PULVERIZER
Real Name: Frank Casket
Identity/Class: Extradimensional/alternate reality (Earth-9047) human
Occupation: Vigilante
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Darkgeek, Forbush Man of Earth-665, Ghost Writer, Noman, Katy Powder, Scruffy, Wolverweenie
Enemies: Bulldog, Don Druglordo, Dumsday, Gutter Gang, Marble Corporate Lawyers, Medoozy, Tenpin of Crime, Toast Rider, Wksfrstsk Distributors
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: New York City, New York
First Appearance: What The--?!#1/1 (August, 1988)
Powers/Abilities: The Pulverizer wielded a wide variety of guns, knives, grenades and rocket launchers. He meticulously kept records on all his missions in his War Journal. He owned a van he called the Warwagon, which had a large gun on top of it.
Height: 5'5" (by approximation)
Weight: 180 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Gray
Hair: Black
History:
(What The--?!#6/2 (fb) ) - Years ago Frank Casket worked as a veterinarian in Vietnam. He was not too fond of tigers, vipers and water buffalos, but that was what he was dealing with in Vietnam. He wished for more cute dogs.
(What The--?!#6/2) - Frank Casket was man with a life, a home, a bank account and a dog named Scruffy. One day he walked his dog in Central Park when mobster named Bulldog kicked the dog so hard it went to outer space (presumably because it never landed). Frank waited a long time, but eventually went. Crime was everywhere and he was ready to take care of it. He bought his weapons supplies at a grocery store, but had to wait for the pack of Juicyfruits (he obviously needed the energy provided by the sugar...there are probably healthier ways). Back home, using the first lesson from a magazine, he started training his left arm, lifting his couch with it pretty soon. He waited for the second lesson to train his right arm as well. When his training was over he begin thinking about a disguise that would strike terror into the minds of criminals. A brick was thrown through his window and hit him. The doctors where sure they would've to amputate when they saw the damage to his skull, but the x-ray gave Frank the idea he was looking for. A skull needed to be on his costume. Back home he started sewing his own costume (he was talented like that), but sewing the word skull on his colorful costume didn't have the effect aspired by him when the criminals laughed at him. It took a few more tries until he finally had the right costume, but still not the right reaction, though he imagined the laughter dying down. He used all his skills from his days as a veterinarian in Vietnam to find out where to find Bulldog. Many died until he called information to get Bulldog's address. He was finally there and walked right through a wall and then right into a hail of bullets. The stay in the hospital was expensive and Frank put the doctors on his list of targets. Frank snuck into Bulldog's home through a window and when he had his target finally in front of him...he kicked his dog so hard it went into space to avenge Scruffy. This was the beginning of Pulverizer's butt-kicking career.
(What The--?!#1/1) - The Pulverizer was looking for the latest shipment of what was corrupting the minds of America's youth. On his way to a secret hideout he ran into a young graffiti sprayer, who accidentally sprayed on Pulverizer's coat. Pulverizer took his spray can away and the youngster ran off in fear, not realizing the Pulverizer didn't care much for his vandalism because he was looking for a bigger target. Pulverizer took one of his heavily decked out guns and shot up the secret hideout of a group of children. He interrogated one of the boys and when he threatened to put a lollipop in his armpit and then in the boy's mouth the kid told him where the Newsstand at Lexington and 45th was (despite Pulverizer already knowing the address already...he was not very smart). The children looked as Pulverizer walked away on his tiny legs.
Arriving at the newsstand he interrogated the owner and made gun noises before threatening him to actually use his gun if the man didn't tell him where he got his shipments from. A woman behind him tried to tell the Pulverizer that the man couldn't talk because Pulverizer had put his gun in the man's mouth (though the man told him it was Wksfrstsk repeatedly). Pulverizer didn't care much for her helpful info and shot her multiple times. Pulverizer ripped out the man's dentures (presumably because he pulled out the full set), but let the man get away because he felt others should put the fear of God in him like angels. Incidentally a delivery guy from Wksfrstsk Distribution arrived with a shipment and the Pulverizer quickly took him out with a barrage of bullets. The Wksfrstsk delivery truck drove off despite taking heavy fire from Pulverizer, who went after it in his Warwagon and ended the delivery truck's escape with a rocket launcher (atomic explosion included). Without any other clue to follow Pulverizer went to a waterfront bar to find out where he could find Wksfrstsk Distributors, killing everyone at the bar until the lone surviving sailor told him where to find their address in a phone book.
Arriving at Wksfrstsk Distributors Pulverizer pulled out a machine gun and put on all the attachments he needed until the gun became too heavy and he was buried under it. Pulverizer woke up a short time later bound to a chair in his underwear. Confronted by the distributors' boss Pulverizer broke free and killed everyone, then found a shipment of Pulverizer comics, the exact thing that turned children into animals according to him. Pulverizer walked out the front door and blew up the place with grenades. He now knew the source and was going after them soon.
(What The--?!#5/1 (fb) - BTS) - Wulvoream and Pulverizer received both a letter from the Gutter Gang, who challenged each of them to apprehend them.
(What The--?!#5/1) - Wulvoream and Pulverizer met and shouted at each other until their letterer demanded action and refused to keep lettering them, but he got scared and kept lettering when they threatened him. The Gutter Gang then approached Wulvoream and Pulverizer telling them that they planned to resolve their reputation as bad guys by being caught by the baddest guy around though they were not sure who the baddest guy was. Wulvoream and Pulverizer knew the Gutter Gang was trying to trick them into fighting each other and it worked as soon as the bell rang. Pulverizer shot up Wulvoream over and over again on street, the beach, the street and the ring. Beaten up Wulvoream, bandaged up, used his claws to scratch a chalkboard. Before losing consciousness Pulverizer shot Wulvoream with his knife (?). The Gutter Gang's leader declared the Tenpin of Crime, who had been behind everything, the winner, but the two vigilantes were not done yet. Upon hearing they were tricked by the Tenpin they sought him out in his personal skyscraper to kill him, but the Tenpin tricked them once again into fighting each other.
(What The--?!#8/1) - Standing in a dark alley the Pulverizer called over Forbush Man and told him not to get mad with others but even. Forbush Man mistook him for Wolveream, which angered the Pulverizer, but Forbush Man's second guess was that it was him. Pulverizer gave Forbush Man a gun to get his revenge on Marble Comics by killing Terry Kavanagh, the editor of What The--!?
(What The--?!#10/2) - Pulverizer got a special rifle for Christmas from Microchip. (Nice!)
(What The--?!#11/2) - Pulverizer's New Years Resolution was to be more dedicated at work (i.e. killing more people).
(What The--?!#17/1) - Wolverweenie wandered through the swamps of Costa Lottamoola and after another 1 ½ hours remembered why he was there. He ignored a lemonade stand even though he was dehydrated and all his muscles and Adam-Antium bones were screaming in pain. When he smelled the Pulverizer nearby he snuck up on him, but Pulverizer avoided his attack and Wolverweenie landed in the mud. Mistaking him for a bog beast Pulverizer shot Wolverweenie full of bullets, but thankfully Wolverweenie had healing powers. They then argued why they were in each others story and were they actually were (Pulverizer claimed they were in Colombia because in his series the names of real countries were used while Wolverweenie insisted they were in Costa Lottamoola). When bugs attacked Wolverweenie Pulverizer shot them off him by putting Wolverweenie full of holes once again. Teaming up Wolverweenie and Pulverizer killed any creature they encountered on their way through the rainforest. They found Don Druglordo's camp and started taking out his little army. Wolverweenie started a silent killing spree and asked Pulverizer to do the same, but he used a gun (a small gun though) and the alarm was rang. While Wolverweenie went into a monologue about what he does, Pulverizer threw everything he had at Don Druglordo's army. Wolverweenie was surprised that none of their bullets hit him, which Pulverizer explained by telling him that they had bad guy bullets, which never hit. Eventually a sink was tossed at Wolverweenie and then all the guns because Druglordo's army were out of bullets. Finally arriving at Druglordo's gate Wolverweenie and Pulverizer crashed through the gate and found Don Druglordo defeated by Sore, She-Bulk and Pumpin' Iron Man, who didn't even have to kill Druglordo's henchmen due to their super powers. After the heroes took off Pulverizer blamed Wolverweenie because super heroes would've never appeared in his own stories because they were realistic. They walked back to Pulverizer's Warwagon to get out of Colombia (or Costa Lottamoola as Wolverweenie still claimed).
(What The--?!#19/1 (fb) - BTS) - Wolvie, Pulverizer and Ghost Writer teamed up to help other heroes become more successful by turning them darker. They helped Deathlox, Noman and Katy Powder.
(What The--?!#19/1) - The trio turned their attention to young hero Darkgeek to help him become more popular. They helped him save a store owner from a gang by killing them when the gang just laughed at him. Later Wolvie snuck with Darkgeek into a warehouse and killed all guards while looking for the main villain. After everyone was dead Wolvie was sure the main villain was buried somewhere under all the bodies.
After their lessons the three vigilantes watched Darkgeek from a roof and saw him attacking a bookstore owner for wasting energy (the same man they had saved at the beginning of the story), though they were disappointed he didn't kill him. Wolvie told Pulverizer to give Darkgeek a chance to learn from his mistakes before they turned their attention to Night Slasher, the next hero in need of their help.
(What The--?!#21/4) - Pulverizer and Wolverweenie put up a roadblock to stop Toast Rider and Medoozy because they were cutting into their sales with their newfound popularity, but Toast Rider used his Pennies Stare to take down the roadblock, Wolverweenie and Pulverizer with royalties.
(What The--?!#22/1) - Pulverizer and Wolverweenie jumped into action (literally) down to a street full of criminals, but Wolverweenie got into an argument with Pulverizer because he only received second billing. While the villains waited Wolverweenie and Pulverizer tried to outdo each other. Wolverweenie made fresh sushi while Pulverizer shot up a building. Wolverweenie showed an article about how popular he was while Pulverizer showed him an essay written about him. Pulverizer was laughed at by everyone when he tried to impress Wolverweenie by showing him that he had his own movie with Dork Lumpgrin playing the Pulverizer. They then argued whose comics sold better and decided to go to Marble Comics to ask there. When they witnessed a fight breaking out between Barry Dutter and Bob Harras at Marble Comics they left because they were scared of real violence, but on their way out the building they were confronted by the Marble Corporate Lawyers, who told them that they were in violation of their contracts since page one, panel two for not including a big fight scene. As penalty Wolverweenie and Pulverizer were forced to co-star in Fluffy Wuffy Tales.
(What The--?!#26/10) - Pulverizer joined the battle against Dumsday, but was apparently defeated by him.
Comments: Created by Peter B. Gillis (writer/co-plot), Hilary Barta (pencils/co-plot) & John Severin (inks).
I won't go into detail about his weaponry. It was heavy. Too heavy for me. I am not a weapons guy. Frank was. He had all the cool additional gimmicks needed for his war on crime, comic books and apparently doctors. He was not the best at what he does, but he knew that criminals were a cowardly bunch. Sounds stolen, but what do I know? I am not a vigilante or a millionaire with his own cave full of gadgets. Neither is Frank, at least the latter, but he had a dog and a home and a life and a pretty big house. Looked like a mansion to me. Maybe he was a millionaire, maybe he had a cave, but decided against using it because his War Wagon was so much cooler and a garage was all he needed for it. At least he had a great frenemy in Wolverweenie. They were so similar and different at the same time. Two coins with two sides. Blood and guts, claws and bullets, arms thick enough to crush their own heads and legs short enough to run into problems when they needed to go after someone fast. Not sure what to do with the stories where both have normal-looking legs. Artistic license is the best way to describe it. Maybe Frank got his hands on the artist and "asked" him to give him normal legs. Not sure what to do with the Obnoxio stories either. They should be the same reality, but then at the same time they shouldn't. Obnoxio is not from Frank's neighborhood. Frank is not from the neighborhood the stories took place in according to other sources. There was not much I could do about it. We were young and stupid and didn't know any better. Frank will have his revenge! I am sure of it.
The other Pulverizers (or Punishers) of What The--?!
What The--?!#4/1: A Punisher counterpart is seen in a crowd of heroes attacking those damn Muties.
What The--?!#13/3: Pulverizer of Earth-665 (according to Obnoxio's handbook profile) joined forces with Obnoxio the Clown to take out Big Al Bondigas and his gang ("Arms" Akimbo, Mogsey and Fat Boy), who were harassing Obnoxio the Clown's Funland. It ended in the amusement park's destruction.
What The--?!#21/1: Pulverizer was in Miss Behines' dream as part of the tests on Loganberry's healing factor when he was turned into Weapon X.
What The--?!#24/3: Obnoxio's wax museum had a Pulverizer figure.
What The--?!#24/4: A Punisher counterpart hung out at Bud's Suds in Wolverina's reality.
Profile by Markus Raymond.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Pulverizer (Frank Casket) should not be confused with:
images (without ads)
What The--?!#6, p13, pan4 (dead main walking)
What The--?!#1, p2, pan1 (shoot 'em up)
What The--?!#17, p7, pan6 (Pulverizer and Wolverweenie putting the fear into criminals)
What The--?!#22, p8 (Pulverizer bringing the cookies to picnic with new and old friends)
Appearances:
What The--?!#1/1 (August, 1988) - Peter B. Gillis (writer/co-plot), Hilary Barta (pencils/co-plot), John Severin (inks), Carl Potts (editor)
What The--?!#5/1 (July, 1989) - Hilary Barta (co-writer/artist), Doug Rice (co-writer), Carl Potts (editor)
What The--?!#6/2 (January, 1990) - Hilary Barta (co-writer/artist), Doug Rice (co-writer), Terry Kavanagh & Carl Potts (editors)
What The--?!#8/1 (July, 1990) - Aaron Lopresti (writer/artist), Terry Kavanagh (editor)
What The--?!#10/3 (January, 1991) - Darren Auck (writer/artist), Renée Witterstaetter (editor)
What The--?!#11/2 (March, 1991) - Darren Auck (writer/artist), Craig Anderson (editor)
What The--?!#17 (March, 1992) - Peter B. Gillis (co-writer), Hilary Barta (pencils/co-writer), Renée Witterstaetter (editor)
What The--?!#19 (July, 1992) - Scott Lobdell (writer), Rick Stasi (pencils), Mike DeCarlo (inks), Renée Witterstaetter (editor)
What The--?!#21/1 (September, 1992) - Sholly Fisch (writer), Marie Severin (artist), Renée Witterstaetter (editor)
What The--?!#22 (October, 1992) - Hilary Barta (writer/artist), Renée Witterstaetter (editor)
What The--?!#26/10 (Winter 1993) - Aaron Lopresti (writer/artist), Renée Witterstaetter (editor)
First Posted: 11/18/2020
Last updated: 11/18/2020
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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