Wielding automatic weapons, with a skull emblazoned on his chest, the Punisher is one of Marvel's most popular street-level vigilantes. As a veteran who returned home from service, Frank Castle was looking forward to a day in the park with his family. On the day in question, a mafia family decided to hit their rivals in that same park. The Castle family were killed in the process.
Some might claim that Frank was the only survivor. In truth, he died that day and another man emerged: the Punisher. While plenty of people know about his crusade against the underworld, here are 10 facts most people don't know about the Punisher:
10 Bibliophile
Weird as it may seem, the Punisher likes books. Being a jarhead who has probably more than a little brain damage from all the times he's been hit in the skull, this comes as a surprise. However, when Frank Castle began preparing for his war on crime, he went to the library to study.
He cites books in his inner monologue when figuring out the philosophies of others or how to approach a situation. Sun Tsu's 'The Art of War' is definitely a text Frank takes advantage of. He even was an avid reader and poetry lover as a child!
9 Vietnam War
Like numerous heroes, Frank Castle served in the Vietnam War. This is not all that rare for Marvel characters. The Silver Age of Comics was in the '60s and Marvel rose to prominence at that time, so Tony Stark also has an origin story based in Vietnam. But while Tony's origins have been retconned to be based in the Gulf Wars, Frank has remained a Vietnam vet through the 00s.
This makes him quite an old man, which can be jarring, but also adds dramatic tension. Some of the best all around stories come from Garth Ennis's work on Punisher MAX in which an elderly rugged Castle takes on much younger fitter criminals.
8 Cops & Soldiers
As a veteran, Frank Castle has a soft spot for other soldiers. He also feels this way about police officers. They serve their country and so he treats them with respect. Even when they go after him, he doesn't fight back all that hard, at most roughing them up a little.
SWAT teams and special forces units that've attacked him have gotten some lasting injuries to remember him by, but that's usually the worst of it. That said, when cops go rogue and attack civilians in emulation of him, he gives them one chance to quit before adding them to his kill list.
7 He HATES People Using His Symbol
The skull on the Punisher's chest says it all: he lives with death and shares this gift with the world. He does not set out to help people. His goal is to kill those who deserve to die.
People are divided on how to feel about the Punisher. Many hate and fear his unrestrained violence. A number of people support him or even work with him. However, anyone who crosses the line and tries to do what Frank does while wearing his symbol better get his approval first, or else Frank will go gunning for them as just another killer who needs to be put down.
6 Another Kid
The loss of Frank's family haunts him, but it also is what lets him carry out his war. With his daughter, son, and wife all dead, Frank has no attachments left to keep him from anchored in society. In short, he can kill without remorse.
Throughout his career, Frank takes other lovers after his wife (not that he seems to have actually loved any of them). One of these women becomes pregnant and has their child without telling him. He only finds out after the villain Barracuda kidnaps his baby!
5 Captain America Is His Hero
Frank Castle has a strange sense of patriotism. He does not respect American politicians, laws, or the reasons for the country's wars abroad, though (as was said before) he admires both police and soldiers for their service. He also worships Captain America as his personal hero.
While in boot camp, Punisher was trained by Cap. Cap punched him, but Punisher refused to hit him back. Years later during the Civil War story, when Steve Rogers was beating Frank senseless for murdering two supercriminals under Cap's protection, Frank refused to defend himself. He's also told others who wanted to follow his example to look instead to Captain America for inspiration.
4 Sobriety
Frank Castle is a tea totaller. While this detail may vary depending on who is writing the character, it makes sense that the character values sobriety. He does not want to numb his senses, as they give him an edge in his crusade against crime. Furthermore, he doesn't want to lose any of the pain or anger that motivates him.
There is a great scene in the story "Mother Russia" by Garth Ennis and Doug Braithwaite where Franks sits with Nick Fury at a bar. Nick is recruiting Frank for an off-the-books mission. While Nick Fury drinks one glass of whiskey after another, Frank just orders a club soda.
3 Intelligence Network
Given the nature of his work, Frank Castle is pretty much the ultimate loner. He can't risk having people around who he might put in danger. There are a handful of people in the superhuman community who occasionally work with him, but they're the exception.
This is not to say Frank is without allies. He has a vast intelligence network of police, journalists, sex workers, and government officials working to provide him with up-to-date info on criminal activities. He also works with several people who help equip with weapons and high-tech gadgets.
2 Childhood Indicators
As a child, Frank was a good kid, if perhaps a little off. He liked to read and was a bit socially awkward. His father was a construction worker while his mother helped instill in him a love of books. For all that, he saw a lot, growing up in a working-class New York neighborhood that was ruled by the mob.
From a young age, there were signs of how Frank would turn out. After the son of the local mob boss began hurting girls in the neighborhood (including his best friend Lauren), Frank watched as Lauren's older brother set the teenage predator on fire. He also became obsessed with apex predators as a point of academic curiosity.
1 No Hero
Frank knows he's no hero. Heroes save people. Heroes care about doing the right thing. All Frank cares about is executing the worst of humanity. In other words, punishing villains is not remotely the same as being a hero.
This is part of why he kills those who take up his symbol. It is also why, if Frank ever manages to kill every murderer and psychopath on the planet, there will still be a final bullet chambered in his gun to use on himself. He knows what he does is wrong and makes no excuses about it. But until his death comes, he is focused on his mission.