The Punisher (Frank Castle) is an antihero appearing in various Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. Frank Castle was a former U.S. Marine who served in multiple tours of duty. One day, Castle's family was caught in the crossfire of a mob hit. They were all killed, and Castle was the only survivor. This event left Castle traumatized and angry. He vowed to avenge the deaths of his family and became a vigilante, using his military training and skills to hunt down and kill criminals. He is known for his ruthlessness and his willingness to kill anyone who gets in his way. He is also known for his signature skull logo, which he wears on his chest and on his weapons.
open/close all folders
Anime
Comic Books
- The Punisher: Circle of Blood (1986) — Punisher's very first solo title.
- The Punisher 2099 (1993-1995) — A comic set in Alternate Continuity future of Marvel 2099.
- The Punisher: Suicide Run (1993-1994) — An eleven-part storyline event that ran through the main Punisher title, The Punisher: War Journal and The Punisher: War Zone.
- Archie Meets the Punisher (1994) — An offbeat Intercontinuity Crossover with Archie Comics.
- The Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe (1995) — A What If? comic written by Garth Ennis years before his more regular work with the character.
- The Punisher: Purgatory (1998) — A miniseries that Re Tooled the character into a sort-of agent for heaven.
- The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank (2000-2001) — A limited series storyline which returns the Punisher back into the "regular vigilante who just shoots criminals" mold, written by Garth Ennis.
- The Punisher (2001)
- Born (2003) — A four issue mini series that details Frank's third and final tour of duty in Vietnam, which was later became the starting point for the MAX series. Also written by Garth Ennis.
- The Punisher MAX (2004-2009 and 2010-2012) — Alternate Continuity series set in the Marvel's Darker and Edgier MAX imprint. The page also lists the various oneshots and miniseries set there.
- The Punisher: The End (June 2004) — A special one shot featuring an elderly Frank Castle in a post-apocalyptic New York. Yes, it was written by Garth Ennis.
- Punisher Noir (2009) — An Alternate Continuity miniseries, where the Punisher does his work in the 1930s New York. Astonishingly not written by Garth Ennis.
- Marvel Universe vs. the Punisher (2010) — An Alternate Continuity miniseries where Punisher has to fight the heroes and villains of Marvel who have been turned into sadistic cannibals.
- Space: Punisher (2012) — An Alternate Continuity miniseries with a version of Frank avenging his family's murder by a galactic crime syndicate led by some very familiar Marvel characters.
- Thunderbolts (2012-2014) — The Punisher was one of the anti-heroes recruited by General Ross (aka Red Hulk) for his version of the team.
- Doctor Strange / Punisher: Magic Bullets (2016) — an Infinite Comics webcomic that teams its two stars against a mafia family who've found something magical and powerful in their basement.
- Deadpool vs. The Punisher (2017) — A five-issue miniseries that pits the One-Man War on Crime against the Merc with a Mouth.
- Punisher (2022) - a series written by Jason Aaron that repositions the Punisher as a sword-wielding killer and leader of ninja-clan The Hand.
Live-Action Film
- The Punisher (1989) — Starring Dolph Lundgren.
- The Punisher (2004) — Starring Thomas Jane.
- Punisher: War Zone (2008) — Starring Ray Stevenson.
- Dirty Laundry (2012) — An unofficial short film which stars Thomas Jane.
Live-Action TV
- Marvel Cinematic Universe (2016 — present), played by Jon Bernthal (page):
- Daredevil Season 2 (2016)
- The Punisher (2017)
Video Games
- The Punisher (1990) — A Rail Shooter for NES.
- The Punisher (1990) — A Top-Down View action game for computers.
- The Punisher (1993) — A Beat 'em Up from Capcom, which also features Nick Fury as a playable character.
- The Punisher (2005) — A Third-Person Shooter action game from THQ, which is rife with The Joys of Torturing Mooks.
- Marvel: Avengers Alliance (2012) — Punisher is one of the recruitable heroes.
- Marvel: Contest of Champions (2015) — Available as a Champion exclusively through Arena Crystals.
- Marvel Heroes (2013) — He is one of the Starter Heroes.
- Marvel Puzzle Quest
- Marvel Future Fight (2015-Present)
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order (2019)
Western Animation
- Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994) — voiced by John Beck
- The Superhero Squad Show (2009) —
hilarious one-episode cameo reprised by Ray Stevenson - Avengers Assemble (2013)
