Star Wars’ cast of characters can usually be easily categorized as good guys or bad guys, yet Star Wars Legends once had a character who was as morally gray as the Punisher. Kir Kanos was once one of the Emperor’s Royal Guards, but after the fall of the Empire, he becomes an outlaw with an ax to grind with both the New Republic and the Galactic Empire. Like Marvel’s Punisher, Kir Kanos has the training and means to carry out his one-man war against those who took everything from him.
Crimson Empire was a limited series published by Dark Horse Comics in 1997, which was officially finished in 2011. It follows former Imperial Royal Guard Kir Kanos as he seeks revenge against those responsible for the death of Emperor Palpatine and his fellow Royal Guards, who he saw as family. Kanos’ vendetta includes his rival in the Royal Guard who has replaced Palpatine as Emperor, the Imperial Ruling Council, and Luke Skywalker himself. Hiding from both the Republic and the Empire, Kanos goes on his warpath in a fashion very similar to the Punisher after having lost his family.
Kir Kanos and the Punisher are individuals affected by a great loss, and both choose to utilize their training and resources to carry out their vendettas. Being hardened warriors, their means to settle their scores are intentionally violent, and often put them in direct confrontation with the forces of authority and their universes’ respective paragons of virtue. While Kanos’ quest at first gains him some support from the New Republic military officers he encounters, eventually he comes to odds with them as he plans to duel his rival to the death, whereas his New Republic allies want to bring him in alive and exploit his vast knowledge of the Empire’s inner workings to end the war. Mirroring many moments in the Punisher’s vast history, in Crimson Empire #6 Kanos kills his rival swiftly, much to the dismay of his allies of convenience.
Another similarity between the two is their unflinching devotion to their respective quests. The Punisher has famously rejected different opportunities to settle down and abandon his war, and Kir Kanos similarly does not rest until his vendetta is fulfilled. Kir Kanos is offered over the course of the series a few opportunities to lead a different life, either as a member of his rival’s Imperial Council, a soldier in the New Republic, or a figurehead in an organization of Imperial officers claiming to carry on Palpatine’s vision. He rejects these opportunities and continues to carry out his agenda on his terms, sparing none who get in his way, Imperials or Rebels alike. After Kanos kills his rival, a New Republic Trandoshan goes into a fit of murderous rage and charges at Kir Kanos, screaming that they needed him alive. Without hesitation, Kanos kills the Trandoshan, and upon seeing his partner grieve, says that “I did not ask for your help, and I warned you that only our common enemy united us.” Shortly after, he promptly sets out, saying that “There are others” on his list.
Star Wars has had its fair share of morally ambiguous characters, yet few ever truly embodied the anti-hero spirit in a way reminiscent of Marvel’s the Punisher, except for Kir Kanos. In the end, Kir Kanos considers his quest over after saving the New Republic from an Imperial attack and fakes his death to retire to a seemingly quiet life. The path to that quiet life, however, is strewed with the bodies of dead imperials, rebels, and bounty hunters with a total confirmed kill count to give the Punisher a run for his money.
