The series stars a version of the titular Punisher, but not the usual Marvel Universe character. This Punisher is still Frank Castle, but he's an interstellar vigilante with a robot sidekick and the sentient starship Marie.
Rather than punishing criminals in general, this version of Frank is still entirely focused on avenging his dead family, victims of the crime lords known as the Six-Fingered Hand (6FH) - a mission that'll bring him into conflict with reimagined versions of some very familiar Marvel characters.
Space: Punisher provides examples of:
- Adaptational Badass:
- Jarvis. This version of him is a Battle Butler who fights Frank to a standstill and is only defeated via Weaponised Teleportation.
- This also seems to be true of the Hulk, who is even more feared (and more murderous) than his mainstream Marvel Universe version. He defeats the Fantastic Four, tears The Thing's arm off, slaughters Samson's hulkbusters and kills the renegade Watchers.
- Adaptational Villainy:
- The Avengers Federation end the Kree-Skrull War by killing both sides.
- This version of Uatu the Watcher is a galactic crime lord.
- After Hulk kills Samson, Thunderbolt Ross kills one of his minions for making a bad joke.
- Adaptational Wimp:
- This version of Barracuda gets the Butt-Monkey treatment. First Frank easily defeats him offscreen, then the 6FS assassins arrive, finding him helpless - and then he's abandoned to the mercy of the Hulk.
- More generally, the 6FS leaders and their minions don't stand much of a chance against Frank and Chip. Compared to the usual versions of Magneto and Ultron, in particular, they go down pretty easily.
- Alternate Universe: The series is set in a very different universe, not the usual "Earth-616" Marvel Universe, with many characters from Earth transplanted to its galactic setting.
- An Arm and a Leg: Frank loses his left arm in the final battle with the Watchers.
- Atop a Mountain of Corpses: When Frank attacks Skullworld, he's first seen standing atop a heap of dead Hitlers, fighting even more Hitlers. They eventually bring him down through weight of numbers, but the mountain is more than twice his height by then.
- Barbie Doll Anatomy: Hulk is always naked, but lacks nipples and genitalia.
- Battle Butler: Jarvis, who's one of the most competent opponents Frank faces in the series.
- Big Bad: Uatu and the other renegade Watchers, the real power behind the Six-Fingered Hand.
- Breath Weapon: The Red Skull seems to have some sort of corrosive breath weapon (the effects look similar to his usual Death Dust, but its exact nature is never confirmed), although he only uses it against his own Hitler minions before Frank kills him.
- Continuity Cameo: Versions of Marvel villains Thanos, Annihilus and Blastaar are all drinking in Boss Corsair's bar when Frank walks through.
- Exact Words: Frank promises that if the Leader talks, Frank won't throw him out the nearest airlock. He talks. So Frank gets Chip to throw him out the airlock instead.
- Extreme Omnisexual: This version of Corsair. When we first see him, he's relaxing in bed. Accompanied by three humanoid women, a mermaid, a centaur, what seems to be a Blob Monster, a chicken, a half-seen humanoid man and a horse (saddled). He seems very proud of himself.
- Feed It a Bomb: Frank shoves one of the Green Goblin's grenades into the Red Skull's mouth. Even his colleague Ultron isn't too sad to see him go.
- Gotta Kill Them All: Frank's determined to kill the leaders of the Six-Fingered Hand. And then he discovers that there are another, more powerful, six behind the names he knew.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Hulk bites Sabretooth in half at the waist, then spits his top half into space.
- I Cannot Self-Terminate: Bruce Banner, whose human upper half is still encased within the Hulk, manifests and requests a Mercy Kill from Frank. He obliges. It doesn't seem to kill the Hulk, though. Just Bruce himself.
- Living Figurehead: Frank's interrogation of Doctor Octopus involves lashing him to the front of Frank's spaceship, as a figurehead, and leaving him there for hours, unprotected from the ravages of space-flight. They'd have brought him back inside to listen to his confession earlier, but they couldn't hear the screaming.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: This version of Hulk has four arms, and Deadpool seems to have three.
- Off with His Head!: Hulk tears Deadpool's head off, then hurls it into space.
- Recycled In Space: The title makes it very clear. It's the Punisher, but in space.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The series tells the story of Frank's rampage after his family’s death. It's the Gotta Kill Them All variety.
- Sapient Ship: The Starship Marie's AI is based on Frank's dead wife.
- Smoldering Shoes: All that's left of Boss Corsair's bodyguard (who's never named, but appears to be a version of the Rhino) after Frank calls in Death from Above via the Starship Marie's weapon systems. His feet and ankles are still in the boots.
- Stop Hitting Yourself: It's implied that the Hulk strangled Samson with his own hair.
- Summon Bigger Fish: Frank is completely outgunned by Uatu and the other renegade Watchers leading the 6FH. So he summons the Hulk to deal with them instead.
- Weaponised Teleportation: Frank finds himself unable to beat Jarvis in battle, so gets the ship to lock onto his opponent and teleport him into space.
- You Cloned Hitler!: Implied. Skullworld seems to be entirely populated by Hitlers, including modified Hitlers with horns, tentacles and other odd features.
