Season two of Netflix’s monster hit,Daredevil, is now available to stream withJon Bernthalplaying the Punisher. It’s no spoiler to say that these two vigilantes don’t start off as the best of buddies, so we fully expected to see Daredevil (Charlie Cox) square off against Bernthal’s heavily armed antihero. Considering the Marvel characters' contentious history in the comic books, there were plenty of storylines to draw from, so below are our picks for the Top 5 fights from the comics between Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Frank Castle/Punisher.
Daredevil #183 and 184
Punisher is an interesting case in the Marvel Universe. Not only is he a “regular”, albeit damaged, guy in a world of super-powered folks, but he also appeared as a side character in a series that was not his own. Just as the X-Man Wolverine had first appeared in an issue of “The Incredible Hulk”, Frank Castle appeared in an issue of “Spider-Man.” It was here that the Punisher made his first mark in the Marvel Universe and began seeping, not only into his own book, but into other characters’ stories as well. Enter Matt Murdock. In this first meeting between the two in New York City’s “Hell’s Kitchen”, both Matt and Frank are on the trail of a drug dealer who is responsible for the death of a schoolgirl who OD’d on Angel Dust. The two both seek the dealer with a vengeance, but have vastly different ideas of what to do with him once they catch him: Matt wants to put him in jail, Frank wants to put him in the grave. They don’t exactly see eye to eye. Words and bullets are exchanged, and the fight eventually ends with Daredevil shooting, but not killing, Punisher with his own gun to win the day.
This first clash was actually written and drawn by comic legend,Frank Miller, responsible for “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns"and “Sin City” to name a few. This also was one of the first times that the Punisher appeared, cutting a name for himself in the criminal underworld of the Marvel Universe. Frank Castle acted as a stark contrast to Matt Murdock’s Daredevil, introducing the idea of a “hero” to Murdock who was willing to take down criminals permanently. Matt has struggled with the idea of killing his foes, much like nearly every other hero with the same code of ethics, so coming into contact with the Punisher made for an interesting story of how one man can stand in the face of the ever-growing evil of the world, similar to several episodes in the first season of the NetflixDaredevilseries.
Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe
When someone wonders who the most notable comic book writer of the Punisher is, you’ll almost always come back to one name:Garth Ennis. Responsible for stories such as “Preacher” and “Hitman”, Ennis had a knack for bringing out the best, and the most horrific, in Frank Castle, so don’t be surprised if you see another of his stories pop up on this list. In this alternate reality, instead of the mob being responsible for the death of Castle’s family, they are instead caught in a brawl between the heroes of the Marvel Universe and alien invaders. The Punisher immediately kills a few of the X-Men in the aftermath, finding himself on trial, only to escape with the help of others who found themselves injured or lost in the wake of various super-powered battles. It was an interesting idea for sure, and showed how resourceful Castle was in taking out heroes like Spider-Man or villains like Dr. Doom.
Daredevil enters the picture as Castle’s attorney, trying to get him a lighter sentence each time he’s brought in front of the court for his crimes, and believe you me, Murdock had his hands full. After killing almost every super-powered person in the Marvel Universe, Frank manages to take down Captain America, and is then confronted by Daredevil, pleading with the Punisher to stop once and for all. The Punisher manages to kill Murdock, but not before Matt takes off his mask and says that everyone behind their masks were just regular people. Frank realizes this and decides to kill the final costumed individual in the Marvel Universe with a bullet to the head: himself. While “Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe” is certainly morbid, it makes for a fascinating read and shows off the writer who would soon be thought of as the pinnacle of Punisher creators moving forward.
Marvel Knight Punisher
Another Ennis classic, this story was part of a series of issues under the banner, “Welcome Back, Frank” wherein the Punisher returned to his old self, previously being written as an angelic figure with ghost guns (don’t ask, I mean Punisher’s been the Frankenstein monster before!) When Frank runs into Matt Murdock once again, the Punisher’s on the hunt for a mob boss and has the gangster in his sights until Daredevil interferes. Knowing Matt’s weakness to sound, thanks to his super hearing, Castle gets the upper hand by blaring noise over some loud speakers and manages to tie Matt up to a nearby support beam. It’s here that Frank introduces a choice to Murdock. In a sadistic turn, the Punisher allows Daredevil to have one hand free to hold a gun to kill Frank. The gangster will be saved, but Matt will be forced to break his code of ethics and become that which he hates in the Punisher. Ultimately, Daredevil decides to pull the trigger, realizing then that the gun was never loaded as Punisher whacks the mob boss anyway. The two go their separate ways once again, except with Murdock losing the fight and perhaps understanding the Punisher a bit more than he had before.
Ennis never really had a love for superheroes, as you can see from both this story and the “Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe” issue, but his presentation of the relationship between Frank Castle and Matt Murdock here was fantastic. While Daredevil and many of his fellow crime fighters found themselves in a world of grey, the Punisher only saw things as black and white, as guilty and innocent.
Means and Ends
Not too hard to believe that a mini-series titled, “Daredevil Vs. Punisher” would make the list, but it has the chops to earn its place. Written byDavid Laphamof “Stray Bullets” fame, the story finds the two “heroes” caught in a power vacuum in the New York City underworld. Two villains are attempting to overtake the criminal underbelly in the persons of Hammerhead and the Jackal, both normally Spider-Man villains. This series was following the much-maligned Spider-Man story, “The Clone Saga”, so it was something of a shock to see the Jackal, who was previously thought dead, return. It was a good choice for a villain though, as the Jackal was originally responsible for the first confrontation between the Punisher and Spider-Man, and the two hadn’t really interacted much following it.
This story gave an in-depth look into both Frank Castle and Matt Murdock, while also showing how each of these characters affected the world around them. It also had, arguably, the best physical fights between the two that we had seen yet. When the series ends, we’re not only left wondering whether Murdock or Castle is right, but are given the option that perhaps both of them are wrong in how they approach crime in their city.
The Omega Effect
To be fair, the “fight” here between the Punisher and Daredevil isn’t a physical one, and it doesn’t even happen between the two; rather, it’s a battle of their philosophies. This story arc saw not only Daredevil and the Punisher teaming up against the criminal organizations of the Marvel Universe, but also had Spider-Man tag along, as well as a woman named Rachel Alves, who had origins that paralleled Castle’s. At one point in the story, Alves strikes up a conversation with Daredevil, trying to make the point that her, and Frank’s, method of crime fighting is the only way and that Matt isn’t so different from them at the end of the day. Murdock puts his foot down and lets her know that nearly EVERY hero in the Marvel Universe has lost either a member, or every member, of their family along the way, but doesn’t use it as an excuse to murder criminals on a nightly basis.
While I didn’t expect Spidey to be making an appearance in season 2 of Daredevil, this would certainly be the storyline to go with if he did!
However Daredevil and Punisher square off, the fights are sure to be every bit as good asthe best thatDaredevil’sfirst season had to offer.
