Frank Castle is the Punisher no more. While Marvel’s most famous anti-hero’s war may have finally ended (for now), the world has no shortage of humanity’s worst in dire need of punishment. The Punisher is next to join Marvel’s ever-growing list of legacy characters, with a new man taking up the mission and the mantle: Joe Garrison. Legacy characters aren’t a new concept for Marvel, but it’s a trend that’s grown steadily more common in recent years. These new faces behind familiar names often tweak the winning formula, exploring the character through the lens of a different background, gender, nationality ethnicity, or power-set. For Joe Garrison, part of what will set him apart from Frank Castle’s Punisher is his fighting style.
Earlier this July, Marvel announced Joe Garrison would be the next individual to don the infamous skull emblem of the Punisher. David Pepose, character creator and writer for the upcoming Punisher (2023) #1 alongside artist Dave Wachter, recently sat down with CBR to discuss Marvel’s new Punisher, Joe Garrison. Pepose touched on several elements of Garrison, including his background as a S.H.I.E.L.D. black ops agent and how he became the Punisher. But perhaps most interesting is his discussion regarding his chief inspirations for Garrison and how it’ll shape, and differentiate, how he’ll dole out punishment with John Wick-inspired gun-fu:
Yeah, we’re definitely drawing from a variety of different influences for this series — sort of John Wick by way of Mission Impossible, with bits of The Fugitive and The Equalizer thrown in for good measure. And that allows us some really cool opportunities for our new Punisher — not only do we get to add some really cool heightened weapons from S.H.I.E.L.D.’s arsenal, but we’re able to really lean into the gun-fu elements of it all.
Thanks to his background as a wetworks agent, Joe is able to use his arsenal and improvise with any bits of the surrounding environment to pull off these insane, hyperkinetic fights in the vein of a John Wick. Joe isn’t superhuman, but he’s so insanely fast, coordinated, and precise that he seems close. Half the fun of Joe Garrison as the Punisher is that we can throw him into any environment, and readers should be excited to see how he’s going to battle his way out.
Marvel’s New Punisher is Fighting an Old War
Joe Garrison’s combat style is a notable departure from Frank Castle’s for the majority of his career – Frank Castle is cut from the same cloth as the action stars of the ’70s and ’80s, employing a mix of tactical ingenuity, overwhelming gunfire, and straightforward, brute force. Garrison follows the trend of modern action stars, his fluid, akimbo pistol approach is reminiscent of Jason Statham or Keanu Reeves in the John Wick films. Where Castle would pound a room full of gangsters into submission (and the grave) with a salvo of fully automatic weaponry, Garrison slips into close combat, effortlessly and systematically dispatching them one at a time while methodically working his way towards his target. Where Frank Castle has the strength and brutality, Joe Garrison has the speed and precision.
In spite of these differences, Garrison also returns the Punisher to his gunplay roots – as leader of the Hand, Castle all but abandoned his infamous reliance on firearms in favor of a katana and demonic superpowers. In addition to the John Wick elements, Pepose also teases elements of other action films: Mission Impossible likely hints at Garrison’s skills in spycraft, while The Fugitive is an obvious nod to Garrison’s story starting with him as a hunted man on the trail of the real killer.
Punisher Continues a Trend for Marvel’s Legacy Characters
While not a stringent requirement, retooling how a character fights in order to differentiate them from previous incarnations isn’t uncommon. Sam Wilson’s Captain America retained his wings from his time as the Falcon while incorporating Rogers’ iconic shield; Miles Morales’ invisibility and “venom touch” were brand-new powers for a Spider-Man; and the stretch-based strengths of Kamala Khan were a stark departure from Carol Danvers’ cosmically-charged Ms. Marvel. Garrison’s agility-focused gunplay makes him recognizable as the Punisher, yet different enough from Frank Castle’s approach to establish his own identity. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time gun-fu has been employed by a Marvel legacy character: the “Golden Age” Iron Fist Orson Randall also struck down his opponents with a blitz of bullets and kung-fu.
Joe Garrison’s debut marks a bold, new chapter in the history of the Punisher. While Frank Castle’s future and role in Marvel remains unclear, the world will not be without a Punisher for long. With a fresh start and style unlike any readers have seen from the Punisher before, David Pepose and Dave Watcher’s upcoming series is brimming with exciting potential and the promise to fill the massive, blood-soaked shoes of Frank Castle.
Punisher (2023) #1 will be on sale from Marvel Comics in November 2023
