Post by The Punisher on Feb 8, 2007 22:22:50 GMT -5
Full Name: Frank Castle, born Frank Castiglione
Code Name: The Punisher
Former Aliases: Frank Rook, Richard Rook, Charles Fort, Francias Stronghold, Johnny Tower, Big Nothing, Major Bateman, Ted Bishop, Cliff Caliador, Castigo, Chaloner, Fred D'Amato, Eastman, Frank Loomis, McRook, Melchinor. Joe Rainey, Tony Knowlen Ross, Dmitri Velikoff, Frankie Villa, Yousoufian; numerous others
Identity: Publicly known
Age: Unknown
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 200 lbs
Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue
Sex: Male
Citizenship: U.S.A. with a criminal record, listed in Marine records as a deserter
Place of Birth: Queens, New York
Education: Extensive military training, partial priesthood training
Marital Status: Widowed. Wife and Children deceased.
Known Relatives: Maria Elizabeth Castle (Wife; deceased), Lisa Barbara Castle (Daughter; deceased), Frank David Castle (Son; deceased), Mario Lorenzo Castiglione (Father; deceased), Louisa Castiglione (Mother; deceased), Rocco Castiglione (Uncle; deceased), Freddo Castiglione (Uncle; deceased), Esmerelda Castiglione (Aunt; deceased), Michael Castle (Brother, stillborn; deceased).
Occupation: Vigilante; former Special Forces instructor. U.S. Marine
Area of Operation: New York City, New York
Group Affiliation: Formerly the "Marvel Knights," Green Berets, U.S. Marine Corps, Secret Defenders, Microchip partner
Known Powers: None
Abilities: The Punisher possesses the normal peak human strength of a 6'1" 200-pound man, who engages in rigorous regular physical exercise. Frank engages in a brutal regimen of calisthenics, katas and firing range practice daily, maintaining his combat skills. His pain threshold is unbelievably high—as he frequently performs surgery on himself without pain medication— and his ability to take punishment borders on the supernatural. He does not consume any type of drugs. However, The Punisher has been noted to drink on occasion usually so as to pass the time.
The Punisher is a seasoned combat veteran of exceptional skills. A former U.S. Marine Captain with a distinguished combat record, Castle underwent sniper and recon training while in the Corps. He also received SEAL (Sea, Air, Land), UDT (Underwater Demolition Team), and LRRP (Long Range Recon Patrol) training. It has also been revealed did receive training, skills and expertise from the Australian Army's Special Air Service Regiment when he was on exchange with Australian military forces operating in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It is also noted that while Castle was on exchange with the Australian SAS in Vietnam, he met Yorkie Mitchell, a British SAS soldier who was on exchange with the Australians at the same time. Mitchell would later become an intelligence agent for the British intelligence agency, MI6 and he would cross paths with Castle on a number of occasions.
Frank is well-versed in the arts of warfare and hand-to-hand combat. His styles of choice being Nash Ryu Jiu Jutsu (the four-style martial art founded by Sensei Adam Nash, the Punisher's mentor), Ninjutsu, Shorin-Ryu, Hwarangdo, Chin Na, MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program) or the Marine Corps LINE combat system, as well as unarmed combat training received in the military. He is an exceptional knife fighter who carries up to 3 or 4 different types of edged weapons, preferring the knife he learned to fight with in the USMC: the Ka-bar.
The Punisher’s ever-changing arsenal of weaponry includes various automatic and semi-automatic rifles, and an array of handguns, fragmentation and tear gas grenades, other explosives, and combat knives. A personal favorite is his ballistic knife, which can launch its blade with a lethal force. He commonly uses M16 .223 caliber automatic rifles. Sterling Mark 6 9mm, semi-automatic rifles, 9mm Browning Llama automatic pistols, .45 caliber automatic frame rechambered for 9mm. ammunition, .223 caliber Derringers, and Gerber Mark II combat knives. His Kevlar uniform protects him from most gunfire, though he can still suffer concussive injury or penetration from sufficient or repeated impacts.
He formerly used a series of armored combat vans, a.k.a. his Battle Vans or War Wagons, which could reach speeds of 165 mph, and contained extensive assault weaponry, lethal defensives, and advanced computer equipment. The first such Van was designed by the Mechanic, with later models built by Microchip. On extended missions, the Punisher could live in the back of a van. Electronic equipment included an onboard computer, listening and recording devices, sonar ranging, radar tracking, infa-red scanning, a police-band radio, and computer road maps of the U.S.A. Each van was outfitted with armor capable of repelling .30-caliber bullets and a windshield that could repel .50-caliber bullets. The gas tanks could hold 86 gallons, allowing 920 miles before refueling. The vans’ color and plates were easily changed, and many of them contained parachutes, scuba gear, an air supply, and occasionally a motorcycle. Offensive weaponry included a rooftop-extending mini-gun, a grenade launcher, rubber bullet guns firing from the hood, gas launchers, and a remote-controlled, four-wheeled anti-car attack device that could be launched from the bottom of the van to search and destroy vehicles during pursuits. The vans were protected by a unique security device that would repel intruders, often with deadly force.
Armed solely with conventional weapons and motivated by a fanatical hatred for criminals like those who murdered his family, the Punisher has single-handedly incapacitated up to a dozen well-armed and experienced opponents in a single encounter and escaped uninjured. It is his military training and his attention to detail that allows him to achieve this. He is an exceptional marksman who is sometimes depicted as being ambidextrous in this respect.
History: Frank Castiglione’s parents came to America from Sicily to escape a war with their rivals, the Bessucho crime family. Young Frank studied for priesthood under Father Angus McFee, but eventually left the seminary because he could not understand why the Lord allowed so much evil in the world; unlike the church, he believed there could be no forgiveness without punishment. Hoping to make a difference, he joined the Marines and, after a year of training, fought in a military action in Vietnam for four years. He was twice decorated for heroism with both the Bronze and Silver star, and four times with the Purple Heart.
Early in his military career, Castle slew perhaps his first criminal victim: Sgt. Mikuta, who was encouraging soldiers to desert, leaving them to die in turn. Castle was also betrayed by the drug-dealing Sgt. Cleve Gorman, but would not take revenge until years later. Castle made sergeant and became a top sniper, but was captured by an enemy soldier known as the Monkey, who wore a tiny skull as a medallion. Escaping, Castle baited the Monkey by painting a skull onto slain enemy soldiers. After killing the Monkey, Castle usurped his symbol and painted a skull on his own chest. During a later ambush, Castle owed his life to a rescue from Lt. Burt Canyon (later the Hitman).
Frank married his lover, Maria, who soon became pregnant with Lisa Barbara Castle, usually called by her middle name. In his second tour of duty, Castle led the Third Marine Company, which suffered casualties while unwittingly protecting a drug shipment of Col. Ray Schoonover and Rich von Burian (later the Sniper). Castle next served in Special Forces, distinguishing himself undercover alongside the sadistic De Sade, the mysterious Spook, and infantryman ‘Ice’ Phillips. A leave during the later part of his third tour resulted in Maria becoming pregnant with Frank Jr. At the time, Castle led a platoon in Firebase Valley Forge. An anti-authority loner, he began hearing a seductive voice encouraging his violence. He embraced this voice during a massive enemy offensive, emerging against all odds as the sole survivor; perhaps it was in the heat of this battle that the Punisher was born. Castle earned Green Beret status in his fourth tour, rescuing POWs from the ‘Death Doctor.’ Other notables encountered in his military career include Walter Chin, Lee Inoguchi, Al Levin, Dr. William Pope, Barry ‘Red’ Thorne, Quincy Jefferson, Angela Wynoski, Mike Hauley, Joe Rainey, Chris Hoyle, Bruce Ayers, Joe Perrett, and ANZAC Sniper Roque. After his final tour, Frank devoted himself to his family and spent the next few years as a happy Special Forces instructor in New York. The Castles were a happy family, but it did not last. When his daughter was seven, Frank was selected to receive the Presidential Freedom Award for his services in the armed forces. Before heading to Washington D.C., the Castles had a picnic in Manhattan’s Central Park. It was to be a day Castle would never forget.
A complicated series of events had conspired against the Castles. San Lorenzo embassy official Hector Montoya had been selling drugs to support the anti-Communist freedom fighters of the Central American nation of Santo Angelo. American banker Forest Hunt bought Montoya’s drugs to the Maggia’s Costa crime family; however, Hunt tried to cut Monyota out of the deal. Learning of this, Montoya replaced a shipment with fake drugs and sent it through Hunt to the Costas. Bruno Costa recognized the switch and ordered Hunt’s death. With four of his men--Luis Allegre, Byron Hannigan, Kolsku, and Skinner—Costa took Hunt to a secluded area of Central Park and brutally executed him by slitting his throat and wrists.
The Castles, blissfully unaware of what was going on, stumbled upon the murder. Not wanting any witnesses, Bruno Costa had his men shoot the castles and fled. Reporter Mike McTeer discovered the scene, calling the police and an ambulance, but Frank’s wife and children were already dead. Barely alive, Frank was rushed to Mount Sinai Medical Center while the murders were investigated by Detectives John Laviano and Stan Witts. Devastated by his loss and seeking justice. Castle identified all five men present at the shooting, but mob influence halted the police investigation. At first trying to capitalize on Castle’s tragedy, McTeer later helped him collect information on the Costa family. Bruno Costa’s brother, Frank, head of their crime family, sent hit man Billy Russo to kill McTeer and Castle. McTeer died, but Castle escaped Russo’s bomb after seeing Maria’s trampled flower bed. Realizing the legal system had failed him, and believing that justice could only be saved if he did the punishing himself, Castle persuaded Laviano to surrender police files on the Costas. Unsure of survival, Castle started his Journal to record his missions. Recalling the Monkey’s symbol, he spray-painted a white skull onto a bulletproof best. He then assaulted a Costa party, leaving Russo alive to relay his message: “Tell them there is a soldier after them; am instrument of justice; a Punisher.” Castle then kicked Russo face first through a plate glass window, distinguishing him. As Jigsaw, Russo would become one of the Punisher’s few long-term foes.
Castle then began his mission in earnest. The first ten entries in the Punisher’s War Journal covered his vendetta against the killers of his family. Both Costa brothers were actually slain for their failures and indiscretions by a Maggia assassin, Audrey, whom Castle later punished as well. However, Castle still felt that his family had not been avenged, and he resolved to punish all criminals beyond the law’s reach. Early in his new career, Castle worked with Reiss, alias the Mechanic, who had been his ordnance man in Vietnam. Castle continued his War Journal, compiling detailed information from his missions, much of it obtained via surveillance equipment in his high-tech Battle Van.
On an early mission, Castle reluctantly worked with the time-traveling Killpower against the Street Amazons and Huns gangs. Later tricked by the evil Jackal into battling the supposedly criminal Spider-Man, Castle realized his mistake after the Jackal murdered Reiss. Punisher and Spider-Man later formed an uneasy alliance to capture the Tarantula (Miguel Rodriguez). To replace the Mechanic and secure new weaponry, Castle recruited Roger Wong, a friend from boot camp. When Wong was killed, Castle recruited two men, Martin and Microchip, to supply him with conventional and exotic weaponry, respectively.
Though he once committed a felony against a cop who tried to arrest him while he was fighting the Hitman (Burt Kenyon), the Punisher has made every effort to avoid injuring those he sees as allies in the war on crime. When police moved to arrest the Punisher after he helped Spider-Man stop Dr. Octopus from poisoning the Daily Bugle’s ink, Castle surrendered rather than risk killing innocent men. Tried, convicted, and sent to Ryker’s Island prison, Castle soon escaped with the aid of a government agent who needed him for a covert mission. Afterwards, Castle knocked out the agent rather than be taken him in again. However, Daredevil actually shot Castle to stop him from killing more criminals, and the Punisher went back to prison.
Drugged in prison by an agent of Jigsaw, the Punisher escaped with the aid of the villainous Boomerang and went on an unprecedented rampage, shooting a wife-beater, a litterbug, and a motorist who ran a red light. After a failed effort to kill the Kingpin of Crime, the Punisher was again arrested and sent back to Ryker’s. The acting warden was a member of the vigilante group known as the Trust, which freed the Punisher and restocked his arsenal; but when the Trust tried to force Castle into their service, he took down their local leader, Alaric. Around this time, Martin was killed by agents of the Rev, and Microchip became Castle’s primary assistant, remaining even after his son, Microchip Junior, was killed while working with the Punisher.
Castle’s mission has taken him across the country and around the world. He worked with Wolverine in the Congo to preserve the Mokele-Mbembe dinosaurs; stopped a Venezuela-based Jigsaw and the Rev from causing global sterilization; intervened in a Sicilian feud between his uncle Rocco--the last surviving Castiglione--and the Bessuchos; worked alongside the Scottish supernatural Clansman to foil a plot to transport cocaine-laced whiskey; joined with his Russian counterpart Dragunov to stop sales of nuclear weapons in Eastern Europe; and has worked both with and against the radical environmentalists Humans Off Planet, among many other international missions.
After killing a corrupt Miami police officer and a drug dealer (Howard Nees), The Punisher was again arrested and returned to Ryker’s, where Jigsaw savagely scarred Castle’s face to mirror his own visage. Escaping, the fugitive Castle had former doctor Melinda Brewer heal his face with a special procedure using a melanocyte (skin pigment)-stimulating formula and other cosmetic changes that temporarily gave him the appearance of an African-American. Before the procedure wore off, Castle briefly worked alongside hero-for-hire Luke Cage in Chicago. Later, the Punisher and Microchip opposed the Kingpin’s plan to use the English Channel Tunnel (Chunnel) as a means to dominate European organized crime. They succeeded with the aid of the vigilante Outlaw (Nigel Higgins) and the mercenary Batroc. Upon returning to America, Castle ran afoul of Congressman Bernard Modine, who pushed for the formation of an anti-vigilante group V.I.G.I.L. (Vigilante Infraction General Interdiction and Limitation). He also infiltrated and slaughtered the Carbone crime family, earning the enmity of Rosalie Carbone, who has hired many others to kill him.
Super heroes tend to regard the Punisher with suspicion, or even enmity. While Moon Knight and Luke Cage have been his allies, Cloak & Dagger and Daredevil wish to bring him to justice; others, such as Night Thrasher, Spider-Man, Darkhawk, Ghost Rider, Wolverine, and Captain America, have formed only grudging alliances with Castle. In particular, Wolverine has been one of the Punisher’s fiercest foes as often as the two have been allies. The Punisher himself has little love for costumed heroes, and even less for super-villains such as the Secret Empire, Dr. Octopus, Firefox, the Mutant Liberation Front, and the Reavers.
As the years passed, the Punisher became more obsessed. Learning of an international criminal conspiracy to assassinate him, Castle confronted his would-be killers in a building he had rigged with explosives. After shooting many of the conspirators, Castle detonated the explosives, collapsing the building on everyone present. With the Punisher apparently dead, a number of imitators—including the pre-existing vigilantes Outlaw and Payback, the skilled “Lady Punisher” (Lynn Michaels), the Cullen crime family’s Hitman Punisher (Jimmy Pierce), the ultraconservative Dean Swaybrick (the “Yuppunisher”), and even the delusional postal worker Desmond Line (the “Idiot Punisher”)—attempted to fill Castle’s role, with varying levels of success. Castle survived the explosion and escaped underneath an automobile that took him to Laastekist, PA. He hoped to recover from his injuries while hiding out in the shed of a learning-impaired girl, Amy Bendix; but her father, Officer Bendix, mistook Castle’s intentions and threw him in jail. Castle’s fingerprints identified him, and his information was leaked to Castle’s enemies, many of whom converged on Laastekist, turning the small town into a war zone. While escaping, Castle killed the corrupt cop and V.I.G.I.L. agent Blackwell. As Blackwell’s true nature was secret, his death further inflamed anti-Punisher sentiment, sending several super heroes after him.
At the same time, the Trust stole Castle’s War Journal, which ended up cast into a building foundation (where it might remain for 100 years). Fearing the increasingly violent and reckless Castle had gone mad, Microchip posed as the criminal Cringe to trap the Punisher in prison, where images of his family and past life were shown in an effort to restore his humanity. During Castle’s imprisonment, Microchip trained Carlos Cruz as a replacement Punisher. After escaping with the aid of teen hackers Ponygirl and Mouse, Castle overcame Microchip’s defensives, holding him at gunpoint and debated whether to kill him. Microchip instead seemingly sacrificed his life to shield the Punisher from a missile launched by the berserk anti-vigilante Stone Cold, who later made a second attempt on Castle’s life that was thwarted by the mercenary Shotgun. Finally, a mentally exhausted Castle surrendered to the international espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. Psychiatrist Doc Samson tried to cure Castle’s obsessive hatred of criminals by using psychoactive drugs and regression therapy; however, this process was sabotaged by a corrupt government agent known as the Spook, causing Castle to believe that Nick Fury had killed his family. Escaping, Castle stalked and killed Fury. The shock of Fury’s death was enough to undo the Spook’s brainwashing, though Castle’s victim was later revealed to be a Life Model Decoy (artificial replica) of Fury.
Castle was sentenced to death, but rescued by crime lord Don Geraci, who arranged to have his electric chair rigged to merely stun. Doubting his mission, Castle joined the Geraci family, seeing them as a lesser evil he could use to fight the system from within. Castle eventually left them after seeing the folly in this, but he was rendered amnesiac in an explosion after battling the ersatz Mutant Liberation Front, actually part of the anti-mutant Humanity’s Last Stand. After regaining his memories, Castle became depressed; according to the angel Gabriel, Castle shot himself in the head and was resurrected to serve as an Earthly agent of Heaven’s angels. They teamed with Castle and demonic Hellstorm against the demon lord Oliver—who claimed to have actually been Bruno Costa, the mobster who had arranged the Castle family’s deaths. Castle quickly tired of this role and told the angels to find another pawn. They allowed him a glimpse of Heaven to see what he would be missing, thinking that sending him back to Earth would be torture; however, a return to punishing psychos, perverts, and killers on Earth was a far better reward for Frank Castle than anything they could ever offer him.
Working as a cab-driver, Castle ended the bizarre and grandiose “Taxi War” plot of the mediocre criminal genius the Medallion. Castle then went to Columbia, rescuing Don Thomas Casino under the auspices of preventing a gang war due to his absence, but actually to allow Casino to unite the mobsters in once place so he could take them out in a single hit. Casino’s brother Tony led the Little People in trying to control the mobs, but Castle wiped them out, clashing with Wolverine in the process. The Punisher then coerced the semi-corrupt NYPD officers Mike Pearse and Andy Seifert into sacrificing their lives to atone for their failings. Following a near miss from a giant squid in New York’s harbors, Castle slew the insane, sewer-dwelling cannibal Man Down Below and dispersed his followers. After finding many of his potential targets already slain by the ninja assassin Elektra, the Punisher felt threatened, but when she told him she was just acting out of boredom, an intrigued Castle asked her out on a date. The Punisher then destroyed some arms dealers in Monastery Hill, Texas, but returned to New York to find that Daredevil had convinced Spider-Man and Wolverine to bring him in for good. Via his expert strategy, unpredictable brutality, and manipulation of the Hulk (via stew laced explosives), Castle defeated the heroes repeatedly, convincing them that the potential collateral damage was not worth their continued efforts. Since then, the Punisher worked alongside Wolverine to take down Erewon, the secret sanctuary for criminals.
Castle continues his war on crime, in the city and across the globe, not because he wants to protect the innocent, but because he hates criminals and wants them dead—every single last one of them.
Code Name: The Punisher
Former Aliases: Frank Rook, Richard Rook, Charles Fort, Francias Stronghold, Johnny Tower, Big Nothing, Major Bateman, Ted Bishop, Cliff Caliador, Castigo, Chaloner, Fred D'Amato, Eastman, Frank Loomis, McRook, Melchinor. Joe Rainey, Tony Knowlen Ross, Dmitri Velikoff, Frankie Villa, Yousoufian; numerous others
Identity: Publicly known
Age: Unknown
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 200 lbs
Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue
Sex: Male
Citizenship: U.S.A. with a criminal record, listed in Marine records as a deserter
Place of Birth: Queens, New York
Education: Extensive military training, partial priesthood training
Marital Status: Widowed. Wife and Children deceased.
Known Relatives: Maria Elizabeth Castle (Wife; deceased), Lisa Barbara Castle (Daughter; deceased), Frank David Castle (Son; deceased), Mario Lorenzo Castiglione (Father; deceased), Louisa Castiglione (Mother; deceased), Rocco Castiglione (Uncle; deceased), Freddo Castiglione (Uncle; deceased), Esmerelda Castiglione (Aunt; deceased), Michael Castle (Brother, stillborn; deceased).
Occupation: Vigilante; former Special Forces instructor. U.S. Marine
Area of Operation: New York City, New York
Group Affiliation: Formerly the "Marvel Knights," Green Berets, U.S. Marine Corps, Secret Defenders, Microchip partner
Known Powers: None
Abilities: The Punisher possesses the normal peak human strength of a 6'1" 200-pound man, who engages in rigorous regular physical exercise. Frank engages in a brutal regimen of calisthenics, katas and firing range practice daily, maintaining his combat skills. His pain threshold is unbelievably high—as he frequently performs surgery on himself without pain medication— and his ability to take punishment borders on the supernatural. He does not consume any type of drugs. However, The Punisher has been noted to drink on occasion usually so as to pass the time.
The Punisher is a seasoned combat veteran of exceptional skills. A former U.S. Marine Captain with a distinguished combat record, Castle underwent sniper and recon training while in the Corps. He also received SEAL (Sea, Air, Land), UDT (Underwater Demolition Team), and LRRP (Long Range Recon Patrol) training. It has also been revealed did receive training, skills and expertise from the Australian Army's Special Air Service Regiment when he was on exchange with Australian military forces operating in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It is also noted that while Castle was on exchange with the Australian SAS in Vietnam, he met Yorkie Mitchell, a British SAS soldier who was on exchange with the Australians at the same time. Mitchell would later become an intelligence agent for the British intelligence agency, MI6 and he would cross paths with Castle on a number of occasions.
Frank is well-versed in the arts of warfare and hand-to-hand combat. His styles of choice being Nash Ryu Jiu Jutsu (the four-style martial art founded by Sensei Adam Nash, the Punisher's mentor), Ninjutsu, Shorin-Ryu, Hwarangdo, Chin Na, MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program) or the Marine Corps LINE combat system, as well as unarmed combat training received in the military. He is an exceptional knife fighter who carries up to 3 or 4 different types of edged weapons, preferring the knife he learned to fight with in the USMC: the Ka-bar.
The Punisher’s ever-changing arsenal of weaponry includes various automatic and semi-automatic rifles, and an array of handguns, fragmentation and tear gas grenades, other explosives, and combat knives. A personal favorite is his ballistic knife, which can launch its blade with a lethal force. He commonly uses M16 .223 caliber automatic rifles. Sterling Mark 6 9mm, semi-automatic rifles, 9mm Browning Llama automatic pistols, .45 caliber automatic frame rechambered for 9mm. ammunition, .223 caliber Derringers, and Gerber Mark II combat knives. His Kevlar uniform protects him from most gunfire, though he can still suffer concussive injury or penetration from sufficient or repeated impacts.
He formerly used a series of armored combat vans, a.k.a. his Battle Vans or War Wagons, which could reach speeds of 165 mph, and contained extensive assault weaponry, lethal defensives, and advanced computer equipment. The first such Van was designed by the Mechanic, with later models built by Microchip. On extended missions, the Punisher could live in the back of a van. Electronic equipment included an onboard computer, listening and recording devices, sonar ranging, radar tracking, infa-red scanning, a police-band radio, and computer road maps of the U.S.A. Each van was outfitted with armor capable of repelling .30-caliber bullets and a windshield that could repel .50-caliber bullets. The gas tanks could hold 86 gallons, allowing 920 miles before refueling. The vans’ color and plates were easily changed, and many of them contained parachutes, scuba gear, an air supply, and occasionally a motorcycle. Offensive weaponry included a rooftop-extending mini-gun, a grenade launcher, rubber bullet guns firing from the hood, gas launchers, and a remote-controlled, four-wheeled anti-car attack device that could be launched from the bottom of the van to search and destroy vehicles during pursuits. The vans were protected by a unique security device that would repel intruders, often with deadly force.
Armed solely with conventional weapons and motivated by a fanatical hatred for criminals like those who murdered his family, the Punisher has single-handedly incapacitated up to a dozen well-armed and experienced opponents in a single encounter and escaped uninjured. It is his military training and his attention to detail that allows him to achieve this. He is an exceptional marksman who is sometimes depicted as being ambidextrous in this respect.
History: Frank Castiglione’s parents came to America from Sicily to escape a war with their rivals, the Bessucho crime family. Young Frank studied for priesthood under Father Angus McFee, but eventually left the seminary because he could not understand why the Lord allowed so much evil in the world; unlike the church, he believed there could be no forgiveness without punishment. Hoping to make a difference, he joined the Marines and, after a year of training, fought in a military action in Vietnam for four years. He was twice decorated for heroism with both the Bronze and Silver star, and four times with the Purple Heart.
Early in his military career, Castle slew perhaps his first criminal victim: Sgt. Mikuta, who was encouraging soldiers to desert, leaving them to die in turn. Castle was also betrayed by the drug-dealing Sgt. Cleve Gorman, but would not take revenge until years later. Castle made sergeant and became a top sniper, but was captured by an enemy soldier known as the Monkey, who wore a tiny skull as a medallion. Escaping, Castle baited the Monkey by painting a skull onto slain enemy soldiers. After killing the Monkey, Castle usurped his symbol and painted a skull on his own chest. During a later ambush, Castle owed his life to a rescue from Lt. Burt Canyon (later the Hitman).
Frank married his lover, Maria, who soon became pregnant with Lisa Barbara Castle, usually called by her middle name. In his second tour of duty, Castle led the Third Marine Company, which suffered casualties while unwittingly protecting a drug shipment of Col. Ray Schoonover and Rich von Burian (later the Sniper). Castle next served in Special Forces, distinguishing himself undercover alongside the sadistic De Sade, the mysterious Spook, and infantryman ‘Ice’ Phillips. A leave during the later part of his third tour resulted in Maria becoming pregnant with Frank Jr. At the time, Castle led a platoon in Firebase Valley Forge. An anti-authority loner, he began hearing a seductive voice encouraging his violence. He embraced this voice during a massive enemy offensive, emerging against all odds as the sole survivor; perhaps it was in the heat of this battle that the Punisher was born. Castle earned Green Beret status in his fourth tour, rescuing POWs from the ‘Death Doctor.’ Other notables encountered in his military career include Walter Chin, Lee Inoguchi, Al Levin, Dr. William Pope, Barry ‘Red’ Thorne, Quincy Jefferson, Angela Wynoski, Mike Hauley, Joe Rainey, Chris Hoyle, Bruce Ayers, Joe Perrett, and ANZAC Sniper Roque. After his final tour, Frank devoted himself to his family and spent the next few years as a happy Special Forces instructor in New York. The Castles were a happy family, but it did not last. When his daughter was seven, Frank was selected to receive the Presidential Freedom Award for his services in the armed forces. Before heading to Washington D.C., the Castles had a picnic in Manhattan’s Central Park. It was to be a day Castle would never forget.
A complicated series of events had conspired against the Castles. San Lorenzo embassy official Hector Montoya had been selling drugs to support the anti-Communist freedom fighters of the Central American nation of Santo Angelo. American banker Forest Hunt bought Montoya’s drugs to the Maggia’s Costa crime family; however, Hunt tried to cut Monyota out of the deal. Learning of this, Montoya replaced a shipment with fake drugs and sent it through Hunt to the Costas. Bruno Costa recognized the switch and ordered Hunt’s death. With four of his men--Luis Allegre, Byron Hannigan, Kolsku, and Skinner—Costa took Hunt to a secluded area of Central Park and brutally executed him by slitting his throat and wrists.
The Castles, blissfully unaware of what was going on, stumbled upon the murder. Not wanting any witnesses, Bruno Costa had his men shoot the castles and fled. Reporter Mike McTeer discovered the scene, calling the police and an ambulance, but Frank’s wife and children were already dead. Barely alive, Frank was rushed to Mount Sinai Medical Center while the murders were investigated by Detectives John Laviano and Stan Witts. Devastated by his loss and seeking justice. Castle identified all five men present at the shooting, but mob influence halted the police investigation. At first trying to capitalize on Castle’s tragedy, McTeer later helped him collect information on the Costa family. Bruno Costa’s brother, Frank, head of their crime family, sent hit man Billy Russo to kill McTeer and Castle. McTeer died, but Castle escaped Russo’s bomb after seeing Maria’s trampled flower bed. Realizing the legal system had failed him, and believing that justice could only be saved if he did the punishing himself, Castle persuaded Laviano to surrender police files on the Costas. Unsure of survival, Castle started his Journal to record his missions. Recalling the Monkey’s symbol, he spray-painted a white skull onto a bulletproof best. He then assaulted a Costa party, leaving Russo alive to relay his message: “Tell them there is a soldier after them; am instrument of justice; a Punisher.” Castle then kicked Russo face first through a plate glass window, distinguishing him. As Jigsaw, Russo would become one of the Punisher’s few long-term foes.
Castle then began his mission in earnest. The first ten entries in the Punisher’s War Journal covered his vendetta against the killers of his family. Both Costa brothers were actually slain for their failures and indiscretions by a Maggia assassin, Audrey, whom Castle later punished as well. However, Castle still felt that his family had not been avenged, and he resolved to punish all criminals beyond the law’s reach. Early in his new career, Castle worked with Reiss, alias the Mechanic, who had been his ordnance man in Vietnam. Castle continued his War Journal, compiling detailed information from his missions, much of it obtained via surveillance equipment in his high-tech Battle Van.
On an early mission, Castle reluctantly worked with the time-traveling Killpower against the Street Amazons and Huns gangs. Later tricked by the evil Jackal into battling the supposedly criminal Spider-Man, Castle realized his mistake after the Jackal murdered Reiss. Punisher and Spider-Man later formed an uneasy alliance to capture the Tarantula (Miguel Rodriguez). To replace the Mechanic and secure new weaponry, Castle recruited Roger Wong, a friend from boot camp. When Wong was killed, Castle recruited two men, Martin and Microchip, to supply him with conventional and exotic weaponry, respectively.
Though he once committed a felony against a cop who tried to arrest him while he was fighting the Hitman (Burt Kenyon), the Punisher has made every effort to avoid injuring those he sees as allies in the war on crime. When police moved to arrest the Punisher after he helped Spider-Man stop Dr. Octopus from poisoning the Daily Bugle’s ink, Castle surrendered rather than risk killing innocent men. Tried, convicted, and sent to Ryker’s Island prison, Castle soon escaped with the aid of a government agent who needed him for a covert mission. Afterwards, Castle knocked out the agent rather than be taken him in again. However, Daredevil actually shot Castle to stop him from killing more criminals, and the Punisher went back to prison.
Drugged in prison by an agent of Jigsaw, the Punisher escaped with the aid of the villainous Boomerang and went on an unprecedented rampage, shooting a wife-beater, a litterbug, and a motorist who ran a red light. After a failed effort to kill the Kingpin of Crime, the Punisher was again arrested and sent back to Ryker’s. The acting warden was a member of the vigilante group known as the Trust, which freed the Punisher and restocked his arsenal; but when the Trust tried to force Castle into their service, he took down their local leader, Alaric. Around this time, Martin was killed by agents of the Rev, and Microchip became Castle’s primary assistant, remaining even after his son, Microchip Junior, was killed while working with the Punisher.
Castle’s mission has taken him across the country and around the world. He worked with Wolverine in the Congo to preserve the Mokele-Mbembe dinosaurs; stopped a Venezuela-based Jigsaw and the Rev from causing global sterilization; intervened in a Sicilian feud between his uncle Rocco--the last surviving Castiglione--and the Bessuchos; worked alongside the Scottish supernatural Clansman to foil a plot to transport cocaine-laced whiskey; joined with his Russian counterpart Dragunov to stop sales of nuclear weapons in Eastern Europe; and has worked both with and against the radical environmentalists Humans Off Planet, among many other international missions.
After killing a corrupt Miami police officer and a drug dealer (Howard Nees), The Punisher was again arrested and returned to Ryker’s, where Jigsaw savagely scarred Castle’s face to mirror his own visage. Escaping, the fugitive Castle had former doctor Melinda Brewer heal his face with a special procedure using a melanocyte (skin pigment)-stimulating formula and other cosmetic changes that temporarily gave him the appearance of an African-American. Before the procedure wore off, Castle briefly worked alongside hero-for-hire Luke Cage in Chicago. Later, the Punisher and Microchip opposed the Kingpin’s plan to use the English Channel Tunnel (Chunnel) as a means to dominate European organized crime. They succeeded with the aid of the vigilante Outlaw (Nigel Higgins) and the mercenary Batroc. Upon returning to America, Castle ran afoul of Congressman Bernard Modine, who pushed for the formation of an anti-vigilante group V.I.G.I.L. (Vigilante Infraction General Interdiction and Limitation). He also infiltrated and slaughtered the Carbone crime family, earning the enmity of Rosalie Carbone, who has hired many others to kill him.
Super heroes tend to regard the Punisher with suspicion, or even enmity. While Moon Knight and Luke Cage have been his allies, Cloak & Dagger and Daredevil wish to bring him to justice; others, such as Night Thrasher, Spider-Man, Darkhawk, Ghost Rider, Wolverine, and Captain America, have formed only grudging alliances with Castle. In particular, Wolverine has been one of the Punisher’s fiercest foes as often as the two have been allies. The Punisher himself has little love for costumed heroes, and even less for super-villains such as the Secret Empire, Dr. Octopus, Firefox, the Mutant Liberation Front, and the Reavers.
As the years passed, the Punisher became more obsessed. Learning of an international criminal conspiracy to assassinate him, Castle confronted his would-be killers in a building he had rigged with explosives. After shooting many of the conspirators, Castle detonated the explosives, collapsing the building on everyone present. With the Punisher apparently dead, a number of imitators—including the pre-existing vigilantes Outlaw and Payback, the skilled “Lady Punisher” (Lynn Michaels), the Cullen crime family’s Hitman Punisher (Jimmy Pierce), the ultraconservative Dean Swaybrick (the “Yuppunisher”), and even the delusional postal worker Desmond Line (the “Idiot Punisher”)—attempted to fill Castle’s role, with varying levels of success. Castle survived the explosion and escaped underneath an automobile that took him to Laastekist, PA. He hoped to recover from his injuries while hiding out in the shed of a learning-impaired girl, Amy Bendix; but her father, Officer Bendix, mistook Castle’s intentions and threw him in jail. Castle’s fingerprints identified him, and his information was leaked to Castle’s enemies, many of whom converged on Laastekist, turning the small town into a war zone. While escaping, Castle killed the corrupt cop and V.I.G.I.L. agent Blackwell. As Blackwell’s true nature was secret, his death further inflamed anti-Punisher sentiment, sending several super heroes after him.
At the same time, the Trust stole Castle’s War Journal, which ended up cast into a building foundation (where it might remain for 100 years). Fearing the increasingly violent and reckless Castle had gone mad, Microchip posed as the criminal Cringe to trap the Punisher in prison, where images of his family and past life were shown in an effort to restore his humanity. During Castle’s imprisonment, Microchip trained Carlos Cruz as a replacement Punisher. After escaping with the aid of teen hackers Ponygirl and Mouse, Castle overcame Microchip’s defensives, holding him at gunpoint and debated whether to kill him. Microchip instead seemingly sacrificed his life to shield the Punisher from a missile launched by the berserk anti-vigilante Stone Cold, who later made a second attempt on Castle’s life that was thwarted by the mercenary Shotgun. Finally, a mentally exhausted Castle surrendered to the international espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. Psychiatrist Doc Samson tried to cure Castle’s obsessive hatred of criminals by using psychoactive drugs and regression therapy; however, this process was sabotaged by a corrupt government agent known as the Spook, causing Castle to believe that Nick Fury had killed his family. Escaping, Castle stalked and killed Fury. The shock of Fury’s death was enough to undo the Spook’s brainwashing, though Castle’s victim was later revealed to be a Life Model Decoy (artificial replica) of Fury.
Castle was sentenced to death, but rescued by crime lord Don Geraci, who arranged to have his electric chair rigged to merely stun. Doubting his mission, Castle joined the Geraci family, seeing them as a lesser evil he could use to fight the system from within. Castle eventually left them after seeing the folly in this, but he was rendered amnesiac in an explosion after battling the ersatz Mutant Liberation Front, actually part of the anti-mutant Humanity’s Last Stand. After regaining his memories, Castle became depressed; according to the angel Gabriel, Castle shot himself in the head and was resurrected to serve as an Earthly agent of Heaven’s angels. They teamed with Castle and demonic Hellstorm against the demon lord Oliver—who claimed to have actually been Bruno Costa, the mobster who had arranged the Castle family’s deaths. Castle quickly tired of this role and told the angels to find another pawn. They allowed him a glimpse of Heaven to see what he would be missing, thinking that sending him back to Earth would be torture; however, a return to punishing psychos, perverts, and killers on Earth was a far better reward for Frank Castle than anything they could ever offer him.
Working as a cab-driver, Castle ended the bizarre and grandiose “Taxi War” plot of the mediocre criminal genius the Medallion. Castle then went to Columbia, rescuing Don Thomas Casino under the auspices of preventing a gang war due to his absence, but actually to allow Casino to unite the mobsters in once place so he could take them out in a single hit. Casino’s brother Tony led the Little People in trying to control the mobs, but Castle wiped them out, clashing with Wolverine in the process. The Punisher then coerced the semi-corrupt NYPD officers Mike Pearse and Andy Seifert into sacrificing their lives to atone for their failings. Following a near miss from a giant squid in New York’s harbors, Castle slew the insane, sewer-dwelling cannibal Man Down Below and dispersed his followers. After finding many of his potential targets already slain by the ninja assassin Elektra, the Punisher felt threatened, but when she told him she was just acting out of boredom, an intrigued Castle asked her out on a date. The Punisher then destroyed some arms dealers in Monastery Hill, Texas, but returned to New York to find that Daredevil had convinced Spider-Man and Wolverine to bring him in for good. Via his expert strategy, unpredictable brutality, and manipulation of the Hulk (via stew laced explosives), Castle defeated the heroes repeatedly, convincing them that the potential collateral damage was not worth their continued efforts. Since then, the Punisher worked alongside Wolverine to take down Erewon, the secret sanctuary for criminals.
Castle continues his war on crime, in the city and across the globe, not because he wants to protect the innocent, but because he hates criminals and wants them dead—every single last one of them.