Opinion: The Punisher Snafu

So, this is an example of a opinion post, which I'll try to keep to a bare minimum. Each time, I'll discuss something in the Marvel Universe; something that's gone astray, something I really liked/disliked, or, in this case, something that has just been bothering me for a while. In this case, it's everyone's favorite Vietnam Loony, The Punisher (Frank Castle).

Now, currently, there are two Punisher titles; Punisher MAX (Which runs under the MAX imprint, and really isn't considered part of the Marvel storyline), and Punisher: War Journal (which came out about 7 months or so ago, during the massive Civil War crossover event). So what's my problem? Well, each of the titles has a huge flaw in it; in War Journal, they make Frank into a joke, basically a cartoony version of what he should be. Take a look at this image on the right. This is a cover from War Journal. Lately, Frank's been running around in this costume! It's terrible. He is not a person who is supposed to play dress up, and a person who isn't supposed to hide his face. Honestly, the whole thing is just BAD! Look at that gun, giant, cartoony, unrealistic...I mean, that is not what the Punisher is supposed to be.

So what do I think is going on with the cover, the uniform, and the laser gun? Well, I think that Marvel is trying very hard to make a buck off of Cap's death; they have that "Death of Captain America" line going, they announced it on the news, they printed what? Three specials? And they put the Punisher in this outrageous uniform so people in stores will go "Gee, I wonder what this is about? Is this Captain America?". They is a reason that's stated in the comics; Punisher's enemy, Hate Monger, had a new Captain America related outfit. So Frank Castle decides to fight fire with fire, a tactic that...never works, and he ends up "playing dress up" and tries to beat crap out of everything. Doesn't work well. But still, it's terrible that he's in that uniform to start with.

Check this out; it's from an old What If? Comic, and it has Punisher as Captain America. Notice something? Cap's clothes are easily filled by Frank. If they really wanted to make a buck and keep the candle that is Captain America's legacy alive, why not just...put Punisher in the stripes? I promise it would have sold a lot more titles, because more people would think "Damn, is Cap Back? Wait, what is the Punisher doing? This is awesome!" Insted, they went "...why is a grown man dressed in a Halloween costume with goggles and a super soaker?" Honestly, it was the goggles that gut me the most, too. So the bottom line is this; The Punisher: War Journal could be a lot better, and I think it will. I think it'll find it's groove, it's..."niche", and that it'll become a well liked piece of work. But honestly, the whole Frank as Steve Rogers gimmick didn't do it for me at all.

Now we go to Punisher: Max. Now, I don't like the Max way of life, I'll just come out and say it. Something about having a softcore porno comic imprint doesn't sit well with me. It could be the fact that I read US War Machine (which I thought was terrible, but a lot of people I know do like it...so...), which was terrible, it could be the whole stigma related with a 18+ year old only medium that's made orginally for kids, or it could be that, since it's not mainstream, weaker writers are put on it. Whatever it is, I don't like MAX, or Punisher MAX. Or Max Weinberg. Just kidding, I love Max Weinberg.

Punisher MAX has three big problems; Cursing for the sake of cursing, sex for the sake of sex, and gore for the sake of gore. A lot of times, it's just Frank shooting people, and calling people...bad names. There's a storyline, sure, but that seems to take a sideline to the rest of it all. It's not about taking out criminals, it's about blowing their brains all over the place while shouting obscenities and going to a strip club to celebrate afterwards. Frank's an old man in this continuity, and it doesn't seem to slow him down at all. He still gets shot, stabbed, and maimed, but he gets up. I think that's another reason I don't like it. It tries to be ultra edgy, realistic, and dark, but when a 60 year old man kills 100s of drug lords, it just seemed stretched.

Bottom line is this; War Journal and MAX need to be combined. They need to have a Punisher title that is dark, a little violent, "real" and straight forward. MAX needs to be toned down, and War Journal needs to be jacked up a bit. Do I think a middle ground will ever be hit? No. DO I think War Journal will make it a long time, and will live to outshine MAX as Frank's flagship comic? Probably not. MAX is the only MAX that people...like. It's not going to be eclipsed. I would love to see War Journal keep going, I would love to see it get renewed, and I would love for it to just...keep pumping out titles, as long as they were gimmick free. And I think if that happens, than things will be looking way up for Frank Castle. But until that occurs, The Punisher will be stuff forever in a SNAFU type Limbo, just waiting to get a chance to really shine and appeal to everyone.