Gerry Conway, co-creator of Marvel's Punisher character, has spoken out against the iconic skull logo being used by law enforcement. Nevertheless, he said he understood why the imagery had struck a chord with U.S. military personnel over the years.

"I didn't think it was the best thing in the world," Conway said on a recent episode of the design podcast 99% Invisible, pointing out that much of the skull's popularity stemmed from associations with the late Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL during the Iraq War. "But I could kind of see it because the Punisher was a vet, you know, and was a sharpshooter in Vietnam, and in his updated version was a Iraq war vet. So, you know, it made sense to me that somebody working in that world, you know, being a soldier might embrace that."

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Kyle, whose story was told in the autobiography-turned-film American Sniper, served four tours of duty in Iraq and had over 150 confirmed sniping kills. In his book, Kyle wrote: "The Navy credits me with more kills as a sniper than any other American service member, past or present." He also explained that he and other men in his unit adopted the Punisher's skull as a mascot of sorts.

"We all thought what the Punisher did was cool," Kyle wrote. "He righted wrongs. He killed bad guys. He made wrongdoers fear him. We spray-painted the Punisher skull on our Hummers and body armor, and our helmets and all our guns… And we spray-painted it on every building or wall we could. We wanted people to know, we’re here and we want to fuck with you."

Despite stating that he could understand this rationale, Conway added that he was unable to empathize with law enforcement officers -- particularly those associated with the Blue Lives Matter movement -- who had gone on to adopt the skull. Conway, who co-created Frank Castle in the '70s with John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru, said that he saw the Punisher as a violent anti-hero who worked outside of the law because of its failure to bring results.

Conway compared the Punisher to police, saying, "By definition, he’s the opposite of what they're supposed to be, you know? He is someone who is outside the law taking the law into his own hands. So if they are claiming the Punisher as their symbol, they are saying they are outlaws and that they are criminals and that they are enemies of society. Is that really what they want to be saying?"

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Conway has been particularly vocal about reclaiming Frank Castle's skull symbol in the past. In 2020, he organized a "Skulls for Justice" T-shirt campaign that called on artists of color to design clothing featuring the logo.

"For too long, symbols associated with a character I co-created have been co-opted by forces of oppression and to intimidate black Americans," Conway wrote on the campaign's website at the time. "This character and symbol was never intended as a symbol of oppression. This is a symbol of a systematic failure of equal justice. It's time to claim this symbol for the cause of equal justice and Black Lives Matter."

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Source: 99% Invisible