22 Years Ago Today, Marvel Began The Punisher Run That’s Never Been Bettered

The Punisher started the best series of his entire existence 22 years ago today, and nothing he has done in the comics has ever been as good since. Punisher got his start in Marvel Comics in Amazing Spider-Man #129 as an antihero who was hunting for Spider-Man, whom he was tricked into believing was a villain. However, he soon learned the truth and stopped, although he and Spider-Man (and later Daredevil) remained enemies as the heroes knew that Punisher was a murderer and believed they needed to stop him. Sadly, in the 1990s, Marvel dropped the ball with Punisher, but soon Garth Ennis saved the antihero.

After Marvel created one of Punisher’s worst storylines by having Punisher die by suicide, only to be resurrected with angelic powers, Garth Ennis came along with artist Steve Dillon and saved the character. This began in Punisher Vol. 5 in 2000 with an issue called “Welcome Back, Frank.” Ennis absolutely hated superheroes. His success came when he took Punisher back to basics, put him against the newly introduced Gnucci Crime Family, and tried to keep him away from heroes. That led to 2004, when Ennis changed everything.

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This Punisher reboot started in 2003 with Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson publishing the Born four-issue miniseries. However, it was so popular that Ennis got a new series, with the first issue released on January 14, 2004, titled “In the Beginning, Part One.” This wasn’t the Punisher from Marvel comics, and it wasn’t even Ennis’s Punisher from his 2000 comic book run. Instead, Ennis told a story in the MAX universe, which was Earth-200111. This was the MAX world, which specialized in adult-themed comics. There were no superheroes in this world, or if there were, they barely, if ever, appeared in the Punisher comics.

Garth Ennis and Lewis LaRosa started the series with a new set of villains in the Cesare Crime Family, and had a slight retelling of the murder of Frank’s family that launched his vigilante career. The series ended up running for 75 issues, with Ennis writing the first 60, and several artists working with him on the project. The series remains notable for its more violent stories, as well as for introducing fan-favorite Punisher villains like Barracuda.

This run has some of the best Punisher stories ever created. Highlights include “In the Beginning,” starting with this issue and running through the first six, “The Slavers” (#25-30), “Barracuda” (#31-36), and “Valley Forge, Valley Forge” (#55-60). The movie Punisher: War Zone was inspired by this specific series and included characters unique to this world. Daredevil Season 2 adapted “Kitchen Irish” from this run, and The Punisher Season 1 featured a villain from the series named William Rawlins. It all started 22 years ago today, and there still hasn’t been a run of crime comics that touches this Punisher series.

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