We all know The Punisher likes guns, but today we’re going to look at what weapons exactly he uses. Frank Castle isn’t the typical Marvel superhero. He doesn’t have any superpowers beyond his military training and iron will, and he’s not exactly a hero he’s a stone-cold killer, a take-no-prisoners vigilante who exists only to take out as many criminals as he possibly can before death inevitably catches up with him.
The Punisher doesn’t utilize web shooters, laser beams, or any other gimmicky gadgets. No, when it comes to dispensing punishment, Frank relies on military tactics, his own instincts, and a big pile of guns. He is a ruthlessly efficient killing machine, who takes pride in striking fear into the hearts of his enemies and leaving no survivors in his never-ending war on crime in New York City.
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Daredevil Season 2 marked the first appearance of The Punisher in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where he used a variety of military and street-level weapons, but that was just a prelude to his arsenal as seen in his own solo series. From sniper rifles to shotguns, pistols, and even a pink Ruger, Frank Castle knows his way around virtually any firearm, and even a few improvised weapons. Let’s take a look at The Punisher’s array of weaponry, as shown in Netflix’s The Punisher, and how his arsenal compares to the tools used in his movies, from 1989’s The Punisher, starring Dolph Lundgren, to the 2004 reboot with Thomas Jane, to 2008’s re-reboot, Punisher: War Zone, which featured Ray Stevenson in the lead role.
Jon Bernthal and the Quest for Lots of Guns
At the start of The Punisher, Frank wipes out everyone involved in the drug cartel run by the (recently deceased) Schoonover, and then proceeds to abandon his vigilante identity, opting instead for a quiet life. Of course, his past and his insatiable bloodlust inevitably catch up with him, and Castle finds himself on the hunt once again. However, before he can start dispensing his own off-brand version of justice, he needs to secure a cache of weaponry.
His first effort to procure a stash of guns doesn’t end well, and he winds up with only a single rifle from Marvel Netflix’s recurring low-rent hooligan, Turk. The second time’s the charm, though, and Frank gets his hands on a substantial arsenal, much of which is used to show-stopping effect later on. The wall on his and Micro’s lair is decorated with the spoils from their raid, including an M4 with an underbarrel grenade launcher and much more. While Frank never goes on to use the M4 in the series, he had previously used a somewhat similar weapon, a SIG-Sauer 516 with an attached grenade launcher, in one of his Daredevil appearances.
Assault on Micro’s Base
In Episode 11, “Danger Close,” Frank finally dons his iconic skull (after previously ditching in in the series premiere) and takes on a CIA hit squad with a variety of traps and stealth tactics before going loud with many of the guns he had stolen earlier. Nothing screams “Shock and Awe” like strapping a grenade to a decapitated head and throwing it at the enemy before opening fire like a man possessed by a demon.
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Over the course of that crazy battle, Castle rapidly switches from the G36 assault rifle to an M1911 pistol, to an Ithaca pump action shotgun, and then to a SAW machine gun, efficiently exterminating the masked intruders with grisly aplomb. The SAW is a heavy-duty weapon normally used for suppressing fire, keeping the enemy from firing back with a sustained hailstorm of large-caliber bullets. He practically tears an enemy combatant to shreds with it before closing the distance on his next target with a barrage of suppressing fire before tossing it aside and taking him out with his Ka-Bar combat knife and taking up his fallen foe’s MP5 submachine gun. As awesome as the SAW may be, it’s too cumbersome for close quarters combat; the MP5 is a more effective choice. After all, Frank Castle isn’t just a mindless killer; he’s an efficient tactician who knows the best tool to use in any given situation.
Kandahar
The climax of Episode 4, “Kandahar,” sees Frank flashback to a heated skirmish against enemy combatants in Afghanistan. Frank starts out with a Heckler & Koch HK416, a 5.56mm NATO assault rifle. As the bloody battle intensifies, he switches to his Kimber Warrior (an M1911 variant) sidearm, then his Ithica shotgun, and then takes up a fallen enemy’s AKS-74U, before being wounded and regressing into a primal state, brutalizing enemy fighters with his Ka-Bar and then just bludgeoning a man with a heavy rock.
It’s a disturbingly brutal scene which underscores Frank’s diminished mental state from three long and violent tours in the war, even before his family is killed. By the time of his solo series, Frank may be a broken man, but he knows how to kill, and he’s the best there is at what he does. And the other versions only add to the armory.
Dolph Lundgren
The first cinematic version of New York’s most dangerous vigilante came out in 1989, with Swedish action hunk Dolph Lundgren starring as the single-minded personification of ruthless vengeance. While Bernthal’s version uses a classically militaristic M1911 as his main sidearm, Lundgren’s take on the character had the Hollywood-friendly Desert Eagle. The gigantic pistol takes .357 magnum ammo and is made even more intimidating in the film through its extended barrel. It’s overkill, but for an R-rated 1980s testosterone-fueled action film, it’s absolutely perfect.
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Elsewhere in the film, Frank blows away baddies with the popular SPAS-12 shotgun, an M60 machine gun with an attached grenade launcher, and the Colt Commando carbine, based on the M16.
The Punisher 1989 is an absurdly masculine movie, with so much shooting and a ridiculously high body count. It’s a satisfying shoot-em-up, which makes up for its relative lack of depth and character (not to mention the noticeable absence of Punisher’s iconic skull logo) with a sustained assault on the senses and gloriously gratuitous violence. And who can forget the Yakuza samurai?
Thomas Jane
In 2004, following the success of Spider-Man, movies based on Marvel properties came pouring out of the woodwork. One such film was The Punisher, starring Thomas Jane. It’s more of a slow-burn than the Dolph Lundgren version, but it’s altogether too slow, with many convoluted plotlines and an overload of characters. The tone of the film is closer to Garth Ennis’s more deadly serious MAX comics, but many of the situations are lifted from the prolific writer’s earlier title, Welcome Back, Frank, which is more of a black comedy. The dissonance is noticeable and keeps the movie from reaching its full potential.
Regardless of one’s feelings on the film itself, Thomas Jane is pretty terrifying as a stoic vigilante, and he makes excellent use of a wide variety of weaponry, from a ballistic knife to a hunting crossbow, as well as some real firearms.
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His most notable weapons are a pair of highly customized M1911 pistols, which he dual-wields at one point to dramatic (and awesome) effect. In the final battle, he also brings a sawn-off double-barreled shotgun and an M4A1 carbine with an attached grenade launcher to the party.
Ray Stevenson
For Frank Castle’s last shot on the big screen, 2008’s Punisher: War Zone, Ray Stevenson donned the iconic skull, and he wore it like a boss. The man is gigantic and looks like he could smash someone’s face in with just one punch (which he actually does in the film, and it’s as gross and awesome as it sounds). The film itself was a massive box office bomb upon release but has since developed a healthy cult following among those who appreciate its aesthetic sensibilities, over-the-top violence, and strong performances from the cast. Plus, its neon-soaked production design was a clear source of inspiration for the Arrowverse and even Marvel’s Netflix suite.
As for Frank’s arsenal, Lexi Alexander’s action-extravaganza has no shortage of tricked-out guns with which to shoot bad guys. He opens the film with a pair of Baretta 92FS pistols converted to fire fully automatic, then switches to a pair of MP5K which he dual wields while swinging from a chandelier. Later on, he uses a highly-customized Smith & Wesson Model 500, which is basically the hand cannon to end all hand cannons.
During the epic hotel shootout, The Punisher uses an M4A1 carbine with a shortened barrel, and a variety of attachments which make it look more like a science fiction weapon than something the average viewer would recognize as a traditional firearm. Between the optical red dot sight, the underbarrel grenade launcher, the suppressor, and custom rails, it’s almost hard to see the actual gun underneath it all!
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At one point, in one of the movie’s most iconic scenes, he crashes a parkour gang by blasting one of their members out of the sky with a Cobray 37mm grenade launcher. Although the grenade behaves more like a heat-seeking missile, it gets a pass just because the scene is so audacious. While the gang is freaking out over seeing one of their own turned into a shower of gore, Frank calmly puts the launcher down, picks up an H&K SL8-4 rifle, and scores a grisly headshot on another gangster. It’s an insane spectacle for viewers, but just another day at the office for The Punisher.
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That’s a lot of guns. The Punisher’s ever-expanding arsenal of explosive weaponry is just as essential to the character as his skull logo and cripplingly heartbreaking PTSD. Should Frank Castle return to the MCU for another season of The Punisher, or perhaps a crossover with The Defenders, or even a movie, it’s a sure bet that, whenever he returns, he’ll be back with a ton of new implements for turning bad guys into bloody piles of rancid flesh.
