The Punisher’s Deadliest Comic Weapons Explained

Frank Castle, aka the Punisher, is a divisive character in modern comics. Originally written as an unhinged vigilante, Frank has since been cast as everything from a noble hero to an outright villain. What never changes is that he’s one of the most dangerous men on the planet, and a big part of that is the tools he chooses to do his job.

Created by Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr., and Ross Andru, the Punisher is a former marine whose family were killed in the crossfire of a shootout between rival criminals. Dedicating himself to punishing the guilty, Frank brought the war home, crossing the line between street hero and killer in a way that has always excluded him from superhero cliques, and even earned him the disgust of heroes like Captain America and Daredevil. Despite this delineation, Frank has spent plenty of time dealing with super-powered enemies, and his wide-ranging arsenal is one that equips him just as well against villains like the Rhino as against the mob.

Defined for many in Garth Ennis’ legendary run on Punisher MAX, Frank’s basic weapons of choice are the Colt 45 (“The one that Colt got right”), an AK-47 rifle, and buckets of directional Claymore mines. Punisher MAX #50 includes something of a rhapsody to Frank’s rifle of choice, though he’s clear that it’s one he chooses because he has experience with it, rather than because of its superior quality: “Forty years of development later and with the M203 slung underneath, this is just about a decent rifle… I don’t like the plastic… I don’t like the ammunition… but I’m used to it. I’m good with it. And like I say, there’s the ‘203.”

It’s a grim sermon from a series that focused on Frank’s dark side, but he’s also indulged in more common comic-book weaponry. The Punisher’s time as Franken-Castle – his body knitting itself together after a fatal disembowlment, courtesy of the cursed Bloodstone – allowed Frank to massively increase his strength and carrying capacity, and he spent the time wielding a variety of swords, as well as a huge Gatling gun.

Frank has also been known to co-opt the weapons of his opponents, and Punisher vol. 8 (from Rick Remender, Jerome Opena, and others) saw Frank utilize the Green Goblin’s pumpkin bombs, as well as tech from Iron Man villain Whiplash, armor from terrorist group AIM, and a sniper rifle made by the alien Skrulls. When going up against the Hood, the Punisher also showed he had his own version of the Avenger’s armaments, using Pym Particles to infiltrate the villain’s lair atop a pizza then letting loose with versions of Iron Man’s repulsor gauntlets and Hawkeye’s trick arrows.

But Frank’s most impressive upgrade came recently in 2017’s The Punisher #218 by Matthew Rosenberg and Guiu Vilanova, when he took ownership of James Rhodes’ War Machine armor. While the Punisher has always been able to clear a room, the armor took him to the next level, turning him into a one-man army and unleashing him on the world in a rampage that only stopped when Rhodey approached him as a solider, requesting his surrender and the return of the armor. Moving away from conventional armaments, the Cosmic Ghost Rider – an antihero who traveled back from the future – was eventually revealed to be a Frank Castle with the Spirit of Vengeance and Power Cosmic under his control.

As most comics of recent times have taken pains to point out, Frank Castle is no hero, but as a character he poses an interesting problem to writers – how does even the best trained soldier stay relevant in a world of laser blasts and super-strength? At some points, the answer has been incredible skill and real-world acumen, while at others, it’s been for the Punisher to co-opt the wonders around him for far darker purposes. As the discussion about the Punisher‘s place in the modern Marvel Universe rages on, one thing’s for certain: no matter how things change around him, Frank Castle is as dangerous as he’s ever been.

About The Author

Robert Wood
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Robert Wood is a comics editor for Screen Rant and the author of ‘The False Elephant (and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories).’ He received his Master’s in English Literature from Lancaster University, and now happily spends his days applying it to Daredevil and the Hulk.

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