Even in a Marvel Universe filled with fantastic superheroes, the Punisher is a grounded, gritty figure. While he might just seem like a normal human in a world full of web-slinging and laser-shooting other heroes, one of his most infamous stories might have left a lasting mark on the antihero. And Frank Castle might not just be a normal human. In fact, he may not even be mortal.
While the Punisher's adventures usually only involved bullets, bombs and other real-world weapons, he's still has had some brief forays into the mystical and supernatural. In his first Marvel Knights series, retroactively titled The Punisher: Purgatory, Christopher Golden, Thomas E. Sniegoski and Bernie Wrightson turned Castle into an avenging angel in the service of the afterlife. The series saw him resurrect from the dead and armed with all the weapons of heaven, wielding many fantastical powers as he fought demons and criminals alike. While this series ultimately proved to be short-lived, it was not entirely forgotten.
With a few lines of dialogue, Castle swept his angelic powers under the rug and embraced his human side at the start of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's character-defining run on The Punisher. While Castle confined himself more primarily to the world of savage humanity, Castle still armed himself with the weaponry of supervillains like Green Goblin and Taskmaster during the Dark Reign era. At one point, he was even turned into a superpowered being known as Franken-Castle once after a resurrection that left him capable of going toe-to-toe with beings like Daken.
But still, the Punisher seems to have a supernatural talent for making it out of situations that would kill anyone else. How many thousands of gunfights has he been in without suffering a fatal shot? How many countless close calls and brushes with death did Castle walk away from unscathed? In fact, if his time as an archangel and Franken-Castle prove anything it's that even death itself can't stop Punisher. With all of that in mind, Marvel's most human hero might still retain a trace of the immorality that he has as a supernatural Avenger.
he Punisher never explicitly renounced his angelic powers. When Ennis took over the writing duties for the character, Frank essentially just said that serving the armies of Heaven wasn't for him and told his heavenly benefactors what he thought about them. Since then, there have been instances of angels being drawn to Castle, the Ghost Rider's demonic weapons have had little effect on him, and Moon Knight's favorite Egyptian god Khonshu has even said that Castle "belongs to another." While the specifics of Punisher's departure from holy service have never really been outlined, he could still retain some of the abilities he had at that time. And given his predilection for firearms, Castle probably wouldn't use them too much.
While Frank Castle might just be smart and skilled enough to survive any battle, Punisher's inability to die seems wholly like a blessing from on high, and thus far there's really nothing contradicting otherwise. As it stands, the Punisher may very well just be a very lucky and very skilled human hero, but Frank Castle still might have a little help from on high, whether he realizes it or not.