Ambiguously Evil: This has mostly do with inconsistent writing, but it's still debatable whether Frank is an Anti-Hero or a psychotic serial killer. Many story settings and writers end up presenting him as both, but many will attempt in-story to present him as strictly the former or the latter. Carol Danvers, the superhero Captain Marvel and a fellow military veteran, has been the primary romantic interest for Rhodes. The two had a relationship leading up to the Civil War II event and Rhodes's death. They reunited following his resurrection and Danvers's return to Earth, with a brief interruption when Danvers went to the future and realized that Rhodes's daughter was not hers. [49] [50] He has also had relationships with other characters, such as Stark Enterprises public relations director Marcy Pearson and Stark's ex-girlfriend Rae LaCoste. [14] In the 2014 Iron Patriot series, Rhodes's father Terrence and his niece Lila are major supporting characters. [32] The death of his sister Jeanette is a plot point in the 2003 series The Crew. [37] Reception and legacy [ edit ] The imprint depicts the Punisher being active for almost 30 years, with Punisher vol. 6, #19 (June 2005), specifying he had killed approximately 2,000 people. Whereas the traditional Punisher stories remained within the United States and involved antagonists and settings of conventional domestic crime, stories of the MAX Punisher often focus on current events, ranging from corporate fraud to sexual slavery and the War on Terror. Many characters are past or current intelligence and military operatives from governmental agencies like the American CIA, the Soviet KGB, and the British SIS and SAS, as well as various militaries and militias from the Balkans and Middle East, including the IRA, all with agendas rooted in past conflicts like the Cold War or the Yugoslav Wars. Chambliss, Julian C. (2015). "War Machine". In Darowski, Joseph J. (ed.). The Ages of Iron Man: Essays on the Armored Avenger in Changing Times. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-2074-9. He will not kill cops as a general rule, even crooked ones. The rare occasions where he does are usually accidental, self-defense, or the guy just REALLY deserved it.

Victory by Endurance: There's one story where a mook barely escapes from Frank, and his mental condition gradually worsens as he seeks help everywhere. Frank barely appears at all except at the end, allowing the mook to tire himself out all by himself. Improbable Aiming Skills: While most of Frank's fights are up close, he pulls this off every now and then. For example, in one of his earliest fights he manages to shoot out both of Spider-Man's web shooters while he's in mid-leap. Darker and Edgier: Though pretty mainstream by today's standards, the first Punisher miniseries ( Circle of Blood) was a far cry from most other Marvel Comics products of the mid 1980s. Today, The Punisher: Frank Castle (the MAX imprint title) is the epitome of this trope for Marvel. Serial Killer: In the Young Masters arc of Young Avengers, Hawkeye ( Kate Bishop) notes that the superhero community of the Marvel Universe only sees the Punisher as a serial killer and any real hero would bring him down as hard as any villain if necessary.

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Punisher (2022) - a series written by Jason Aaron that repositions the Punisher as a sword-wielding killer and leader of ninja-clan The Hand. Destination Defenestration: The prequel miniseries The Punisher: Year One shows that Punisher's long-time Arch-Enemy Jigsaw gained his signature mangled visage by getting thrown through a window face-first. This was actually mentioned in Jigsaw's first appearance a full 18 years prior, but we got to see it in action here. Deadpool vs. The Punisher (2017) — A five-issue miniseries that pits the One-Man War on Crime against the Merc with a Mouth. Arch-Enemy: For obvious reasons, criminals rarely make repeat appearances. The closest thing Frank's got is Billy "Jigsaw" Russo, whose main claim to fame is tussling with Frank a few dozen times and actually living to talk about it. Saved From Their Own Honor: Atelia surrenders her life to the angry mob in her half-human son's place by publicly confessing that she has hidden her past forbidden relationship with Jidan to come to and stay in power. Her family interrupts her Suicide by Cop and, in the finale, the grand master not only spares her and her son but also restores her to power, allowing both of them to help rebuild the Magical Realm.

Born (2003) — A four issue mini series that details Frank's third and final tour of duty in Vietnam, which was later became the starting point for the MAX series. Also written by Garth Ennis. Super-Detailed Fight Narration: Punisher's various authors have employed this, to incredible anatomical precision. Pay Evil unto Evil: Pretty much the cornerstone trope of The Punisher is doing bad things to even worse people. He even provides the trope's main image. Used for practical purposes when Punisher fought Electro during the 2011 series. Electro's powers makes it impossible to kill him with metal bullets, so Frank switched to rubber ones. It wont kill him obviously, but it hurt like hell. The character was a hit with readers and started to appear on a regular basis, teaming up with both Spider-Man and other heroes such as Captain America and Nightcrawler throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. [25] [26] [27] Conway said the Punisher's popularity took him by surprise, as he had intended him only as a second-tier character. [28] During his acclaimed run on Daredevil, writer and artist Frank Miller made use of the character, contrasting his attitudes and version of vigilante action to that of the more liberal character of Daredevil. [29] Initial series [ edit ]Exploding Fish Tanks: Frank has twice shot aquarium tanks with sharks in them to take out bad guys. Hero Antagonist: Any superhero that shows up in his comics is likely to become this. Especially Daredevil, who is the superhero most determined to put a stop to the Punisher, to the point where they might as well be members of their respective rogues galleries. Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Force Frank to team up with another hero, and this trope is the result. While he and the hero community in general tend to dislike one another, he's at least willing to work with them against the 'real' villains. Averted more often than most people might assume, at least in the nineties. Frank had quite a few crossovers, and most of the people he worked with were either okay with him or felt he was a good man at heart. There were only a few who outright hated him.