Punisher in other media

Adaptations of Punisher in other media
Created by	Gerry Conway Ross Andru John Romita, Sr.
Original source	Comics published by Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Amazing Spider-Man #129 (February 1974)
Films and television
Film(s)	The Punisher (1989) The Punisher (2004) Punisher: War Zone (2008)
Television show(s)	Daredevil (TV series)
Games
Video game(s)	The Punisher (console) (1990) The Punisher (computer) (1990) The Punisher (1993) The Punisher (2005) The Punisher: No Mercy (2009)

The comic book character the Punisher has appeared in many types of media. Since his first appearance in 1974, he has appeared in television, films, and video games, each on multiple occasions; and his name, symbol, and image have appeared on products and merchandise.

Television

Animated

The Punisher in Spider-Man: The Animated Series

• Punisher made three appearances in the 1990s Spider-Man: The Animated Series, voiced by John Beck. He first appears in the seventh and eighth episodes of the second season, and later appears in the eighth episode of season four. Due to the requirements for children's programming, Punisher was restricted to using non-lethal weapons which took the form of concussion blast energy weapons or gimmick guns such as electrified net launchers. The death of his family was portrayed off-screen by showing a kite flying, and then falling, at the sound of gunshots.
• In the 1992 X-Men animated series episode "Days of Future Past, Part 1", two children are seen holding a video game cartridge called Assassin, with the Punisher on the cover of the video game. The game was produced by "Marbles", a play on "Marvel". A robot duplicate of the Punisher also appeared in the season two episode entitled "Mojovision", attacking Wolverine and Jean Grey.^[1]
• In Iron Man: Armored Adventures, in the episode "The Hammer Falls", the Punisher is mentioned by Pepper Potts as a vigilante hit-man.
• The Punisher appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "Night in the Sanctorum" voiced by Ray Stevenson, who reprises his role in Punisher: War Zone.^[2]
• In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes micro-episode "Enter the Whirlwind", the Punisher is mentioned by a taxi driver who is reading a newspaper article that states "Vigilante 'Punishes' Again" and a photograph of the Punisher's skull logo.
• The Punisher makes a cameo appearance in the Avengers Assemble series.^[3]

Live-action

Character poster of Jon Bernthal as Punisher for the second season of the television series, Daredevil.

• According to Variety, Fox was developing the Punisher as an hour long TV series^[4] but it was cancelled in 2012.^[5]

• Jon Bernthal plays Frank Castle / Punisher in the second season of Marvel Television's Daredevil, set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is the debut appearance of the character in the MCU.^[6]

• In an interview with SciFiNow, Daredevil's showrunner Steven DeKnight revealed his desire to do an R-rated Punisher series for Netflix.^[7] In January 2016, Netflix was revealed to be planning a Punisher television series starring Bernthal.^[8] A spin-off Punisher series was officially ordered by Netflix on the 29th of April with Jon Bernthal reprising his role and Steve Lightfoot as showrunner.^[9]

Films

The Punisher has been portrayed in three separate and unrelated films; all of which received critic reviews ranging from negative to mixed responses.

• Dolph Lundgren appeared in The Punisher (1989), portraying Frank Castle / Punisher for the first time in a feature-length film.
• Frank Castle / The Punisher was portrayed by actor, Thomas Jane in The Punisher (2004).
• Originally intended to be a sequel, a reboot titled Punisher: War Zone (2008), featured actor Ray Stevenson as Frank Castle / Punisher.

Video games

Toys

• Toy Biz released an action figure of the Punisher around 1994, based on the TV show Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
• The Punisher appears in the Marvel Legends toy-line in series 4, 6, and 8, modeled after his movie appearance; the Urban Legends boxed set; in the Face Off two-pack series in his classic outfit; and a variant similar to Tim Bradstreet's design.
• The Punisher was given an action figure in the second series of Hasbro 12-inch Icons. The figure's design was based on Bradstreet's art.
• Another figure in series 4 of Hasbro's Marvel Legends has been announced, this one also based on Bradstreet's art with a camouflaged variant similar to his appearance in a level of the PlayStation 2 game.
• The Punisher was also produced as an action figure in the Marvel Select toy line. His appearance is again modeled after Tim Bradstreet's art.
• The Punisher is the nineteenth figurine in The Classic Marvel Figurine Collection.
• Pop culture toy company Funko released a Walgreens exclusive of the Punisher in their POP! Vinyl line.

Popular culture

• In rock music, Dave Mustaine, a front man of the heavy metal band Megadeth, noted that the hit songs "Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!" and "Holy Wars... the Punishment Due" were inspired by the Punisher, which Mustaine afterward stopped reading, stating "it's been commercialized."^[10]
• The song "Tequila Sunrise" by the hip hop group Cypress Hill contains a line mentioning Frank Castle.
• Biohazard has a song called "Punishment" that uses Dolph Lundgren's dialogue from the 1989 Punisher movie.
• Use by US Navy SEALs; in his autobiography special operations sniper Chris Kyle states that his Navy Seal platoon serving in Iraq adopted the Punisher skull as their unit emblem, stating that they considered 'what the Punisher did was cool: He righted wrongs. He killed bad guys. He made wrongdoers fear him'.^[11]
• In the fourth issue of the 2015 Archie Comics crossover Archie vs. Predator, a partially obscured photograph of the Punisher with Veronica Lodge can be seen in the Lodge mansion, as a reference to the earlier 1994 comic Archie Meets the Punisher.

Sports

• In sports racing, Lions Gate Entertainment partnered with Kodak and Penske Racing to run a Punisher-themed race car driven by Brendan Gaughan during the March 28, 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup at Bristol Motor Speedway to promote the 2004 film. Actor Thomas Jane was present.
• In professional hockey, the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins 2009 playoffs T-shirts and sweatshirts worn by the players off the ice feature the Punisher skull on its left sleeve.

Household products

• Diamond Select Toys released a bottle opener of the character's signature skull emblem.

References

1. "Mojovision Review". Marvel Toonzone. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
2. "Marvel Super Hero Squad Voice Cast". Comics Continuum. July 28, 2009. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
3. "Planet Doom". Avengers Assemble. Season 1. Episode 15. December 8, 2013. Disney XD.
4. Wallenstein, Andrew (2011-10-20). "ABC Studios sells scripts tapping music and Marvel". Variety.
5. Chitwood, Adam (15 May 2012). "Hulk May Be on ABC Next Year; The Punisher TV Series Not Moving Forward at Fox". Collider.com. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
6. "Jon Bernthal Cast as Frank Castle in the Netflix Original Series 'Marvel's Daredevil'". Marvel.com. June 9, 2015. Archived from the original on June 9, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
7. Wright, Steven (April 1, 2015). "DAREDEVIL COULD SPIN OFF INTO “HARD R” PUNISHER REBOOT". Sci Fi Now.
8. Ausiello, Michael (January 16, 2016). "Punisher Spinoff Starring Jon Bernthal in Development at Netflix". TVLine. Archived from the original on January 16, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
9. Hibberd, James (April 29, 2016). "Marvel's The Punisher spin-off ordered by Netflix". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
10. "The Realms of Deth - Megadeth Interviews - Deth Rally". Megadeth.rockmetal.art.pl. Retrieved 2010-09-18.
11. 'American Sniper' by Chris Kyle pages 263-5

External links

• The Punisher at the Comic Book DB
• The Punisher at Marvel.com