The Punisher is one of the most fascinating characters in the Marvel Universe. It's rare to find such a formidable hero that doesn't have any superpowers whatsoever. Sure, Frank Castle is a good shot and a talented fighter, but he's not a mutant and doesn't have him super-human strength.
Because of his lack of super powers and his "shoot first, ask questions later" attitude, he's become a fan favorite with both casual and die-hard Marvel fans. Fans loved his portrayal in the Daredevil Netflix series, and many binge-watched his solo series the second it was released on Netflix.
Arguments over who would win in a fight are common in the comic book community. Fortunately, there are some alternative universes where those questions are answered. Funny enough, in two such universes, The Punisher comes out on top.
Even though he doesn't have any super powers, The Punisher is able to work his way through the Marvel cast like a hot knife through butter. His combat tactics and willingness to kill proved to be enough to defeat even the strongest of superheroes, as you'll see ahead.
Here are 15 Superheroes The Punisher Has DESTROYED.
15. Spider-Man
The other alternative universe that has Frank Castle killing a list of superheroes is Marvel Universe - 95126. This is the Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe story line, and it lives up to its name.
The Punisher is mad at everyone with superpowers in this comic. They were the ones that caused the death of his family, and he starts by killing the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Frank intervenes in a battle between Venom and Spider-Man in the sewers. At the last moment, Spider-Man notices that there are tasers everywhere. The tasers go off and render Venom and Spider-Man helpless. Frank enters, shoots a now non-Venom Eddie Brock, then turns his gun on Spider-Man.
Spider-Man asks who Frank is, and Frank tells him he's The Punisher. Spider-Man asks why he's being targeted, and Frank shoots him. When he's leaving he says to himself, "Because somebody had to be first."
14. Captain America
Out of all the Marvel Universes, Earth-11080 is probably the darkest. This is the universe where a virus took control of the planet, causing most of the population to turn into raging cannibals. This virus affects multiple superheroes and villains as well, which is why it's also where Punisher does much of his hero killing.
Early in this storyline, Captain America joins forces with Punisher, Deadpool, and Wolverine to stop the infected hulk and his faction. They can't find the Hulk so Deadpool and Wolverine depart in search of him, leaving Captain America and Punisher to fight the mob. In the middle of the fight, though, Captain America starts showing signs he's infected by the virus.
While he's still in control of his senses, Captain begs Punisher to kill him. Before pulling the trigger Punisher tells Captain America that he was always his hero.
13. Deadpool
The Punisher's fight against the Marvel Universe wasn't the only war waging in the alternate universes of the comics. In Marvel Universe Vs. The Punisher, he comes face to face with another character who's gone toe-to-toe with other heroes: Deadpool.
Since all the heroes and villains in this version of reality were turned into cannibals, Deadpool is one of the many cannibalistic madmen The Punisher has to face to save humanity. Deadpool still has his powers, though, which makes killing him a difficult task.
The Punisher had to kill Deadpool multiple times, which serves as a running joke throughout the comic. Eventually, The Punisher shoots Deadpool in the head once and for all. To make sure he won't come back, he chops Deadpool into pieces and buries him around the city.
12. The Hulk
The Hulk's death at the hands of The Punisher shouldn't be possible based on what we know about Bruce Banner and his green alter-ego, but Marvel's alternate universe allows for some discrepancies. As with many of the heroes on this list, The Punisher killed The Hulk during the former's run through the Marvel cast of characters.
After Punisher killed Venom and Spider-Man, he went to see the Hulk rampaging through the streets. While Hulk's smashing cars and buildings, Punisher gets him into his sights and fires a tracking device at his back. Then, he simply waits for Hulk to transform back into Bruce Banner, and follows him into an abandoned alley.
Punisher shoots Banner in the head, killing him instantly. Again, we'd usually expect Banner to transform into The Hulk and spit the bullet out, but in this version of events, he dies.
11. The X-Men
In one of the "What If" comics, Wolverine gets turned into a vampire, giving him additional powers on top of his already formidable kit. Subsequently, he takes control of the vampire population and turns many superheroes to his vampire army, including most of the X-Men.
Doctor Strange fights the vampires for a while, but eventually dies. His spirit goes to an astral plane where it eventually comes in contact with one of the last people who can help: The Punisher.
Doctor Strange possesses Punisher and enlists his help in fighting the super-vampires causing havoc across the United States. Wolverine turns back to the good side in the end, but not before The Punisher tears through the vampire X-Men with a host of weapons, including holy water guns and silver bullet Uzis.
10. Venom
Although Venom was originally a super-villain, the progression of his character lead many to view him as an anti-hero, much like The Punisher himself.
Venom's death at the hands of The Punisher isn't exclusive to the Punisher Kills story line. Venom also meets his match in the Marvel Universe Vs. The Punisher version of events. Venom is working with Spider-Man, who in this point in the story, is thought to be the main antagonist.
Venom attacked The Punisher, and the two began to battle. Eventually, Frank pulls out a sonic pistol and aims it at Venom. At this point Venom tries to reason with Frank, telling him to listen to what he had to say. Frank doesn't oblige, and instead shoots Venom with the sonic pistol, killing both symbiote and host.
9. Cyclops
Cyclops is the first hero killed when Punisher takes on the Marvel Universe. In this timeline, Frank's wife and kids are killed during a battle between invading forces, the X-Men, and the Avengers. Frank, as part of the NYPD SWAT team, shows up to find the park destroyed and his wife and child killed.
Cyclops tries to comfort Frank, and tells him that there wasn't any time for an evacuation, but Frank's not having any of it. He shoots Cyclops in the head and starts firing at the rest of the crew, killing Jubilee and Hawkeye.
Wolverine attacks Frank, but Colossus subdues him and Frank is arrested. After that, all of the other events of the comic are put into motion. Frank goes on his killing spree as The Punisher.
8. The Thing
The Thing was one of the first Heroes infected with the Virus, as the Fantastic Four were the ones who subdued Spider-Man after his initial attack. While Spider-Man was in custody, Thing became infected with the virus and freed Spider-Man.
Thing went on to join forces with the Hulk, but escaped the battle that cost Captain America his life. His goal, like Hulk's, was to kill the scientists who were trying to find a cure for the virus. He continued to cause trouble across the city and created his own tribe in the abandoned Baxter Building.
Punisher had a hard time thinking of a way to kill Thing, but eventually decided on armor-piercing missiles. He shot the Baxter Building, destroying it and killing Thing, who was inside.
7. Pretty Much Everyone
In Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe, the title is taken literally. Punisher does, in fact, kill the entire Marvel Universe. Much of the killing is done behind the scenes, but one massive mutant/superhuman genocide occurs during a staged battle on the moon.
The X-Men - along with several other heroes - were summoned to fight Magneto, Apocalypse, and a host of other villains on the moon. Everyone thinks the other group was the one to set the meeting, but that's only until the bomb is dropped.
Punisher found a nuclear warhead in Doctor Doom's possession, and after he killed Doom, he set his sights on the rest of the heroes. Punisher nukes the moon, killing all the heroes and villians that were there (even the ones that should be able to survive such a blast).
After that, the comic fast-forwards to three years in the future, where Punisher only has Wolverine, Captain America, and Daredevil left in his sights.
6. The Hulk (Again)
The second issue of Punisher Vs. starts with a battle between The Hulk and The Punisher. This battle serves as a way to show how The Punisher could realistically kill The Hulk, as well as answering the age-old question: could The Hulk's infinite strength break the unbreakable adamantium?
Apparently it can, because The Hulk defeated Wolverine, ate him, and kept his hands as a prize to wear around his neck. The Hulk then overpowers The Punisher, but The Punisher has one more trick up his sleeve.
Frank ties a knife to the end of an arrow, and fires it at The Hulk's eye. The arrow penetrates his eye socket, pierces his brain, and kills The Hulk. Massive strength and power apparently have their limits, and even The Hulk has a small weakness.
5. Wolverine
Wolverine's scene is towards the end of the Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe saga, and it's where the reader learns that Frank has been on a warpath since he set the nuke that killed many of the heroes. Since then, he's killed almost everyone, with Wolverine being one of his last targets.
Wolverine is good and drunk when Punisher comes knocking, so it doesn't take much effort for Frank to fling Wolverine into an electrical generator. The generator fries Wolverine to bits. In the end, all that's left is a skeleton.
Although Wolverine has survived similar near-death experiences before, he doesn't here. The borders of this universe allow Wolverine to be killed in this manner, and Frank moves on to his last targets.
4. Captain America (Again)
Another Captain America death comes in the Punisher Kills story line. Here, Captain America is one of the main causes of Punisher's misery. The Avengers fight in the park lead to the death of Frank's family, which is the reason he's killing all the superheroes in the first place.
Frank and Captain America engage in a battle, which is one of the final fights in the story. As two of them fight, Cap tells Frank that he used to be a good soldier, but is now only a disgrace. Frank tells Cap that the two of them were never fighting the same war, and reveals a pistol he's been hiding.
Frank pulls the trigger and shoots Cap in the head, killing him. Captain America was one of the last heroes alive, and Frank goes on to hunt for his last remaining target: Daredevil.
3. Spider-Man (Over and Over)
The Punisher has killed Spider-Man several times, including once when he was hired by Jackal. In this comic, he filled a fake Doctor Octopus with explosives and blew him up.
One of the most interesting killings, though, is at the end of Marvel Vs. The Punisher. Spider-Man is positioned as the primary antagonist throughout the story, mainly because he was patient zero in the outbreak. He leads a powerful alliance of cannibalistic superhumans, making him a dangerous threat.
Towards the end of the story, however, it is revealed that cannibal Spider-Man isn't really that bad of a guy. Kingpin kidnapped a pregnant Mary Jane, and Spider-Man just wants to get her back.
Punisher eventually kills Kingpin and frees Mary-Jane, which sets up the opportunity for the cannibals and the uninfected to live together, side-by-side. After the two are united, however, Punisher kills Spider-Man, saying that he doesn't make deals with monsters.
2. Daredevil
Daredevil is another character who's seen multiple deaths at the hands of The Punisher. Punisher killed cannibal Daredevil, but he also killed Matt accidentally in one comic, by shooting with a tranquilizer gun and causing him to fall from a building to his death.
In the Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe, Matt Murdock is close with Frank Castle. Matt serves has his lawyer and takes his side on several occasions. The story even begins when a young Frank comes to the aid of Matt, who was getting bullied in Hell's Kitchen
Unfortunately, Frank doesn't know Daredevil's true identity, so he seeks him out to finish his killing spree.
The two fight, which prompts Punisher to start firing. Daredevil kicks him off the building and he lands on a car below. Daredevil jumps down to engage him further, all the while trying to calm him down and prevent him from killing anyone further.
His pleas don't work, and Punisher stabs Daredevil. Before he takes his final breath, Daredevil takes off his mask, revealing his true identity as Frank's friend, Matt Murdock.
1. Himself
Punisher Kills ends the only way it should, which is why it's a fan-favorite for both die-hard and casual Marvel fans. Frank kills Daredevil, and learns that it's really his friend, Matt Murdock. Matt takes the opportunity to teach Frank that every hero he's killed is a real person behind the mask.
By this time, Frank has worked his way through the entire cast of Marvel characters, killing heroes and villains alike. His goal is to kill everyone with superpowers, or anyone who considered themselves a superhero.
In the final moments of the comic, Frank puts his revolver to his chin and says, "There's one more to go." The comic ends after that, but the implication is that Frank killed himself to fulfill his mission.
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Did we miss any superhero targets of The Punisher? Leave them in the comments!