Quotes from the Punisher:
Spider-Man: Say, friend, what's this whole kick you're on? You said you were a marine—so howcum you're fighting over here?
The Punisher: That's my business, super-hero. Not yours. Maybe when I'm dead it'll mean something...but right now I'm just a warrior...fighting a lonely war.
Spider-Man (thought bubbles): Something tells me that man's got problems that make mine look like a birthday party.
The Punisher: That's my business, super-hero. Not yours. Maybe when I'm dead it'll mean something...but right now I'm just a warrior...fighting a lonely war.
Spider-Man (thought bubbles): Something tells me that man's got problems that make mine look like a birthday party.
— The Amazing Spider-Man #129, The Punisher's first appearance, written by Gerry Conway.
"I leave this as a declaration of intent, so no one will be confused.
One: 'Si vis pacem, para bellum.' Latin. Boot Camp Sergeant made us recite it like a prayer. 'Si vis pacem, para bellum - If you want peace, prepare for war.'
Two: Frank Castle is dead. He died with his family.
Three: In certain extreme situations, the law is inadequate. In order to shame its inadequacy, it is necessary to act outside the law to pursue a natural justice. This is not vengeance; revenge is not a valid motive, it's an emotional response. No, not vengeance... punishment."
One: 'Si vis pacem, para bellum.' Latin. Boot Camp Sergeant made us recite it like a prayer. 'Si vis pacem, para bellum - If you want peace, prepare for war.'
Two: Frank Castle is dead. He died with his family.
Three: In certain extreme situations, the law is inadequate. In order to shame its inadequacy, it is necessary to act outside the law to pursue a natural justice. This is not vengeance; revenge is not a valid motive, it's an emotional response. No, not vengeance... punishment."
— Frank Castle, The Punisher (2004 film)
"Those who do evil to others - the killers, the rapists, psychos, sadists - you will come to know me well. Frank Castle is dead. Call me... The Punisher."
— Frank Castle, The Punisher (2004 film)
"Para bellum. Si vis pacem, para bellum. Every dawn, the boot camp sergeant made them recite it, like a prayer. A litany. A declaration. Si vis pacem, para bellum.
I've no idea how things will end up. Chances are, I won't be around to explain myself later. So I'm making this journal, starting here, as a declaration of intent, so that no one will be in any doubt.
Point one: Frank Castle is dead. However, the message has yet to reach his body, and so it continues to twitch. Who can say what it might do before it stops moving?
Point two: Sometimes the law is helpless to act, even when it identifies the guilty. It follows therefore, that sometimes it is necessary to act outside the law, to shame its inadequacy, to pursue a natural justice. I'm not talking about vengeance. Revenge is not a valid motive. It's a tawdry, emotional response no better than the act that provokes it. I'm talking about... punishment.
McTeer wouldn't approve, but I tried it his way. I tried it Laviano's way, too. I trusted in systems and promises that were not up to the task. I tried it everyone's way. Everyone's except mine. In the service of this country, I trained as a marine. I am very good at my job. Camouflage, preparation, combat, intimidation. So point three: I am up to the task. When I do my job, it gets done. No screw-ups, no errors, no mistakes.
Point four: Consider this motto, 'Si vis pacem, para bellum.' 'If you want peace, prepare for war.'"
I've no idea how things will end up. Chances are, I won't be around to explain myself later. So I'm making this journal, starting here, as a declaration of intent, so that no one will be in any doubt.
Point one: Frank Castle is dead. However, the message has yet to reach his body, and so it continues to twitch. Who can say what it might do before it stops moving?
Point two: Sometimes the law is helpless to act, even when it identifies the guilty. It follows therefore, that sometimes it is necessary to act outside the law, to shame its inadequacy, to pursue a natural justice. I'm not talking about vengeance. Revenge is not a valid motive. It's a tawdry, emotional response no better than the act that provokes it. I'm talking about... punishment.
McTeer wouldn't approve, but I tried it his way. I tried it Laviano's way, too. I trusted in systems and promises that were not up to the task. I tried it everyone's way. Everyone's except mine. In the service of this country, I trained as a marine. I am very good at my job. Camouflage, preparation, combat, intimidation. So point three: I am up to the task. When I do my job, it gets done. No screw-ups, no errors, no mistakes.
Point four: Consider this motto, 'Si vis pacem, para bellum.' 'If you want peace, prepare for war.'"
— Frank Castle, The Punisher: Year One
I caught a glimpse of heaven once. The Angels showed me. The idea was I'd kill for them. Clean up their mistakes on Earth. Eventually redeem myself.
Tried it. Didn't like it. Told them where to stick it. So they brought me up to heaven, to see what I'd be missing. A wife. A son. A daughter. I hadn't seen them since they bled out in my arms. Then I was cast down.
Back to a world of killers. Rapists. Psychos. Perverts. A brand new evil every minute, spewed out as fast as men can think them up. A world where pitching a criminal dwarf off a skyscraper to tell his fellow scum you're back is a sane and rational act. The angels thought it would be hell for me.
[Said dwarf hits the ground with a splat] But they were wrong.
Tried it. Didn't like it. Told them where to stick it. So they brought me up to heaven, to see what I'd be missing. A wife. A son. A daughter. I hadn't seen them since they bled out in my arms. Then I was cast down.
Back to a world of killers. Rapists. Psychos. Perverts. A brand new evil every minute, spewed out as fast as men can think them up. A world where pitching a criminal dwarf off a skyscraper to tell his fellow scum you're back is a sane and rational act. The angels thought it would be hell for me.
[Said dwarf hits the ground with a splat] But they were wrong.
— Frank Castle, The Punisher #1, The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank (said skyscraper is the Empire State Building)
My favorite sound in the world is the silence after the first gunshot. There's a stillness, as though the air itself is afraid to move. I do some of my best work in that silence.
— Frank Castle, Marvel Civil War: Punisher War Journal
There are people out there who think I'm a monster. That I feed on the blood and the violence. They have it half right. I am a monster... but I don't feel a thing. It's my job. The role I've been given. The boogeyman.
— Frank Castle, Punisher: Nightmare #1
"One batch, two batch, penny and dime." It was her favorite book. You know, you... you go across the ocean, go fight, see, the whole time you're thinking you're gonna be scared, right? But then... you're not. See, that part was always easy for me. Killing. Even watching my buddies die, it just... it didn't mean nothing. First time I got scared was on a plane on the way home. Kept thinking God was gonna pull the rug out from under us, y'know? Shit, that's His kinda funny, you know? But the plane landed safe and we were home. Driving through traffic. You pass fast food and donut shops and all that, greasy shit, shit that you fought to protect. Then the car stops, and we're outside her school.
Get to her classroom, right? She's in there, she's got no idea. She's got no idea that Daddy's home. Walk in, these kids, shit, they're not even studying, they're doing some kind of yoga. She's doing her poses, bending, moving, looks like a flower... you know, you can't even understand it. How does something like that, how does something beautiful... how does that come from me? She looks up, and she sees me. I see her. My God, that's real. That's real, Red. In an instant, she's across that classroom floor, she's in my arms. She's squeezing me so tight I swear I thought I was going to bust a rib.(...) She's not crying, she's holding me up. My girl, she's keeping me on my feet. She said "I knew it, Daddy. I knew it."
We go home. Wife, boy. Place is exactly the same, it's like it was holding its breath, waiting for me to get back. Then it hit me, all of it. For the first time, I felt how tired I was. I was just... tired. You ever been tired, Red? (...) So you know. Just, I couldn't do nothing, you know? All the things. Couldn't take my wife to bed. Ball with the boy. Shit, I was too tired, I couldn't even drink a goddamn beer, y'know? But not her. My girl was up. See, she wanted me to... she wanted me to tuck her in, you see? She outgrew it, she knew it, she didn't care, she wanted it. She had that book, her favorite book, it was out on her pillows: One Batch, Two Batch, Penny and Dime. I'd read her that book every single night before the shit, I read it every single night, but see, that was over now because Daddy's home now. She looked at me, she begged me, Red. She begged, she begged... I said no. "Daddy's too tired, you see? I'll read to you tomorrow night, I promise."
I didn't think that for her there was not gonna be any tomorrow, see? Last time I see her, I'd be holding her lifeless body in my arms. Meat was spilling out of her, Red...the place where her face used to....
I think I'm done, Red. I think I'm done.
Get to her classroom, right? She's in there, she's got no idea. She's got no idea that Daddy's home. Walk in, these kids, shit, they're not even studying, they're doing some kind of yoga. She's doing her poses, bending, moving, looks like a flower... you know, you can't even understand it. How does something like that, how does something beautiful... how does that come from me? She looks up, and she sees me. I see her. My God, that's real. That's real, Red. In an instant, she's across that classroom floor, she's in my arms. She's squeezing me so tight I swear I thought I was going to bust a rib.(...) She's not crying, she's holding me up. My girl, she's keeping me on my feet. She said "I knew it, Daddy. I knew it."
We go home. Wife, boy. Place is exactly the same, it's like it was holding its breath, waiting for me to get back. Then it hit me, all of it. For the first time, I felt how tired I was. I was just... tired. You ever been tired, Red? (...) So you know. Just, I couldn't do nothing, you know? All the things. Couldn't take my wife to bed. Ball with the boy. Shit, I was too tired, I couldn't even drink a goddamn beer, y'know? But not her. My girl was up. See, she wanted me to... she wanted me to tuck her in, you see? She outgrew it, she knew it, she didn't care, she wanted it. She had that book, her favorite book, it was out on her pillows: One Batch, Two Batch, Penny and Dime. I'd read her that book every single night before the shit, I read it every single night, but see, that was over now because Daddy's home now. She looked at me, she begged me, Red. She begged, she begged... I said no. "Daddy's too tired, you see? I'll read to you tomorrow night, I promise."
I didn't think that for her there was not gonna be any tomorrow, see? Last time I see her, I'd be holding her lifeless body in my arms. Meat was spilling out of her, Red...the place where her face used to....
I think I'm done, Red. I think I'm done.
—Frank Castle, Daredevil (2015)
"All the things that I done, memories, they never hurt me. But the past, it's more than memories. It's the devil you sold your soul to. He's comin'. He's comin' to collect."
—Frank Castle, The Punisher (2017)
"I'm not the one that dies, kid. I'm the one that does the killing. The thing is, every time I try to be someone different, that's when the wrong people get hurt."
—Frank Castle, The Punisher (2017)
Quotes about the Punisher:
Something tells me that man's got problems that make mine look like a birthday party.
— Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man #129
Punisher's a dangerous loose cannon — always walkin' the line, always in danger of going over... traits I can empathize with.
— Wolverine, Wolverine and the Punisher: Damaging Evidence
Now I know I'm an old geezer who's been out of the comic book scene for a while, but when I was growing up I remember thinking that the fucking Punisher was the baddest motherfucker on the planet.
Drop the Punisher on one end of Latveria, and the Hulk on the other, and see who gets to the middle first.
"You're like me, but without the funny."
Daredevil: Tell me! Tell me who they are!
Cartel Survivor: No "they." Him. It's one man.
Cartel Survivor: No "they." Him. It's one man.
Just about every superhero has some kind of strict moral code, usually regarding murdering their enemies (they're against it). Comics writers put the moral code in to keep our heroes likable, and to prove that they're better than the murderous, costumed villains they fight. But comics writers were allowed one guy. One hero who was going to look and act like a villain. A guy whose only power was that he was crazy and had lots of guns. No code. No moral hang-ups. Just a "murder the bad guys" kinda guy. That hero is the Punisher.
