Warning: Spoiler for Marvel Zombies: Black, White & Blood #1!In what should come as a surprise to absolutely no one, the Punisher is the last superhero survivor in the middle of a zombie apocalypse within the Marvel Universe. Since debuting in 1974’s The Amazing Spider-Man #129, Frank Castle has proven to be the ultimate survival expert, no matter what story or environment writers decide to place him in.
Most recently, the creative team of Garth Ennis, Rachael Stott, and VC’s Clayton Cowles depicted the Punisher in Marvel Zombies: Black White & Blood #1, in the story “Undefeated.” In a brief appearance, Frank Castle manages to outlast a zombie apocalypse, including the bloodthirsty humans who treat it all like a sport.
Not only does the cameo remind readers of The Punisher’s survival skills, but also how jaded he can be toward the world as a whole. Frank Castle is a natural fit for the Marvel Universe’s zombie apocalypse, with all the skills he applies to hunting criminals put to the ultimate test against hordes of the undead.
The Punisher Becomes The Last Marvel Hero Standing
The story focuses on a world where the world is overrun by zombies, as many of the zombies (including heroes like Daredevil) are forced into an underground fight club by a surviving human population. While in captivity, Daredevil is visited by an old frenemy in Frank Castle, who ultimately turns the former hero as a walking bomb. Frank seems even more disgusted by the humans – who repurposed zombies into fighters to slaughter each other – than he is with the zombies themselves. Daredevil digests Frank’s bomb off-panel, and at the story’s end, Frank activates it, killing everyone in the sewers.
Save for the antagonistic group of humans, and the zombified heroes, showcased in Marvel Zombies: Black White & Blood #1, the Punisher is the only person seen in this entire story. Until proven otherwise, it may be safe for readers to assume that he’s the only other human fending for himself in this new world; above ground at the very least. If this is truly the case, then after orchestrating this bomb attack, the Punisher just solidified himself as the last human alive in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. Which, truthfully, shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone remotely familiar with Frank Castle’s pedigree, and what he is capable of.
The Punisher’s Disdain For Human Cruelty Is On Full Display
What should be even less surprising is just how the Punisher’s disdain for the cruelty that humanity is capable of feels even more prominent in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. As the Punisher, Frank is all about punishing the kind of evil things that people do and he looks down on these fight club owners in the same ilk, referring to them as “animals” to Daredevil. For the Punisher, the evil that humans can do feels even more prominent in a world where there are barely any humans left, to the point that he has no qualms about becoming the last human, if it means he rids the world of these “animals.”
Marvel Zombies: Black, White and Red #1 is available now from Marvel!
