The Punisher made his debut in Amazing Spider-Man #129 and was a villain, gunning to kill the Web Crawler. However, Spider-Man learned that Punisher was a killer, but he only went after criminals, especially those that the justice system let slip through the cracks. By 1996, Punisher got his first-ever solo series, and soon readers learned more about Frank Castle and his tragic past. By the time Garth Ennis began writing the series, Punisher comics became more violent than almost any other book Marvel Comics released. Through it all, Punisher never gave up his mission, even as his heroes like Captain America turned their backs on him.
No Marvel Comics hero has killed more people than Punisher, and these are his deadliest stories.
Released in 1986 by Steven Grant and Mike Zeck, the first Punisher solo series allowed Marvel to get really dark in an era where they mainly were PG-rated and fun. This is a five-issue miniseries that had several things happen that were also unusual for Marvel, including the death of an innocent child, a suicide, and Punisher dealing out his justice in prison. The story took the darkest turn when a warden helped Punisher break out of prison and then died by suicide rather than go to jail himself for his crimes. The main storyline sees the warden helping get Punisher out of prison for a group called The Trust, who uses Frank to kill for them by lying about his targets. While the series is older, it proved that fan demand for a Punisher solo series was strong.
Released in 2019, "World War Frank" took place in Punisher Vol. 12, and it saw Frank Castle versus the world. The storyline before this saw the U.S. government give Frank Castle the War Machine armor to help in a battle against terrorists in other countries, and this got Marvel's best antihero believing he should be doing more internationally. He goes after Baron Zemo and Mandarin, who were demanding that the country of Bagalia be accepted into the United Nations. When Punisher killed Mandarin, the U.S. ordered some of its biggest heroes to hunt Frank down and bring him in. Punisher ends up fighting everyone from Luke Cage and Iron Fist to Daredevil, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Winter Soldier, and more. In the end, the U.S. traded Punisher to Baron Zemo to end their conflict, betraying Frank to get him out of the country.
In 2004, Punisher MAX presented the storyline "Valley Forge Valley Forge." This series really hammered home one of Frank's two biggest rules. He won't fight a genuine hero, which is why he won't raise a hand against Captain America, even if Cap is beating him down. He also won't kill an American soldier, even if they deserve it (he will kill crooked cops, but not soldiers). In "Valley Forge Valley Forge," Frank is in a tough spot because a military group was sent to eliminate him, and Punisher had to defend himself without killing any of them. It was a very interesting storyline and showed Frank in a new light, as he fought with non-lethal methods -- until the end, when he realized why the military targeted him to begin with. Like much of Ennis's work, this story tackles the horrors of war, drawing from moments in Punisher's origin story that show how the war transformed Frank Castle into an unstoppable killing machine.
"The Cell" was a one-shot story in the Punisher MAX universe and presented a similar story to one that played out on the Netflix series. Punisher allows the police to arrest him and lets them send him to prison. However, he has one big reason he wanted to get behind bars. A major mob boss is being held in this prison, and this is the man responsible for killing Frank's family in this universe (Earth-200111). Once Frank gets into prison, he starts to mess with the prisoners' minds and turn them against each other. When they finally break down into a full-scale riot, Frank then sets his sights on the mob boss. This is as violent as anything in the MAX universe, and Punisher is brutal and vindictive as he ever was. Behind bars, no one is safe from The Punisher.
The Punisher doesn't have too many enemies who can take him to the limit. When it comes to his equals, Barracuda might be the best of the best. Throughout Garth Ennis' Punisher MAX series, he really showed how deadly and dangerous Frank Castle was as a vigilante and antihero. Then, starting with issue #30, he introduced someone as deadly with the mercenary Barracuda, a killer with a long history serving in the U.S. military. This storyline ran for six issues, and the two killers faced off more times than most people had a chance against Punisher, and Barracuda was easily as brutal and merciless as Frank Castle. The main story pitted Punisher against white-collar criminals, but it was his fight with Barrcuda that made this story elite.
The Punisher faced tough times in Marvel Comics, particularly when it came to being taken seriously. In one of the worst Punisher storylines of all time, a demon convinced Punisher to die by suicide. He was then resurrected by the Angel Gadriel and given Angelic power to use weapons of Heaven. Luckily, that didn't last long, and in 2000, Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon brought him back with the storyline "Welcome Back, Frank." Unlike a lot of Ennis' Punisher comics, this one has more humor than usual. Two police officers are hunting down Frank as part of the Punisher Strike Force, and they get lots of story time. However, the selling point here is Frank's friends in the building where he lives (Spacker Dave, Mr. Bumpo, and Joan the Mouse). Even better, this introduces the villain, Ma Gnucci, who is rumored to be the antagonist in his upcoming Disney+ special.
"In the Beginning" was the start of the Punisher MAX series, taking place on Earth-200111 and giving Marvel Comics a chance to present a more violent Frank Castle in what was mostly an R-rated adults-only series. This series opens with Frank visiting his family's graves, only to be captured by an old acquaintance in Micro, who offers Punisher a chance to work for the government. The idea here is to show Frank in a new environment, where he is still killing at a high pace, and then hint that there could be a chance to kill people who matter, like Osama bin Laden. However, the series would keep Frank on the streets, which was smart since this series had some of his best stories.
"The Slavers" is a perfect Punisher storyline because it delves into a real-world situation, offering a glimpse into what many people would like to see happen to these specific criminals. When Frank was hunting down some criminals to kill, he stumbled upon a sex trafficking ring, where women were being kidnapped and shipped off to serve as sex slaves for the rich and wealthy. After getting information from a social worker about the missing women, he went in and didn't just kill the men in charge of the New York operation. He did it brutally and filmed it to send to Moldova to let them know to stay out of America, or he would find them and do the same thing in their country. It was brutal, and the criminals deserved everything they had coming to them.
"Up Is Down, Black Is White" is the follow-up to "In the Beginning" and saw the mob hunting down Frank Castle for revenge after Punisher crippled their organization. This storyline shows how dark and depraved Garth Ennis gets in this series, as mobster Nicky Cavella defiles Frank's family's graves to lure the Punisher out, and it is obvious how bad this will end up for the criminal. However, this also shows that Punisher is not invincible, and he needs help to get out of this mess in one piece. A six-issue storyline, this is one of the darkest Punisher stories, and it gets extremely violent as Nicky might be one of the worst criminals Frank has ever crossed paths with.
It is almost universally accepted that The Punisher: Born is near the top of every list for Punisher storylines, and it is easily one of the deadliest adventures that Frank has ever been involved with. Unlike most of the MAX stories, which take place in a different universe, this storyline is set on Earth-616 and is canon to Frank's ongoing Marvel story. This story, set in the past, focuses on Frank's military service, and it is possibly the definitive origin story for Punisher's time in the war. It takes place at Valley Forge, which was part of a MAX storyline as well. The Punisher: Born sees Frank dealing with incompetent superiors and an overwhelming number of enemies, but Frank surviving his final tour of Vietnam sets him up for his life as the Punisher in the coming years.