Throughout his career as a vigilante, the Punisher has gone up against many heroes, with some realities even featuring a version of Punisher who attacked other heroes and killed them. But in some realities, the Punisher doesn't just target a few heroes; he sets his sights on the entire world around him.
Now, we're taking a closer look at some of the darkest corners of the Marvel Universe to see what happens when the Punisher decides to bring down an entire Marvel Universe.
THE PUNISHER KILLS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
In the world of Garth Ennis and Doug Braithwaite's Punisher Kills The Marvel Universe, Frank Castle's family wasn't lost during a gunfight between gangs. Instead, they were collateral damage during a battle between the Avengers, the X-Men and a host of alien invaders. An enraged Castle lashed out at the assembled heroes, killing a handful of them and being arrested. En route to prison, Castle is recused by the mysterious group Kesselring. Also the survivors of superpowered battles, they give him the supplies and backing he needs to take revenge on the various superpowered beings.
The Punisher soon makes his way across the planet taking out various heroes and villains. After eliminating most of the heroes and villains across the world, Castle tries to retire from his crusade, but Kesselring tried to instead convince him to keep his war forever. Castle kills him and heads out to wipe out the last remaining hero - Daredevil. But upon killing him and realizing that Daredevil is secretly Matt Murdock, an old friend and his only defender. Punisher eventually turns his gun against himself and commits suicide.
MARVEL UNIVERSE VS. THE PUNISHER
Jonathan Mayberry and Gorlan Parlov's Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher focuses on a world where Frank Castle's war against crime accidentally unleashed a virus into the water supply of the world. This exposure meant Punisher became immune to the toxin, but it soon spread to the rest of the world and corrupted the various heroes of the world into cruel, cannibalistic killers. The most willful of them retained some semblance of their original intelligence, albeit as dark and fearsome forces.
After killing many of the other heroes, Patient Zero, the former Spider-Man, is revealed to have created a camp of savage other heroes. However, a rival camp leader, the former Kingpin, has captured Patient Zero's still-human wife Mary Jane, who is pregnant with their child. Patient Zero promises to release a group of captured uninfected humans if Castle is able to recover Mary Jane. Punisher goes to war and wipes out the enemy camp, and frees Mary Jane. While letting her loose with the other humans, Castle killed Patient Zero and decided to remain in New York to keep hunting down the corrupted heroes.
THE PUNISHER: THE END
Garth Ennis and Richard Corben's The Punisher: The End focuses on a world where World War III has broken out and the Earth has been decimated by a nuclear holocaust. After spending years imprisoned for his actions as the Punisher, Frank Castle actually survives the war by hiding inside a prison. Frank eventually ventures into the ruins of New York. Heading towards a bomb shelter hidden at the former site of the World Trade Center, Frank finds himself confronted with the Coven - a group of billionaires, politicians and generals who helped lead to the world to ruin in the first place.
Reasoning that they're the last such base in the world and could help restore humanity down the line, they hope Castle spares them. This falls on deaf ears, and Punisher executes them before they ruin humanity all over again. In the end, this version of the Punisher heads back into the nuclear flames that have overtaken New York City. As he hallucinates being with his family one last time, Castle is killed by radiation exposure.