25 Things You Need to Know about The Punisher on Netflix
By Shawn Lealos
10. At One Time, Punisher Killed The Entire Marvel Universe
Long-time fans of Marvel Comics know about a unique book that came out every so often called What If. These books took events that happened in Marvel Comics history and asked, “what if something changed in this story?” The issue then showed an alternate timeline of the Marvel Universe if just one thing changed.
Over the years, Marvel Comics has started doing more of these type of stories without the What If title. Examples include the Ultimate Universe and the Marvel Zombies line of comics. In 1995, Marvel published one of these alternate timeline stories featuring The Punisher.
The entire issue is a satire, written by Garth Ennis. In the book, Castle joins the NYPD SWAT team after leaving the Marines but watches as his wife and children when caught in the middle of a battle between the Avengers, X-Men and some aliens. When none of the heroes admit their part in the deaths, Castle goes nuts and starts killing the superheroes.
Castle meets other people who are deformed and injured due to superhero battles in the past, and he agrees to become The Punisher to stop the madness. By the end, The Punisher kills everyone from Spider-Man and The Avengers to The Fantastic Four, X-Men and Daredevil.
In 2010, Marvel did it again with Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher, where The Punisher is the only non-infected survivor of a post-apocalyptic world where heroes and villains have become crazed cannibals.