The Punisher

Universe Marvel Universe

Real Name Frank Castle (born Castiglione)

Aliases Big Nothing, Major Bateman, Ted Bishop, Cliff Callador, Castigo, Chaloner, Fred D’Amato, Eastman, Charles Fort, Frank Loomis, McRook, Melchior, Joe Rainey, Frank Rook, Richard Rook, Tony Knowlen Ross, Francis Stronghold, Johnny Tower, Dmitri Velikoff, Frankie Villa, Yousoufian; numerous others

Identity Publicly known

Occupation Vigilante; former Special Forces instructor, U.S. Marine

Citizenship U.S.A. with a criminal record, listed in Marine records as a deserter

Place of Birth Queens, New York

Known Relatives Maria Elizabeth Castle (wife, deceased), Lisa Barbara Castle (daughter, deceased), Frank David Castle (a.k.a. Frank Jr., son, deceased), Mario Lorenzo Castiglione (father, deceased), Louisa Castiglione (mother, deceased), Fredo and Rocco Castiglione (paternal uncles, deceased)

Group Affiliation Formerly Daredevil’s Unnamed Super-Hero Team, Green Berets, U.S. Marine Corps

Education Extensive military training, partial priesthood training

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Powers
None

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Abilities
Punisher is the recipient of multi-disciplinary military training from the U.S. Marine Corps. While a Marine, he also received training from the U.S. Army and Navy. From this training, Punisher is proficient in not only basic infantry skills, but in special operations, which includes the use and maintenance of specialized firearms and explosive ordnance. He is highly trained in infiltration into heavily-guarded enemy territories and structures for the purpose of assassination, captures, and military intelligence. Also, he is trained in various forms of camouflage and stealth. From his airborne training, Punisher is able to pack and maintain his own parachute rigs, as well as professionally control his landings, in daylight and at night. From his Navy UDT training, Punisher is well-skilled in extended underwater operations, including demolitions. He is skilled with a great many types of explosives, ranging from simple dynamite to plastique to improvised explosives. His hand-to-hand combat skills are more then sufficient to allow him to incapacitate and kill men much stronger than he is, as well as to deal with groups of armed and unarmed enemies, killing them all without weapons if he deems it necessary. He is also extremely deadly in knife training, preferring the knife he learned to fight with in the USMC: the ka-bar. Additionally, he is a preternaturally-precise marksman. He is thoroughly trained and experienced in unconventional (“guerilla”) warfare. He is an armorer, a gunsmith, and an expert in field medicine.

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Weapons
The Punisher’s ever-changing arsenal of weaponry includes various automatic and semi-automatic rifles, and an array of handguns, fragmentation and tear gas grenades, other explosives, and combat knives. A personal favorite is his ballistic knife, which can launch its blade with lethal force. He commonly uses M16 .223 caliber automatic rifles, Sterling Mark 6 9mm, semi-automatic rifles, 9mm Browning Llama automatic pistols, .45 caliber automatic frame rechambered for 9mm. ammunition, .223 caliber Derringers, and Gerber Mark II combat knives.
Paraphernalia
The Punisher has a Kevlar uniform which protects him from most gunfire, though he can still suffer concussive injury or penetration from sufficient or repeated impacts.

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Born in New York to parents of Italian ancestory, Francis Castiglione is a former U.S. Marine Captain. Before Frank joined the Marines, he was studying to become a Catholic priest but changed his mind because he was unable to forgive those who did evil. Also prior to his enlistment, he married his wife Maria who was already pregnant with their first child. During his time in the United States Marine Corps (USMC), Castle graduated from Basic Training, then went on to Infantry School. Immediately following that, he went through the USMC’s Reconnaissance, Force Reconnaissance, and Sniper Schools. Attaining dockets, Castle was permitted to go through U.S. Army Airborne School, and U.S. Navy Underwater Demolition Team training, becoming qualified as a Navy SeAL (Sea, Air and Land). He served in the Vietnam War in a special forces unit as a point man. For heroism in the line of duty, he was decorated with numerous medals, inlcuding the Purple Heart.

Shortly after a tour in Vietnam, Castle, his wife, Maria and their children were in New York’s Central Park for an afternoon picnic when they witnessed a Mafia gangland execution; an informant had been hanged from a tree. Seeking to eliminate all witnesses, the Costa crime family murdered them on the spot. However, Castle survived. Even though Frank was able to identify all of the shooters the police were unable to help Castle in his quest for justice; they were tied in too deeply to the powerful Costa family. He decided that the only punishment criminals might receive is that of physical destruction. Shortly thereafter, he emblazoned his body armor with a symbol of a death’s head, and exacted his revenge. Since then he has waged a one-man war upon crime, taking the name Punisher.

In his vigilante endeavors, Castle has crossed paths with several costumed crimefighters, most notably Spider-Man and Daredevil. These encounters have often resulted in his incarceration. While he is known to be significantly inferior to Daredevil in hand-to-hand combat skills, Punisher has been rated as one of the most dangerous criminals alive. When he was incarcerated in New York’s Riker’s Island Prison, though heavily outnumbered in gang-fights, Punisher has routinely killed armed, homicidal criminals with frightening ease, sustaining no injury. Due to his proficiency in fighting, he is rarely so accosted in prison environments. Adhering to his military philosophies, Punisher is constantly training whenever he is not out on actual maneuvers. He exercises fanatically to maintain his impressive physical conditioning and sticks to a balanced diet whenever possible.

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Universe: Marvel Universe
Real name: Frank Castle (born Castiglione)
Identity: Publicly known
Occupation: Vigilante; former Special Forces instructor, U.S. Marine
Citizenship: U.S.A. with a criminal record, listed in Marine records as a deserter
Place of Birth: Queens, New York
Group Affiliation: Formerly the “Marvel Knights,” Green Berets, U.S. Marine Corps
Education: Extensive military training, partial priesthood training

Known Aliases:
Big Nothing, Major Bateman, Ted Bishop, Cliff Callador, Castigo, Chaloner, Fred D’Amato, Eastman, Charles Fort, Frank Loomis, McRook, Melchior, Joe Rainey, Frank Rook, Richard Rook, Tony Knowlen Ross, Francis Stronghold, Johnny Tower, Dmitri Velikoff, Frankie Villa, Yousoufian; numerous others

Known Relatives:
Maria Elizabeth Castle (wife, deceased), Lisa Barbara Castle (daughter, deceased), Frank David Castle (a.k.a. Frank Jr., son, deceased), Mario Lorenzo Castiglione (father, deceased), Louisa Castiglione (mother, deceased), Fredo and Rocco Castiglione (paternal uncles, deceased)

Height: 6’1″
Weight: 200 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black

Abilities:
The Punisher is in peak physical condition and is highly skilled in multiple forms of armed and unarmed combat. He is an expert strategist and sharpshooter, and has undergone SEAL (SEa Air Land), UDT (Underwater Demolition Team), and LRPA (Long Range Patrol) training. He is an expert with various firearms, explosives, and bladed weapons. His pain threshold is unbelievably high (he frequently performs surgery on himself without pain medication) and his ability to take punishment borders on the supernatural.

Weapons:
Paraphernalia The Punisher’s ever-changing arsenal of weaponry includes various automatic and semi-automatic rifles, and an array of handguns, fragmentation and tear gas grenades, other explosives, and combat knives. A personal favorite is his ballistic knife, which can launch its blade with lethal force. He commonly uses M16 .223 caliber automatic rifles, Sterling Mark 6 9mm, semi-automatic rifles, 9mm Browning Llama automatic pistols, .45 caliber automatic frame rechambered for 9mm. ammunition, .223 caliber Derringers, and Gerber Mark II combat knives. His Kevlar uniform protects him from most gunfire, though he can still suffer concussive injury or penetration from sufficient or repeated impacts.

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He’s a warrior fighting lonely, un-winnable war. He has few, if any friends. His family is dead. Every law enforcement agency in the world, from S.H.I.E.L.D. to The NYPD, hunts him. The rest of New York’s heroes consider him a pariah, a lose cannon at best, Meet Frank Castle, a.k.a. The Punisher, a one man judge, jury and executioner.

While he tries to remain stoic and pretend to be unmoved by his violent lifestyle and ruthless mission, he’s tormented by the murder of his family. Castle was a war veteran who returned home, receive the Congressional Medal of Honor and be reunited with his wife and two children.

Celebrating his return with a picnic in Central Park, the Castle Family stumbled upon a gangland execution and were gunned down. Only Frank survived. After avenging his family, he decided to wage war on all criminals.

In a world of do-gooders, other characters find Punisher’s methods unnerving. He diametrically opposes their own deeply held philosophies. He’s run up against Spider-Man, Daredevil, Captain America (although they’re both veterans), Luke Cage, Ghost Rider, Nick Fury and even Wolverine. The Punisher is unique, even in a Universe full of unique personalities.

He has no super powers or secret identity, he’s simply a normal man fighting a war on crime. His only training came from the Marine Corp. He’s a master at all forms of hand to hand combat and an expert marksman. He’s also the first gun toting vigilante in modern comics. Where most heroes have a code against killing, the Punisher makes no bones about his goal to exterminate all criminals.

The Man in black first appeared in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #129, where J. Jonah Jameson calls him “The most newsworthy thing to happen to New York since Boss Tweed.” The vigilante declares “I kill only those who deserve killing and Spider-Man deserves to die!” The Punisher stalked Spider-Man because he wrongly believed Spidey murdered Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn. Very direct about his goal to execute criminals. “Not something I like doing”, he tells the webhead, “Simply something that has to be done…And I’ve got nothing to lose by risking what’s left of my life wiping out your kind of parasite.”

Punisher sprang from the brow of writer Gerry Conway, who had started writing for AMAZING SPIDER-MAN at the tender age of 18. He was created as an enemy for Spider-Man, he explains. “He was a pawn of another character, the Jackal. Punisher was going to be a one-issue villain, to be defeated at the ending.” Instead, something strange happened. The writer became fond of his villain. The character voice was stronger than I thought, so I made him a more man than I had planned him to be”, Conway admits.

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CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

The Punisher’s one-man anti-crime spree exploded on the scene 25 years ago Your friendly neighborhood superhero he wasn’t.

The Punisher was one of the comic book industry’s first, modern-day deadly anti-heroes, a fax cry from the do-good-era who populated most comics. From the giant skull on his chest to the arsenal he carried, it was clear the Punisher meant business. He shot first and never bothered asking questions.

The Punisher first started kicking bad-guy butt in Amazing Spider-Man #129, cover-dated February 1974. He was introduced by writer Gerry Conway and artist Ross Andru-with costume design by then-Marvel art director John Romita Sr.-as an assassin who only killed criminals, hired by the villainous Jackal to exterminate Spider-Man. When he learned Spidey actually was a hero, the Punisher let the Wall-crawler go-but they would tangle again in the ensuing years.

The Punisher was an instant smash. Fans loved his take-no-prisoners attitude, and he became one of Marvels hottest guest stars. His unforgiving methods often led to skirmishes with Marvel’s top heroes, including Daredevil, Captain America and Spider-Man. But it took a year for readers to discover the Punisher’s origin, as revealed in Marvel Preview #2:
He was ex-Marine Frank Castle, who started his violent mission after his family was murdered by mobsters. By eliminating the Punisher’s mercenary tendencies, his one-man war took on a pure motive-revenge.

The Punisher’s popularity continued to grow, but for years Marvel thought he was too violent for his own book. By 1986, however, violent crime had increased nationwide, leaving citizens scared and angry, and Marvel capitalized on the sentiment with a red-hot Punisher mini-series. “Bing, bang, zoom-it took off immediately,” recalls Punisher penciler Mike Zeck. “It was just good timing.”

“When crime was running rampant and people were afraid to walk the streets, here was a guy who pulled no punches,” remembers Ralph Macchio, who handled plenty of Punisher appearances while editing Daredevil during the ‘80s and ‘90s. He was an extension of the superhero vigilantism, in that he dared to go further than any of them.”

A monthly title quickly followed the limited series, and that soon was joined by two more regular titles, countless mini-series and one-shots, a black-and-white magazine and a movie-albeit a poorly received one. The Punisher’s success also influenced other creators to develop similarly vicious anti-heroes. Lobo, Spawn and the Darkness all owe a thank-you to the man in black.

The only thing to put Punisher down? His own success, as overexposure caused the anti-hero to shoot blanks. As of 1996, all the Punisher books were canceled. Last year, however, the character was resurrected as a demon killer in a supernatural Marvel Knights mini-series. Whether he’ll regain his urban vigilante motif is uncertain. Either way, monsters of all types should stay off the streets. The Punisher is back in town.

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Real name: Frank Castle (born Castiglione)

Occupation: Former United States Marine turned professional vigilante Identity: Known to legal authorities

Legal status: Citizen of the United States with a criminal record, listed in Marine records as a deserter

Former aliases: None known

Place of birth: Queens, New York

Height: 6′
Weight: 200 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black

Marital status: Widowed

Known relatives: Mario Castiglione (father, possibly deceased), Louisa Castiglione (mother, possibly deceased), Maria (wife, deceased), Frank Jr. (son, deceased), Christie (daughter, deceased)

Group affiliation: None

Base of operations: Mobile, usually in New York City; operates from his combat van

First appearance: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #129

Origin: MARVEL PREVIEW #2

Strength level: The Punisher possesses the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise.

Know superhuman power: None

Other abilities: The Punisher is a thoroughly seasoned combat veteran of exception skills. A former U.S. Marine Captain with a distinguished combat record and having undergone SEAL (Sea Air Land) training, UDT (Underwater Demolition Team) training, and LRPA (Long Range Patrol) training, he is well versed in the arts of warfare and hand-to-hand combat. Armed solely with conventional weapons and motivated by a fanatical hatred for criminals like those who murdered his family, the Punisher has single-handedly incapacitated up to a dozen well-armed and experienced opponents in a single encounter and escaped uninjured.

Weapons: The Punisher constantly employs an arsenal of portable weaponry. His most commonly used personal weapons are the Vietnam era M16 automatic rifle in .223 caliber; a Sterling Mark 69mm, 34-round clip fed, semi-automatic rifle converted to automatic fire; a 14-round, 9mm Browning Llama automatic pistol; a Government issue .45 caliber automatic frame re-chambered for 9mm ammunition with a replaceable barrel to convert it to .223 caliber ammunition; and a 4-shot derringer in .223 caliber (Thus, he needs to carry only two types of ammunition.) The Punisher sometimes carries a Smith &Wesson .357 revolver and ammunition in place of the Browning Llama. He normally carries a strapped down, Biachi speed-draw bolstered Browning pistol at his hip, and an ankle holster containing his re-chambered .45 pistol. The derringer is secreted in various places at various times. The Punisher also carries several M26 fragmentation grenades, several custom-designed concussion grenades, plus small, custom-designed tear-gas grenades which are secured in pouches lining his shoulders. In his right outside knife sheath, he alternately carries a no-longer produced, Vietnam era, Gerber Mark 11 Combat Knife or a Marine Combat Knife.

History: Frank Castle was a captain in the United States Marine Corps and served five years in the Vietnam war. For heroism in the line of duty, he was twice decorated with both the Bronze and Silver Star and four times with the Purple Heart. Several years after the American involvement in Vietnam ended, he ran special training missions for Marine commandos in the upper New York State area. While on leave he took his wife and his two small children to Central Park in New York City for a picnic. There Castle’s wife and children happened upon the scene of a mob killing on the Sheep’s Meadow green in the park. Fearing witnesses, the mobsters murdered Castle’s wife and children and escaped. Castle himself survived but was traumatized by his wife and children’s murders. He deserted from the Marines just before he was to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Castle dropped out of sight for a few months and then resurfaced to conduct a one-man anti-crime campaign throughout New York City. He had outfitted himself with assorted weapons and a battlesuit which displayed a large death’s head on the chest. For the next few weeks he sought out and executed criminals who he believed had some association with the gangsters who had killed his wife and children. The news media named him the Punisher.
A concerned New York City detective named John Laviano identified the gang who slew the Punisher’s family as the “family” of Bruno Costa, brother of a powerful Maggia boss on the East Coast. Unfortunately, Costa’s alibis were supported by enough alleged “witnesses” to make prosecution impossible. Since the law’s hands were tied, the Punisher used the information Laviano had accumulated to hunt down Costa’s gang and eliminate them.
Thus began the Punisher’s career as a vigilante, a self-proclaimed enemy of crime. He has both clashed and cooperated with the costumed crime fighter Spider-Man, and the Punisher has made an enemy of another crime fighter, Daredevil, who disapproves of his violent, often lethal methods (see Daredevil). The Punisher has served time in prison for his brutal slayings, and has even managed to wage his warfare against criminals within prison itself. While imprisoned on Ryker’s Island the Punisher was drugged with mind-altering chemicals on the orders of his enemy, the criminal gang leader Jigsaw, whose face was horribly damaged when the Punisher once hurled him through a window. The chemicals had a delayed, cumulative effect that drove the Punisher mad, so that after he escaped prison, he eventually began firing at even such minor criminals as litterbugs and traffic violators. After the Punisher was again taken into police custody, he was sent to a psychiatric hospital, where he underwent detoxification and was restored to sanity. The Punisher was sent back to Ryker’s island but soon escaped again. He is now again at large, continuing his war on crime.

Transportation: The Punisher traveled in a heavily armored combat van.

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Appearance
Height: 6′ 3″
Weight: 260 lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
Features: Gunshot, knife and shrapnel scars distributed over the majority of his body.

Summary
Real Name: Frank Castle (original Frank Castiglione)
Other Current Aliases: None
Former Aliases: Frank Rook, Charles Fort, Francias Stronghold, etc.
Dual Identity: Known to authorities
Current Occupation: Vigilante
Former Occupation: U.S. Marine
Citizenship: United States of America
Legal Status: Criminal record in U.S.
Place of Birth: Queens, New York
Marital Status: Widower
Known Relatives:

Maria Castle (Wife, deceased),
Christie Castle (Daughter, deceased),
Frank Castle Junior (Son, deceased),
Mario Castle (Father, deceased),
Louisa Castle (Mother, deceased),
Rocco Castiglione (Uncle, deceased),
Esmerelda Castiglione (Aunt, deceased)
Known Confidants: None
Known Allies: Linus “Microchip” Liebermann (deceased)
Major Enemies: Rosalie Carbone, Kingpin, Jigsaw
Usual Base of Operations: New York
Former Base of Operations: None
Current Group Membership: None
Former Group Membership: None
Extent of Education: Unknown

Background
A Vietnam veteran, Frank Castle became a Vigilante after seeing his wife and children gunned down for accidentally observing a Mafia “hit”. Since then he has devoted his life to the task of destroying organised crime wherever he finds it.

Powers & Paraphenalia
Strength Level: Very strong human
Powers: None
Abilities: Extraordinary tactical, fighting and weapons skills.
Equipment: Battle Van, Motorcyles, other military equipment as appropriate.
Weapons: Yes please, lots.
Limitations: Can’t handle women.

When his family was killed in the crossfire of a Mafia shootout, Frank Castle put his military training to use — waging a one-man war on crime. As the Punisher, Castle reinvented himself as the merciless scourge of the underworld. The mere mention of his name causes criminals everywhere to cringe in fear, because they all know the Punisher plays for keeps — and someday, he may come gunning for them!

Real name: Frank Castle (born Castiglione)
Occupation: Former U.S. Marine turned professional vigilante
Group affiliation: None
Base of operations: Mobile
First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #129 (1974)

Height: 6′
Weight: 200 lbs.
Eye color: Blue
Hair color: Black

Powers: A seasoned combat veteran of exceptional skill, the Punisher possesses the normal human strength of a man his age, height and build who engages in intensive regular exercise. A former U.S. Marine captain with a distinguished combat record who has undergone SEAL (Sea Air Land), UDT (Underwater Demolition Team) and LRPA (Long Range Patrol) training, Frank Castle is well-versed in the arts of warfare and hand-to-hand combat.

Weapons: The Punisher employs an exhaustive arsenal of portable weaponry. His firearms of choice include a Vietnam-era M16 automatic rifle in .223 caliber; a Sterling Mark 69mm, 34-round, clip-fed, semiautomatic rifle converted to automatic; a 14-round, 9mm Browning Llama automatic pistol; a government-issue, .45 caliber automatic frame re-chambered for 9mm ammunition with a replaceable barrel for conversion to .223 caliber; and a 4-shot derringer in .223 caliber. Thus, he need carry only two types of ammunition.

History: Frank Castle was an ideal soldier. A decorated captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, he fought to make the world a safer place for his wife and young children. For heroism in the line of duty, he was recognized twice with Bronze and Silver stars, and four times with the Purple Heart. But circumstance would twist Castle’s military acumen, giving birth to an unreasoning engine of destruction. While on leave, he took his wife and two children to Central Park for a picnic. There, his family happened upon a gangland killing. Seeking to eliminate all witnesses, the mobsters murdered Castle’s wife and children. The super-soldier had survived armed combat only to be shot in the park, unable to protect his loved ones.

Castle lived, but was traumatized severely by his family’s murder and dropped out of sight for several months. He was baptized in a new understanding: Society was fiction. The scene and the enemy had changed, but the war never ended. When the former Marine resurfaced, he had adapted his fighting skills to wage a one-man war on crime — rooting out evil in every corner of the city, taking no prisoners. Outfitted in a battlesuit bearing a large death’s head and equipped with enough weaponry to arm an entire battalion, Castle sought out and executed criminals he believed to be associated with the gangsters who had killed his wife and children.

The Punisher has alternately clashed and cooperated with the wisecracking web-slinger known as Spider-Man; his agenda alienated another costumed crimefighter, the blind adventurer called Daredevil, who disapproves of his violent, often lethal methods. The Man Without Fear has gone so far as to recruit a loose-knit team of street-level heroes — including the Black Widow, Moon Knight and Shang Chi — to pursue the Punisher and bring him to justice. Castle has served time for his brutal slayings, but even managed to carry on his crusade against the criminal element within the prison itself.

While incarcerated on Ryker’s Island, the Punisher was poisoned with mind-altering chemicals on the orders of the criminal gangleader Jigsaw, whose face had been horribly damaged when Castle hurled him through a window. The drugs had a delayed, cumulative effect — slowly driving the Punisher mad. Following his escape from prison, he took to terrorizing minor criminals, such as litterbugs and jaywalkers. Subsequently, Castle underwent detoxification and returned to some semblance of sanity.

The Punisher resumed his never-ending war on crime, seeking shelter in a small apartment building while targeting the powerful Gnucci crime family. The Punisher threw matriarch Ma Gnucci into a bear pit, igniting an all-out war with her organization. The mangled Ma dispatched operative after operative against the man responsible for her loss of all four limbs, but even the seemingly indestructible powerhouse known as the Russian proved less than equal to the task. The attacks finally ended when the Punisher torched the Gnucci mansion and punted Ma’s limbless body into the fire. He celebrated his victory by ridding the city of three copycat vigilantes: the Elite, Mr. Payback and the Holy.

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Real Name: Frank Castle (born Castiglione)
Height: 6′
Weight: 200 lbs.
Eye Colour: Blue
Hair Colour: Black
Base of Operations: Mobile
Occupation: Vigilante
When his family was killed in the crossfire of a mafia shootout, Frank Castle put his military training to use and began a one-man war on crime. As the Punisher, Castle reinvented himself as the merciless scourge of the underworld. The Punisher has no superhuman abilities, but an intensive exercise regime and a profound hatred of criminals drive him on. A former U.S. Marine captain with a distinguished combat record, he is well-versed in the arts of warfare and hand-to-hand combat. While Punisher occasionally has cooperated with Spider-Man, he and Daredevil are polar opposites in their respective views of crime and punishment, and frequently clash when they meet.

HISTORY
A born soldier, Frank Castle enlisted in the Marines. He rose quickly to the rank of captain – collecting two Bronze Stars, two Silver Stars and four Purple Hearts for his exemplary service in Vietnam. A family man, Castle sought to make the world a safer place for his wife and young children. Given this level of personal attachment to his military career, he was well on the road to becoming one of the nation’s finest Marines.

But fate had other plans. While on leave, Castle took his wife and children to New York’s Central Park for a picnic. There, the family happened upon the scene of a mob hit. Finishing off their intended mark, the mobsters then turned their guns on the only witnesses to the crime. Only Castle escaped. As his family died in his arms, he was changed forever.

Castle disappeared for several months, going AWOL from the Marines. During his time underground, he gathered resources and weapons. When the former Marine resurfaced, he had adapted his fighting skills to wage a one-man war on crime – a war that took no prisoners. Castle made his first mission the murder of the criminals who had killed his wife and children.

Castle repeatedly has run afoul of New York’s other costumed heroes, including Spider-Man and Daredevil, whom he regards with a mixture of disdain and annoyance. In his eyes, he is the only one making a difference, performing the radical surgery required to root out the criminal element. The others, he believes, merely are placing bandages on gaping wounds.

While Punisher occasionally has cooperated with Spider-Man, he and Daredevil are polar opposites in their respective views of crime and punishment, and frequently clash when they meet. On some level, Castle enjoys antagonizing Daredevil, who steadfastly believes in the merits of the nation’s legal system.

Punisher has served time for his violent acts, but always manages to escape imprisonment – either on his own or with the aid of sympathetic guards. Even in jail, Castle has continued his one-man crusade, leaving many prisons with fewer inmates than when he entered.

Through the years, others who harbored similar feelings or lost loved ones to comparable circumstances have assisted Punisher. Police officers and prosecutors, frustrated with the legal system’s shortcomings, have aided Punisher by providing him with information on criminals or turning a blind eye to his actions. Punisher prefers to keep such interactions to a minimum, however, going so far as to kill several copycat vigilantes. His mission and his philosophy are simple, but his alone. The Punisher does not seek followers or teammates.

Having long ago expanded his mission from one of personal revenge to the extermination of all criminals, Castle fully acknowledges that his crusade will never end until the day he dies. He is as disciplined now as he was as a Marine – gathering intelligence, setting objectives and always planning his operations down to the smallest detail. It is virtually impossible to catch Castle off-guard.

While the authorities and New York’s larger crime families know of his existence, Punisher remains shrouded in the mystique of an urban legend. To most criminals, he is the ultimate nightmare – single-minded and utterly unstoppable.

POWERS
A seasoned combat veteran of exceptional skill, the Punisher possesses the normal human strength of a man his age, height and build who engages in intensive regular exercise. A former U.S. Marine captain with a distinguished combat record who has undergone SEAL (Sea Air Land), UDT (Underwater Demolition Team) and LRPA (Long Range Patrol) training, Frank Castle is well-versed in the arts of warfare and hand-to-hand combat.

-Expert with all small arms and large-caliber guns

-Extensive training with explosives and tactical weapons

-Superior martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant

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