The Punisher is the Bloody, Beating Heart of the Marvel Universe

For most of his career, the Punisher has hunted non-powered criminals and terrorists. That choice of targets and his proclivity for killing his prey long kept him on the periphery of the Marvel Universe, but the character recently became embroiled in a series of events that led him to set his sights on bigger game: supervillains and high-tech terrorists. It all began with his involvement in last year's Secret Empire event, and has only escalated since then. In the current volume of The Punisher, writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Szymon Kudranski have pitted their protagonist against the forces of Hydra, the heroes that want him off the streets and an army of supervillains.

Upping the profile of the Punisher's targets has transformed him from street-level vigilante to one of the most fearsome antiheroes in the Marvel Universe. That is a fantastic change, because if the Punisher is going to exist in the Marvel Universe he needs to be at the center of it, thus maximizing the character's potential and making the Marvel Universe an even more fascinating place.

What's great about the Marvel Universe is it's a place where the fantastic and the realistic collide. It's the world outside your window where flawed heroes battle both diabolical villains and their own personal demons. It's also a place of underdogs, where crime-fighters frequently become embroiled in situations that are seemingly out of their league. If you take all of that into account, the Punisher is the perfect Marvel Universe character.

He's deeply flawed, but his flaws make him nuanced and compelling. If the Punisher is done right, you're not supposed to like him all the time. A perfect example of that? Frank Castle getting duped into joining evil Steve Rogers' faction of Hydra in Secret Empire. It was a controversial choice, but one that didn't feel far-fetched. Plus, it gave Frank something to atone for (in his own unique way), and that's always an interesting character arc.

What makes him a character you can usually root for, though, is the fact that he is perhaps the Marvel Universe's biggest underdog. He has no superpowers, but he's out there going toe-to-toe with supervillains and terrorists. All he has to rely on are the weapons in his arsenal, his years of military training and his cunning. In this way, the Punisher has much the same appeal as Batman.

That's because, like Batman, Castle uses his guile and combat prowess to overcome great obstacles, making him the greatest and most successful guerrilla fighter in the Marvel Universe. In the collected edition of Brian Michael Bendis and Gabriele Dell'Otto's Secret War series, there's a report from Nick Fury in which the master spy suggests that Frank Castle could disrupt the infrastructure of a nation like Latveria all on his own.

There's plenty of other in canon examples, too. In the last volume of Punisher, Frank Castle repeatedly avoided being captured by a group of heroes who had banded together to take him down. Their ranks included such powerful characters as Hercules, Captain Marvel and Iron Man. Another great example of Castle holding his own against an all-star team of Marvel heroes came in 2012's Punisher: War Zone, where writer Greg Rucka and artist Carmine Di Giandomenico told a tale of how the Punisher outfought, outwitted and manipulated an Avengers squad composed of Spider-Man, Black Widow, Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man and Iron Man. The event ends with Frank's capture by the team, but it's a hell of a fun read because the creators show off a number of believable ways Frank evades the Avengers. The Punisher's discussion with Thor in Issue #3 is particularly enjoyable.

NEXT PAGE: Frank Castle Can Take On Anyone, At Any Time (And Win)

Castle has also made memorable and spectacular stands against established Marvel villains. Much of Matt Fraction's 2006 Punisher War Journal series was about the Punisher hunting established supervillains. In the 2012-2014 Thunderbolts series, the Punisher joined the Red Hulk's version of the titular team and battled a number of powerful villains.

The best example of the Punisher fighting super criminals happened in the opening arcs of Rick Remender's 2009 Punisher series. That book kicked off at the height of Marvel's “Dark Reign” storyline, so it opened with Frank Castle trying to assassinate Norman Osborn. He fails, and then readers get a very tense, fun and believable chase from artist Jerome Opena, where the Punisher tries to escape Osborn's personal enforcer, the all-powerful Sentry. The second arc of the series found Castle looting an old S.H.I.E.L.D. warehouse and using a bunch of superhero technology to take down villains and criminals. His use of Pym Particles was especially impressive and frightening.

The Punisher's ability to fight the fantastic is expanded on even more in alternate universe tales. In 1995's Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe, Garth Ennis and Doug Braithwaite told a compelling and powerful tale about the Punisher declaring war on both superheroes and villains. The best version of these stories comes in a 1991 issue of What If? that Frank Castle actually plays a small, but featured role in. The issue was “What If Wolverine Became Lord of the Vampires.” In the story, Punisher is one of the last heroes standing against Wolverine's vampire army and, in order to save the world, he has to team up with Doctor Strange's astral form.

In all the stories cited here, the Punisher gets to kick ass in inspired and creative ways, but the other great thing about these tales is the perspective Frank brings to them. There are other Marvel heroes that believe lethal force is an option against foes, but none of those heroes see the world in the same way Frank does. That's partly because characters like Black Widow and Wolverine have a number of extraordinary traits, but Frank is just an extremely capable soldier.

Thankfully, it appears that the Punisher will continue to be a vibrant part of the Marvel Universe moving forward. The next arc of his current series sends Frank Castle to the supervillain-controlled nation of Bagalia. Also, in their recent run on Thanos, Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw introduced a far-future version of Frank who possesses the cosmic powers of a Herald of Galactus and the infernal powers of Ghost Rider. That character graduated to his own, recently completed Cosmic Ghost Rider miniseries by Cates and artist Dylan Burnett, which saw him travel back to the present day. Now, it looks like Cosmic Ghost Rider will be part of next year's Guardians of the Galaxy relaunch by Cates and Shaw.

It also looks like Frank Castle will continue to play a role in Marvel's big event storylines. In Avengers #700, writer Jason Aaron and artist Adam Kubert gave readers a glimpse into an apocalyptic future. That vision featured a number of heroes, including an armored and sword-wielding Punisher, which suggests Frank Castle has a part to play in next year's War of Realms event.

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The Punisher is the (Violent) Heart of the Marvel Universe