The Punisher is one of the toughest anti-heroes in the Marvel Universe. After returning from Vietnam, he watched his whole family gunned down by the mob. In his quest to avenge them, Frank Castle began a crusade against the whole criminal underworld, killing those who prey on the weak and helpless. With his military training and his unflinching focus, he spreads terror and death among his enemies.
The DC Universe has plenty of its own vigilantes. Some are willing to kill, while others refuse to take a life. Here are 5 DC heroes who would team up with Punisher (& 5 who would take him down):
10 Huntress (Team Up)
Helena Bertinelli is the Huntress, a vigilante who was born to a mafia family. After her parents were killed in a savage hit that took out most of the Bertinelli Crime Family, she went into exile to hide until the coast was clear. During this time, she trained, coming back with deadly skills that she used in her own personal war with the underworld.
Frank Castle and Huntress have similar origin stories, which would make them understand one another. While Huntress doesn't consider killing her sole mission, she also isn't averse to using lethal force.
9 Green Arrow (Take Him Down)
Oliver Queen is a child of privilege, a rich playboy who got shipwrecked on a Pacific island. To survive, he learned how to use a bow to hunt for food. Upon returning home, he used his newfound archery skills to take down those criminals who exploited and hurt people, donning the mantle of Green Arrow. Ollie is no traditional superhero, but an urban hunter who shoots straight and leans left politically.
Both Green Arrow and Punisher hunt their enemies and are willing to kill when necessary. However, while Punisher thinks almost all criminals need to die, Green Arrow thinks that killing is a last resort. Ollie would see Punisher as just another crazed rightwing extremist with too many guns and the entitlement to unload them on people without due process.
8 Red Hood (Team Up)
Jason Todd was the second Robin until Joker killed him as a way of hurting Batman (more on Batman later). When Todd returned to life, it was as the Red Hood, a killer vigilante wielding a pair of pistols as he took on Joker, Black Mask, and half of Gotham's underworld. He has at times been enemies with his former mentor, but these days is more of a hero.
In truth, modern-day Jason Todd almost comes across as a Punisher knockoff. While Frank would get annoyed at Red Hood's talkative nature, the two would enjoy time spent blowing holes into the scum and villainy that haunt the streets.
7 Batgirl (Take Him Down)
The current (and original) Batgirl is Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Gotham's Police Commissioner James Gordon. She's a world-class athlete with a photographic memory and is perhaps the greatest hacker in the DC Universe. Batgirl has the gymnastics training to do handsprings across Gotham's rooftops while hurling Batarangs at her foes.
Plainly put, Batgirl would hate the Punisher. As the daughter of a cop, she's comfortable with guns, but Joker shot her through the spine, so needless gun violence is a trigger for her. She'd tie Frank Castle to a lamppost as a Father's Day present.
6 Midnighter (Team Up)
Midnighter is a man whose primary hobby is violence. With a computer in his brain that lets him run simulations of every possible way a fight can go down before it starts, he's almost impossible to beat.
If they ever met, Midnighter and Punisher would be besties. They'd have the happiest murder play dates around. If Frank wasn't straight, there'd be cause to ship these two, but even as platonic buds, it's hard not to see the pair smiling warmly in one another's company, drenched in the blood of their enemies.
5 Wonder Woman (Take Him Down)
Diana is an Amazon warrior from Themyscira who was raised in all the ways of combat and has since traveled to the World of Men as an ambassador representing her people. With her armored bracers, she can move quick enough to block bullets while she's strong enough to punch out Superman and keep him down.
Despite being a warrior (and at one point, the Goddess of War) Diana hates senseless violence. While Frank Castle is more than certain that his mission makes sense, no sane person would. Wonder Woman would see the futility and arrogance of his mission and spank him like a spoiled child before throwing him in jail.
4 Spectre (Team Up)
The Spectre is the spirit of God's wrathful vengeance, all of the cruel over-the-top Old Testament punishments given sentience and a body. While the Spectre has possessed numerous human hosts over the years, the most famous are a Golden Age cop named Jim Corrigan and the Green Lantern Hal Jordan.
The Punisher uses guns to punish those who deserve it. The Spectre is given a lot of leeway to judge for himself who will suffer the punishment of Heaven's ire. While their methods differ, neither respects the legal system's due process since each claims to know better.
3 Superman (Take Him Down)
Superman is the embodiment of truth, justice, and the American way, an indestructible immigrant from another world who can fly, bench press the moon, and shoot lasers out of his eyes. He can catch bullets out of the air, not that he needs to since they bounce off his pecks. He also believes in all that is good in people, a perpetual optimist who can hear every horror on Earth at once and still see the bright light of hope.
Punisher doesn't believe in hope or second chances. He just believes in his mission to kill. For that alone, Superman would stop him.
2 Doctor Fate (Team Up)
It is very possible that Doctor Fate is the most powerful magic user of the DC Universe. His real name is Nabu and he is a Lord of Order whose identity is grounded in the reality of the DC Universe through a mystical helmet which grants its wearer supernatural magical abilities.
While the human hosts who wear the Helm of Fate might object to the Punisher and his methods, Nabu would not. He believes in the sort of justice that is more consequential than just spending some years behind bars. Punisher's methods vary from Nabu's, but the Lord of Order would approve of the results Frank Castle gets.
1 Batman (Take Him Down)
As the Dark Knight who watches over Gotham City, Batman is a living legend. Despite having no powers, he has managed to take down such enemies as the Joker and Ras al-Ghul--villains who give the Justice League trouble. As a multibillionaire who lost his parents to gun violence at a young age, Bruce Wayne became the Batman, funneling his wealth into high-tech ninja gadgets that he wears while punching criminals, instead of throwing it away on something frivolous like ending world hunger.
The Punisher is a gun nut who murders people. Batman has two rules: no guns and no killing. Bruce Wayne would beat the Punisher so bad his face would practically match the skull on his shirt.