Frank Castle was an ex-police-detective, whose family was murdered in a mob hit. Vowing revenge, he became New York City's most mysterious vigilante the Punisher, and was responsible for the deaths of over 125 criminals. Living in the sewers and waging a one-man war against organized crime, his only friend is an old alcoholic named Shake, who spoke in rhyme for no good reason. Now legally declared dead, he struck back from beyond the grave, killing mobsters wherever he could find them. Due to his war against them, the Mafia families had been weakened, forcing one of the family leaders, Gianni Franco, to come in and take control. Franco had a plan to bring the families together as one unit. This, however, had attracted the attention of the Yakuza, Asia's most powerful crime syndicate which was led by Lady Tanaka. The Yakuza decided to take over the Mafia families and all of their interests. In order to sway the mobsters to their cause, they kidnapped their children and held them for ransom.

Shake pleaded with the Punisher to save the children, who were likely to be sold into childhood slavery regardless of whether the Mafia gave into the demands. While he was able to save most of the children with a .45 Thompson M1928 submachine gun, the Mafia leader's son was taken away to the Yakuza headquarters. Furthermore, the Punisher was taken into custody by the police, only to be freed by Franco's men. Franco persuaded the Punisher to help him save his son and stop the Japanese criminal underworld from taking root in America. Franco and the Punisher raided the Yakuza headquarters, where he fought and killed all the Yakuza, including Lady Tanaka and her daughter. Upon being reunited with his son, Franco betrayed the Punisher in an effort to kill him, but the Punisher won the duel, killing Franco. As the police arrived, Castle warned Franco's son not to follow in his father's footsteps, or he would share his fate.^[1]

The Punisher is an incredibly well-trained hand-to-hand combatant and an expert in the use of firearms and explosives.

• Punisher's Arsenal
  • Knives:
  • Desert Eagle Mark I: The Punisher's sidearm is a modified pistol.
  • Smith & Wesson Model 10:
  • Smith & Wesson Model 29:
  • Micro Uzi:
  • M1928 Thompson:
  • Franchi SPAS-12:
  • High Standard FLITE KING K-100:
  • Sawed-off double barrel Shotgun:
  • Colt Commando:
  • M60/Smith & Wesson Model 276 Gas Gun:
  • M26 Hand Grenade:

• Portrayed by Dolph Lundgren.