The Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe

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title = The Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe"|no

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format = One-shot
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publisher = Marvel Comics
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main_char_team = Punisher
writers = Garth Ennis
artists = Doug Braithwaite
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inkers =Michael L. Halblieb
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subcat=Punisher
sort=Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe

"The Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe" is a 1995 one-shot comic book written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Doug Braithwaite with most inking done by Michael L. Halblieb, which depicts a "What If..." story where Frank Castle kills every superhero and supervillain in the Marvel Universe.

Plot

Frank Castle became an officer in the NYPD SWAT team after leaving the U.S. Marine Corps. Rather than falling victim to a gangland slaying, Castle's wife and children are instead killed when caught in the middle of a battle between the Avengers, the X-Men, and a group of Brood in Central Park. Castle arrives just in time to find his family dead, and Daredevil berating Cyclops and Captain America for their carelessness. As Castle grieves, none of the heroes are willing to admit their fault in the deaths, until finally Cyclops attempts to apologize. Enraged, Castle begins opening fire on the assembled heroes, killing Cyclops, Hawkeye, and Jubilee. He is then attacked and wounded by Wolverine, and only survives due to the intervention of Colossus.

After recovering from his injuries, Castle is put on trial for triple-homicide. His attorney is Matt Murdock, who recognizes Castle as the man who rescued him from bullies when they were both boys (the two characters did not know each other as children in the normal Marvel universe). Despite Murdock's defense, Castle is sentenced to life imprisonment. On his way to prison, he is rescued, and Castle finds himself at the mansion of a rich but hideously disfigured old man named Kesselring. Kesselring introduces Castle to his associates, other disfigured and brain-damaged individuals, who reveal that they too were maimed in the crossfire of superhero/supervillain battles. They provide Castle with all the resources he will need if he will destroy every superhuman on earth. Thirsting for revenge, Castle agrees, and becomes the Punisher.

Over the next several years, the Punisher kills dozens of individuals, (Venom, Spider-Man, Hulk, Kingpin, Dr. Doom, Magneto, Sauron, Apocalypse, Storm, Iceman, Gambit, Emma Frost, Juggernaut, Sabertooth, Rogue, Cable, Sasquatch, Omega Red, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Nick Fury and Captain America Among others) until finally only Daredevil is left. By now weary of all the killings, Castle reports to his benefactors and tells them that he never expects to hear from them again once his assignment is complete. Kesselring tells him that the Punisher's crusade will never be complete, as a new generation of heroes will inevitably rise, and must be halted. Punisher then guns down Kesselring, and tells his colleagues that their need for vengeance has made them bitter and pathetic, leaving with the threat of killing them all if any of them try to contact him. Still, however, he goes to complete his assignment by killing Daredevil.

After a battle, Frank is wounded after falling off a roof. Daredevil tells Frank that he does not need to live through his pain, and begs for him to let it go. Not listening, Frank stabs Daredevil through the chest, killing him. Before he dies, Daredevil removes his mask and Frank is shocked to see the face of his friend Matt Murdock. Realizing the truth of Daredevil's words - the individuals he killed were still human beings despite their masks and powers - the Punisher makes one final kill: himself.

Impact

"The Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe" was originally released with zero fanfare in 1995 and quickly fell into obscurity until years later, when Garth Ennis (who had since gone onto fame and success through his DC Comics series "Preacher") was hired by Marvel to revive the Punisher franchise. As such, secondary market demand for the special caused it to rise to $50-$60 in value. Marvel would ultimately reprint the special (with a new cover by Steve Dillon) and include it as a bonus feature for the hardcover reprinting of Ennis's initial Punisher mini-series.

ee also

*List of The Punisher comics