No superhero, but an anti-hero – that's the Punisher. And he's a person you don't want to meet in case you're on the wrong side of the law. The Punisher alias Frank Castle was a highly-decorated U.S. Marine with a wife and two kids. During a picknick, his kids accidentally witnessed a Mafia murder. Since the Mafia is no fan of witnesses in general, the killers just shot down the whole family. But Frank Castle survived, swearing bloody revenge. Not only on the murderers of his family, but on all criminals. So, he became the punisher. He hunts down the villains with with every possible means: kidnapping, blackmailing, torturing, killing – self-justice with benefits in a way... Like many others, the Punisher is a hero without super powers. He can only rely on his military training for his battle against crime. He is a master of close combat, camouflage, strategic planning, and can skilfully use diverse weapons. And because he's such a smart master of military tactics, he wears this huge white skull on his shirt. The bad boys shoot instinctively at the symbol on his chest, which is guarded by a bullet-proof vest, and don't aim for his head. Cunning! But apart from this function, the thing just looks bad ass evil.
He had his first appearance in a Spider-Man comic. The Punisher character was received very well by the readers right from the start. In the 70s, he had one or the other occasional guest appearance in various Marvel Comics until he got his own series. 2004, the story of this anti-hero was adapted to a movie with Thomas Jane as the main character. The actor trained seven months with the hardest warhorses of this planet, the U.S. Navy Seals, for his role, gaining 20 pounds of muscles – and he ended up like the perfect Punisher.
Are you a Punisher fan, too? We have exactly the right stuff for you in our EMP Online Shop: A The Punisher college jacket with the characteristic Punisher Skull on the back and, in a smaller version, on the front print. Or the The Punisher shirt in white with a black skull. Declare war on crime!
