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T-shirt Prices from $18.99
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Punisher T-Shirts - TOP SELLERS
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Punisher White Skull
T-Shirt
$19.99 |
Punisher Movie
Skull T-Shirt
$18.99 |
Punisher Faded
T-Shirt
$18.99 |
Punisher
Costume T-Shirt
$24.99 |
Punisher Liquid
Metal Skull T-Shirt
$18.99 |
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Punisher T-Shirts - ALL OTHERS
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Punisher T-Shirt
Red Distressed
$18.99 |
Punisher T-Shirt
Purple Skull
$18.99 |
Punisher T-Shirt
Broken Skull
$19.99 |
Punisher Skull
Hoodie
$42.99 |
Punisher T-Shirt
Sniper
$18.99 |
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Punisher T-Shirt
Brick Alley
$19.99 |
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Punisher T-Shirts - Discontinued
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Punisher Crucified
T-Shirt
$18.75 |
Punisher Hoodie
Movie Skull
$43.99 |
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Punisher Profile
The Punisher is Marvel’s most dangerous hero. Although he possesses no special abilities
beyond those of a highly trained and motivated soldier, his ruthless commitment to a war on
crime has turned his life into an endless, bloody battle. While other Marvel heroes generally
kill with the utmost reluctance, The Punisher positively relishes his role as an executioner.
The gigantic skull emblazoned on the front of his black costume sums up his public persona.
Writer Gerry Conway and art director John Romita first conceived The Punisher as a grim gunman,
and when he first appeared in 1974 the character was an assassin for hire, albeit on who would
only eliminate criminals. The idea for killing for cash was dropped almost immediately,
however, and The Punisher was transformed into a crusader motivated by revenge, although he was
not above pocketing the ill-gotten gains of his victims. His wife and children had been
murdered after accidentally witnessing a gangland execution, so he wrecked vengeance on the
brutal perpetrators and has subsequently stalked all lawbreakers. Outwardly he is stoic, but
beneath the surface he is tortured by the guilt of a survivor. Yet there are also hints that
his loss may have been a blessing in disguise, that he was born for his job and could not be
happy without it.
Despite his obsession, The Punisher is in some ways a very practical man, and much of his
appeal is based on his use of authentic weapons and technology. The disturbing hero is one of
the most convincing in comic books, and hardware is part of his charm. His no-nonsense attitude
challenges psychological and sociological excuses for evil: he just finds bad guys and shoots
them. Although in some respects The Punisher is a throwback to the pitiless heroes of the old
pulp magazines, he is also a symptom of our times, or perhaps a commentary on how we see
ourselves today. Captain America came wrapped in Old Glory, but The Punisher’s costume appears
to be made out of a pirate’s flag.
The Big Gun
While Marvel’s attempts to invent new heroes didn’t really work out, a character came in through
the back door who was destined to emerge as one of the hottest heroes of the 1980’s. His name
was The Punisher.
Gerry Conway, who had taken over from Stan Lee as Spider-Man’s writer, says, “I wanted to do a
dark, street-tough kind of opponent for Spider-Man. I came up with the character, took it to
Roy, and we decided to do it. John Romita [Sr.] developed the costume. My original sketch
was of a guy in a black jumpsuit with a little white skull on his chest, and John did a
wonderful thing where he took the skull, made it huge, and made the teeth of the skull form
a cartridge belt. It looked terrific.”
When The Punisher first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 (February 1974), Ross
Andru drew the character’s craggy, scowling features and sent him out with a concussion rifle
to kill Spidey. Acting under the misapprehension that Spider-Man was a criminal, The
Punisher relents upon realizing the truth, but vows to continue his vigilante mission
of eradicating felons. “Something tells me,” says Spidey, “that man’s got problems that
make mine look like a birthday party.”
The Punisher began making further guest appearances almost immediately. He acquired a
name and an origin: he was Frank Castle, an ex-Marine who transformed himself into a one-man
army after his family was slaughtered by thugs. He was grim and brutal, and the fans loved
him.
“From the moment I wrote him,” Conway says, I thought he would be a star character. Every time
he appeared in a Spider-Man book, it sold well. But he had no super powers, and at that time
there was a strong feeling that a character without super powers couldn’t carry his own book.
The other feeling was that The Punisher was so violent that we couldn’t really give him a
regular color comic book.” It would take a new decade with a new attitude toward crime, to
elevate the vengeful Punisher to his full commercial potential. “I was years ahead of my
time,” says Conway with a laugh.
Five Fabulous Decades of the worlds greatest comics, MARVEL. By Les Daniels, published
by Harry N. Abrams, Inc NY. A Times Mirror Co. p. 163-165.
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