It is hard to believe that someone like the Punisher could become even more deadly than he already is, but that exact thing happened when Frank Castle became War Machine in Marvel Comics, an epic chapter in the character’s life that is captured masterfully in a piece of fan art of the Punisher’s War Machine helmet. The Punisher first put on the War Machine suit while on an unofficial S.H.I.E.L.D. mission led by Nick Fury. Since then the image of Castle gunning down his targets in a true war machine has become iconic. That iconic image has been translated beautifully in an epic piece of Punisher fan art.
The Punisher first put on the War Machine armor in The Punisher #218 by Matthew Rosenberg and Guiu Vilanova. In the issue, Frank ambushes a group of criminals buying and selling illegal contraband, and kills every single one of them. After the job is done, the Punisher finds Nick Fury waiting for him in his van with the offer of a lifetime. Fury tells Frank that those people he just murdered were shipping guns from a failstate country, one that Fury needs the government of dismantled. So, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director gives the Punisher his target and the War Machine armor to get the job done.
In a Reddit post by Eisenfaust_3dPrints, the artist posted a series of pictures of a 3D-printed version of the Punisher’s War Machine. Quite literally ripped from the page and brought into the real world, the helmet is an epic piece of fan art that perfectly captures the truly metal nature of the Punisher as War Machine. The 3D-printed artwork depicts the helmet in a manner not too far off from War Machine’s comic book helmet with the Punisher’s iconic skull logo painted over the face. The eyes of the helmet are glowing red, indicating the murderous intention the Punisher has for his victims. Plus, in a subtle addition to the outstanding piece of technologically created fan art, there are streaks of blood across the helmet’s face, showing that this War Machine helmet has seen some action while being worn by the Punisher.
3D Printed Punisher War Machine [self] from cosplay
While the helmet is undeniably brutal, it isn’t exactly comic book accurate to the War Machine helmet first worn by the Punisher. Originally, the Punisher’s War Machine suit was exactly like James Rhodes’, the original War Machine, except with a skull painted on the chest reminiscent of the Punisher’s regular suit. Since the first appearance of the Punisher’s War Machine there have been many re-imaginings and updates for the suit outside of the comic realm including commissioned artwork and action figures/statues. Now, this piece of original fan art is another addition to the ever-growing fandom surrounding this absolutely metal iteration of the Punisher.
When the Punisher became War Machine, fans were given a taste of the extent to Frank Castle’s killing ability. On a normal day, the Punisher is perhaps the deadliest person in the Marvel Universe, aside from maybe Wolverine, but with the War Machine armor, the Punisher is virtually unstoppable. The deadly nature of the Punisher’s War Machine is perfectly captured in the 3D-printed piece of fan art of the character’s helmet that is an absolute masterpiece.
