PUNISHER
Earth-8101
Real Name: Frank Castle
Identity/Class: Alternate Earth (Earth-8101) primate
Occupation: Vigilante
Group Membership: None;
formerly Outcasts (Beast/Henry McCoy, Colobbus/Piotr Rasputin, Cyclops/Scott Summers, Dr. Druid/Anthony Druid, Elektra/Elektra Natchios, Ghost Rider/Johnny Blaze, Huhr/Bruce Bananner, Icemonk/Robert Drake, Iron Paw/Daniel Rand, MACH IV/Abner Jenkins, Moonstone/Karla Sofen, Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner, Power Monk/Luke Cage, Psylocke/Betsy Braddock, Speedball/Robert Baldwin, Storm/Ororo Munroe, Wolverine/James Howlett)
Affiliations: Captain America (Steve Rogers)
Enemies: Captain America (Baron Blood/John Falsworth), Invaders (Bucky/James Barnes, Red Raven, Sub-Mariner/Namor McKenzie, Toro/Thomas Raymond);
formerly Ape-Vengers (Ape X/Roy Reyna, Gro-Rilla/Hank Pym, Hawkape/Clint Barton, Iron Mandrill/Tony Stark, Ms. Marvel/Carol Danvers, Spider-Monkey/Peter Parker, Thorangutan/Thorangutan Odinson), Fantastic Four (Invisible Simian/Susan Storm, Simian Torch/Johnny Storm, Thing/Ben Grimm)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: the Most Dangerous Monkey on Earth
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly Outcast's safehouse, Sanctum Sanctorum, hidden in a memory through the Monkey's Paw
First Appearance: Marvel Apes I#2/1 (November, 2008)
Powers/Abilities: The Punisher possesses peak human strength, endurance, and pain tolerance, honed through intense military training. In this simian incarnation, he relies on projectile weapons that fire both banana peels and real bullets, using precision, tactics, and relentless determination to incapacitate his enemies.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'7")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 160 lbs.)
Eyes: Black
Hair: Brown
History:
(Marvel Apes I#2/2 - BTS) - Known as the Most Dangerous Monkey on Earth, the Punisher waged his war on crime with ruthless determination, flicking and firing banana peels at anyone who stood in his way. When his supply finally ran dry, his relentless mission remained unchanged.
(Marvel Apes I#2/1 - BTS) - The Punisher became part of the Outcasts, which emerged as a loose resistance within the simian world, formed by super-powered apes who had learned a truth most refused to face, the heroic Captain America was no patriot at all, but a powerful über-vampire (secretly the undead Baron Blood in disguise). The Outcasts saw the danger and united in secret to oppose the growing corruption within their world's heroes, operating from the Sanctum Sanctorum, the former home of the late Doctor Strange, their sanctuary was mystically concealed within a shared memory and could only be reached through the Monkey's Paw. To most simians, the Outcasts were little better than the criminals they opposed and were actively hunted by "Captain America's" Ape-Vengers.
(Marvel Apes I#2/1) - The Punisher was present at the Sanctum Sanctorum when Speedball brought Dr. Fiona Fitzhugh and the Gibbon of Earth-616 to their hidden refuge to safe them from "Captain America", the Fantastic Four and Ape-Vengers after being accused for killing Reed Richards.
(Marvel Apes I#3/1) - The Punisher, Cyclops, Iron Paw and the others chased the Gibbon, forcing him towards Wolverine after which the Gibbon accidentally fell into the Dark Dimension, crowded by the dangerous Mindless Ones.
(Marvel Apes I#4/1 - BTS) - The Punisher was chosen to be part of a strike team to oppose Baron Blood who'd convinced the Ape-Vengers and Fantastic Four to prepare an interdimensional invasion on Earth-616.
(Marvel Apes I#4/1) - During that very night, as Dr. Fiona Fitzhugh was forced to activate the portal to Earth-616. Just as the portal was to be opened, the Punisher and other outcasts, arrived in force. The Punisher was seen when powerhouses Hulk and the Thing clashed until the original Captain America, saved by the Outcasts, revealed himself and exposed Baron Blood's deception. When the vampiric Invaders appeared, the Outcasts allied with the Ape-Vengers and Fantastic Four to battle Blood and his forces. In the climactic battle Fitzhugh and the Gibbon returned to their home-reality with the gravely wounded Speedball, after which the Punisher joined forces with Cyclops and the Invisible Simian to stop Red Raven after which Ape X slew Baron Blood, destroying the portal in the process. The blast tore apart part of the Ape-Vengers Tower, but the heroes emerged victorious.
Comments: Created by Karl Kesel.
Both Marvel Apes I#2 (December, 2008) and Marvel Apes I#3 (December, 2008) included a Bonobo-Pen Bulletin letter page that established that several Marvel Apes variant covers at the time were part of their reality with fun little solicitations of those issues. In the Bonobo-Pen Bulletin letter page for Marvel Apes I#2 (December, 2008) the Punisher was mentioned in the solicitation for Punisher War Journal#23 that noted he was ready to flick banana peels and shoot people, even though he was all out of banana peels. Pictured on the left is the variant cover to Punisher War Journal II#23 (September, 2008).
The Marvel Apes limited series (2008) was conceived as a playful companion to the earlier Marvel Zombies phenomenon. Following the unexpected commercial success of Zombies, Marvel looked to replicate the formula by reimagining its superheroes in another offbeat, high-concept alternate reality. Writer Karl Kesel, inspired by Silver Age whimsy and the classic "What If?" tradition, pitched a world where Marvel's heroes and villains were evolved primates rather than humans. The project was greenlit as a four-issue miniseries, launching with a tongue-in-cheek promotional campaign that leaned into its absurdity while still delivering a surprisingly dark, satirical storyline. The series spawned several tie-ins and one-shots, positioning the Ape-Verse as both a parody of and homage to Marvel's multiverse storytelling.
Earth-8101 is the main Marvel Apes reality, but there are three others as well:
- Earth-81218, possible future of Earth-8101 set in the year 2099.
- Earth-90543, monkey Speedball was send back to his world and branded a traitor by the Ape-Vengers. This was a bad dream of the Gibbon.
- Earth-95019, diverged from 8101 when zombies invaded their world. The reset button was eventually pushed on the original Earth-8101, preventing the divergence.
Profile by MarvellousLuke
CLARIFICATIONS:
Punisher has no known connections to
Images: (without ads)
Marvel Apes I#3, p5, pan1 (main image)
Marvel Apes I#2, p23, pan1 (part of the Outcasts)
Marvel Apes I#4, p18, pan2 (attacking Red Raven)
Punisher War Journal II#23 (variant cover)
Appearances:
Marvel Apes I#2/1 (November, 2008) - Karl Kesel (writer), Ramon Bachs (pencils, inks), Tom Brennan (editor)
Marvel Apes I#2/2 (November, 2008) - Flourn (writer, editor of Bonobo-Pen Bulletin)
Marvel Apes I#3/1 (December, 2008) - Karl Kesel (writer), Ramon Bachs (pencils & inks), Tom Brennan (editor)
Marvel Apes I#4/1 (December, 2008) - Karl Kesel (writer), Ramon Bachs (pencils & inks), Tom Brennan (editor)
First Posted: 12/18/2025
Last Updated: 12/18/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
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