When Marvel’s Punisher Met Archie, What Really Happened

Archie Andrews and the Punisher couldn’t be more different. Archie is a teen from Riverdale, who routinely struggles with choosing a romance with Betty and Veronica. Frank Castle is a vigilante whose wife and children were murdered, which turned him into a killing machine who puts the law in his own hands. Despite their clear differences, Archie and the Punisher starred in surprising a crossover together in the mid-90s.

Archie Meets the Punisher by Batton Lash, Stan Goldberg, John Buscema, Tom Palmer, Jack Morelli, and Barry Grossman originally started as somewhat of a joke. Marvel editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco and Archie Comics editor-in-chief Victor Gorelick conceived the crossover, which executive editor Mark Gruenwald thought was funny, but worked. Enough people at each publisher enjoyed the proposal enough that it was eventually published in two separate versions, one for Marvel Comics and one for Archie Comics. So, how does one combine the wholesome world of Archie with the brutal stories of Frank Castle? Drugs, of course!

In Archie Meets the Punisher, Frank Castle is chasing after a drug-dealer named Red Fever aka Red, who happens to look very similar to Archie Andrews. Hearing the criminal is heading to Riverdale, the Punisher and Micro Chip take the Punisher Battle Van and drive to Archie’s hometown. At Veronica’s mansion, Hiram Lodge introduces her to a young entrepreneur named Melvin Jay – who is actually Red. Needing a date for the 1950’s-style dance, Veronica invites Melvin. Meanwhile, Archie and Jughead are picked up by mobsters looking for Red. That’s when the Punisher intervenes and shoots at the car. He thinks he’s captured Red.

The Punisher doesn’t mess around with Archie, as he puts a gun up to his nose. After discovering Archie wasn’t Red, the Punisher gets into a gunfight with more mobsters, allowing the teen to escape with Jughead. Archie heads to the police, who don’t buy the fact the Punisher is in town. As that happens, the Punisher encounters cops and beats them up and heads to the Riverdale dance. Frank throws on a sweater, and Mr. Flutesnoot mistakes him as the new gym teacher chaperoning the dance. As Mr. Weatherbee is about to be gunned down by a mobster, a shootout occurs. Red escapes with Veronica, but the Punisher and Archie (with the help of Betty) team up to take him down. If that wasn’t wild enough, the book ends with Frank and Micro Chip announcing they’re heading to Gotham City, and the revelation Wolverine is after a Jughead lookalike.

The crossover shouldn’t work at all, but by balancing the sillier elements of Archie Comics with the more serious tone of the Punisher, it mostly does. Was the crossover between Archie Andrews and the Punishers necessary? Absolutely not. But, it exists and it’s not bad. Plus, it was worth it just to see Punisher leave the gang with a Riverdale letterman jacket on.

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Liam McGuire
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Lead writer for Screen Rant’s comic team. [email protected]. Find me on Twitter @LiamRMcGuire for comic news and reporting.

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