PUNISHER
possibly Earth-98121

Real Name: Frank Castle (full first name possibly Francis - see comments)

Identity/Class: Alternate reality (possibly Earth-98121 - see comments) human

Occupation: Vigilante;
    former soldier

Group Membership: Formerly United States Marine Corps

Affiliations: Formerly Jackal (Miles Warren)

Enemies: Grinder (John Gary);
    formerly Spider-Man (Peter Parker)

Known Relatives: Maria Castle (wife, deceased), Lisa Castle (daughter, deceased - see comments), Frank Castle, Jr. (son, deceased - see comments)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile through New York City, New York, USA

First Appearance: Spider-Man vs. Punisher I#1 (July, 2000)

Powers/Abilities: The Punisher doesn't have any superhuman powers but due to his combat training and experience on the battlefield in Vietnam, he can fight a superhuman on equal terms.

    He is very skillful in using firearms and has an arsenal that includes guns, a knife, a sniper rifle and grenades with nerve toxin. For his sniper rifle rounds, he uses not only classic rounds but also explosive rounds.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 6'3")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 225 lbs.)
Eyes: Black
Hair: Black

History:
(Spider-Man vs. Punisher I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Frank Castle was a marine and fought in Vietnam. He married Maria and had children with her. After the war, Castle returned to his family in New York and tried to live a quiet life but a fateful moment did not allow this to last long when Frank's wife and children were killed in a shootout in Central Park, where the family had a picnic. Frank Castle survived and decided to take revenge and declared war on the entire crime world. Castle managed to find a new meaning of life when he became a vigilante known as the Punisher.

 (Spider-Man vs. Punisher I#1) - The Punisher was on the trail of a criminal known as the Grinder (John Gary), who was behind the kidnapping and torture of six girls, three of whom he had killed. Castle shot Gary in the knee and cornered him. He pointed a weapon at him, but the bullets ran out. Grinder breathed a sigh of relief, but the Punisher smiled, letting him know that just because there were no bullets, it did not mean that he would let Gary live. Taking out a knife, Castle killed the criminal. Castle later documented the hunt for John Gary in entry 4 of a war journal.
   
    The Punisher caught the attention of the Jackal, who planned to manipulate him into attacking Spider-Man. The Jackal followed the Punisher for some time, and soon the Punisher noticed the Jackal was watching him. Finding the Jackal on the rooftop he was on, Castle pointed his weapon at him. The Jackal said that they were on the same side and that he wanted to help him in his personal war because, according to the Jackal, he "knew what it was like to lose what he loved to scum," in the Jackal's case referring to Gwen Stacy. The Punisher was interested in the offer of the Jackal, and the villain sent the Punisher to kill Spider-Man.

    Castle started hunting Spider-Man. Sitting on the roof with a sniper rifle, he tried to shoot the friendly neighborhood hero when he appeared on the horizon. Spider-Man survived, falling down and becoming determined to search for the attacker. The Punisher delivered a second blow, throwing a nerve toxin grenade at his target's feet. Feeling weak from the grenade, Spider-Man fled to recuperate, and the Punisher followed him.
   
    In the city crowd, the Punisher watched Spider-Man climb the Empire State Building. Thinking that Spider-Man was using the civilians as a shield, the Punisher decided to move faster, fearing that some of the innocents might get hurt. Taking out a rifle, Frank started shooting at Spidey and grazed his shoulder. Locating the Punisher, Spider-Man attacked him from behind, resulting in the Punisher flying off into the air due to the force of Spider-Man's punch. The Punisher managed to grab the ledge of a building as he fell, and Spider-Man attempted to lend a hand, trying to reason with the vigilante. Still incorrectly convinced that Spider-Man was a killer, the Punisher began to shoot at the hero. The superhero dodged, but the bullets hit a news helicopter that was flying around. Spider-Man prevented a tragedy by saving the lives of reporters and a little girl who could have been crushed by a helicopter. The Punisher, seeing how Spider-Man had saved people and realizing that the Jackal was lying the entire time, renounced his goal and hurried to leave before warning the hero that it was better not to get in his way in the future.

Comments: Created by Joseph Harris and Michael Lopez.

    The Spider-Man vs. Punisher one-shot retells and rewrites Amazing Spider-Man #129, Punisher's debut. It must take place in an alternate reality, as its differences with the original story are irreconcilable with the mainstream Earth-616 continuity.
    For example, the Jackal didn't join the fight and sneak attack Spider-Man, as he did in ASM #129; in Spider-Man vs. Punisher, the Punisher only had one encounter with the Jackal, and he realized that Spider-Man is not a criminal when Spidey saved people in front of him, not after learning that the Jackal had killed the Mechanic and tried to frame Spider-Man

    Since Spider-Man vs. Punisher came out during a period when Marvel was attempting to retcon Spider-Man's early adventures through John Byrne's Spider-Man: Chapter One series, which was temporarily considered canon for Earth-616, it could be assumed that it takes place on Earth-98121.

    Since Punisher's exact height and weight are unrevealed, they were approximated from his 616 counterpart. Maria is the only member of the Castle family whose name was actually given in the issue. Since this version of the Punisher is based on the 616 one, the names of the children are presumed to be Lisa and Frank, Jr. respectively, and Frank's full name is presumed to be Francis.

    This profile was completed 07/09/2025 but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25^th Anniversary's celebratory event.

Profile by Mike Castle.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Earth-98121's Punisher should be distinguished from:

• PUNISHER (Frank Castle) - his Earth-616 counterpart--Amazing Spider-Man#129
• other "Punisher" characters, groups, items, races or events
  

Appearances:
Spider-Man vs. Punisher I#1 (July, 2000) - Joseph Harris (writer), Michael Lopez (pencils), Jason Minor (inks), Ruben Diaz, Ralph Macchio (editors)

First posted: 09/17/2026
Last updated: 09/18/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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