7 Most Powerful Variants of Punisher, Ranked (Including 1 That Fans Absolutely Loathe)

The Punisher typically has no superpowers, but he remains one of the most dangerous and popular antiheroes in Marvel Comics history. That said, he has undergone several transformations over the years, and there are a few versions of Frank Castle who received superpowers, making him even more powerful. Several of these were in the Earth-616 universe, thanks mainly to Punisher dying and then coming back stronger than ever. Punisher made his debut in Amazing Spider-Man #129 as an anti-hero who kills villains rather than arresting them, and he set his eyes on Spider-Man when he believed him to be a villain. Since that time, Punisher has battled heroes and villains alike, and he remains one of the deadliest antiheroes ever in Marvel Comics.

From his time as a weapon of Heaven to a stint as a monster and a weapon of cosmic power, here is a look at the most powerful versions of Punisher.

7) Joe Garrison

Punisher ended up in a battle with the Avengers and Doctor Strange, who planned to eliminate him to stop his reign of terror, so Frank used a piece of the Beast he had on him and teleported out of Earth-616 and into Weirdworld. With Castle gone, a new man took up the Punisher mantle in Joe Garrison. He was a highly trained SHIELD agent whose family was killed by foreign agents. He faked his own death and then set out to kill anyone and everyone associated with his family’s murder. He is highly trained, and he has SHIELD training, so he is qualified, but is still highly inexperienced in his work as the Punisher.

6) The Punisher

The Punisher remains an almost unstoppable antihero in Marvel Comics, as he has been around for many years, has killed countless people, and has been in and out of jail so many times that even Captain America and the Avengers planned to kill him to stop his violent nature. When Cap agrees to kill a man, it says a lot about how dangerous he is. Punisher has always been determined since he wants to avenge the deaths of his family, and even after his wife was resurrected and rejected him in disgust, he still is determined to ensure no one escapes justice again.

5) Frank Castle, Angel of Vengeance

The most controversial and polarizing Punisher variant in Marvel Comics history arrived in Punisher Vol. 4 in 1998. The series started with one of the most hated moments in Punisher’s history when he died by suicide. This turned out to be something that demons led by an archangel named Olivier tricked him into doing, and he was quickly resurrected by the angel Gadriel using his own angelic powers. He then gave Punisher access to Heaven’s weapons and sent him out as the Angel of Vengeance. He had immortality, a sixth sense, precog dreams, and accelerated healing. It was nothing like Punisher, and eventually, he lost these powers when he refused to kill anyone for Heaven.

4) Frankencastle

Another very controversial Punisher storyline happened in Punisher Vol. 8 #11 when Punisher returned from the dead once again. This followed Dark Reign: The List – Punisher #1, when Norman Osborn sent Daken to murder Punisher, and Daken chopped him to pieces. However, the Legion of Monsters found him, and they put Punisher back together again with magic, and he became Frankencastle. He then worked with the monsters to fight crime as the hulking monster. This form gave him superhuman strength to an untold degree, while still proficient with his guns.

3) Punisher: War Journal Version

Punisher: War Journal is one of the most acclaimed Punisher comic book series ever made. This is because it took Punisher out of the mainstream Marvel Universe and let him do his thing in his own world, where he didn’t need to worry about superheroes getting in his way much. With the creative team of Garth Ennis and Lewis LaRosa, this was on Earth-200111 and saw Punisher against a slew of dangerous villains, where he had no choice but to kill every last one of them, including one of Punisher’s deadliest villains, Barracuda. This Punisher has no powers, but is deadlier than the Earth-616 version by a great deal.

2) Punisher of the Hand

Before the Avengers decided they needed to kill Punisher, he was at his most powerful on Earth-616. The Hand captured Frank Castle and tried to get him to join their ranks. To ensure he complied, they even resurrected his wife, Maria. He agreed and used the powers given to him by the Hand to kill criminals and people who hurt others, refusing to do their evil work. He also gained superhuman powers thanks to the Fist of the Beast. This gave Frank clarivoyance, the ability to unleash demonic energy, superhuman strength, a healing factor, and the ability to float. He eventually lost the power, but still retained enough to teleport to Wierdworld before the Avengers could kill him.

1) Cosmic Ghost Rider

Cosmic Ghost Rider is Frank Castle from Earth-TRN666. This was the timeline where Thanos won and destroyed almost everything in the galaxy. Frank ended up making a deal with Mephisto and then had Galactus give him the Power Cosmic to be his new herald. However, after Thanos killed Galactus, Frank began to serve him. Since then, he has shown up in the main timeline and even just killed Gamora and Darkhaek in the Imperial storyline while working for the Inhumans. He has Hellfire Generation and Manipulation and the Penance Stare from Mephisto and the Power Cosmic, as given to him by Galactus. No Punisher has ever been as powerful as the Cosmic Ghost Rider.

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