I was at the bottom of the page, so repost:
I really want to hear your justification of The Punisher being more than a serial killer.
He is the epitome of will, vengeance, and destruction.
In a world of superheroes, villains, cosmic entities from beyond the universe, and fucking magic, he's nothing more than a man with a sheer, maniacal desire to punish the wicked however he possibly can. He's just a guy who does what heroes can't, who lives squarely in the grey, if not outright black. He has no powers, no super abilities beyond having a tactical mind and the ability to take on any pain and keep moving. He's like the Xenomorph or Jaws... pure. He is a man that has suffered immense loss turned himself into
a force of nature as a result of it.
I guarantee you, there are some interpretations where he's seen as nothing more as a serial killer. A combat junkie addicted to violence and death who uses his family's death as an excuse to fuel his inherent madness. That's pretty much the MAX series (and Garth Ennis' interpretation), which is one of the greatest crime comics of all time. But you know what?
That's interesting. There's a tension between him being a full-out killer or maniac and him being vaguely heroic (even if he's not being heroic most of the time). He's an eternal soldier, fighting a war he knows he'll lose. There is no end to crime. But he fights anyway. The reasoning changes or is up to the reader for interpretation. Does he genuinely believe he's making a difference? Is he simply giving himself a purpose to keep on living? Is he seeking death? Does he revel in murder? Answers change depending on your interpretation or what the different writers present. But I find him genuinely fascinating. He also makes for a great read. I hate when supervillains come back and back and back and never truly die. There are no consequences. Most of the time, in Frank's stories... there are consequences. I like that. It's not really a problem in the Cinematic Universe, I know that. But I'm just saying.
I think just calling him a serial killer is just... too easy. Him being a serial killer is a totally valid interpretation. He lives in a world of carnage and death. He doesn't care about the law or due process. He has a mission. He will complete it. Is he genuinely insane? Or does he know what he's doing and accepts it? Is his morality completely alien to most people's? Not really... he's the dark side of the human heart. The part of your heart that craves
vengeance, not justice. He's the perfect antithesis to a character like Daredevil. He has moments of villainy and heroism. This is what makes him so interesting. Cause he's right. If you don't put the villains in the ground, in comics... they always come back to haunt the hero. So it's a good thing that he's not a hero.
Tune in February 2014 to see Frank's new ongoing series where he heads out west to LA! It's gonna be killer.
I dunno, that's my justification. It comes off as a rant, I know. But I really love the character.
