WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for The Punisher #15 by Matthew Rosenberg, Szymon Kudranski, Antonio Fabela and VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.
In Matthew Rosenberg and Szymon Kudranski's The Punisher series, Frank Castle has been waging a one-man war on Baron Zemo and the forces of Hydra. This struggle has taken Frank from one corner of the world to the other, but he finally returned to New York to put an end to it. As the confrontation intensified, Zemo's army drastically grew in numbers. Therefore, Castle got a team of his own, comprised of such street-level heroes as Night Thrasher, Moon Knight and Black Widow.
And now, as The Punisher's squad of heroes and Zemo's villainous Thunderbolts clash in the streets in an explosive confrontation, Frank Castle disposes of an opponent... by stealing Thanos' popular, meme-ified line from Avengers: Endgame.
One of Thanos' most memorable moments in Avengers: Endgame came when the Mad Titan clashed with Scarlet Witch on the battlefield. The recently back-from-the-dead Wanda Maximoff rushed to attack the alien invader, lamenting that he had taken everything from her when he killed the Vision in Avengers: Infinity War. But since Wanda was fighting the 2014 version of Thanos, the supervillain had no idea what she was talking about. Therefore, during their confrontation, Thanos nonchalantly exclaims "I don't even know who you are."
For fans, the phrase took on a life of its own, representing Thanos' strength and indifference towards those he deems below him. In fact, the line itself became a meme, used by anyone to exude a humorous sense of superiority. And now, it's Frank Castle's turn to use that very line.
In The Punisher #15, Castle and his team take the fight directly to the Thunderbolts, led by Baron Zemo. On the battlefield, heroes and villain clash in the middle of New York City as flames, bullets and punches are exchanged. Eventually, the Fixer, one of Zemo's Thunderbolts, rushes to Frank Castle. He's looking for a fight, and hopeful he can take down the famous Punisher. "I've been waiting years for this, Castle!" he says, attacking the superhero. "You and me have had this date coming for a long, long time, old man!"
RELATED: Punisher Just Made The Juggernaut [SPOILER] and [Also SPOILER]
Castle, for his part, wastes no time. He dodges Fixer's attack and empties his guns into his opponent's chest. Fixer falls to the ground, as good as dead. Frank towers over him, and steals Thanos' line: "I don't even know who you are."
This goes to show that Frank Castle and Thanos do have a little bit in common. Both are more than willing to do what is necessary to enforce their rule. And to them, there are certain characters who are barely worth the effort.