HERO OF THE WEEK: PUNISHER (Marvel)Real Name: Frank Castle
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-man #129 (February, 1974)
Fight Club Ranking: #66
Featured Fights:
- vs DAREDEVIL: Daredevil #257 (Aug 1988)
- vs X-MEN: What If...? #24 (Apr 1991)
- vs TOMBSTONE: Cage #3 (Jun 1992)
- vs CAPTAIN AMERICA: What If...? #51 (Jul 1993)
- vs DAREDEVIL: Daredevil #65 (Nov 2004)
- vs RHINO: Punisher War Journal #3 (Mar 2007)
- vs DEADPOOL: Deadpool: Suicide Kings #2 (Jul 2009)
- vs THE HOOD'S SYNDICATE: Punisher #5 (Jul 2009)
I was pretty disappointed when War Machine became the latest casualty of a Marvel event. It seemed like a gratuitous, cynical response to the creation of Ironheart, potentially without consideration for the long term relevance of the character in the Marvel Entertainment pantheon.
Yet, if you're anything like me, you also enjoy the way The Punisher occasionally picks up weapons and tools from other characters when he's allowed to operate in the Marvel Universe. So news that Frank Castle will soon be wearing the War Machine armor as part of Marvel Legacy is kinda neat.
Stories like this can always be divisive, but I kinda get a kick out of the way it revisits a personal favourite issue of What If...?In Volume 2 #29; Captain America is thawed into a modern world populated by familiar characters in unfamiliar guises. Red Skull masquerades as President Steve Rogers, commanding an oppressive military force equipped with suits of armor by Tony Stark. Star Iron Man is Frank Castle, wearing a War Machine-esque greyscale version of the suit. He eventually does the right thing, joining a weird What if version of the Avengers that includes a Wendigo Wolverine and Giant-Man Sam Wilson.
Punisher is, of course, also starring in the live-action Netflix series spinning out of Daredevil, ready to binge next month. Which is more than enough reason to make Frank Castle our Hero of the Week!
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