Punisher's True Origin Is Changing the Character Forever
Marvel's new Punisher series is living up to its promise of redefining the character by showing a fascinating new take on Frank Castle's childhood. A preview for Punisher #2 reveals that the Punisher persona was in Frank's mind already at a young age.
The Punisher's origin story was always connected to the murder of his family in Central Park at the hands of the mob. This traumatic event turned Frank into a ruthless vigilante who turned his hatred toward criminals into a personal crusade. Frank's previous history has been told and retold many times, generally focused on his service during the Vietnam War (now retconned to be the Siancong War due to Marvel's sliding timeline). Frank's war experience and the murder of his family have long been the two traumas that created the Punisher's persona, but the new Punisher series is adding a new piece to the puzzle.
A preview for Punisher #2 - by Jason Aaron, Jesùs Saiz, and Paul Azaceta - shows a flashback of 12-year-old Frank Castle, wearing a t-shirt of his idol Captain America, sitting in what appears to be a counselor/psychiatrist's office. The desk is filled with drawings and doodles made by young Frank, depicting the iconic Punisher logo, weapons, and brutal murders. The captions in the panel explain that Frank is already on his way to becoming all that he is destined to be, which, in the context of the series, means the King of Killers, the finest murderer who has ever lived, and the High Slayer, the chosen one of the assassin sect known as the Hand. Enjoy this preview for Punisher #2, shared by Marvel Comics.
The new Punisher series has already redefined Punisher's present through his association with the Hand. With this new era, some fans believe that Marvel wants to change the character as much as possible to distance itself and its intellectual property from the controversy that has followed the use of the Punisher logo by groups advocating for authoritarian violence. The changes do not include just a new logo: Frank has relinquished the use of firearms and is now focusing on honing his skills with blades, as shown in the preview. However, the most important change could be the revelation that the Punisher already existed in Frank's mind long before he went to war or saw his family slaughtered in front of his eyes, which is somewhat confirmed by the words of the Hand priestess: "You began your training when you were a child."
This could change the character on a very deep level, as - if true - it means that the birth of the Punisher is no longer tied to the traumas in Frank's life, but it was actually his destiny or disposition all along, as the future King of Killers. Punisher has been portrayed as both a hero and an antihero, but the idea of him as "the finest murderer who ever lived" is one which could redefine the character to his core while potentially putting some distance between his modern stories and the real-world ideas now wrapped up in his symbol.
The creative team behind Punisher is not afraid of taking risks by making relevant changes to the character, which includes the Hand resurrecting his wife Maria in exchange for Frank accepting his role as the "Fist of the Beast." As with every bold approach to a long-established character, this is bound to create a division among fans, and only the ongoing Punisher series will reveal what this means for Frank Castle and his service to the Hand.
Punisher #2 will be available from Marvel Comics April 27.