Star Wars' Punisher Succeeds Where Frank Castle Never Can
Warning! Spoilers for Crimson Empire ahead!
Over its long history, the Star Wars universe has grown to encapsulate many characters, ranging from the heroic to the dastardly. Star Wars Legends at one point boasted Kir Kanos in its extensive roster of characters, a character who shares many similarities with Marvel’s The Punisher. Despite their many similarities in characterization, tone, and methods, Kir Kanos ultimately succeeds in one critical way most versions of the Punisher never can.
Crimson Empire is a limited series by Dark Horse comics that follows Kir Kanos, a former Royal Guard to Emperor Palpatine. Kanos saw the Royal Guard as his family and was loyal to Emperor Palpatine. After a power-hungry traitor in the Guard thwarts Palpatine’s resurrection and arranges for the death of all those loyal to the former Emperor, Kanos embarks on a one-man war against the Imperial Remnant and New Republic. He becomes an outlaw to both factions, as his hit-list comprises of many key figures in both, including Luke Skywalker and the ruling council of the Imperial Remnant.
When readers first meet Kir Kanos, he is a fanatic determined to avenge the Emperor, and the original Empire, by any means necessary. He fights Rebels and Imperials alike at first, not caring who stands between him and his vendetta. Over the course of his war, though, Kanos learns a lot about himself, the system he upheld, and the galaxy. He witnesses the pain, anguish, and hardship that the Empire brought, and how a war-like, authoritarian mindset ruins people. Near the end of his journeys, Kanos finally accepts that the Emperor he served, and the Empire he fights for was fundamentally flawed, and truly gone forever. Kanos hardly gives up, though, having satiated most of his grudges, and ultimately done a lot of good for the New Republic, Kanos decides to hang up his uniform and weapons to seek out a quiet life among the stars.
While the wars both Kir Kanos and The Punisher fight are ultimately on an epic scale, Kanos’ is ultimately a more ambitious undertaking. With a whole galaxy of foes keen on killing or manipulating him, Kanos’ odyssey was a quest for vengeance spurred on by patriotism for a romanticized Empire under Palpatine. Kanos may have been outnumbered, but like Punisher he was unstoppable and made impressive headway into satisfying his grudge. This makes it all the more surprising that he ultimately buries not just his vendetta, but his entire identity as a warrior when he decides that his war is over and that he wants a quiet life. Few versions of the Punisher ever truly end their wars on crime, despite that being likely what Frank Castle’s family would ultimately want for their surviving patriarch. While The Punisher is a fierce fighter successfully fighting his war, his Star Wars counterpart ultimately outdid him by knowing when to end that war.
Star Wars’ take on the Punisher, Kir Kanos, closely followed the archetype of the remorseless veteran turned vigilante set by Punisher. Despite the fact that both men are fighting unsustainable wars for ideals that are difficult to manifest, ultimately Star Wars' Kir Kanos one-ups Punisher by knowing when it was time to leave war behind, and move on.