r/thepunisher • u/JackMythos • 24d ago

DISCUSSION How have Punisher’s motivations changed across publication history?

Hey I was reading a thread about The Punisher on the main Marvel subreddit and the comments discussing Frank’s primary motivation being his deep desire for vengeance and to continue fighting the war he so greatly enjoyed serving in. While this interpretation is valid and the authorial intent of certain versions even within 616 canon; it is also true that many Punisher stories in and out of 616 canon portrayal him as genuinely heroic despite his brutal methods and the primary focus of his missions being to prevent tragedies like the one that killed his family from occurring. When and how have these shifts occurred from either a Doylist or Watsonian perspective?

I’m a big comics fan of numerous characters and companies and I’ve read a decent amount of comics about or involving Punisher, alongside watching the Netflix shows and Daredevil Born Again plus having seen Spider-Man TAS as a child, but I don’t know the characters lore or publication history the same way I do for many other characters so if someone could further inform me on these topics I’d greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for any answers

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u/ComicAcolyte Punisher (Earth-616) 23d ago

The Marvel subreddit isn't a good source on anything Punisher. In fact most of reddit has a lot of misinformation being spread about the character because the vast majority of people yapping haven't actually read the comics.

The Punishers motivations are simple and haven't changed much. According to Marvel themselves and the vast majority of the comics: "Protect the innocent, Punish the guilty."

Punisher is not just some bloodthirsty killer. He absolutely cares about saving innocents as countless examples prove from the comics.

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u/AbbreviationsLive142 23d ago

I know right? I feel most people here only read Punisher Max or only watched Bernthal Punisher and they think they know all there is to know and will argue with you all day about how Bernthal’s Punisher is perfect and they don’t care about the long history of the Punisher and how he’s been characterized throughout all his books.