25 Things You Need to Know about The Punisher on Netflix

19. The Punisher Was Never A Superhero

The one thing that Garth Ennis made sure to emphasize was that Frank Castle was many things, but he was never a superhero. Of course, that was also showcased in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man and Daredevil, where those two heroes – both pure and virtuous – were a stark contrast to Frank Castle’s vigilante.

While the series with The Punisher as an avenging angel seemed to show that he had a higher calling, making him more heroic, he is – at the end of the day – a cold-blooded killer. The only difference is that he kills people that most consider worthy of death.

Of course, when the most virtuous heroes stand up to The Punisher – such as Daredevil or Captain America – it shines a light on how dark and demented The Punisher is. This fact even played out in a darkly ironic way in real life recently.

Earlier this year, police officers in Kentucky began driving cruisers with The Punisher’s symbol painted on cars in a “Blue Lives Matter” statement. Gerry Conway, the writer of Amazing Spider-Man that created The Punisher, said that he is a “morally compromised anti-hero” who would kill a police officer if he thought the officer killed an innocent man. The police quickly removed the symbol from their cars.