History ComicBook / ThePunisher2001

''The Punisher'' (2001) is a series from the Creator/MarvelKnights imprint of Creator/MarvelComics, starring the titular [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Punisher]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsFrankCastle Frank Castle]]. It's a SequelSeries to the 2000 comic [[ComicBook/ThePunisherWelcomeBackFrank of the same name]], and much of the series is by the same writer, Creator/GarthEnnis (some of Ennis's issues also have art by Creator/SteveDillon, reuniting the creative team from the previous series).

''The Punisher'' (2001) is a series from the Creator/MarvelKnights imprint of Creator/MarvelComics, starring the titular [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Punisher]], Frank Castle. It's a SequelSeries to the 2000 comic [[ComicBook/ThePunisherWelcomeBackFrank of the same name]], and much of the series is by the same writer, Creator/GarthEnnis (some of Ennis's issues also have art by Creator/SteveDillon, reuniting the creative team from the previous series).

Although it's set in the shared Franchise/MarvelUniverse, the stories tend to focus on Frank, a BadassNormal and lethal vigilante, confronting criminals rather than supervillains. There are occasional references to stranger happenings (one story includes ghosts), and some well-known superheroes do appear (such as [[Characters/SpiderManPeterParker Spider-Man]], [[Characters/WolverineJamesLoganHowlett Wolverine]] and [[Characters/DaredevilMattMurdock Daredevil]]), but they're very much the exception. The stories featuring superheroes are at the more comedic end of the scale, whereas some of the mundane crime stories are bleaker and very much played for drama.

* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: Frank rescues a man with IdentityAmnesia from the mob and looks after him for a few days. His guest complains that the food doesn't taste right. [[spoiler:That's because his guest is an amnesiac [[Characters/IncredibleHulkBruceBanner Bruce Banner]], and Frank's putting C-4 plastic explosive in his food so that he can detonate it to subdue the Hulk later]].
* TemporarilyExaggeratedTrait: Ennis writes [[Characters/WolverineJamesLoganHowlett Wolverine]] as a broad parody of his usual Franchise/MarvelUniverse portrayal. His intelligence and skills are downplayed and he's portrayed as a violent drunk who relies on his healing factor to survive.

* GagBoobs: The Russian, one of the villains from the previous [[ComicBook/ThePunisherWelcomeBackFrank Punisher series]], is resurrected as an almost unstoppable cyborg. A side effect gives him huge breasts. He asks the scientists behind his new body to make them even bigger.

* AlcoholInducedBisexuality: Detective Soap, generally portrayed as heterosexual, ends up in bed with John "Bubba" Prong, who he meets in a bar, after an especially drunken night. It's played for laughs, portrayed as just one more poor drunken decision by Soap. [[spoiler:And then briefly played for drama, with the reveal that John is a serial killer]].

* GagBoobs: The Russian, one of the villains from the previous [[ComicBook/ThePunisherWelcomeBackFrank 'Welcome Back, Frank']] Punisher series, is resurrected as an almost unstoppable cyborg. A side effect gives him huge breasts. He asks the scientists behind his new body to make them even bigger.

* EnemyRisingBehind: [[spoiler:Sid Saggio, the only gangster to survive the initial massacre in ''"Squid"'', was mocked by his associates for spending his weekends diving off Brooklyn, hoping to see a GiantSquid. When he finally confronts the Punisher on a pier, a huge tentacle rises up behind him and he's dragged into the sea and crushed to death. He does get a little post-mortem satisfaction from telling his associates' ghosts that he was right, though]].

* GiantSquid: Sid Saggio, antagonist of the single-issue story ''"Squid"'', spends his weekends diving off Brooklyn in the hope that he'll see a giant squid. His thinking is that they wash up everywhere when they die, so why ''not'' Brooklyn? [[spoiler:At the end of the story he has the Punisher, who's wounded and seemingly disarmed, held at gunpoint on a pier. And then a huge tentacle [[EnemyRisingBehind rises up behind Sid]], grabs him and drags him into the sea, saving the Punisher. Sid gets a very ''close'' look at the squid before he dies, though]].

* WriterOnBoard: ''"Downtown"'' takes Frank to [[UsefulNotes/NorthernIreland Belfast]], where he's caught up in the sectarian violence and gang wars that followed the Good Friday Agreement and the end of UsefulNotes/TheTroubles. Writer Creator/GarthEnnis grew up in Northern Ireland and Frank's ally Yorkie Mitchell's explanation of the history and the current situation is a blunt and bitter WallOfText.

Set in the shared Franchise/MarvelUniverse, the stories tend to focus on Frank, a BadassNormal and lethal vigilante, confronting criminals rather than supervillains. There are occasional references to stranger happenings (one story includes ghosts), and some well-known superheroes do appear (such as [[Characters/SpiderManPeterParker Spider-Man]], [[Characters/WolverineJamesLoganHowlett Wolverine]] and [[Characters/DaredevilMattMurdock Daredevil]]), but they're very much the exception. The stories featuring superheroes are at the more comedic end of the scale, whereas some of the mundane crime stories are bleaker and very much played for drama.

* WriterOnBoard: ''"Downtown"'' takes Frank to UsefulNotes/[[NorthernIreland Belfast]], where he's caught up in the sectarian violence and gang wars that followed the Good Friday Agreement and the end of UsefulNotes/TheTroubles. Writer Creator/GarthEnnis grew up in Northern Ireland and Frank's ally Yorkie Mitchell's explanation of the history and the current situation is a blunt and bitter WallOfText.

* WriterOnBoard: ''"Downtown"'' takes Frank to UsefulNotes/{{NorthernIreland Belfast}}, where he's caught up in the sectarian violence and gang wars that followed the Good Friday Agreement and the end of UsefulNotes/TheTroubles. Writer Creator/GarthEnnis grew up in Northern Ireland and Frank's ally Yorkie Mitchell's explanation of the history and the current situation is a blunt and bitter WallOfText.

Set in the shared Franchise/MarvelUniverse, the stories tend to focus on Frank facing normal criminals rather than supervillains. There are occasional references to stranger happenings (one story includes ghosts), and some well-known superheroes do appear (such as [[Characters/SpiderManPeterParker Spider-Man]], [[Characters/WolverineJamesLoganHowlett Wolverine]] and [[Characters/DaredevilMattMurdock Daredevil]]), but they're very much the exception. The stories featuring superheroes are at the more comedic end of the scale, whereas some of the mundane crime stories are bleaker and very much played for drama.

''The Punisher'' (2001) is a series from the Creator/MarvelKnights imprint of Creator/MarvelComics, starring the titular [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Punisher]], Frank Castle. It's a SequelSeries to the 2000 comic [[ComicBook/ThePunisherWelcomeBackFrank of the same name]], and much of the series is by the same writer, Creator/GarthEnnis (and some of Ennis's issues have art by Creator/SteveDillon, reuniting the creative team from the previous series).

* EnemyRisingBehind: [[spoiler:Sid Saggio, the only gangster to survive the initial massacre in ''"Squid"'', was mocked by his associates for spending his weekends diving off Brooklyn, hoping to see a GiantSquid. When he finally confronts the Punisher on a pier, a huge tentacle rises up behind him and he's dragged into the sea and crushed to death]]. He does get a little post-mortem satisfaction from telling his associates' ghosts that he was right, though]].

* {{TemporarilyExaggeratedTrait}}: Ennis writes [[Characters/WolverineJamesLoganHowlett Wolverine]] as a broad parody of his usual Franchise/MarvelUniverse portrayal. His intelligence and skills are downplayed and he's portrayed as a violent drunk who relies on his healing factor to survive.

* {{Flanderization}}: Ennis writes [[Characters/WolverineJamesLoganHowlett Wolverine]] as a broad parody of his usual Franchise/MarvelUniverse portrayal. His intelligence and skills are downplayed and he's portrayed as a violent drunk who relies on his healing factor to survive.

* GiantSquid: Sid Saggio, antagonist of the single-issue story ''"Squid"'', spends his weekends diving off Brooklyn in the hope that he'll see a giant squid. His thinking is that they wash up everywhere when they die, so why ''not'' Brooklyn? [[spoiler:At the end of the story he has the Punisher, who's wounded and seemingly disarmed, held at gunpoint on a pier. And then a huge tentacle [[EnemyRisingBehind rises up behind Sid]], grabs him and drags him into the sea, saving the Punisher. He gets a very ''close'' look at the squid before he dies, though]].

* EnemyRisingBehind: [[spoiler:The gangster in ''"Squid"'' is mocked by his associates for spending his weekends diving, hoping to see a GiantSquid. When he finally confronts the Punisher on a pier, a huge tentacle rises up behind him and he's [[KilledOffscreen apparently crushed to death]]. He does get some post-mortem satisfaction from telling his associates' ghosts that he was right, though]].