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
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Punisher
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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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