When his family was killed in the crossfire of a Mafia shootout, Frank Castle put his military training to use -- waging a one-man war on crime. As the Punisher, Castle reinvented himself as the merciless scourge of the underworld. The mere mention of his name causes criminals everywhere to cringe in fear, because they all know the Punisher plays for keeps -- and someday, he may come gunning for them!

Real name: Frank Castle (born Castiglione)
Occupation: Former U.S. Marine turned professional vigilante
Group affiliation: None
Base of operations: Mobile
First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #129 (1974)

Height: 6'
Weight: 200 lbs.
Eye color: Blue
Hair color: Black

Powers: A seasoned combat veteran of exceptional skill, the Punisher possesses the normal human strength of a man his age, height and build who engages in intensive regular exercise. A former U.S. Marine captain with a distinguished combat record who has undergone SEAL (Sea Air Land), UDT (Underwater Demolition Team) and LRPA (Long Range Patrol) training, Frank Castle is well-versed in the arts of warfare and hand-to-hand combat.

Weapons: The Punisher employs an exhaustive arsenal of portable weaponry. His firearms of choice include a Vietnam-era M16 automatic rifle in .223 caliber; a Sterling Mark 69mm, 34-round, clip-fed, semiautomatic rifle converted to automatic; a 14-round, 9mm Browning Llama automatic pistol; a government-issue, .45 caliber automatic frame re-chambered for 9mm ammunition with a replaceable barrel for conversion to .223 caliber; and a 4-shot derringer in .223 caliber. Thus, he need carry only two types of ammunition.

History: Frank Castle was an ideal soldier. A decorated captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, he fought to make the world a safer place for his wife and young children. For heroism in the line of duty, he was recognized twice with Bronze and Silver stars, and four times with the Purple Heart. But circumstance would twist Castle's military acumen, giving birth to an unreasoning engine of destruction. While on leave, he took his wife and two children to Central Park for a picnic. There, his family happened upon a gangland killing. Seeking to eliminate all witnesses, the mobsters murdered Castle's wife and children. The super-soldier had survived armed combat only to be shot in the park, unable to protect his loved ones.

Castle lived, but was traumatized severely by his family's murder and dropped out of sight for several months. He was baptized in a new understanding: Society was fiction. The scene and the enemy had changed, but the war never ended. When the former Marine resurfaced, he had adapted his fighting skills to wage a one-man war on crime -- rooting out evil in every corner of the city, taking no prisoners. Outfitted in a battlesuit bearing a large death's head and equipped with enough weaponry to arm an entire battalion, Castle sought out and executed criminals he believed to be associated with the gangsters who had killed his wife and children.

The Punisher has alternately clashed and cooperated with the wisecracking web-slinger known as Spider-Man; his agenda alienated another costumed crimefighter, the blind adventurer called Daredevil, who disapproves of his violent, often lethal methods. The Man Without Fear has gone so far as to recruit a loose-knit team of street-level heroes -- including the Black Widow, Moon Knight and Shang Chi -- to pursue the Punisher and bring him to justice. Castle has served time for his brutal slayings, but even managed to carry on his crusade against the criminal element within the prison itself.

While incarcerated on Ryker's Island, the Punisher was poisoned with mind-altering chemicals on the orders of the criminal gangleader Jigsaw, whose face had been horribly damaged when Castle hurled him through a window. The drugs had a delayed, cumulative effect -- slowly driving the Punisher mad. Following his escape from prison, he took to terrorizing minor criminals, such as litterbugs and jaywalkers. Subsequently, Castle underwent detoxification and returned to some semblance of sanity.

The Punisher resumed his never-ending war on crime, seeking shelter in a small apartment building while targeting the powerful Gnucci crime family. The Punisher threw matriarch Ma Gnucci into a bear pit, igniting an all-out war with her organization. The mangled Ma dispatched operative after operative against the man responsible for her loss of all four limbs, but even the seemingly indestructible powerhouse known as the Russian proved less than equal to the task. The attacks finally ended when the Punisher torched the Gnucci mansion and punted Ma's limbless body into the fire. He celebrated his victory by ridding the city of three copycat vigilantes: the Elite, Mr. Payback and the Holy.