Today marks the 22nd anniversary of what many consider the greatest run in the Punisher’s history, surpassing anything he’s done in comic books since. The Punisher first appeared in Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man #129 as a vigilante initially seeking revenge on Spider-Man, mistakenly believing him to be a criminal. After discovering the truth, he ceased pursuing Spider-Man, but continued to clash with both Spider-Man and Daredevil, who opposed his methods and considered him a murderer. While the Punisher’s stories faltered in the 1990s, writer Garth Ennis later revitalized the character.
Marvel once took the Punisher in a controversial direction, killing him off with a suicide storyline before bringing him back with angelic abilities. However, writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon revitalized the character. Starting with the 2000 series Punisher Vol. 5 and the issue “Welcome Back, Frank,” Ennis, who disliked traditional superheroes, refocused the Punisher on his core elements. He pitted Frank against the newly created Gnucci Crime Family and intentionally avoided crossovers with other heroes. This approach culminated in a significant turning point for the character in 2004.
Punisher Max Debuted 22 Years Ago Today
As a huge Punisher fan, I always point people to the 2003 reboot as where things really clicked. It started with the incredible four-issue miniseries, Born, by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, and it blew everyone away! It was so good, it quickly turned into a full ongoing series, kicking off in January 2004 with “In the Beginning, Part One.” But this wasn’t the Punisher I’d known from the regular Marvel comics. This was a completely different take, set in the MAX universe – basically, Earth-200111. The MAX line was all about mature, adult-focused stories. It wasn’t a world of capes and tights; superheroes were either nonexistent or rarely showed up in Frank Castle’s world.
Garth Ennis and Lewis LaRosa kicked off the Punisher series with a new criminal organization, the Cesare Crime Family, and revisited the tragic murder of Frank Castle’s family – the event that turned him into a vigilante. The series lasted 75 issues, with Ennis writing the first 60 and collaborating with various artists. It’s remembered for its intense violence and for introducing popular Punisher enemies like Barracuda.
This series is considered one of the greatest runs in Punisher comic book history. Standout storylines include “In the Beginning” (issues 1-6), “The Slavers” (issues 25-30), “Barracuda” (issues 31-36), and “Valley Forge, Valley Forge” (issues 55-60). The movie Punisher: War Zone drew inspiration from this run, and introduced characters exclusive to these comics. The Daredevil Season 2 storyline “Kitchen Irish” was also adapted from this series, and the villain William Rawlins in The Punisher Season 1 originated here. This run began 22 years ago, and remains unmatched in quality by any other Punisher comic series.
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2026-01-14 22:13