Frank CastlePunisher

Family man turned crime-fighting vigilante, Frank Castle embodies the persona of the Punisher to avenge personal tragedy and ensure all criminals receive the justice they deserve.

Piety to Purgatory

Born in Queens, New York to Sicilian immigrant parents, Frank Castiglione—later Castle—was on a path to priesthood and piety. Disillusioned by the amount of evil he bore witness to in the world, he left the seminary with the acceptance that there could be no forgiveness without punishment. Determined to make his mark on the world, he joined the U.S. Marines and Navy Seals. After four tours of duty, Castle received numerous awards for his sacrifice and dedication to his country. Finally, Frank was able to settle down and enjoy time with his wife Maria, daughter Lisa and son Frank Jr. But, their lives were forever changed when tragedy struck during a picnic in Manhattan’s Central Park.

Stumbling upon a mafia deal gone wrong and witnessing a murder, the Castles were shot down by mobsters so as not to leave any witnesses of the scene. Miraculously surviving his wounds, but realizing he had lost his family, Castle memorized the faces of those responsible and set out to avenge the deaths of his innocent loved ones.

After the police investigation regarding his family’s death was infiltrated by the same criminals who committed the horrific act, Castle realized that not all who do evil receive the reprimanding they undoubtedly deserve. Frank made the decision to pursue not only the criminals who had a hand in the slaying of his family, but also those who try to escape from the law and righteousness. Vengeful of the deaths of his loved ones, Castle set his sights on ensuring that every criminal be punished for their wrong-doings as a vigilante called the Punisher.

Power of the Punisher

As a former U.S. Marine and Navy SEAL, Frank Castle benefits from a physique built for combat, infantry, and special operations. Castle is also highly skilled in the use of weaponry, including automatic and semiautomatic rifles, handguns, grenades, and combat knives. While in combat with his foes, the Punisher dons a Kevlar uniform, capable of protecting him from most gunfire.

Thanks to the help of technology genius Microchip, the Punisher possesses an armored combat vehicle dubbed Battle Van. The Van is equipped with advanced computer equipment, weaponry, bullet repletion, and the capability to travel at extremely high speeds.

Felons and Foes

Frank Castle made many enemies before adopting the guise of the Punisher, like Sergeant Mikuta, Sergeant Cleve Gorman, and the Monkey—the man he would ultimately adopt his skull symbol from. In the early years of Punisher’s career as a vigilante, his main foe is the Costa crime family, those responsible for the deaths of his innocent wife and children. In particular he targets Billy Russo AKA Jigsaw, who remains one of Frank’s longtime foes.

Due to the Punisher’s merciless crime-fighting tactics, he naturally acquires more enemies than allies. His rivals among the Super Hero community include the likes of Daredevil and Cloak and Dagger, who are adamant about bringing the Punisher to justice for his savage ways. The Punisher also clashes with Night Thrasher, Spider-Man, Darkhawk, Ghost Rider, Wolverine, and Captain America, but forms grudging alliances with most for the greater good.

The Punisher makes another enemy for himself by killing the sons of criminal matriarch Isabella “Ma” Gnucci. She hires several assassins to get revenge for the death of her boys, but the Punisher survives her attacks and subsequently ends the Gnucci organization.

Apprehensive Allies

Having earned a reputation of being known for stopping at nothing to guarantee justice, the Punisher has made most Super Heroes wary of him and his actions; even still, he has few he can rely on. His most trusted ally is Microchip, the brains behind the Punisher’s technology, weapons, equipment, and Battle Van. When Microchip dies, his son Microchip Jr. continued fulfilling the role of Punisher’s right-hand man for a time.

Despite being tricked into battling Spider-Man by the villainous Jackal, the Punisher later realizes that the Wallcrawler is not a criminal. The two formed an uneasy alliance in order to capture the Tarantula (Miguel Rodriguez) and continue to maintain a truce of sorts. The Punisher also teams up with Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Luke Cage, and Captain America and remains on decent terms with these heroes.

Nothing to Lose

To do good in the world, Frank Castle enlisted in the Marines, where he met Captain America and remarkably refused to strike Cap during a training exercise out of respect for the uniform. As a Marine, Castle fought in Vietnam alongside fellow recruit Roger Wong, and the two became good friends. Castle won himself both the Bronze and Silver Star as well as the Purple Heart four times for his achievements while serving his country.

It was also in the Marines when Castle met his first criminal victim, Sergeant Mikuta. Mikuta was a superior guilty of encouraging soldiers to desert and then leaving them to die, and so Castle slew him for justice. After making sergeant and becoming a top sniper, Castle was captured by the Monkey, an enemy soldier. Noticing the Monkey was wearing a skull medallion, Castle painted this emblem onto enemy soldiers to bait his foe. He later killed him and snatched the symbol for himself, painting it onto his chest.

After completing his first tour of duty, Frank married his lover Maria and they soon became pregnant with their first child Lisa Barbara Castle. Subsequently, after his second tour of duty and leading the Third Marine Company, Castle proceeded to serve in the Special Forces. Sometime during his third tour, Frank took a leave, resulting in Maria becoming pregnant with their second child, Frank Jr. Finally, after his fourth tour, Frank began focusing on his family and became a Special Forces instructor in New York. Before leaving to Washington, DC to receive the Presidential Freedom Award, the Castles had a picnic in Manhattan’s Central Park, a day that Frank would never forget.

Encountering a mob deal gone wrong and witnessing a murder in the interim, the Castles were tragically shot by the criminals in an effort to eliminate any witnesses. Miraculously surviving the gun shot and remembering the faces of those who took the lives of his wife and children, Frank vowed to avenge their deaths. When the police turned a blind eye to the mob-stricken case, Castle took it upon himself to continue the investigation and ensure punishment for the guilty parties.

Obtaining information about the Costa family, the mobsters responsible for the tragedy in the park, Frank stormed a party, killing all but Billy Russo, a hitman sent by the criminal organization to kill Castle. Remembering the motif from the Monkey, Castle spray painted a skull onto a bulletproof vest, assuming his newfound identity as the Punisher. It was then Castle assaulted Russo and disfigured his face. Under the guise of Jigsaw, Russo then became one of the Punisher’s long-term foes.

Embracing his new role as the Punisher, Castle continued to seek justice for those who had yet to be avenged for his family’s death and kept a war journal with entries for each one of his vendettas. During one of his earlier missions, Castle worked with time-traveling Killpower fighting against the Street Amazons and Huns gangs. On another mission, the Jackal (Miles Warren) managed to trick Castle into fighting with supposed criminal Spider-Man (Peter Parker), though Frank later realized his mistake after discovering his employer had murdered the Mechanic, his former fellow Marine. Punisher and Spider-Man proceeded to form an apprehensive alliance in order to capture the Tarantula (Miguel Rodriguez).

During all of his missions Castle makes an effort to ensure the lives of the innocent are safe and to minimize the risk of damage to others as much as possible. In an effort to help Spider-Man stop Dr. Octopus from poisoning the Daily Bugle’s ink, Castle surrendered to police so as not to put lives at risk. Frank was tried, convicted and subsequently sent to Ryker’s Island prison. With the help of a government agent who had his own motives for breaking Castle out of prison, he managed to escape.

Castle’s many missions include traveling to the Congo with Wolverine to preserve the Mokele-Mbembe dinosaurs, intervening in a Venezuela-based scheme by Jigsaw and the Rev to cause global sterilization, and putting an end to a Sicilian feud between his uncle Rocco and the Bessuchos, the Italian crime family that the Castles escaped from when fleeing Sicily.

Later, when Castle killed corrupt Miami police officer and drug dealer Howard Nees, the Punisher was arrested and sent back to Ryker’s. There, Jigsaw disfigured Castle as revenge for his own visage. Castle managed to escape prison, then had former doctor Melinda Brewer heal his scarred face.

After a long absence, Frank Castle returned to his life of fighting crime to destroy Ma Gnucci and her family of criminals. After killing Gnucci’s sons, he was then targeted by her assassins in an act of revenge. Surviving these attacks, the Punisher later met with Ma face-to-face and subsequently fed her to polar bears. Though she survived the attack, the crime boss was left limbless. Still determined to avenge the death of her boys and her own misfortune, Gnucci hired the Russian to kill Castle, though once again he survived and decapitated her hitman. Deciding to confront Ma at her home estate, Castle trapped her and burned it to the ground, though she was able to survive that attack too.

Once the Superhuman Registration Act was passed and the world’s heroes went to war with each other, Castle came out of the shadows. Frank focused his attention on Super Villains rather than the criminals and felons he usually targeted. The Punisher was soon a target himself, hunted by S.H.I.E.L.D. operative G.W. Bridge.

Later, a violent gang murdered nearly thirty people at a wedding, leaving everyone for dead except for the bride, U.S. Marine Sergeant Rachel Cole-Alves. The Punisher learned of this tragedy from a detective he knew on the case and sought revenge on members of the Exchange, the gang responsible. Castle teamed up with a recovered Cole-Alves and they formed a unique bond while pursuing the Exchange. The two learned that Daredevil was in possession of the Omega Drive, a data drive containing information on criminal organizations, and attempted to take the device from him. Daredevil and Spider-Man joined forces to prevent the Punisher and Cole-Alves from obtaining the drive and using it in their vendetta against the Exchange. Ultimately, they all banded together and agreed to destroy the drive. When Cole-Alves turned on the others to steal the drive to exact her plan of revenge on the Exchange, the Punisher realized that she had become too emotional and would not be effective in her plan. Later, however, the two successfully executed the heads of the gang, though Cole-Alves accidentally killed an NYPD officer in the process. Cole-Alves was sentenced to death for her crime, while Castle managed to elude capture. Frank successfully broke Cole-Alves out of Ryker’s Island, with the help of Wolverine, then in Los Angeles, she donned the Punisher’s skull for herself and continued to finish his mission.

Next, the Punisher set his sights on killing one of the most powerful Super Villains: Norman Osborn. Osborn sent the super-powered criminal the Hood after Castle, so he teamed up with a young hacker named Henry for assistance. The Hood then proceeded to use magic to resurrect Microchip and Frank’s deceased family in front of Castle’s own eyes. Jigsaw, Punisher’s long-term foe and Henry’s father, tried to convince his son that Castle was trying to kill him. Henry refused to believe Jigsaw, realizing that he was trying to manipulate him. Ordered by Osborn to kill the Punisher, Daken cut him to pieces and left him for dead. Discovered by the Legion of Monsters, Frank Castle’s dead body was recovered, stitched back together by Morbius and brought back to life as Franken-Castle. The Punisher would battle more supernatural threats for a time before reverting to his traditional form and role.

When Captain America’s history was rewritten thanks to a Cosmic Cube controlled by the Red Skull—resulting in him turning his back on the Super Hero community and becoming a Hydra agent—the Punisher, having looked up to Cap and respected him for years, decided to follow in his footsteps and join the subversive group. When the Black Widow attempted to take down Steve Rogers, the Punisher interfered. The two combatants battled it out until Black Widow stabbed Punisher in the shins. In an attempt to reason with Black Widow, the Punisher explained that the Cosmic Cube had the ability to put everything back the way it once was, possibly bringing back Castle’s family and others who had died due to Hydra’s savage ways. She rejected this notion and continued her plan to take down Hydra. After Steve Rogers was defeated and restored, the Punisher expressed his regret for his actions, naming it one of the worst decisions he had made throughout his life of fighting crime and seeking justice.

In the aftermath of the Secret Empire debacle, Frank Castle went out on his own once more, traveling to Eastern Europe in an attempt to overthrow a vicious dictator in the nation of Chernaya. To aid him in this one-man mission, Nick Fury gave him the deceased James Rhodes’ War Machine armor. Unleashed, the Punisher tore through the occupying forces in Chernaya, quickly becoming a potential international security risk and causing Fury to recall the vigilante from his foray abroad. Castle, of course, refused to return until his mission was complete, and earned the ire of the Super Hero community back in the United States. Carol Danvers—Rhodey’s former partner—led the charge against Castle and his perceived tarnishing of the War Machine name. And when the Punisher finally returned to the U.S.A., he had Captain Marvel and her group of super humans to answer to.