Line #2 Trivia/ThePunisher


1	!!The comic
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3	* CreatorBacklash: As of 2023, the iconic Punisher skull logo has been adopted by various far-right extremist groups, as well as by some law enforcement and even military personnel. This has not gone unnoticed at Marvel, and is ''definitely'' not appreciated. Co-creator Creator/GerryConway [[https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/punisher-skull-logo-marvel-capitol-riots has said]] he's disturbed that far right extremists, as well as various military and police forces have co-opted the logo of a character that is both explicitly anti-authority and is a disturbed man whose crusade against crime isn't something anybody should want to emulate. Creator/GarthEnnis has similarly voiced his disgust, calling right wing rioters that were seen with the symbol [[https://www.cbr.com/garth-ennis-calls-rioters-using-punishers-symbol-irrelevant/ "halfwits"]] who don't understand the character.
4	* DiedDuringProduction: Creator/SteveDillon died in October 2016, when he was the book's current artist.
5	* ExecutiveVeto: There's one type of story that will never be published in the main Franchise/MarvelUniverse ('Earth-616') setting: a story where Frank Castle kills an innocent by accident, is filled with angst, and retires. Several authors wrote drafts for variants of this plot twist, but they have never been published. Other continuities do have this story, such as ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'' where during the ''Death of Spider-Man'' arc, there was a mini-civil war between different factions of the Ultimates, Ultimate Punisher siding with Fury's team battles Captain America's team and in the course of that Frank Castle shoots at Steve Rogers but Spider-Man [[TakingTheBullet takes the bullet]] and a horrified Frank Castle immediately drops his weapons and cries out to be arrested or shot because he shot a child. The wound that Peter suffers played a part in weakening him before Norman Osborn and the Ultimate Six attack Spider-Man and in the course of which battle Ultimate Peter Parker dies [[spoiler:though he does get better in later issues]].
6	** This almost happens in the MAX continuity, but he realizes the girl wasn't shot by his gun, and that drug runners had killed her and staged her corpse where he'd be sure to find her.
7	** This plot was also the basis for the plot of ''Film/PunisherWarZone'' where [[spoiler:Frank, during a raid to get to the future Jigsaw, shoots and kills an undercover FBI agent and doesn't realize the truth until he discovers a wire on the corpse.]]
8	* ExiledFromContinuity: The MAX series for obvious reasons. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by ComicBook/IronMan in the ''Civil War Handbook''
9	--> '''Iron Man:''' Although recently Castle has escalated his war on crime even further, with record-breaking body counts, he is paradoxically now rarely encountered in the field by any superhero save Daredevil. (...) [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall It's almost like he inhabits two worlds, one where heroes can capture him and one where they can't, and he can slip from one to the other with ease]].
10	* FollowTheLeader: Almost single-handedly kick-started the DarkerAndEdgier trend of the late 80s and on through the 90s, and remains one of the few such series/characters to have retained his popularity and effectiveness after it died out (though Lord knows he's had his share of [[AudienceAlienatingEra Audience-Alienating Era]]s).
11	* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Tons.
12	** His first ongoing series, ''The Punisher'', Vol. 2 (1988), ran for 108 issues and seven annuals. As of January 2023, only part of the series has been republished as digital comics (#1-26, 28-48, 63-75 and 85-88, plus the first four annuals) - physical collected editions have the same gaps and are printed in Marvel's "Epic Collection" format, with all of the color art converted to black and white.
13	** His second ongoing series, ''The Punisher War Journal'', Vol. 1 (1988) ran for 80 issues and less than half has been republished. As of January 2023, some are available as digital comics (#1-19, 45-47, 52-53 and 61-64). A physical collected edition covers the first 19 issues, with the ''Punisher: Suicide Run'' and ''Daredevil: Dead Man's Hand'' crossover collections including a handful of the later issues.
14	** His third ongoing series, ''The Punisher War Zone'' Vol. 1 (1992), ran for 41 issues and had two annuals. There are three trades collecting it but issues 7-25 and 37-41 and the annuals remain uncollected and aren't available as digital copies.
15	** His fourth ongoing series, ''Punisher'' Vol.3 (1995), ran for 18 issues. As of January 2023, it is not collected in any format. Issue #11, which is part of the ''ComicBook/{{Onslaught}}'' event, is the only one republished digitally.
16	** His fifth ongoing series, ''The Punisher'', ran for 37 issues. It was written by Garth Ennis very successful and popular. It was collected in trade paperbacks, save for issues 8-12 which weren't written by Ennis. The paperbacks are out of print. It was released in hardcovers but the hardcover line is incomplete with no sign of Marvel continuing. The hardcovers that do exist are also out of print. Finally, it was collected in one massive omnibus, which also collected the ''Welcome Back, Frank'' storyline. This is also out of print. As a final kicker, an issue included within the omnibus is ''Comicbook/ThePunisherKillsTheMarvelUniverse.'' This is a very collectible issue and was collected in a trade paperback with ''Welcome Back, Frank''. ''Welcome Back, Frank'' has gotten a new trade edition. ''Kills the Marvel Universe'' is not included.
17	*** The non-MAX Ennis issues are now being republished in a series of [=TPBs=] as part of a general twentieth-anniversary repackaging of the Creator/MarvelKnights sub-imprint, including ''Kills the Marvel Universe'' in the first volume.
18	* OldShame: According to Garth Ennis's introduction to the first of the ''Complete Collection'' [=TPBs=] of his MAX run, he now views the Marvel Knights Punisher series in this light, believing that it was too comedic and had too much superhero-related content.
19	* QuietlyCancelled: A ''Punisher vs. Barracuda'' miniseries was among [[https://www.gamesradar.com/missing-marvel-titles-2020/ many Marvel projects]] that vanished after the disruption caused by the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. The series would have introduced a version of ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'' villain Barracuda to the main Franchise/MarvelUniverse. It was officially announced and several issues were solicited for pre-orders, but as of 2023 it has never been published.
20	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
21	** A planned ''Punisher vs. Barracuda'' miniseries by Ed Brisson and Declan Shalvey would have introduced ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'' villain Barracuda as a CanonImmigrant to the main Franchise/MarvelUniverse setting. It was announced and solicited to retailers, but then QuietlyCancelled after the initial disruption of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic.
22	** Jimmy Palmiotti wrote a ''Punisher'' series with art from Dan Panosian, which has never been published or officially announced. Panosian tweeted some of the art in January 2023, saying that he'd completed three issues and it was still in the Marvel vaults; Palmiotti described it as "one of the craziest PUNISHER stories ever written".
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Context Trivia / ThePunisher