FLASHBACK FAVE: THE PUNISHER

In celebration of recently getting a most-wanted, sort-of-hard-to-find Marvel Universe 3.75" figure of the Punisher, I wanted to discuss in-depth the character, dissecting his enduring appeal, underrated comic stories (with a special focus on my personal peak reading period - the 80s), cool bad-ass moments, and a mini-review/rumination of his current action figure incarnation.

Above all, the appeal of the Punisher lay in his iconography - skull costume and (unlike most superheroes) without mask, as well as his one-track reason for being, his end goal, and his overall arc as a character: Kill criminals. Simple (and simple-minded), yes, but "revenge"-themed characters have always been attractive to many; who hasn't thought of taking up arms or inflicting pain (or worse) against a person that has done us wrong or committed some transgression? Or vent one's bottled-up anger or frustration out into the world? The Punisher exemplifies that, in the guise and label of superhero.

Making his first appearance in the pages of Spider-Man, the Punisher subsequently made a few cameo-like appearances as a misunderstood, often villainized nuisance for the virtuous hero to stop. He made his formal debut in the early 80's with the Circle of Blood mini-series, written by Steven Grant and superbly drawn by Secret Wars and G.I. Joe cover artist Mike Zeck (except for the last issue). This was followed by an ongoing regular series, scripted (mostly) by Mike Baron (Nexus), featuring rough, scratchy art by Frank Miller inker Klaus Janson. These stories readjusted the character as more adventurer than cold-hearted vigilante, toning down his previous one-note excesses ("I.Must. Punish."), and resembling, as one observer pointed out, the Remo Williams: Destroyer series of books. In hindsight, despite its popularity (inspiring spin-offs like War Journal and War Zone), many stories were serviceable at best, but rarely memorable. Only through the eyes of nostalgia and fondness (in a 12-year-old, fanboy/geek kind of way) do some of the issues carry any weight or relevance.
Walking into a comic store in the 80s and seeing this:

How can this not blow your mind as a kid? Some of the comics also hit that sweet spot ("whoa, cool"). Here's a few:

1. Punisher: Return to Big Nothing - Looking back at this gorgeous hardcover, one thing that sticks out is, despite its familiarity (having been created by the COB team of Grant and Zeck), how raw, edgy, and a bit more mature it seemed (at least at the time), than previous Punisher stories. Which shouldn't be surprising, it was an Epic graphic novel, which should have been a big sign that this was not your typical in-continuity tale. (It featured the character having - off-screen - sex.) Another interesting take was showing the character as a cocky blowhard who was brought down and embarrassed by his superiors. Years later, more hardened and badass, he takes down those same people, now criminals, primarily as rectification in the story's plot, but also (though unstated) as sweet revenge for how he was treated all those years ago. Yeah, pretty relateable.

Not your typical 80s comic scene

2. Punisher #14 - Pretty simple and straightforward - Punisher becomes substitute teacher, slaps down a few students and bullies, but takes out a larger (underground) network of criminals and dealers, in the end emphasizing the importance of education (um, yeah)...

Teaching is my life?

Kind of ridiculous, yes, but a couple of things that I remember fondly: That kickass, tragic (is Punisher shedding a tear?) cover -

and being exposed, for the first time, to Pinoy artist Whilce Portacio (kababayan!). And although his art's somewhat fallen out of favor in recent years, at the time, his hard edges and line details were absolutely mind-blowing.

3. Punisher War Journal #6-7 - Punisher. Wolverine. Meeting for the first time, and maybe the last! - teased the cover. What more needs to be said? This one also featured art from an up-and-coming superstar, Jim Lee, with an interesting story of Punisher taking a "break" from vigilantism to become a big game hunter/tracker for a group of suspect scientists in Africa, only to confront Wolverine, out on a an animal-rights revenge vendetta. The confrontation was brief (maybe too brief), but had some nice, nifty moments...

Typical badass moment for Wolvie

As well as dinosaurs.

4. Punisher War Zone #1-5 - The story is simple and solid - Punisher goes undercover in the mafia - by tough guy scribe Chuck Dixon, and the art (with a balls-to-wall debut cover) by John Romita Jr. (departing his elegant Daredevil/X-Men style) is big, loud and burly; off-putting to some, but a nice play/twist on the overly big, hatchy Image art style beginning to take root during this period.

Cool moment: When the Punisher, at his lowest (beaten and chained to car detonated to explode), encounters the big heavy, who was built up in previous issues to be a government-sanctioned badass to be an antagonist, is actually revealed to be an old army buddy who aids, then teams up with him to cause chaos at the story's climax.

5. Daredevil 183-184 - Really hard, dark and edgy at the time, still packs a punch all these years later. Frank Miller, working at the peak of his powers, introduces the first meeting between the two, and - like most Marvel team ups, - starts off awkward, with the two fighting it over differences in ideology. Unlike most team-ups, the don't end up joining forces, but rather end up resenting one another, a sentiment that still continues to this day.

Beyond that, the story itself, about hard drugs - Angel Dust - being introduced into a middle-school, and its tragic repercussions,

The Punisher ouvve wouldn't be complete without acclaimed Garth Ennis. His first mini-series brought the Punisher back from irrelevancy - bringing a stripped-down, back-to-basics approach to his character, while injecting the series with high-octane violence and gross-out, slapstick humor reminiscent of his Vertigo series Preacher. While that series was popular, his follow-up series pushed the character into darker, more serious and mature territory. Dour and grizzled, the Punisher takes down white slavers, white collar day traders, corrupt government officials, i.e., villains closer to our real world. Ennis and his collaborators pushed the Punisher to a logical, nihilistic conclusion.

Punisher's had many action figures in different scales come out over the decades, most notably several versions of the still-popular Legends 6 inch line (which includes the 2004 movie version, as well as his current Thunderbolts incarnation), usually packed to the gills with weapons and accessories. For small-scale collectors, choices were rather slim - the Showdown version, which I missed out on, and Marvel Universe's first two versions, which were decent, but the bulky arms, wide grips, and lack of several articulation points made these figures less-than-great in hindsight.
Hasbro's rectified that with their latest iteration. With an improved buck (used on the Jim Lee Cyclops, new Daredevil and some others), this is probably the best 3.75" version of the vigilante. Some of its features include improved articulation - with the arms able to fold 90 degrees at the elbow; a better head sculpt (harking back to the "fine Italian features" of the original John Romita design), complete with widow's peak haircut; the head's ability to look slightly up; thigh holsters for two pistols, and the best part -  hands that can hold smaller weapons, which now means he's compatible with many G.I. Joe weapons and accessories! Punisher's now got an arsenal! Overall, a really great figure.
One minor complaint is that when the figure was first revealed, it had clean paint and molding for its white parts (skull, gloves, boots). When the figure was finally released though, it had a blue-ish paint wash which sort of muddied the look. Not terrible, but the original would have been better.
Another nitpick is the price: Locally, Marvel (and most Hasbro) figures have upped their cost in recent waves, so collectors such as myself have had to pick and choose what they really want, forgoing the completist route (sigh).