Before Captain Carter: What If...? Turned the Punisher Into Captain America

In What If?...'s first episode, Peggy Carter is given the chance to become the Super Soldier of her reality after the sneak attack on Project Rebirth seriously injures Steve Rogers. But she isn't the first radically different character to take up that mantle over the years, with other multiversal versions of Captain America actually being some other figures, including one of Marvel's most infamous anti-heroes, the Punisher.

While the Punisher briefly claimed Captain America's mantle for himself in the Marvel Universe, two realities from What If? revealed what would happen if Frank Castle officially embraced the role of Captain America and hinted that it could actually be a genuine positive development for the Marvel Universe.

In What If? #51 by Simon Furman and Paris Cullins, the Steve Rogers of Earth-93070 ran out of luck during a fight against the Red Skull. Too injured to continue on as a hero, he tells Nick Fury to help find a new Captain America to protect the world. The military quickly recommends Frank Castle due to his impressive service record in Vietnam. Castle refuses though, leading to a period where multiple other candidates -- including John Jameson, Doc Samson, and Nighthawk -- all try and fail to live up to the legacy. After his family is killed, Castle finally relents and becomes Captain America. He quickly joins the Avengers, but the team is increasingly wary of him, especially after he almost beats Hammerhead to death on a mission.

Castle soon begins moonlighting as the Punisher to fulfill his need to bring vengeance to the criminals of New York City. When the government finds out, they become terrified of the public blowback to their new Captain America being an unrepentant murderer. Eventually, Steve Rogers -- now augmented with cybernetic advancements that make him believe he shouldn't be Captain America anymore -- comes to the Punisher and is able to impress upon him the importance of restraint and honor in the role. Ultimately, he's successful, with Rogers resuming his other identity as the Captain while Castle abandons his crusade as the Punisher to fully embrace being Captain America.

In another world, Frank Castle got the opportunity under different circumstances. In What If? Age of Ultron #4 by Joe Keatinge, Piotr Kowalski, and Neil Edwards, the multiversal effects of Wolverine and Invisible Woman tampering with their timeline resulted in a ripple effect, which resulted in the Steve Rogers of Earth-81223 dying while frozen in the icy waters the Avengers eventually found him in. The Avengers initially tried to hide this fact from the public, but when the information was leaked to the public the masses turned against them and the nation, leading to widespread chaos. Hoping to inspire change, Iron Man approached Frank Castle before he could formally begin his crusade as the Punisher.

To his shock, the Illuminati wants Castle to become the new Captain America, arguing that his skills and abilities make him a strong option to take up the mantle. Reed Richards gives him a new variant of his own Super Soldier Serum, enhancing his strength and speed. With his brutal edge, Castle becomes a successful and popular hero -- even preventing Nitro from destroying Stamford and setting off the Civil War between the heroes. This leads to Tony Stark backing the Captain Americorps Initiative -- a program to put Captain America in every state, similar to the core Marvel Univere's Avengers Initiative. Within 20 years, the Americorps are a global success, with Sharon Carter as their newest recruit. Meanwhile, a retired Castle fades into obscurity, having contributed to the legacy of Captain America in his own way.

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