of Up is Down and Black is White, Frank drags him far out into the woods and shoots him low down in the stomach, leaving him there to die over a couple of days. It's confirmed in the next story that Nicky's corpse was found some time later with his eyes missing.
- No-Nonsense Nemesis: This is what made him so formidable during his initial appearance. Unlike the rest of his fellow capos, he expertly avoided the usual pitfalls that lead to the demise of so many other Mooks, and knew that killing the Punisher on the spot was a smarter alternative than trying to take him in alive. Even Castle appears to be aware that Cavella is a cut above the usual street trash.Frank: Most wise guys are cannon-fodder. Even their bosses aren't much brighter. No imagination. No real threat. It's the one in a thousand who's got it together — who thinks soldier means soldier — who knows it's a life — he's the one you have to watch.
- Non-Action Big Bad: He seldom confronts Frank in a face-to-face combat. Instead, he prefers to employ tactics to challenge and test him rather than confronting him directly. After all, he knows he's a former soldier, so he must think like him.
- Oblivious to Love: He's incredibly oblivious to Theresa's very obvious attraction towards him. Even Rawlins picks up on it before he does.
- Oh, Crap!: The look on his face after his fellow capos decide to abandon him and leave him to face the Punisher all by himself.
- Pet the Dog: He orders Ink to spare the life of a potential elderly witness. Saying that "the poor old prick probably fought in a war or sumthin'." There was no tactical reason for doing this and leaving the old man alive could only be detrimental, so it's quite possibly the only time we ever get to see Nicky do something genuinely altruistic. Well... as much as "don't kill that person" can be considered as such.
- Plot Armor: Arguably the only reason he survived his introductory arc, that and he had no shortage of mooks to hide behind.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: Averted. Although he is the leader of an extremely ruthless Mafia crew. Combat wise, he's no more imposing than your average mook.
- Self-Made Orphan: Killed his parents and sister when he was a kid and framed his uncle so her aunt could take over the family.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: For all his faults (see above), Nicky always made sure to dress finely.
- Smug Snake: He gets downgraded to this in his second appearance to coincided with his Villain Decay.
- Sole Survivor: By the end of the first arc, his entire crew plus Barrucci have all been wiped out by the Punisher.
- The Sociopath: In case if it weren't obvious.
- Starter Villain: While he's not the first villain Frank Castle has faced throughout his entire career, he's the first Big Bad Frank faces in the MAX imprint.
- Stupid Evil: He seems to be under the assumption that the best way to make the other gangs fear them is to be the most violent and sadistic capo possible. This backfires, as his methods result in him and his crew being exiled to Boston and also kicks off a gang war between the triads and Cesare Family.
- Took a Level in Dumbass: Whatever savviness he previously possessed is all but gone in his second appearance. As he legitimately believed that trying to piss off the most dangerous man alive was a good idea.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Was already a sociopath as a kid, and murdered his entire family by the time he was 8, under the advice of his aunt. His aunt also sexually molested him, but it's unknown if this happened before the murders.
- Villainous Breakdown: After losing the respect of his men, and being cornered by the Punisher. He breaks down spectacularly, reduced to a sniveling, pants-wetting whimpering coward begging for mercy.
- He has an even bigger one when Punisher drives him out into the woods to execute him, and Cavella realizes it's the same woods where he murdered his father as a child. It's purely coincidence; the Punisher didn't know about Cavella's past and is somewhat surprised at his massive Freak Out, which is even worse than his fear of death.
- Villainous Rescue: Ironically enough, his plan of breaking into the CIA's safehouse with the intent of killing Frank Castle results in him inadvertently saving Frank from being executed by the CIA themselves.
- Villains Want Mercy: He pathetically pleads for his life when the Punisher has him cornered. Needless to say, Frank doesn't listen.
- Vorpal Pillow: During one of his lovemaking sessions with his aunt, he smothers her to death with a pillow.
- We Have Reserves: He tried to invoke this trope only to have it backfire spectacularly.
- Would Hurt a Child: Once Kathryn and The Punisher have him surrounded, in an act of desperation, he grabs a nearby child and threatens to kill him on the spot unless the two don't back off. However, Frank tells him that he's done for either way, and that if he hurts that child then he dies painfully.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Judging from the way he struts around like Marlon Brando, he clearly thinks he's the star of some sort of glamorous mobster film, destined to follow in the footsteps of Michael Corleone and Tony Montana. He couldn't be any more wrong.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: In the first arc he is shown as being the master of this trope; however, in the second arc, after suffering from some serious Badass Decay, he appears to have forgotten how to play this game.
Carmine "Pittsy" Gazzera
The Punisher Vol. 7, #2
"Let's fucking GO, you fuck!"
One of the two bodyguards that Nicky brings along with him to New York. A foul tempered thug who possesses an amazing level of strength and more combat prowess than his appearance would lead you to believe. One of the few characters in the series who can go toe-to-toe with Frank and hold his own.
- And Show It to You: He boasts that he'll rip out Frank's heart and show it to him. What's more, later on his fight with Frank shows that he meant it. He was trying to grab a fistful of entrails from Frank's gaping wound.
- Ax-Crazy: He's easily the most psychotically unhinged member of his group, with a nasty habit of lashing out in random fits of violent rage. Had it not been for Cavella keeping him in check, he would've been thrown in prison a long time ago.
- Badass Long Coat: During the raid on the CIA's safehouse, he's seen wearing a brown trenchcoat. Subverted in that the coat is ill-fitting and rather ugly-looking.
- Bait the Dog: In his final showdown with Frank, he successfully goads him into dropping his machine gun to take him on in a good old-fashioned fistfight.
- Bald of Evil: He has a very noticeable bald spot on his head.
- Berserk Button: Being born on the East Coast it should come as no surprise that he takes his clam chowder very seriously. For example, when he orders New England clam chowder, he expects it to be made like it is in New fucking England! (White, not red)
- Boom, Headshot!: What finally brought him down in the end. And it's not pretty at all.
◊ (Seriously, major Gorn.)- Earlier than that he delivered one of these to whatever CIA goon was unfortunate enough to open the door for him.
- The Brute: The strongest of Cavella's crew, as well as the angriest.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: One of the few people in the series who can not only match Frank in a fight but actually gain the upper hand on him, as well as being the only character to elicit an Oh, Crap! response from Frank. Even dead he keeps walking for a while.
- Co-Dragons: With Ink, as they work hand in hand to aid their boss Nicolas Cavella.
- Defiant to the End: Even with a metal fence jutting out of him, he continued cursing at Castle with his dying breath.
- Determinator: A rare villainous example. Perfectly demonstrated when after having been impaled on a fence. He still continues to try and come after Frank.
- Dramatic Dislocation: When Frank dislocates his fingers he put them back in place and yells at him to Bring It; that's what convince the Punisher he is in for a tough fight.
- Eye Scream: When Frank knocks Pittsy and Cavella's heads into each other, Pittsy's eye ends up taking the majority of the impact. And the results aren't pretty.
- Fat and Skinny: The fat to Ink's skinny.
- Good Old Fisticuffs: Unlike his associates, he eschews guns, preferring to batter his opponents with his fists or slice them up with a blade.
- Groin Attack: The little guy appears to be fond of these.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: His foul temper combined with his violent tendencies make him a very dangerous individual.
- He-Man Woman Hater: He shows shades of this from time to time, most notably when he tried to batter a broad with a pool cue for no other reason than for the sin of being born the wrong gender.
- The Heavy: To Nicky Cavella in the 'In The Beginning' arc, with Nicky being a Non-Action Big Bad for most of the story (unless you count a brief scene where Frank bites his finger), it's Pittsy who poses the biggest physical threat Frank faces throughout this arc, culminating in a savage showdown between him and Frank.
- Hot-Blooded: His blood isn't hot so much as it's searing with unbridled rage so fierce that his small frame can barely contain it.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: During his climactic fight with the Punisher, Frank tosses him out of a window, where he lands several stories down on a spiked wrought iron fence, impaling him through the torso. Amazingly enough, all this does is slow him down, as he continues to come at Frank (with a piece of the fence still impaling him). It takes a shotgun slug to the face to finally bring him down.
- Lightning Bruiser: Don't let his short frame fool you. He's far stronger and quicker than you would believe, able to floor the Punisher in a single blow and frighteningly quick on his feet as well.
- Made of Iron: This guy is extremely tenacious you'd think he had legit Super-Toughness. The man is beaten, stabbed, shot at, has his eyes gouged, his fingers broken and ends up getting impaled on a steel fence. Through sheer hatred and incredible strength of will, he keeps on going. It's only after he gets his face blown off by a shotgun slug that he finally succumbs to his wounds. Although not before freaking Frank the hell out by taking a few more steps in his direction.Frank: Next step's a reflex action. So's the next one. [Pittsy keeps on walking towards him.] Got to be.
- My Defense Need Not Protect Me Forever: Frank realizes his punches aren't fazing Pittsy who just waits for him to run out of breath.
- The Napoleon: The most overly aggressive and moody of Nicky's crew. Not to mention the shortest.
- Noodle Incident: Nicky tells Larry it's best he doesn't know why they call him Pittsy— actually it's better for Larry to know nothing about Pittsy.
- No-Sell: During his second fight with The Punisher, Frank unloads on him with a flurry of punches to his face, all of which fail to faze him.
- Not Hyperbole: If he says he'll rip your heart out or put your balls in a paper cup, he'll make sure to try it. As poor Roth found out.
- Old Soldier: Not that kind of army but he's definitely been fighting for a long time. The guy looks like he's in his sixties but he's easily the most badass member in Nicky's crew. In fact at one point he comes damn near close to actually choking the life outta Frank. Had it not been for Microchip intervening, then he very likely would have killed Frank. The next time the two meet he's got Frank reeling, prompting Frank to think fast or be beaten to death.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: He punches well beyond his weight, and is one of the few characters in the entire series to give Frank a run for his money, and comes damn near close to actually killing Frank on more than one occasion. Not only that but he is every bit as durable as he is strong.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: He can be heard constantly spouting homophobic slurs like it's going outta style. Also appears to have an irrational hatred towards woman.
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: "Lets fucking GO you FUCK!"
- Rasputinian Death: After trading punches (and shivs) with the Punisher, Frank tosses him out of a window, where he lands several stories down onto a spiked wrought iron fence, impaling him through the torso. Frank then jumps from the window and lands on Pittsy's head. Later, Pittsy (fence still jutting through him), stumbles towards Frank, who blasts him in the face with a shotgun. Even then, Frank has to mentally reassure himself that the next steps he takes are just reflexive.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: Normally he's the kinda guy who'd prefer to beat his victims to death, stab them, or choke the life outta them. But on the rare occasions that he does use a firearm, he always makes sure that it's a shotgun.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Easily the most profane out of his crew, rivaling Fury when it comes to profanity.
- Sleeves Are for Wimps: The moment he ditches his tracksuit for a sleeveless tank top is the moment you know he's ready to start kicking some serious ass.
- Worthy Opponent: Begins to view Frank as this after their first fight together, and is just aching to get another shot at him, refusing to go to the hospital.
Ink
The Punisher Vol. 7, #2
"Huh"
Cavella's second bodyguard who is usually seen alongside Pittsy. A creepy wall-eyed individual who rarely ever speaks, and much like his friend Pittsy, far more dangerous than he looks. Best demonstrated in the disturbing way he earned his nickname.
- Ax-Crazy: Downplayed. Although its not readily apparent due to his quiet nature, its implied that he's every bit as unhinged and psychotic as his associates. He is the one that cooked David Kai's son.
- Badass Longcoat: He wears a nifty looking raven black trenchcoat.
- Beard of Evil: Sports a very sharp-looking goatee.
- Catchphrase: "Huh".
- Co-Dragons: The role he and Pittsy play.
- Combat Pragmatist: How does he deal with a Special Forces squad? By sneaking on top of the elevator that they are in and cutting the elevator cables, causing them to fall to their gruesome deaths. Also how he got his nickname; according to Nicki the other guy was twice his size strangling him.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: The guy may look like a wall-eyed dolt, but he is far more formidable than his eccentric appearance would have you believe.
- Eye Scream: He earned his nickname by repeatedly stabbing a man in the eye with a pen with such viciousness that he eventually reached the brain.
- Fat and Skinny: The skinny to Pittsy's fat.
- Fish Eyes: As can be seen in the picture, he suffers from this.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Sports a pair of Buddy Holly-style thick rim glasses, and lacks any form of compassion or morality.
- Informed Ability: According to Nicky he has a terrific sense of humor. Of course we the reader almost never get to see this, seeing as how he rarely says more than one word.
- Lean and Mean: He has a noticeably lanky figure and definitely falls on the "mean" side.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name is never revealed.
- The Pen Is Mightier: He received his nickname by killing his first victim with a pen.Larry: Stabbed him inna neck?
Nicky: Stabbed him inna eye. Just kept going 'till he hit brain. - Spiky Hair: How he fashions his jet black hair.
- Taking You with Me: Is mortally wounded during the attack on the CIA hideout, and attempts to suicide bomb O'Brian with a grenade before dying.
- The Quiet One: He rarely ever speaks, and when he does it's almost always a nonchalant "huh" which he says whenever he agrees with something.
- Vorpal Pillow: How he kills the last of Cesare's capos.
Theresa Gazzera
The Punisher Vol.7, #19
"You say that shit about my brother again and I'll glue ya' fuckin' dick shut!"
Pittsy's sister, a vulgar and foul-tempered woman. Nicky's right-hand woman, and unbeknownst to him, his long-time admirer.
- Abhorrent Admirer: While she isn't that bad looking, what really qualifies her for this trope is her attitude. Casually threatening to close peoples' penises shut, dropping Cluster F Bombs at the drop of the hat, generally being a scary Jerkass. Like brother, like sister. Nicky is very in denial when Rawlins points out Theresa has a crush on him, to boot.
- Ax-Crazy: As expected of someone who hangs around Nicolas Cavella. She's every bit as violently unhinged as her brother was. Must be hereditary or something.
- Berserk Button: Do not speak ill of her late brother. Not unless you want her to mutilate your genitals.
- Brawn Hilda: A very disturbing example of this trope.
- Dark Action Girl: An ugly and vulgar one at that.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Much like her brother, she has a very foul mouth and a temper to match.
- Psycho Supporter: She serves her boss with an almost religious fervor.
- Slashed Throat: When Cavella gives her the order to kill off one of the capos who opposes him, she does so by following the capo into the restroom and slitting his throat while the guy was taking a leak.
- Too Dumb to Live: After feeling jilted by Nicky's rejections, she goes into the Punisher's place without a gun in order to kill him in a blind rage. Even when she gets the drop on him, she stabs him non-fatally so she can rant about how no one wants to touch her. All of this started because she thought that the best time to screw her boss was during a stake-out of the wounded Castle.
- Uncanny Family Resemblance: She bears a rather disturbing resemblance to her brother. The resemblance is so great that Roth initially mistakes her for her Pittsy, causing him to flee in panic, even though Roth had a gun in his hand and she didn't.Roth: I thought it was him in a wig. I thought he'd come back for my dick.
- Villainous Breakdown: After Cavella rejects her, she first goes into a Tranquil Fury state, but after he sends her after O'Brian and Punisher, she completely loses her shit, and mindlessly attacks the two in bed, screaming about how "no one will fuck her" (she's also furious over O'Brian sleeping with the guy who killed her brother).
- Yandere: To her "man" Nicolas Cavella, and a very butch and ugly one as well.
Mo Cavella
Debut: The Punisher Vol. 7, #20
Nicky's twisted aunt and mentor.- The Corrupter: The woman responsible for turning Nicky Cavella into the psychotic mobster we see today.
- Evil Aunt: Mo had her niece murdered and used her nephew Nicky as a pawn to achieve power while forcing him to have sex with her and encouraging him to torture and kill people.
- Fat Bitch: Mo is an overweight gangster moll who engineered the murders of her brothers, sister-in-law, and niece for selfish reasons and later raped her pre-teen nephew.
- Posthumous Character: Nicky killed her with a Vorpal Pillow during sex decades ago.
Other Italian Mobsters
Larry Barrucci
Debut: The Punisher Vol. 7, #2
A mid-level gangster who had the ingenious idea of bringing Nicky back to New York, with the intention of helping out with the Punisher problem. Naturally this does not go down as well as he'd hope.
- Bald of Evil: Sports a noticeable bald spot. Slightly subverted as he's actually one of the more level-headed and less psychotic capos in New York. Especially when compared to Cavella's crew.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He might have had his boss killed but he can't stomach Nicky's ways.
- Klingon Promotion: The last capo alive, and Only Sane Man left in the mafia, wants nothing to do with Cavella, so Larry has Ink kill him and he became the new leader.
- Stress Vomit: He throws up on the side of the road after seeing Pittsy cut off the testicles of another man. Not that anyone blames him.
- Too Dumb to Live: Nicky points out that telling him his plan was a "bad idea" is something that even a kid would know is dumb. He is promptly forced at gunpoint to walk straight into the Punisher's line of fire as punishment for his insult.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: He's more average than anything, but his wife Barbie is a bombshell.
- Unwitting Pawn: Used and discarded by Cavella quite callously.
Anthony Pizzo
Debut: The Punisher Vol. 7, #19
A young and inexperienced gangster who becomes a Mafia captain due to the Punisher killing most of New York City's veteran mafiosi.
Like the other Mafiosi, the seriousness of the Punisher problem has led him and the others into contemplating the idea of handing over leadership to Nicky.
- Broken Pedestal: Near the end of Up Is Down, Black Is White, whatever admiration he originally had for Cavella is completely lost after he sees what a lousy and cowardly boss he turns out to be.
- Embarrassing Nickname: One of the capos calls him Tony Pissboy; Nicky thinks that he should starts using it too.
- Fan Boy: After witnessing Cavella desecrating the remains of Frank Castle's family on the news, he immediately becomes one of Cavella's biggest supporters.
- Mauve Shirt: He miraculously manages to survive his introductory arc (a rarity in this series), only to be killed in his second appearance.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He gives one to Cavella, at the end of Up Is Down, Black Is White, when it becomes clear how the latter's plan to kill the Punisher has completely backfired.
Vincent Rosa
Debut: The Punisher: The Tyger
The youngest son of local crime boss Albert Rosa.
- Asshole Victim: The sick little twerp made a habit of raping local schoolgirls. Suffice to say, he gets what he's got coming to him near the end.
- The Casanova: Averted; his father seems to believe that he is this, in reality he's actually a repulsive rapist.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Although it was justly deserved. His death at the hands of vengeful brother Sal was no doubt brutal and unnerving. To better elaborate, after falling for Sal's (the pissed off brother of one of his victims) trap, he is dragged to a local cemetery, dumped into an empty grave, doused with gasoline, and promptly set on fire. All the while a young Frank Castle watches from a distance.
- Hate Sink: Deliberately invoked so you don't feel the slightest hint of sympathy when he is burned alive.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: His reputation as a serial rapist is what separates him from the rest of the scum on this page. And makes his death all the more gratifying.
- Too Dumb to Live: He really should've thought twice before raping the sister of a Marine
Fat Mike
Debut: The Punisher Vol. 7, #19
Another Cesare Capo who supports Nicky Cavella's ascendency to Don.- Fat Bastard: As the name implies. Played with in that he actually is disgusted by Cavella's past and wants nothing to do with him at first, but after decades of living in fear of the Punisher and having peers slaughtered by him, feels enough dark satisfaction at the desecration of Frank's family to decide to give Nicky a chance after all.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: By the end of the arc, like Pizzo and the other surviving Cesare's, he has realized that it was a mistake getting in bed with Nicky and tell him to go take a hike.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Unlike Tony Pizzo, he never appears after Up Is Down And Black Is White and it's likely he was among the many off-screen casualties of the various mob wars that followed (by the time of 'The Widowmaker' it's mentioned that the Cesare's have lost their subsequent five bosses to either rival gangsters or the Punisher), was arrested by the police or pulled a Screw This, I'm Outta Here.
Joey Picardi
Debut: The Punisher Vol. 7, #19
A new Cesare capo who opposes Nicky Cavella the second time Nicky tries to assert himself over the local mafia.- Anti-Villain: Joey's never actually shown doing anything in his capacity as a mobster besides showing contempt towards Nicky Cavella and refusing to submit to his authority.
- Boisterous Bruiser: He isn't ever shown fighting, but Joey is one of the burlier capos and doesn't mince his words or submit to his fellows.
- Hope Spot: He gets two of the other capos to vote against Nicky with him, but this gets Joey murdered to allow Nicky's ascension.
- Only Sane Man: Joey is adamant that Nicky can't be boss no matter how dire the situation with the Punisher because what he did to the Kai family was way over the line.
- Speak Ill of the Dead: He insults the late Pittsy to his sister's face.
- Too Dumb to Live: Goes alone in the bathroom right after telling Nicky that as long as he says no Pete and Max won't agree to Nick's demand, stalemating the vote. When he fails to comes back the the capos elect Nicky as the new boss without even trying to question what happened to Joey.
Pete and Max
Debut: The Punisher Vol. 7, #19
The remaining two Cesare capos during "Up is Down and Black is White."- The Dividual: They frequently appear together in the background. Teresa and Nicky refer to them as "the other two." It isn't even clear which man is Pete and which man is Max.
- Extreme Doormat: They don't want Nicky to be their boss but they don't oppose him without anyone to rally them.
- Fat and Skinny: One of them is bulky, while the other is somewhat slim.
- Perma-Stubble: One of them is visibly unshaven.
Don Rigoletto
Debut: Punisher Max Vol. 1, #1
"Gentlemen, either the Punisher dies, or we do"
A high-level mob boss who has decided to gather the other Dons who make up the heads of the major crime families in New York, and have them band together to devise a plan meant to kill the Punisher once and for all.
- Ascended Extra: His counterpart in mainline Marvel was a Posthumous Character whose only appearances were in brief flashbacks in a handful of Daredevil and Spider-Man stories.
- Boom, Headshot!: How he is ultimately killed by Fisk.
- The Don: One of the more powerful Don's in New York's criminal underworld.
- Eyepatch of Power: To complete his evil mafioso image.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: His dialog is laden with all matter of racial slurs. He refers to the Irish as "micks", calls blacks "niggers", and overall shows not a care in the world for tolerance.
- Sadistic Choice: Gives one of these to Fisk after discovering his plot to overthrow him. See Would Hurt a Child below.
- Would Hurt a Child. Invoked in the most brutal way imaginable. After discovering Fisk's plan to betray him, he and his henchmen find Fisk's family and hold them hostage— Wilson's son at knife point and his wife handcuffed. When Fisk arrives Rigoletto threatens to slit the boy's throat unless Fisk drops his gun. This backfires horribly as Fisk, in a inhumanly cruel act, simply ignores Rigoletto's demand, choosing instead to kill him and his men, which in turn causes Rigoletto to kill Fisk's son as a final "screw you" to Fisk, before inevitably being killed himself.
Big Jackie
Debut: The Punisher Vol. 7, #3
A veteran Cesare capo who survived the massacre in the first issue.- Cool Shades: In his flashback scene sixteen years earlier, Big Jackie wears thick, impressive sunglasses.
- False Reassurance: After Massimo Cesare exiles Nicky, Big Jackie implies that he agrees with Nicky's tactics and says that the exile will only last until the aging Massimo dies. Jackie tells Nicky to look up Jackie's cousin in Boston for work in the meantime. Massimo ends up living another fifteen years, and once he does die, Jackie opposes letting Nicky back into New York. This implies that Jackie was lying to Nicky during their previous meeting.
- Sole Survivor: Jackie is the only capo to survive the birthday party massacre but is wounded and hospitalized.
Lenny
Debut: The Punisher Vol. 7, #2
A Cesare mobster hoping to fill the Evil Power Vacuum at the beginning of the series.- Big Bad Wannabe: At Massimo Cesare's funeral, Lenny nominates himself as the family's new leader and proposes putting a hit on Frank. He is making some progress at persuading the other mobsters in attendance to go along with him before Frank blows them all up with a rocket launcher.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: The first three sentences Lenny utters contain five cuss words.
The Five Wives
In General
Left with little money compared to what they had when their husbands were alive and angered over their deaths, they have decided to take it upon themselves to do what a thousand other men have tried and failed to do— kill the Punisher.
- Amazon Brigade: Subverted. With the exception of Shauna, none of the other wives have ever seen any real action before. It's doubtful that even Shauna had any experience in violence at all.
- Chronic Villainy: As Jenny pointed out, they were rich, connected, and essentially free from the barbaric psychopaths they used to be married to and didn't really love. They could have lived until the end of their pampered little lives without a care in the world, but they decided to take vengeance for their husbands, a cause that nobody, not even the surviving gangsters, cared about anymore.
- Did Not Think This Through: It's not so much that five women with no real fighting experience wanted to take on The Punisher a.k.a. the guy who can waste ten times their number in a single night, it's that for all their detailed schemes and schedules, their plan hinged on them ambushing Frank... and at no point do we see them train with weapons. Sure enough, when it comes time to shoot, only one of them fires off one shot. Granted, they were ambushed unexpectedly by Jenny, but they still hesitated instead of shooting back.
- Later when they're interrogated by the police, they give a very detailed account of the events... only one very smart cop, Budiansky, asks the very uncomfortable question of why a bunch of wives of dead mob bosses would be together, in the dead of night, being shot at, with a cache of weapons found nearby.
- They later send an assassin to kill Budiansky, only they send Shauna's crackhead henchman/ex-lover, who accidentally hits Budiansky's wife instead. Oh, and Budiansky is a hero cop, so that opens up a whole new can of worms.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Downplayed. None of the wives are saints but it's ambiguous as to whether their motive for revenge is genuine love for their husbands, resentment that their cash cow was taken from them, or just a matter of principle.
- Moral Myopia: The five of them can't seem to fathom why the vile, murderous criminals they married could deserve their deaths. At one point they even acknowledge that the Punisher targets monsters and psychos, approving of his treatment of the sex slavers and even thinking he went easy on them, but refer to his murder of their husbands in terms of innocent victims targeted for no reason by an amoral killer.
- More Deadly Than the Male: Subverted. Although they prove to be just slightly more intelligent than the average mobster, they're not exactly any more competent or formidable than the rest of the rank and file mooks that Frank routinely kills by the shipload.
Annabella Gorrini
Debut: The Punisher Vol. 7, #43
"We're gonna do somethin' a thousand men already failed at: We're gonna kill the Punisher. May he burn in hell forever, the motherless, godless fuck."
The oldest of the five widowed wives and also the de facto leader of the group.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: When Jenny has her dead to rights, she resorts to begging for her life.
- Big Bad Wannabe: She may be the leader of the wives, the granddaughter to a great Don, and able to orchestrate a big scheme to kill The Punisher, but at the end of the day, she doesn't have the experience or conviction to execute her plans properly.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: More so than the others. Frank killed not only her husband but her father, her grandfather, and both of her sons.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Is utterly disgusted at the Slavers and the things they did to their victims. When talking about the vicious beating that Frank administered to Vera Konstantin before throwing her to her death, she states that she wouldn't have "stopped for an hour."
- Hypocrite: Despite the above trope, she was perfectly fine with setting her sister Jennifer up with Tim Buccato despite knowing that he was a monstrous psychopath who had already driven his first wife to suicide, and only too eager to shut her eyes to the copious amounts of horrific abuse he meted out to Jennifer throughout their marriage.
- Karmic Death: She tried to have her sister Jennifer killed by Shauna. Jenny beats her to death with a baseball bat for it.
- Never My Fault: When Jennifer has her tied to a chair, she tearfully blames all her sins on the men in the mafia, and that wives and girlfriends have no say in decisions— which would hold more water if she hadn't done all she did just to keep her mafia wife lifestyle.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Despite being friendly with Shauna over course of business, Annabella slips and uses a racial slur against her at one point.
- Smug Snake: In way over her head. Her initial plan was actually very sound and would have succeeded if not for Jenny, but afterward, she has zero chance of success and fails to realize how bad her situation is.
- Taught by Experience: Realizes that criminals capturing Frank and putting him in deathtraps instead of just killing him as soon as they get the chance is why he keeps winning, and resolves not to make that mistake. And if it wasn't for Jennifer, it would've worked.
- Trauma Conga Line: She has the biggest bone to pick with Frank; his mafia massacre in the very first issue killed her grandfather, father, husband and two sons.
- Villain Has a Point: When she points out that Castle kills those who had nothing to do with his family's death. It was a running theme throughout Ennis's run on Punisher MAX that as sympathetic as his reasons might be, he was not someone to be admired.
Barbara "Barbi" Barrucci
Debut: The Punisher Vol. 7, #31
Wife of the late Larry Barrucci, one of the Cesare family capos who was slain in one of the earlier stories, and resident slut of the group.
- Alliterative Name: Barbara Barrucci.
- Berserk Button: She doesn't take too kindly to others pitying her and is quick to tell them off, regardless of whether or not they meant any harm by it.
- Call-Back: Her late husband Larry appeared way back in the very first arc as a throw-away character.
- Character Death: Shot in the stomach by Jenny.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: When the rest of the wives learn of her illiteracy, they openly take pity on the poor girl. "Barbi", however is having none of their bullshit.Lorraine: Oh shit. Barbi, can you read?
Bonnie: Oh, you poor thing...!
Barbara: Fuck you, Bonnie, I don't want your fucking pity! I'm dyslexic, not some goddamn cripple! - Dumb Blonde: She's blonde, doesn't know how to read or write, and is an overall dim individual.
- The Load: Would have been this for the group because of her illiteracy, except that Shauna manages to figure out a way for her to be useful courtesy of Really Gets Around.
- Never Learned to Read: It's revealed during an information gathering session that she suffers from dyslexia, prompting the other wives to shower her with pity. She doesn't take this well.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Openly racist towards Shauna when they first meet. Subverted a bit when she actually gets over her racism to Shauna over time, only for Annabella to be revealed as the more bigoted of the two.
- Pretty Little Headshots: Jennifer finishes her off with a 9mm round to her cranium. Given the series' penchant for averting this trope, it's quite strange seeing this played straight.
- Really Gets Around: Quite promiscuous to the point she trades oral sex for cab rides (even though she has enough money to pay for the fare) and uses her body to help the group's plans.
- Sex for Services: After her proven illiteracy threatens to make her a liability to the group, she finds other inventive ways to make herself useful.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Larry was pretty average, but Barbi is an absolute bombshell.
Lorraine Zucca
Debut: The Punisher Vol. 7, #31
Wife of the late capo Paul Zucca. She's one of the better educated members of the group.
- Character Death: Shot twice by Jenny, then finished off with a headshot.
- Informed Ability: She's stated to be one the more intellectual members of the crew but she never gets to demonstrate this.
- The Generic Guy: She has close to zero characterization and no special traits that separate her from the pack.
- Smug Snake: Tends to think a lot of herself because of her education, which the others really rankle at.
Bonnie De Angelo
Debut: The Punisher Vol. 7, #31
The most naive member of the group who speaks in a vewy distinct and wather cute speech pattern.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: She is disemboweled by Jenny, who rescues Frank before he is killed by the wives.
- Damsel in Distress: Invoked by the widows who pretend she's a human trafficking victim to lure Frank into a trap. Barbie's so innocuous that despite being a horrible actor it almost works despite her story not adding up in any sense.
- Elmuh Fudd Syndwome: Her most distinct feature.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: None of the others particularly like Bonnie, with her death going completely unmourned and Annabella even joking that she won't mind too much if Bonnie is collateral when they open fire on Frank.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: This ends up working against her as the other widows think this feature, combined with her cute speech pattern, makes her the perfect damsel in distress.
- Token Good Teammate: Subverted. She's as crooked as the others but is the only one who seemed to definitely love her husband.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Her 'Roly-Poly Pudding' Artie was big, fat and not very attractive while Bonnie is a super-gorgeous, slender redhead. Despite this, she genuinely adored him.
Shauna Toomey
Debut: The Punisher Vol. 7, #31
"My name is Shauna Toomey. My man was John James Toomey. Anyone got any more bullshit to say, they can suck my muthafuckin' dick."
By far the most street savvy and lethal of all the widows.
- Boom, Headshot!: She takes a 9mm round to the face at point blank range. As you would imagine, the results aren't pretty.
- The Dragon: Has a prior history with Anabella Gorinni and is the one who orchestrates all of their actions.
- The Brute: The muscle of the widows, and the most aggressive and violent, but subverted in that she's still something of a Boisterous Weakling who talks a lot of game but hesitates when it comes to shooting people herself or has some of her husband's gunmen do it for her while taking credit.
- Scary Black Woman: See above. Demonstrated when she threatens Barbara with a razor after the latter insulted her.
- Stealth Pun: She's a black widow.
- Token Minority: The sole black member of the group.
