title: Boston Tea Party

text: A controversy between Great Britain and the colonies arose in the 1760s when Parliament sought, for the first time, to impose a direct tax on the colonies for the purpose of raising revenue. Some colonists, known in the colonies as Whigs, objected to the new tax program, arguing that it was a violation of the British Constitution. Britons and British Americans agreed that, according to the constitution, British subjects could not be taxed without the consent of their elected representatives. In Great Britain, this meant that taxes could only be levied by Parliament. Colonists, however, did not elect members of Parliament, and so American Whigs argued that the colonies could not be taxed by that body. According to Whigs, colonists could only be taxed by their own colonial assemblies. Colonial protests resulted in the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766, but in the 1766 Declaratory Act, Parliament continued to insist that it had the right to legislate for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever".


title: Boston Tea Party

text: When new taxes were levied in the Townshend Revenue Act of 1767, Whig colonists again responded with protests and boycotts. Merchants organized a non-importation agreement, and many colonists pledged to abstain from drinking British tea, with activists in New England promoting alternatives, such as domestic Labrador tea. Smuggling continued apace, especially in New York and Philadelphia, where tea smuggling had always been more extensive than in Boston. Dutied British tea continued to be imported into Boston, however, especially by Richard Clarke and the sons of Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson, until pressure from Massachusetts Whigs compelled them to abide by the non-importation agreement.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: Parliament finally responded to the protests by repealing the Townshend taxes in 1770, except for the tea duty, which Prime Minister Lord North kept to assert "the right of taxing the Americans". This partial repeal of the taxes was enough to bring an end to the non-importation movement by October 1770. From 1771 to 1773, British tea was once again imported into the colonies in significant amounts, with merchants paying the Townshend duty of three pence per pound in weight of tea. Boston was the largest colonial importer of legal tea; smugglers still dominated the market in New York and Philadelphia.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: The Indemnity Act of 1767, which gave the East India Company a refund of the duty on tea that was re-exported to the colonies, expired in 1772. Parliament passed a new act in 1772 that reduced this refund, effectively leaving a 10% duty on tea imported into Britain. The act also restored the tea taxes within Britain that had been repealed in 1767, and left in place the three pence Townshend duty in the colonies, equal to £ today. With this new tax burden driving up the price of British tea, sales plummeted. The company continued to import tea into Great Britain, however, amassing a huge surplus of product that no one would buy. For these and other reasons, by late 1772 the East India Company, one of Britain's most important commercial institutions, was in a serious financial crisis. The severe famine in Bengal from 1769 to 1773 had drastically reduced the revenue of the East India Company from India bringing the Company to the verge of bankruptcy and the Tea Act of 1773 was enacted to help the East India Company.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: Eliminating some of the taxes was one obvious solution to the crisis. The East India Company initially sought to have the Townshend duty repealed, but the North ministry was unwilling because such an action might be interpreted as a retreat from Parliament's position that it had the right to tax the colonies. More importantly, the tax collected from the Townshend duty was used to pay the salaries of some colonial governors and judges. This was in fact the purpose of the Townshend tax: previously these officials had been paid by the colonial assemblies, but Parliament now paid their salaries to keep them dependent on the British government rather than allowing them to be accountable to the colonists.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: Another possible solution for reducing the growing mound of tea in the East India Company warehouses was to sell it cheaply in Europe. This possibility was investigated, but it was determined that the tea would simply be smuggled back into Great Britain, where it would undersell the taxed product. The best market for the East India Company's surplus tea, so it seemed, was the American colonies, if a way could be found to make it cheaper than the smuggled Dutch tea.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: The North ministry's solution was the Tea Act, which received the assent of King George on May 10, 1773. This act restored the East India Company's full refund on the duty for importing tea into Britain, and also permitted the company, for the first time, to export tea to the colonies on its own account. This would allow the company to reduce costs by eliminating the middlemen who bought the tea at wholesale auctions in London. Instead of selling to middlemen, the company now appointed colonial merchants to receive the tea on consignment; the consignees would in turn sell the tea for a commission. In July 1773, tea consignees were selected in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Charleston. The Tea Act in 1773 authorized the shipment of 5,000 chests of tea (250 tons) to the American colonies. There would be a tax of £1,750 (equal to £ today) to be paid by the importers when the cargo landed. The act granted the EIC a monopoly on the sale of tea that was cheaper than smuggled tea; its hidden purpose was to force the colonists to pay a tax of 3 pennies on every pound of tea.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: The Tea Act thus retained the three pence Townshend duty on tea imported to the colonies. Some members of Parliament wanted to eliminate this tax, arguing that there was no reason to provoke another colonial controversy. Former Chancellor of the Exchequer William Dowdeswell, for example, warned Lord North that the Americans would not accept the tea if the Townshend duty remained. But North did not want to give up the revenue from the Townshend tax, primarily because it was used to pay the salaries of colonial officials; maintaining the right of taxing the Americans was a secondary concern. According to historian Benjamin Labaree, "A stubborn Lord North had unwittingly hammered a nail in the coffin of the old British Empire."


title: Boston Tea Party

text: Even with the Townshend duty in effect, the Tea Act would allow the East India Company to sell tea more cheaply than before, undercutting the prices offered by smugglers, but also undercutting colonial tea importers, who paid the tax and received no refund. In 1772, legally imported Bohea, the most common variety of tea, sold for about 3 shillings (3s) per pound, equal to £ today. After the Tea Act, colonial consignees would be able to sell it for 2 shillings per pound (2s), just under the smugglers' price of 2 shillings and 1 penny (2s 1d). Realizing that the payment of the Townshend duty was politically sensitive, the company hoped to conceal the tax by making arrangements to have it paid either in London once the tea was landed in the colonies, or have the consignees quietly pay the duties after the tea was sold. This effort to hide the tax from the colonists was unsuccessful.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: In September and October 1773, seven ships carrying East India Company tea were sent to the colonies: four were bound for Boston, and one each for New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston. In the ships were more than 2,000 chests containing nearly 600,000 pounds of tea. Americans learned the details of the Tea Act while the ships were en route, and opposition began to mount. Whigs, sometimes calling themselves Sons of Liberty, began a campaign to raise awareness and to convince or compel the consignees to resign, in the same way that stamp distributors had been forced to resign in the 1765 Stamp Act crisis.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: The protest movement that culminated with the Boston Tea Party was not a dispute about high taxes. The price of legally imported tea was actually reduced by the Tea Act of 1773. Protesters were instead concerned with a variety of other issues. The familiar "no taxation without representation" argument, along with the question of the extent of Parliament's authority in the colonies, remained prominent. Samuel Adams considered the British tea monopoly to be "equal to a tax" and to raise the same representation issue whether or not a tax was applied to it. Some regarded the purpose of the tax program—to make leading officials independent of colonial influence—as a dangerous infringement of colonial rights. This was especially true in Massachusetts, the only colony where the Townshend program had been fully implemented.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: Colonial merchants, some of them smugglers, played a significant role in the protests. Because the Tea Act made legally imported tea cheaper, it threatened to put smugglers of Dutch tea out of business. Legitimate tea importers who had not been named as consignees by the East India Company were also threatened with financial ruin by the Tea Act. Another major concern for merchants was that the Tea Act gave the East India Company a monopoly on the tea trade, and it was feared that this government-created monopoly might be extended in the future to include other goods.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: In New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston, protesters compelled the tea consignees to resign. In Charleston, the consignees had been forced to resign by early December, and the unclaimed tea was seized by customs officials. There were mass protest meetings in Philadelphia. Benjamin Rush urged his fellow countrymen to oppose the landing of the tea, because the cargo contained "the seeds of slavery". By early December, the Philadelphia consignees had resigned, and in late December the tea ship returned to England with its cargo following a confrontation with the ship's captain. The tea ship bound for New York City was delayed by bad weather; by the time it arrived, the consignees had resigned, and the ship returned to England with the tea.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: In every colony except Massachusetts, protesters were able to force the tea consignees to resign or to return the tea to England. In Boston, however, Governor Hutchinson was determined to hold his ground. He convinced the tea consignees, two of whom were his sons, not to back down.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: When the tea ship "Dartmouth", arrived in the Boston Harbor in late November, Whig leader Samuel Adams called for a mass meeting to be held at Faneuil Hall on November 29, 1773. Thousands of people arrived, so many that the meeting was moved to the larger Old South Meeting House. British law required "Dartmouth" to unload and pay the duties within twenty days or customs officials could confiscate the cargo (i.e. unload it onto American soil). The mass meeting passed a resolution, introduced by Adams and based on a similar set of resolutions promulgated earlier in Philadelphia, urging the captain of "Dartmouth" to send the ship back without paying the import duty. Meanwhile, the meeting assigned twenty-five men to watch the ship and prevent the tea – including a number of chests from Davison, Newman and Co. of London – from being unloaded.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: Governor Hutchinson refused to grant permission for "Dartmouth" to leave without paying the duty. Two more tea ships, "Eleanor" and "Beaver", arrived in Boston Harbor. On December 16 – the last day of "Dartmouth"'s deadline – approximately 5,000–7,000 people out of an estimated population of 16,000 had gathered around the Old South Meeting House. After receiving a report that Governor Hutchinson had again refused to let the ships leave, Adams announced that "This meeting can do nothing further to save the country." According to a popular story, Adams's statement was a prearranged signal for the "tea party" to begin. However, this claim did not appear in print until nearly a century after the event, in a biography of Adams written by his great-grandson, who apparently misinterpreted the evidence. According to eyewitness accounts, people did not leave the meeting until 10–15 minutes after Adams's alleged "signal", and Adams in fact tried to stop people from leaving because the meeting was not yet over.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: While Samuel Adams tried to reassert control of the meeting, people poured out of the Old South Meeting House to prepare to take action. In some cases, this involved donning what may have been elaborately prepared Mohawk costumes. While disguising their individual faces was imperative, because of the illegality of their protest, dressing as Mohawk warriors was a specific and symbolic choice. It showed that the Sons of Liberty identified with America, over their official status as subjects of Great Britain.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: That evening, a group of 30 to 130 men, some dressed in the Mohawk warrior disguises, boarded the three vessels and, over the course of three hours, dumped all 342 chests of tea into the water. The precise location of the Griffin's Wharf site of the Tea Party has been subject to prolonged uncertainty; a comprehensive study places it near the foot of Hutchinson Street (today's Pearl Street). The property damage amounted to the destruction of 92,000 pounds or 340 chests of tea, reported by the British East India Company worth £9,659, or $1,700,000 dollars in today's money.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: Another tea ship intended for Boston, the "William", had run aground at Cape Cod in December 1773, and its tea was taxed and sold to private parties. In March 1774, the Sons of Liberty received information that this tea was being held in a warehouse in Boston, entered the warehouse and destroyed all they could find. Some of it had already been sold to Davison, Newman and Co. and was being held in their shop. On March 7, Sons of Liberty once again dressed as Mohawks, broke into the shop, and dumped the last remaining tea into the harbor.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: Whether or not Samuel Adams helped plan the Boston Tea Party is disputed, but he immediately worked to publicize and defend it. He argued that the Tea Party was not the act of a lawless mob, but was instead a principled protest and the only remaining option the people had to defend their constitutional rights.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: In Great Britain, even those politicians considered friends of the colonies were appalled and this act united all parties there against the colonies. The Prime Minister Lord North said, "Whatever may be the consequence, we must risk something; if we do not, all is over". The British government felt this action could not remain unpunished, and responded by closing the port of Boston and putting in place other laws known as the "Intolerable Acts." Benjamin Franklin stated that the East India Company should be paid for the destroyed tea, all ninety thousand pounds (which, at two shillings per pound, came to £9,000, or £ [2014, approx. $1.7 million US]). Robert Murray, a New York merchant, went to Lord North with three other merchants and offered to pay for the losses, but the offer was turned down.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: The incident resulted in a similar effect in North America, when news of the Boston Tea Party reached London in January and Parliament responded with a series of acts known collectively in the colonies as the Intolerable Acts. These were intended to punish Boston for the destruction of private property, restore British authority in Massachusetts, and otherwise reform colonial government in America. Although the first three, the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act and the Administration of Justice Act, applied only to Massachusetts, colonists outside that colony feared that their governments could now also be changed by legislative fiat in England. The Intolerable Acts were viewed as a violation of constitutional rights, natural rights, and colonial charters, and united many colonists throughout America, exemplified by the calling of the First Continental Congress in September 1774.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: A number of colonists were inspired by the Boston Tea Party to carry out similar acts, such as the burning of "Peggy Stewart". The Boston Tea Party eventually proved to be one of the many reactions that led to the American Revolutionary War. In his December 17, 1773, entry in his diary, John Adams wrote:


title: Boston Tea Party

text: In February 1775, Britain passed the Conciliatory Resolution, which ended taxation for any colony that satisfactorily provided for the imperial defense and the upkeep of imperial officers. The tax on tea was repealed with the Taxation of Colonies Act 1778, part of another Parliamentary attempt at conciliation that failed.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: John Adams and many other Americans considered tea drinking to be unpatriotic following the Boston Tea Party. Tea drinking declined during and after the Revolution, resulting in a shift to coffee as the preferred hot drink.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: According to historian Alfred Young, the term "Boston Tea Party" did not appear in print until 1834. Before that time, the event was usually referred to as the "destruction of the tea". According to Young, American writers were for many years apparently reluctant to celebrate the destruction of property, and so the event was usually ignored in histories of the American Revolution. This began to change in the 1830s, however, especially with the publication of biographies of George Robert Twelves Hewes, one of the few still-living participants of the "tea party", as it then became known.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: The Boston Tea Party has often been referenced in other political protests. When Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi led a mass burning of Indian registration cards in South Africa in 1908, a British newspaper compared the event to the Boston Tea Party. When Gandhi met with the Viceroy of India in 1930 after the Indian salt protest campaign, Gandhi took some duty-free salt from his shawl and said, with a smile, that the salt was "to remind us of the famous Boston Tea Party."


title: Boston Tea Party

text: American activists from a variety of political viewpoints have invoked the Tea Party as a symbol of protest. In 1973, on the 200th anniversary of the Tea Party, a mass meeting at Faneuil Hall called for the impeachment of President Richard Nixon and protested oil companies in the ongoing oil crisis. Afterwards, protesters boarded a replica ship in Boston Harbor, hanged Nixon in effigy, and dumped several empty oil drums into the harbor. In 1998, two conservative US Congressmen put the federal tax code into a chest marked "tea" and dumped it into the harbor.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: In 2006, a libertarian political party called the "Boston Tea Party" was founded. In 2007, the Ron Paul "Tea Party" money bomb, held on the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, broke the one-day fund-raising record by raising $6.04 million in 24 hours. Subsequently, these fund-raising "Tea parties" grew into the Tea Party movement, which dominated conservative American politics for the next two years, reaching its peak with a voter victory for the Republicans in 2010 who were widely elected to seats in the United States House of Representatives.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: The Boston Tea Party Museum is located on the Congress Street Bridge in Boston. It features reenactments, a documentary, and a number of interactive exhibits. The museum features two replica ships of the period, "Eleanor" and "Beaver". Additionally, the museum possesses one of two known tea chests from the original event, part of its permanent collection.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: The American Antiquarian Society holds in its collection a vial of actual tea-infused harbor water from 1773.


title: Boston Tea Party

text: It has been subject of "The Boston Tea Party", a 1976 play by Allan Albert, and "Boston Tea Party", a 1976 song by the Sensational Alex Harvey Band from "SAHB Stories".


title: Steve Coogan

text: Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which he developed while working with Armando Iannucci on "On the Hour" and "The Day Today". Partridge has featured in several television series and the 2013 film "". In 1999, he co-founded the production company Baby Cow Productions with Henry Normal.


title: Steve Coogan

text: He began his career in the 1980s as a voice actor on the satirical puppet show "Spitting Image" and providing voice-overs for television advertisements. Coogan grew in prominence in the film industry in 2002, after starring in "The Parole Officer" and "24 Hour Party People". He continued to appear in films such as "Around the World in 80 Days" (2004), "Hamlet 2" (2008), "Tropic Thunder" (2008), "The Other Guys" (2010), "Ruby Sparks" (2012), and the "Night at the Museum" films, and "Greed" (2019). He co-starred as himself with Rob Brydon in "A Cock and Bull Story" (2005), and the BBC series "The Trip" (2010), "The Trip to Italy" (2014), "The Trip to Spain" (2017), and "The Trip to Greece" (2020), all of which were condensed into films.


title: Steve Coogan

text: Coogan has also played dramatic roles, including "Marie Antoinette" (2006), "What Maisie Knew" (2012), and portrayed Paul Raymond in the biographical film "The Look of Love" (2013) and Stan Laurel in "Stan & Ollie" (2018). In 2013, he co-wrote, produced, and starred in the film "Philomena", which earned him nominations at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs, and at the Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture.


title: Steve Coogan

text: Stephen John Coogan was born on 14 October 1965 in Middleton, Lancashire, the son of housewife Kathleen (née Coonan) and IBM engineer Anthony "Tony" Coogan. He has four brothers and one sister, and was raised Roman Catholic in a "lower-middle or upper-working class" family which emphasised the values of education. His younger brother Brendan was, for a few months, a presenter of "Top Gear", while his elder brother Martin became the lead singer of rock band the Mock Turtles.


title: Steve Coogan

text: Coogan's mother is Irish and hails from County Mayo, while his father is also of Irish descent, his paternal grandparents – Margaret (from County Kilkenny) and Thomas Coogan (a tailor from County Cork) – having settled in Manchester shortly before the First World War. During the 1950s, his paternal grandfather established a dance hall for Irish immigrants. Coogan attended St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School and Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School. He has stated that he had a happy childhood, and his parents fostered children on a short-term basis.


title: Steve Coogan

text: As a family, it was assumed that all the children would become teachers. Coogan had a talent for impersonation and wanted to go to drama school, despite being advised by a teacher that it could lead to a precarious profession. After five failed applications to various drama schools in London, he received a place at the New Music theatre company before gaining a place at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama, where he met future collaborator John Thomson.


title: Steve Coogan

text: Coogan began his career as a comic and impressionist, performing regularly in Ipswich, before working as a voice artist for television advertisements and the satirical puppet show "Spitting Image". In 1989, he appeared in a series of specially shot sketches in the Observation round in the long-running ITV game show "The Krypton Factor". In 1992, Coogan won the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for his performance with long-time collaborator John Thomson, and starred alongside him and Caroline Aherne in a one-off Granada TV sketch show, "The Dead Good Show". His most prominent characters developed at this time were Paul Calf, a stereotypical working class Mancunian, and his sister Pauline, played by Coogan in drag.


title: Steve Coogan

text: While working on the Radio 4 comedy "On the Hour", Coogan created Alan Partridge, a parody of British sports presenters, with producer Armando Iannucci. Coogan described Partridge as a Little Englander, with right-wing values and poor taste. He is socially inept, often offending his guests, and has an inflated sense of importance and celebrity. According to Coogan, Partridge was originally a "one-note, sketchy character" and "freak show", but slowly became refined as a dysfunctional alter ego.


title: Steve Coogan

text: In 1992, Partridge hosted a spin-off Radio 4 spoof chat show, "Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge". "On the Hour" transferred to television as "The Day Today" in 1994, followed by "Knowing Me, Knowing You" later that year. In 1997, Coogan starred as Partridge in a BBC sitcom, "I'm Alan Partridge", written by Coogan, Iannucci and Peter Baynham, following Partridge's life in a roadside hotel working for a small radio station. It earned two BAFTAs and was followed by a second series in 2002. After "I'm Alan Partridge", Coogan tired of Partridge and limited him to smaller roles. Coogan said he did not want to say goodbye to Partridge, and that "as long as I can do my other things, that, to me, is the perfect balance". He later said that Partridge had once been an "albatross" but had become "a battered, comfortable old leather jacket".


title: Steve Coogan

text: Partridge returned in 2010 with a series of shorts, "Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge", written with new writers Rob and Neil Gibbons. It was followed by the spoof memoirs "" (2011) and "Nomad" (2016), the feature film "" (2013), and several TV specials. In his memoir, Coogan wrote that "Alpha Papa" was the hardest he had ever worked and that the production was fraught; however, he was proud of the finished film. In 2019, Partridge returned to the BBC with "This Time with Alan Partridge", a spoof of magazine shows such as "The One Show," followed by an Audible podcast, "From the Oasthouse", in 2020. In April 2022, Coogan began an Alan Partridge tour, "Stratagem". Reviewing the show for the "Guardian", Brian Logan noted that though Coogan had once tired of Partridge, he now "clearly takes pleasure in the performance".


title: Steve Coogan

text: Critics have praised Partridge's complexity, realism and pathos. "Vanity Fair" called him a British national treasure and the "Guardian" described him as "one of the greatest and most beloved comic creations of the last few decades". Partridge is credited with influencing cringe comedies such as "The Inbetweeners", "Nighty Night" and "Peep Show". In 2001 a poll by Channel 4, Partridge was voted seventh on their list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.


title: Steve Coogan

text: Paul Calf began as a character named 'Duncan Disorderly' in Coogan's early stand-up routines. Calf first came to wider public notice in 1993, with several appearances on "Saturday Zoo", a late-night variety show presented by Jonathan Ross on Channel 4. Paul has appeared in two video diaries, an episode of "Coogan's Run", and in various stand-up performances. He is an unemployed Mancunian wastrel with a particular hatred of students. His catchphrase, spoken to disparage something or someone, is "Bag o' shite". Paul lives in a council house in the fictional town of Ottle with his mother and his sister, Pauline Calf (also played by Coogan). His father, Pete Calf (played by Coogan in "Coogan's Run") died some time before the first video diary was made. For a long time he was obsessed with getting back together with his ex-girlfriend, Julie. Paul's best friend is "Fat" Bob (played by John Thomson), a car mechanic who eventually married Pauline. Paul supports Manchester City and is very partial to Wagon Wheels. He wears Burton suits, sports a bleached mullet hairstyle, and drives a Ford Cortina. "Pauline Calf's Wedding Video", also known as "Three Fights, Two Weddings and a Funeral", won the 1995 BAFTA award for Best Comedy.


title: Steve Coogan

text: Other Coogan creations include Tommy Saxondale, Duncan Thicket, Ernest Eckler and Portuguese Eurovision Song Contest winner Tony Ferrino. Duncan Thicket has appeared in a tour of live shows. Other TV shows he has starred in include "Coogan's Run", "Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible", "Monkey Trousers" and "Saxondale". Coogan has provided voices for the animated series "I Am Not an Animal" and "Bob and Margaret", two Christmas specials featuring "Robbie the Reindeer", and an episode of the BBC Radio Four spoof sci-fi series "Nebulous".


title: Steve Coogan

text: He played the Gnat in the 1998 TV adaptation of "Alice Through the Looking Glass" starring Kate Beckinsale, and also starred in BBC2's "The Private Life of Samuel Pepys" in 2003, and "Cruise of the Gods" in 2002. In 2006, he had a cameo in the "Little Britain" Christmas special as a pilot taking Lou and Andy to Disneyland. In 2007, Coogan played a psychiatrist on Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" on HBO, and in 2008, starred in the BBC1 drama "Sunshine".


title: Steve Coogan

text: In 2010, he worked again with Brydon and Michael Winterbottom for the partially improvised BBC2 sitcom "The Trip", in which he and Brydon tour northern restaurants. He is set to play Jimmy Savile, the disgraced British television presenter and sex offender, in an forthcoming BBC One series "The Reckoning". Coogan said he did not take the decision to play Savile lightly, and that it was a "horrific story which – however harrowing – needs to be told". The drama was expected to be broadcast by the BBC in 2022, but has now been pushed back to 2024. A source said, “The four-part drama is being edited in such a meticulous and careful way, so as not to create more pain and suffering for Savile’s victims.”


title: Steve Coogan

text: One of Coogan's most notable film roles was Factory Records boss, Tony Wilson in the film, "24 Hour Party People".


title: Steve Coogan

text: Coogan has played himself several times on screen. First, in one of the vignettes of Jim Jarmusch's 2003 film "Coffee and Cigarettes", alongside Alfred Molina. Second, in 2006 Coogan starred with Rob Brydon in Michael Winterbottom's "A Cock and Bull Story", a self-referential film of the "unfilmable" self-referential novel "Tristram Shandy" by Laurence Sterne. In the film, Coogan plays a fictional, womanising version of himself. Thirdly, he played himself in the 2010 film, "The Trip" alongside Brydon. The movie was followed in 2014 with the film, "The Trip to Italy", about him and Brydon taking a food-tasting trip through Italy, followed by "The Trip to Spain" (2017) and "The Trip to Greece" (2020). He worked again with director Winterbottom in "The Look of Love", about '50s porn-king, Paul Raymond.


title: Steve Coogan

text: The first film that Coogan co-wrote with Henry Normal was "The Parole Officer", in which he also acted alongside Ben Miller and Lena Headey. He has an uncredited cameo in "Hot Fuzz", scripted by "Shaun of the Dead" writers Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. He also starred in the "Night at the Museum" trilogy in which he played Octavius, a miniature Roman general figure, alongside Owen Wilson's Jedediah, a miniature cowboy figure.


title: Steve Coogan

text: Coogan's most acclaimed work to date is the dramedy, "Philomena", which he co-wrote, produced, and starred in with Judi Dench. This performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination, among many other nominations (and some wins). "Philomena" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2018, Coogan played English comedian, Stan Laurel in the film biopic, "Stan & Ollie", starring opposite American actor John C. Reilly, who played Oliver Hardy. In September 2020, Coogan announced that he would star in an upcoming movie about finding the bones of King Richard III. The movie, titled, "The Lost King" was released in 2022, starring Sally Hawkins in the lead role of Philippa Langley, with Coogan playing her husband, John.


title: Steve Coogan

text: In March 2008, it was confirmed that Coogan would return to doing comedy as part of his first stand-up tour in ten years. The tour, named "Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge and other less successful characters", saw the return of some of his old characters including Paul Calf and Alan Partridge. Reviews of the tour were mixed. Much of the criticism focused on the apparent unrehearsed quality of some of the performances and on Coogan's nervous stage presence. "Chortle" comedy guide described it as "most definitely a show of two-halves: the superlative Alan Partridge plus a collection of characters that are not only less successful, but woefully less funny".


title: Steve Coogan

text: As the tour progressed and the problems were ironed out, reviews were very positive. Dominic Maxwell of "The Times" described the show as "twice as entertaining as most other comedy shows this year". Brian Logan of "The Guardian" awarded it four stars and described it as "shamelessly funny". Reviews such as the one from the Trent FM Arena exemplified how much the show had improved after dealing with the glitches on its first few dates: "When Steve Coogan first brought this show to Nottingham last month, the reviews were poor... the intervening weeks have made a big difference, and last night's audience at the Trent FM Arena went home happy. More please, and soon."


title: Steve Coogan

text: In 2009, Coogan was featured, alongside Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer and Julia Davis, in the spoof documentary TV film "Steve Coogan – The Inside Story". The same year he spoke on the influence of Monty Python on his comedy when he appeared in the television documentary, "".


title: Steve Coogan

text: Coogan, along with his writing partner Henry Normal, founded Baby Cow Productions in 1999. Together, they have served as executive producers for shows such as "The Mighty Boosh", "Nighty Night", "Marion and Geoff", "Gavin & Stacey", "Human Remains" and "Moone Boy", as well as the Alan Partridge feature film "". They have also produced "Where Are the Joneses?", an online sitcom which uses wiki technology to allow the audience to upload scripts and storyline ideas.


title: Steve Coogan

text: In 2008, BBC Worldwide bought a 25% stake in the production company. It did not offer the largest sum, but was chosen by Coogan and Normal owing to their previous work with and strong connection with the BBC. In 2016, after Henry Normal stood down, Christine Langan (head of BBC Film at the time) was hired by Coogan (creative director of Baby Cow Productions) as the new CEO; this led to BBC Worldwide increasing its stake to 73%.


title: Steve Coogan

text: Since joining, Langan has executive-produced all of the content from Baby Cow Productions, including "Camping", "Stan & Ollie", "Zapped" and "The Witchfinder".


title: Steve Coogan

text: Coogan has said that he likes to "keep [himself] private", and added: "I have never wanted to be famous, as such – fame is a by-product." He has been a British tabloid fixture since as early as 1996, and has stated that such outlets have subjected him to entrapment and blackmail, printed obvious lies about him, and have targeted his family and friends in attempts to extract stories from them. Coogan in some cases strongly denied allegations, but in others did not contest them because he wanted to shield vulnerable friends from adverse publicity.


title: Steve Coogan

text: The tabloids also published intrusive information about his relationships and the schooling of his child. Coogan has also been critical of the broadsheet press, saying they have colluded with the tabloids in the interests of selling newspapers. In 2005, he said ""The Guardian" tends to have its cake and eat it. It waits for the tabloids to dish the dirt and then it talks about the tabloids dishing the dirt while enjoying it themselves." However, he later gave credit to the same newspaper for its investigation of the phone hacking scandal. He has said that the press, by persistently intruding in his private life, has effectively made him "immune" to further attack as his "closet is empty of skeletons".


title: Steve Coogan

text: Coogan favours reform and regulation of the British press. He became a prominent figure in the News International phone hacking scandal as one of the celebrities who took action against the British tabloids in light of these events. He was made aware by his phone service provider of "possible anomalies" on his phone in 2005 and 2006. In 2010, Coogan's legal firm obtained a partially redacted version of Glenn Mulcaire's hacking notebook by a court order which showed Coogan had been targeted and his personal information was in the possession of Mulcaire.


title: Steve Coogan

text: Mulcaire was forced by the High Court of Justice to disclose to Coogan's legal team who amongst the staff at the "News of the World" ordered him to hack phones. This information was obtained by Coogan's lawyers on 26 August 2011. Interviewed on "Newsnight" on 8 July 2011, Coogan said he was "delighted" by the closure of the "News of the World" and said it was a "fantastic day for journalism". He said the idea of press freedom was used by the tabloids as a "smokescreen for selling papers with tittle-tattle" and said the argument against press regulation was "morally bankrupt".


title: Steve Coogan

text: Coogan provided an eight-page witness statement to the Leveson Inquiry, and appeared at the inquiry on 22 November 2011 to discuss the evidence. He said he was there reluctantly representing a lot of celebrities who felt they could not speak out for fear of reprisals from the tabloid press.


title: Steve Coogan

text: In March 2021, Coogan said "the tabloid press is controlled by a handful of tax shy billionaires with an agenda. Anyone who stands up to the press is attacked by them because they're bullies." He added "the fact that Meghan Markle and Harry were attacked has nothing to do with jet-setting hypocrisy. It's because they broke the golden rule, which is to leave us alone and we'll go easy on you next time."


title: Steve Coogan

text: Coogan married Caroline Hickman in 2002; they divorced in 2005. He entered rehab for personal issues. He dated model China Chow for three years. In March 2011, Coogan was guest editor for lads mag "Loaded", where he met and began dating glamour model Loretta "Elle" Basey. They were together until 2014. He has a daughter from a previous four-year relationship with solicitor Anna Cole.


title: Steve Coogan

text: Although raised Catholic, Coogan is now an atheist. A motoring enthusiast, he has owned a succession of Ferrari cars, but stopped buying them after realising that the depreciation and running costs were greater than hiring a private plane. In February 2016, he was fined £670 and banned from driving for 28 days after being caught speeding in Brighton. In August 2019, he escaped the usual six-month ban for a further speeding offence by saying that his next TV series depended on his ability to drive; he was given a two-month ban and a £750 fine. He has been open about his struggle with depression and has said "I will always be a recovering addict".


title: Steve Coogan

text: Coogan announced, on an episode of "The Late Late Show", in January 2019, that he was "half-way through" the process of applying for Irish citizenship.


title: Steve Coogan

text: Coogan supports the Labour Party. He believes that the Conservative Party think "people are plebs" and that "they like to pat people on the head". He voiced his support for abolishing the British monarchy in 2013.


title: Steve Coogan

text: In August 2014, Coogan was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to "The Guardian" expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.


title: Steve Coogan

text: In June 2017, Coogan endorsed Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 UK general election. He hosted a rally for Corbyn in Birmingham, opening by saying: "The Tory tactic was to try to make this a choice between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn, but this has backfired as people – and I readily admit to being one of them – have started to listen to what Jeremy Corbyn says rather than what other people have been saying about him."


title: Steve Coogan

text: In November 2019, along with other public figures, Coogan signed a letter defending Corbyn, describing him as "a beacon of hope in the struggle against emergent far-right nationalism, xenophobia and racism in much of the democratic world" and endorsed him in the 2019 general election. In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, he signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 general election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few".


title: Steve Coogan

text: Coogan's show "Steve Coogan in character with John Thomson" was winner of the Perrier Award for best show at the 1992 Edinburgh Fringe. He has won numerous awards for his work in TV including British Comedy Awards, BAFTAs and The South Bank Show award for comedy. In 2003, he was listed in "The Observer" as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2005, a poll to find the "Comedians' Comedian" saw him being voted amongst the top 20 greatest comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.


title: Punisher

text: The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made his first appearance in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #129 (cover-dated February 1974), originally depicted as an assassin and adversary of the superhero Spider-Man.


title: Punisher

text: The character is depicted as an Italian-American vigilante who employs murder, kidnapping, extortion, coercion, threats of violence, and torture in his campaign against crime. Driven by the deaths of his wife and two children, who were killed by the mob for witnessing a killing in New York City's Central Park, the Punisher wages a one-man war on crime. A veteran (originally of the Vietnam War and later updated alternately to the fictional Siancong War and the Iraq War) U.S. Marine Corps Scout/Sniper in Force Recon, Castle is skilled in hand-to-hand combat, guerrilla warfare, and marksmanship. He is well known by his skull motif on his chest, originally envisioned by his creators as a skull-and-crossbones symbol on his right breast. Following the widespread appropriation of this logo by far right movements, it was officially retired from active use by Marvel Entertainment in 2022, replaced by a new horned-skull motif inspired by the Japanese mythological demon "Oni".


title: Punisher

text: The Punisher's brutal nature and willingness to kill made him an anomaly in mainstream American comic books when he debuted in 1974. By the late 1980s, the Punisher was part of a wave of psychologically troubled antiheroes. At the height of his popularity, the character was featured in four monthly publications: "The Punisher", "The Punisher War Journal", "The Punisher: War Zone", and "The Punisher Armory". An alternate future version of the character dubbed the Cosmic Ghost Rider, created by Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw, began publication in 2018 as a "Thanos" supporting character, becoming a breakout character and receiving their own ongoing series, often coming into opposition with their past self.


title: Punisher

text: Despite his violent actions and dark nature, the Punisher has enjoyed some mainstream success on television, making guest appearances on series such as "Spider-Man" and "The Super Hero Squad Show", where the depiction of his violent behavior was toned down for family viewers.


title: Punisher

text: In feature films, Dolph Lundgren portrayed the character in the 1989 film "The Punisher", as did Thomas Jane in the 2004 film "The Punisher", and Ray Stevenson in 2008's "". Jon Bernthal portrayed the character in the second season of "Daredevil" and the spin-off "The Punisher", set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).


title: Punisher

text: The Punisher was conceived by Gerry Conway, then-writer of "The Amazing Spider-Man", and was inspired by "The Executioner", a popular book series created by author Don Pendleton, in which a Vietnam veteran, Mack Bolan, becomes a serial killer of criminals after the Mafia-related deaths of his family. Conway said in a 1987 interview that "I was fascinated by the Don Pendleton Executioner character, which was fairly popular at the time, and I wanted to do something that was inspired by that, although not to my mind a copy of it. And while I was doing the Jackal storyline, the opportunity came for a character who would be used by the Jackal to make Spider-Man's life miserable. The Punisher seemed to fit."


title: Punisher

text: Conway also helped design the character's distinctive costume. As Conway recalled in 2002, "In the '70s, when I was writing comics at DC and Marvel, I made it a practice to sketch my own ideas for the costumes of new characters—heroes and villains—which I offered to the artists as a crude suggestion representing the image I had in mind. I had done that with the Punisher at Marvel." Conway had drawn a character with a small death's head skull on one breast. Marvel art director John Romita, Sr. took the basic design and blew the skull up to huge size, taking up most of the character's chest. "Amazing Spider-Man" penciller Ross Andru was the first artist to draw the character for publication.


title: Punisher

text: Stan Lee, then Marvel's editor-in-chief, recalled in 2005 that he had suggested the character's name:


title: Punisher

text: Appearing for the first time in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #129 (Feb. 1974), the Punisher was initially an antagonist of the titular hero. He was portrayed as a bloodthirsty vigilante who had no qualms about killing gangsters, something which most superheroes of the time refrained from doing. J. Jonah Jameson described him as "the most newsworthy thing to happen to New York since Boss Tweed". In this appearance, the Punisher is determined to kill Spider-Man, who is wanted for the apparent murder of Norman Osborn. The Punisher is shown as a formidable fighter, skilled marksman, and able strategist. All he reveals about himself is that he is a former U.S. Marine. He has a fierce temper but also shows signs of considerable frustration over his self-appointed role of killer vigilante. He is engaged in extensive soul-searching as to what is the right thing to do: although he has few qualms about killing, he is outraged when his then-associate, the Jackal, apparently kills an enemy by treacherous means rather than in honorable combat. Spider-Man, who is himself no stranger to such torment, concludes that the Punisher's problems made his own seem like a "birthday party".


title: Punisher

text: The character was a hit with readers and started to appear on a regular basis, teaming up with both Spider-Man and other heroes such as Captain America and Nightcrawler throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. Conway said the Punisher's popularity took him by surprise, as he had intended him only as a second-tier character. During his acclaimed run on "Daredevil", writer and artist Frank Miller made use of the character, contrasting his attitudes and version of vigilante action to that of the more liberal character of Daredevil.


title: Punisher

text: In the early 1980s, writer and college student Steven Grant was at a comics convention in New York City over the Christmas break. At the time he was living with Duffy Vohland, an employee in Marvel's production department. Vohland encouraged Grant to pitch story ideas to Marvel, and arranged an interview with then-editor-in-chief Marv Wolfman, with whom Grant would become good friends. Grant sat at Vohland's typewriter for a day and wrote three ideas: One involved the Black Knight and one was the Punisher, since those were characters he liked that as far as Grant knew, no other Marvel writer was working with at the time. Unbeknownst to Grant, the Punisher, as it turned out, was the lead in a black and white magazine being written by Archie Goodwin, making the character unavailable for Grant's use. A couple of years later Grant began writing for Marvel after another friend, Roger Stern, became a Marvel editor there and asked Grant to write something for him. In 1979, Marvel began considering publishing miniseries, which Grant had been lobbying for some time. Grant began pushing for a "Punisher" miniseries, but this was met with disinterest from editorial, as the character was not thought of as one that readers would care about. The following year, Grant collaborated on "Marvel Team-Up" #94 with artist Mike Zeck. In 1984, Zeck illustrated Marvel's first "Secret Wars" miniseries, which raised his profile in the Marvel offices, where editors were thinking in terms of talent "stables" that worked exclusively for each editor. A new editor, Carl Potts, was looking for projects, so Grant and Zeck pitched a "Punisher" miniseries to him, and Potts accepted it, over much objection from Marvel management, who told him that he bore full responsibility for it.


title: Punisher

text: The miniseries premiered with a January 1986 cover date. It was bannered on the cover as the first of four; although the series had always been intended to be five issues long, and the banner was an error that recurred throughout the entire run. The plot changed from Grant's initial story, though the basic concept remained the same. An important element of the story was a retcon that explains that many of the Punisher's more extreme actions to this point were the result of being poisoned with mind-altering drugs.


title: Punisher

text: An ongoing series, also titled "The Punisher", premiered the next year. Initially by writer Mike Baron and artist Klaus Janson, it eventually ran 104 issues (July 1987 – July 1995) and spun off two additional ongoing series—"The Punisher War Journal" (80 issues, November 1988 – July 1995) and "The Punisher War Zone" (41 issues, March 1992 – July 1995), as well as the black-and-white comics magazine "The Punisher Magazine" (16 issues, November 1989 – September 1990) and "The Punisher Armory" (10 issues, no cover dates, starting 1990), a fictional diary detailing "His thoughts! His feelings! His weapons!" (as stated on the cover of issue #1). The Punisher also appeared in numerous one-shots and miniseries, and made frequent guest appearances in other Marvel comics, ranging from superhero series to the Vietnam War-era comic "The 'Nam".


title: Punisher

text: During this era, the Punisher was assisted by his then-partner, Microchip. Serving as a Q type figure, he would supply the Punisher with high-tech vehicles and equipment such as armored combat "battle vans" specially built and customized.


title: Punisher

text: Over the next decade, the Punisher would be shown fighting virtually every known criminal organization, including the Italian Mafia, the Russian Bratva, the Japanese Yakuza, the Colombian and Mexican drug cartels, the Aryan Brotherhood, the Chinese Triads, Jamaican Yardies, the Irish Mob, biker gangs, street gangs, gunrunning militias, muggers, killers, rapists, psychopaths, violent racists, sadists, pedophiles, and corrupt city officials. He also assaults criminal business enterprises such as drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, money laundering, and human trafficking.


title: Punisher

text: Due to the Punisher's homicidal nature, few of his foes became recurring antagonists, the most notable of these being the severely-scarred enforcer Jigsaw and the brutal sadistic mercenary Barracuda. The Punisher also acquired a nemesis in the form of the Kingpin, a longtime Spider-Man and Daredevil foe, and developed enmity with Daredevil himself, who likewise abhorred and fought against the Punisher's brutal methods. Villains such as the Jackal, Bushwacker, Doctor Doom, the Reavers and Bullseye would be used to provide more of a challenge for the character. In addition, heroes such as Spider-Man, Captain America, Daredevil, Ghost Rider, the Hulk, Wolverine, Nick Fury, and Moon Knight – and, on at least two occasions, the preadolescent team Power Pack – would appear. Often the stories would use the appearance of those heroes to provide commentary on the difference between the Punisher and those more colourful characters. During Don Daley's run on "The Punisher" title, his version of justice was described by the editor as "an eye for an eye".


title: Punisher

text: In 1995, Marvel canceled all three ongoing Punisher series due to poor sales. The publisher attempted a re-launch almost immediately, with a new ongoing series "Punisher", under the new Marvel Edge imprint, by writer John Ostrander, in which the Punisher willingly joined and became the boss of an organized crime family, and later confronted the X-Men and Nick Fury. The series ran for 18 issues, from November 1995 to April 1997. Writer Christopher Golden's four-issue Marvel Knights miniseries "" (November 1998 – February 1999) posited a deceased Punisher resurrected as a supernatural agent of various angels and demons. This version of the character also appeared in a 4-issue mini-series co-starring Wolverine.


title: Punisher

text: A 12-issue miniseries by writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon, again titled "The Punisher" (April 2000 – March 2001), under the Marvel Knights imprint, revived the character's popularity. An ongoing series (37 issues, August 2001 – February 2004), primarily by Ennis and Dillon, followed, succeeded in 2004 by an ongoing Ennis series under Marvel's mature-readers imprint, MAX. Returning the character to his lone vigilante roots, those series combined crime-focused stories with black humor. The look of the Punisher was modified further removing the white gloves and pairing his traditional skull imprinted shirt with combat trousers, black combat boots and a black trench coat. Castle has used this costume on occasion in mid-2000s stories before "The Punisher War Journal" vol. 2.


title: Punisher

text: Continuing his run on the character, Garth Ennis used the freedom of the MAX imprint to write more realistic and hard-edged stories than had previously been seen. Ennis has stated that he would "like to see less superheroes"; this desire is reflected in the gritty, realistic tone and the anti-heroic portrayals of both the title character and Nick Fury, who made two guest appearances in the series. "Punisher" also made it explicit that Castle's timeline was fixed, while Marvel adjusted those of its other characters, with his history never altered or moved up in time. Promotional art for the cover of "Punisher" vol. 6, #44 (March 2007), gave his birth date as February 16, 1950, but that was removed for the published issues. After the departure of Ennis as writer, the series was renamed "Punisher: Frank Castle" with issue #66.


title: Punisher

text: The imprint depicts the Punisher being active for almost 30 years, with "Punisher" vol. 6, #19 (June 2005), specifying he had killed approximately 2,000 people. Whereas the traditional Punisher stories remained within the United States and involved antagonists and settings of conventional domestic crime, stories of the MAX Punisher often focus on current events, ranging from corporate fraud to sexual slavery and the War on Terror. Many characters are past or current intelligence and military operatives from governmental agencies like the American CIA, the Soviet KGB, and the British SIS and SAS, as well as various militaries and militias from the Balkans and Middle East, including the IRA, all with agendas rooted in past conflicts like the Cold War or the Yugoslav Wars.


title: Punisher

text: The miniseries "" by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson further examines Castle's roots, tracing them back to his third tour of the Vietnam War, where he undergoes a psychological and possibly supernatural transformation into the Punisher to survive a massive assault on his fortification by the combined forces of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army. The one-shot "Punisher: The Tyger", by Ennis and John Severin, went even further and showed that Castle had lived with murders, deaths and criminals from his childhood.


title: Punisher

text: The "MAX" version of the Punisher ends with the character's death. After killing the Kingpin, Castle dies from his own wounds in issue #21 of "PunisherMAX". He is buried in issue #22 as his death sparks a public uprising and killing of the city's criminals.


title: Punisher

text: In November 2006, a new "The Punisher War Journal" series, written by Matt Fraction and penciled by Ariel Olivetti, was released. The first three issues of the book are set during Marvel's "Civil War" event. It involves Castle taking on supervillains rather than his traditional non-super-powered criminal antagonists. He has also made appearances in the main "Civil War" series (issues #5–7). Wearing both his traditional costume and his Marvel Knights/MAX attire, and a new costume designed to look like his costume and Captain America's combined, the series pitted the character against a series of super-powered foes while also being involved in crossover events such as "World War Hulk" and "Secret Invasion".


title: Punisher

text: Marvel relaunched "The Punisher War Journal" in 2009 as simply "Punisher", with a thematic link tied to the events of the "Dark Reign" storyline and, following the departure of writer Garth Ennis, retitled the Marvel MAX series (formerly "Punisher MAX") as "Punisher: Frank Castle MAX" and, more recently, as "Punisher: Frank Castle" or "Frank Castle: The Punisher" (depending on the source); launching a new series called "PunisherMAX" by Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon. As part of his work on the character, Rick Remender wrote the one-shot title "Dark Reign: The List – Punisher", which, as part of the "Dark Reign" storyline, shows the character dismembered and decapitated by Daken.


title: Punisher

text: Following this, the main "Punisher" series was renamed "FrankenCastle" and featured a Castle who is resurrected by Morbius and the Legion of Monsters as a patchwork, Frankenstein-like creature. He joins up with the Legion of Monsters to help protect the monsters of Monster Metropolis from the Hunter of Monster Special Force. At the conclusion of the series, the character was transformed back into a normal human when he acquired the mystical Bloodstone, with its healing abilities restoring his humanity, although he subsequently chose to discard it despite its healing powers because he recognized that reliance on the stone would result in its side-effects eventually affecting his judgment so that he would lose the ability to recognize innocents.


title: Punisher

text: In 2010, a Punisher series was released titled "". It is a five-part series that is meant to take place after "FrankenCastle". In this series, the Punisher faces Jigsaw once again.


title: Punisher

text: A violent gang war resulted in the murders of nearly 30 people at a wedding reception, including the groom, leaving the bride, U.S. Marine Sergeant Rachel Cole-Alves, a widow just hours after getting married. Frank had connections with one of the detectives on the case and used the information he gave him to kill members of the Exchange, the group responsible, before the police had a chance to question them.


title: Punisher

text: Later, the Punisher loses an eye while fighting a new version of the Vulture. The Punisher later confronts a recuperated Rachel Cole-Alves in a Hotel where members of the Exchange were meeting. Together they kill the members. It is later revealed to be part of a plan to lure the Punisher to 727 Varick level 19 suite A. Both Rachel Cole-Alves and the Punisher go to the location only to find it to be a trap. They later find out that Daredevil has the Omega Drive. Later Rachel Cole-Alves and the Punisher find Daredevil and Spider-Man. They then work together to destroy the drive.


title: Punisher

text: The Punisher and Cole-Alves later succeed in killing the heads of the Exchange, but in the process, Cole-Alves accidentally kills NYPD Homicide Detective Walter Bolt. On the run from the NYPD, Cole-Alves eventually tries to commit suicide by police, only to be captured and sent to prison. Castle eludes capture.


title: Punisher

text: Cole-Alves is sentenced to death for her crimes. Meanwhile, Spider-Man confronts Castle, but he manages to escape. Spider-Man then talks to the Avengers, stating that Castle is a problem and needs to be taken care of. Wolverine, believing that lethal methods are sometimes justified, refuses to assist. Black Widow tracks Castle to South America, where they fight to a standstill before Widow gets distracted by a group of mercenaries guarding a town full of sick villagers, abandoning the fight to help them. Thor pursues Castle next, although all he wants is to talk Castle into turning himself in.


title: Punisher

text: Castle sneaks back into the US to try and break Cole-Alves out of prison. The Avengers set a trap, figuring Castle would target a transport unit. Castle sees through the deception, and rescues the real Cole-Alves by disguising himself as Iron Man. Wolverine was later revealed to be the source of his information, and Logan helps Cole-Alves escape while Castle stays behind to battle the Avengers and buy time. Castle ends up in a special underwater prison, while Cole-Alves resurfaces in Los Angeles, shooting a mugger while wearing the Skull insignia.


title: Punisher

text: As part of the "Marvel NOW!" event, the Punisher becomes a member of Red Hulk's Thunderbolts. Their first mission is to take down the civilian-murdering dictator of an island nation.


title: Punisher

text: As a part of All New Marvel Now, "The Punisher" solo series is written by Nathan Edmondson and illustrated by Mitch Gerads. The Punisher moves to Los Angeles following a drug trail, and he is being targeted by a military hit squad.


title: Punisher

text: During the "Original Sin" storyline, the Punisher becomes involved in the investigation of the murder of Uatu when he is recruited by an unknown agent – later revealed to be Nick Fury – to track various deceased eldritch creatures with Doctor Strange, their combined occult and firearm knowledge allowing them to determine what killed various creatures that Fury had killed in his career as 'the Man on the Wall'.


title: Punisher

text: During the "Secret Wars" storyline, the Punisher crashes the Kingpin's viewing party of the incursion between Earth-616 and Earth-1610. He informs the villains present that since he cannot take them with him, he is going to have to do something with all of his bullets.


title: Punisher

text: After massacring the supervillain gathering, the Punisher is approached by the Howling Commandos, who request his aid in completing one final mission before the world ends. The Punisher agrees to help, and is airlifted to Tikrit, where he works on "punishing" the Black Dawn, a terrorist group that had been filming themselves executing American hostages, including a former associate of the Punisher's. The Punisher decimates the Black Dawn, and dies from gunshot wounds as the Earth is destroyed by the Incursions.


title: Punisher

text: After Earth-616 has been restored, Frank Castle returns from the dead and comes back to New York City, to continue his personal war against criminal organizations and enterprises. His first target is a former mercenary outfit called Condor, that is currently selling a drug called EMC to terrorists and gang members because it gives users enhanced confidence, perception, strength and pain tolerance. During Frank's first bust on a Condor drug warehouse, he runs into his former Special Ops C.O. Ray Schroder (aka Olaf) who is currently working for Condor but gives Frank a folder of important intel on Condor's EMC operation, before departing. With his new mission to take down Condor before they can get EMC into the worst hands, the Punisher is followed by a D.E.A. Agent whose drug bust on Condor was disrupted by his, as well as a sadistic killer named Face who is also second-in-command of Condor.


title: Punisher

text: In the Kingpin "Civil War II" storyline, Castle goes to eliminate Fisk and his criminal empire. During the fight, Castle wounds Fisk's legs with his combat knife, and falls out of a window.


title: Punisher

text: During the "Secret Empire" storyline, after Steve Rogers – his history 'rewritten' by the sentient Cosmic Cube Kobik so that he believes that he has been a Hydra sleeper agent since childhood – arranges a mass coup of America, the Punisher eventually appears targeting the former criminal Boomerang – now acting as an information broker for the underground Maria Hill – and apparently loyal to Hydra. He then reports to Steve Rogers about his mission. The Punisher later crashes Black Widow's attempts to take down Hydra Supreme Steve Rogers. The Punisher and Black Widow continue to battle until Black Widow stabs the Punisher in the thighs. The Punisher explains Hydra Supreme Steve Rogers's overall plan to use the Cosmic Cube is to put everything back to the way it was. Not just the Axis victory in World War II, but bringing back all of the dead as a result of Hydra like Rick Jones, Jack Flag, and Frank Castle's family. Black Widow rejects this idea and sees Miles approaching Hydra Supreme Steve Rogers causing Black Widow to stop Hydra Supreme Steve Rogers and Miles Morales. After the real Captain America defeated his Hydra Supreme counterpart, the Punisher expresses regret for his actions in an inner monologue, calling his involvement with Hydra Supreme Rogers as probably the worst mistake of his life. He is shown atoning for his involvement with Hydra by killing every Hydra agent he can find. Upon the Punisher blowing up the abandoned warehouse where some Hydra agents were hiding, he is being observed by Nick Fury Jr. who speaks over the comms that the Punisher is ready.


title: Punisher

text: Some time after the events of Secret Empire, Nick Fury Jr. gives The Punisher access to the War Machine armor in order to combat a rogue state using old S.H.I.E.L.D. resources. During the aftermath of the operation, Frank resumes his war on crime in New York with the War Machine armor, only to surrender it after James Rhodes was revived. Despite wanting to atone for his sins for unknowingly working for Hydra, combined with the death of Natasha at the hands of a Hydra Supreme counterpart of Steve Rogers, the Punisher is still a fugitive, having gone too far in hunting the remaining Hydra remnants on his brutal crime fighting spree. After surrendering the War Machine Armor out of respect of the revived Rhodes, the Punisher surrenders to the authorities but was secretly freed by the Winter Soldier and a recently revived Natasha (the latter, now in a cloned body).


title: Punisher

text: The comic was relaunched in 2018, by writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Riccardo Burchielli. The story ditched the War Machine armor, but kept the idea of the Punisher operating at the international level, dealing with an ill-fated battle against Baron Zemo.


title: Punisher

text: A new 13 issue series began in 2022 with Jason Aaron serving as the writer and art from Jesús Saiz and Paul Azaceta. It showcase Castle serving as an assassin of the ninja organization The Hand.


title: Punisher

text: The character has been described as being obsessed with vengeance; Garth Ennis noted that the character of the Punisher "sees the world in very black and white terms, he solves his problems with utter finality" and that "his response to any problem: when in doubt, hit back hard." The writer Steven Grant noted that:


title: Punisher

text: Punisher co-creator Gerry Conway stated that "He's a great Rorschach test. What's given him some sustainability is, you can put into him whatever you want, as opposed to Spider-Man, who truly is who he is and shouldn't be changed. The Punisher is a thin character on his own merits, but that allows for a lot of interpretations and different angles of approach."


title: Punisher

text: The Punisher's backstory initially introduced him as a veteran of the Vietnam War. In this capacity, he appeared in the comic book "The 'Nam", about the conflict. However, this dated the character as the years passed and the war was increasingly in the past. Greg Rucka retconned it to the War on Terror, instead, in 2011. He explained that


title: Punisher

text: He also clarified that the retcon was only for the character in the main Marvel universe and not for the version in the MAX Comics, that retained the first origin. The conflict was retconned again in 2019, in "History of the Marvel Universe" #2, to the fictional Siancong War.


title: Punisher

text: The Punisher is the recipient of intense infantry training from the United States Marine Corps and special operations training by Force Recon. As a Recon Marine he went through Airborne School, Ranger School, BUDs, the Q-Course, and SERE; as well as cross-training with the Australian SASR during the Vietnam War. From this training, the Punisher is proficient in not only basic infantry and special operations skills, but the use and maintenance of specialized firearms, equipment, and explosive ordnance. He is highly trained in infiltration into heavily guarded enemy territories and structures for the purpose of assassination, capture, and military intelligence. As a Scout/Sniper he is highly trained in various forms of camouflage and stealth in different environments. He is also highly proficient at hand-to-hand combat, and has been trained in multiple forms of martial arts such as Chin Na, Hwa Rang Do, Krav Maga, Muay Thai, Nash Ryu Jujutsu, Ninjutsu, Shōrin-ryū Karate and Systema. Both Nick Fury and Tony Stark have commented on how extraordinarily high his pain tolerance is. He refuses to take painkillers, as he feels that their benefit of dulling pain is not worth the side effects of drowsiness and slowed reflexes.


title: Punisher

text: He maintains multiple safehouses and vehicles around the greater New York City area as well as multiple forged identities and bank accounts (most of the funds and equipment aiding him in his work being taken from the criminals he hunts). The Punisher has a Kevlar uniform which protects him from most gunfire, though he can still suffer concussive injury or penetration from sufficient or repeated impacts. The white skull emblem on his chest is used both to intimidate his enemies and to lure their fire to the more heavily protected area of his armor. The design was supposedly taken from either a Vietcong sniper, or the demon Olivier. The Punisher uses a large variety of firearms in his war on crime; including fully automatic rifles, shotguns, flame throwers, or whatever he can get his hands on. Though he has a preference for guns, the Punisher has been using technology derived from super-villains and other costumed characters, such as the Green Goblin's pumpkin bombs, a modified Goblin Glider, and a Doctor Octopus tentacle that he can shrink down for easy storage via Pym Particles. For a time after the death of Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes at Thanos' hands, the Punisher would be offered the War Machine armor by Nick Fury, Jr. to apprehend a rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. cell.


title: Punisher

text: Aside from his physical prowess, the Punisher demonstrates superb intensive focus and mental discipline, providing a strong resistance against psychic and telepathic powers that are used against him. When Letha and Lascivious try to manipulate his aggression, for example, he scoffs at their attempt, saying, "It doesn't feel different from any other day".


title: Punisher

text: Despite wanting to work alone, the Punisher has a few supporting characters to help fight crime. Microchip assisted Castle by building and supplying weapons and technology and providing friendship. During the "Civil War", he was aided by Stuart Clarke for a short time. Various police officers and detectives have assisted the Punisher, most notably Lynn Michaels and Lt. Martin Soap. Lynn Michaels was a police officer who teamed up with Castle to take down a serial rapist and later quit the force to become a vigilante. Martin Soap was secretly allied with the Punisher and gave him information on his targets from the police database.


title: Punisher

text: Australian Special Forces units operating in Iraq and Afghanistan are known to wear Punisher iconography. 2nd Commando Regiment and SASR members have been photographed on patrol wearing 'death symbols' including the Punisher logo, Spartan helmets and skulls. This led to a ban by Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell beginning in 2017 and included flags, patches and stencilled logos. Significant pushback from the Veteran Community regarding the ban was received but as of 2022 Australian Defence Force standing orders continue to enforce the ban.


title: Punisher

text: The Punisher's skull first became noticeably visible as a symbol during the Iraq War by US military personnel. Service members would use the skull as an unofficial service patch or paint it on equipment. This was most notably done by Navy SEALs of SEAL Team 3 during the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004. Chris Kyle popularized the usage in his autobiography, later filmed as "American Sniper": "We spray-painted it on our Hummers and body armor, and our helmets and all our guns. We spray-painted it on every building or wall we could, We wanted people to know, We're here and we want to fuck with you."


title: Punisher

text: In addition to being used by the United States military and police, the Punisher's skull emblem is used by far right anti-government militias, such as the 3 Percenters (a group dating back to 2008), and the symbol was seen at the 2017 Unite the Right rally.


title: Punisher

text: Since 2015, the skull emblem became popular within police officers' Blue Lives Matter movement, with many companies producing decals, stickers, and T-shirts featuring the Punisher emblem colored with the thin blue line, or atop an American flag. In 2017, the Catlettsburg Police department in Kentucky faced a public backlash after installing large decals with the Punisher's skull and "Blue Lives Matter" on the hoods of police cars, and removed the decals in response to public pressure. Citizens and police interpreted its meaning differently; the police chief said, "We're getting so many calls, and they're saying that the Punisher logo (means) we're out to kill people, and that's not the meaning behind that. That didn't cross my mind."


title: Punisher

text: A variation of the Punisher's skull has been used by EMS/Firefighters. The skull is similar to the police version but the blue line is replaced with a red line.


title: Punisher

text: Punisher co-creator Gerry Conway has decried the use of the Punisher symbol by law enforcement, saying, "To me, it's disturbing whenever I see authority figures embracing Punisher iconography because the Punisher represents a failure of the Justice system. ... The vigilante anti-hero is fundamentally a critique of the justice system, an example of social failure, so when cops put the Punisher's skulls on their cars or members of the military wear Punisher's skull patches, they're basically siding with an enemy of the system." Conway compares it to "putting a Confederate flag on a government building." After members of the Detroit Police Department have been observed to be wearing the Punisher skull during the George Floyd protests in 2020, Conway and others have called on Marvel and its parent company Disney to take legal action to prevent law enforcement from using the logo.


title: Punisher

text: This controversy was addressed in "Punisher" Vol. 12 #13 written by Matthew Rosenberg in July 2019. In the issue, Frank comes across two police officers who are fans of his. They take a selfie with him and show they have a sticker of his logo on their car before comparing their work to his. Unimpressed, the Punisher tears up the sticker and tells them, "I'll say this once, we're not the same. You took an oath to uphold the law. You help people. I gave that up a long time ago. You don't do what I do. Nobody does. You boys need a role model? His name's Captain America, and he'd be happy to have you... If I find out you are trying to do what I do, I'll come for you next." In 2020, Marvel said this was their official opinion on the use of the image.


title: Punisher

text: From the early 2000s, the Punisher rapidly gained popularity in Iraq. By 2015, his logo had become widely used by the Iraqi Armed Forces and Iraqi paramilitary groups. According to researcher Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, many Iraqis just thought that the logo was "cool" despite the widespread anti-Americanism in the country.


title: Punisher

text: David Harth of "CBR.com" referred to the Punisher as one of the "best anti-heroes in Marvel Comics," saying, "The Punisher made his debut fighting Spider-Man but would go on to much bigger and better things. Gaining insane popularity in the '80s, the Punisher's logo is one of the most recognizable in all comics. Even non-fans know his deal – Frank Castle fights a never-ending battle against crime, trying to avenge his family's death by killing as many bad people as he can. Just a regular guy with a lot of training and ordinance, the Punisher is still one of the most formidable vigilantes in the Marvel Universe, even able to smack around superpowered heroes. The Punisher wasn't the first gun-toting vigilante, but he would redefine that type of character for a new era." Darby Harn of "Screen Rant" called the Punisher one of the "best antiheroes in Marvel Comics," writing, "The Punisher takes the antihero concept much farther than Wolverine. Wolverine obeys a strict code, which Frank Castle ostensibly does, but the results differ greatly. Frank Castle hunts down and murders criminals with extreme prejudice, operating outside the law and caring very little for the consequences. Though his actions stem from a need for justice for his murdered family, his violent behavior echoes that of the people he hunts so much that the distinctions are negligible." Noel Murray of "Inverse" described the Punisher as one of the "greatest antiheroes of all time," asserting, "Though the character debuted in a Spider-Man comic in 1974, the Punisher became a phenomenon in the late ‘80s, when his no-quarter-given approach to crime-fighting synched up with the tough talk of the Reagan era. Later takes on the character have restored some moral ambiguity to an antihero whose militancy makes him a fascinating case study in what we’re willing to accept in exchange for security." of "Empire" named the Punisher one of the "greatest comic-book characters," stating, "The Punisher is now one of the most iconic characters in the entire Marvel stable. A 'Nam vet driven by his family's murder to punish all criminals by death, it's perhaps not unsurprising that the dark, disillusioned '70s was the decade that saw a brutal, uncompromising psychopath (for that's what Castle is, no debate) become a fan favourite. Although, truth be told, operating within the confines of the toothless main Marvel titles never sat well with The Punisher – in recent years, with the move to the MAX label, and Garth Ennis' soon-to-finish installation as Punisher guru, the dark heart and psychology of Frank Castle has been fully explored, giving a new insight into this grimmest and most compelling of characters."


title: Punisher

text: According to Diamond Comic Distributors, "Punisher" #1 was the 20th best selling comic book in January 2004. "Punisher" #2 was the 24th best selling comic book in January 2004.


title: Punisher

text: Joey Esposito of "IGN" ranked the "Punisher" comic book series 15th in their "25 Best Comic Runs of the Decade" list, writing, "The run of Garth Ennis on Punisher stems back beyond our ten year timeline, including a 12-issue series that featured the celebrated story, "Welcome Back, Frank." But after that, Ennis rejuvenated the character most notably under Marvel's MAX imprint, which allowed not only for extreme violence and language (which suits Frank's world more than most Marvel heroes), but for the real-time aging of the character." Jared Gaudreau of "CBR.com" ranked the "Punisher" comic book series 7th in their "10 Best Punisher Comics" list, saying, "In 2004, one of the most iconic and influential comic runs of all time started with Garth Ennis' "Punisher MAX". Serving as Volume 7 of the ongoing "Punisher" title, "Punisher MAX" is famous for its consistent depiction of Frank Castle as a vigilante and anti-hero. In "Punisher MAX" issues 30-36, Punisher is pitted against Barracuda, a mercenary with an extensive history in the US military. Facing off a number of times throughout the six-issue arc, it's made very apparent that Barracuda is not an everyday mercenary and is more than capable of matching Frank's brutality."


title: Punisher

text: According to Diamond Comic Distributors, "Punisher" #1 was the 33rd best selling comic book in January 2009. "Punisher" #2 was the 39th best selling comic book in February 2009.


title: Punisher

text: Dan Phillips of "IGN" gave "Punisher" #1 a grade of 7 out of 10, asserting, "Because the main feature of the series is so simple and fast-moving, there's not much else to say about this issue other than I found it entertaining. Remender kept me at the edge of my seat, and artist Jerome Opena did a good job capturing the energy of this chase, even if his work is a little too rough around the edges in places. All in all, I'd say the premise of Punisher trying to kill Norman Osborn is an interesting one; I just don't know how long they'll be able to milk it without convincing fans that Norman could actually die in a Punisher comic."


title: Punisher

text: According to Diamond Comic Distributors, "Punisher" #1 was the 25th best selling comic book in August 2011. "Punisher" #2 was the 30th best selling comic book in August 2011.


title: Punisher

text: Ryan K. Lindsay of "CBR.com" called "Punisher" #1 a "face-stomping crime comic," stating, "With a new #1, "The Punisher" relaunch under the 'Big Shots' banner is going to be a treat. It reads well, it looks just as good, and will appeal to a broad audience. It'll be interesting to see over subsequent issues how Rucka's vision for this character plays out. This issue delivers a ballet of blood that kick starts a myth of a man of death. You could almost call this 'The Ballad of Frank Castle' and you'd have the tone nailed down." Erik Norris of "IGN" gave "Punisher" #1 a grade of 8 out of 10, saying, "For those anticipating Frank Castle's return to a solo series in the main Marvel Universe, "The Punisher" #1 should satisfy. The book introduces new, interesting characters to the ensemble cast, shows Frank Castle doing what he does best, and maybe most exciting of all, doesn't tiptoe around the violent world that Frank Castle has succumbed to being a part of. If only Checchetto's art was more consistent, then we would have a do-not-miss slam dunk. But even so, "The Punisher" #1 still comes highly recommended. Welcome back, Frank."


title: Punisher

text: According to Diamond Comic Distributors, "Punisher" #1 was the 18th best selling comic book in February 2014.


title: Punisher

text: Benjamin Bailey of "IGN" gave "Punisher" #1 a grade of 7.5 out of 10, asserting, "As a huge fan of the character, I'm just excited to have the Punisher back in a series all his own with a solid creative team telling his tales. It's only the first issue, but there's enough promise here to warrant a commitment from fans of the skull-wearing vigilante. Here's hoping for a long run, filled with bullets, blood, and action. That's all we really want and need out of a Punisher series. The Punisher brings our favorite skull-wearing vigilante back into the spotlight in a storm of bullets, violence and death. There's nothing new here, but any time Frank comes back is a good time indeed. Glad to have you back, Mr. Castle."


title: Punisher

text: According to Diamond Comic Distributors, "Punisher" #1 was the 3rd best selling comic book in May 2016.


title: Punisher

text: Bob Franco of "ComicsVerse" called Punisher #1 a "must read," writing, "As a first installment, this issue sets The Punisher off to a good start. There’s not a lot of explanation, but there doesn’t need to be yet. It’s reminiscent of the circumstances Frank surges through in the Netflix DAREDEVIL series, though Frank is mute through this first issue: not a word spoken, nor a thought given. Everything we know has been told to us, so there’s real intrigue to see how this series progresses. It’s a book that gives little character examination but makes one pine for more." Jesse Schedeen of "IGN" gave "Punisher" #1 a grade of 8.2 out of 10, saying, "Frank Castle is in fine form after taking a few months away from the spotlight. This new series doesn't do anything dramatically different with the franchise (not yet, at least), but it does feature a hands-off approach to the lead character and introduce some intriguing new villains to the mix. The series also proves that Steve Dillon isn't simply content to rest on his laurels after so many Punisher projects. This is a solid start to what may become a very memorable Punisher run."


title: Punisher

text: According to Diamond Comic Distributors, "Punisher" #1 was the 11th best selling comic book in August 2018. "Punisher" #1 was the 121st best selling comic book in 2018.


title: Punisher

text: Jenna Anderson of "Comicbook.com" stated, "There's an interesting dichotomy within "The Punisher" #1—as things are getting smaller and more back to basics for Frank, the consequences of his actions seem to be getting larger and larger. Considering the ways the character has been interpreted over the years, that choice is a complex, but decidedly powerful one, which could bode well for the series as it continues to go on. It's anyone's guess as to how this all will resolve for Frank, or what kind of man he will be when his chickens come to roost. But there's enough within this new-ish iteration of The Punisher to make fans eager to follow along for the ride." Joshua Davison of "Bleeding Cool" wrote, ""The Punisher #1" isn't exactly the stripped-down Frank Castle story I think many were expecting after the War Machine story, but it is Frank going back to his old methods of urban guerrilla warfare with the occasional frigging tank mixed in for good measure. It's not exactly smart or profound, but it is a fun read with great artwork and worth a recommendation. Check this one out."


title: Punisher

text: According to Diamond Comic Distributors, "Punisher" #1 was the 15th best selling comic book in March 2022.


title: Punisher

text: Hannah Rose of "CBR.com" called "Punisher" #1 a "gory yet stunning premiere," asserting, "The Punisher himself has gotten a makeover beyond his sleek new outfit and updated logo, fresh for his cultish recruitment. He appears more fresh-faced than in previous recent incarnations, even romantic at moments. Considering that "Punisher" #1 is something of a fresh start for the character and his continuity, this new look is fitting. "Punisher" #1 is a major departure for Frank Castle, but this opens his character up to whole new explorations. What happens when the Punisher gets everything he wants? "Punisher" #1 gives the audience a few ideas and plenty of material for the next issue to work with."


title: Punisher

text: The Marvel 2099 universe follows the story of Public Eye police officer, Jake Gallows, after the murder of his mother, brother and sister-in-law. Gallows comes across Frank Castle's war journal in the Public Eye archives, and took the mantle as the new Punisher. At first he follows Frank's old code of justice, only killing those who hurt the innocent. He later loses his mind, at one point proposing murdering two people simply because they were having sex with each other. He is later named Minister of Punishment in Doctor Doom's 2099 government. He is joined by Polly, a lab-bred humanoid who becomes his partner.


title: Punisher

text: Marvel Knights' "Punisher 2099", another take on the year 2099, featured Cassondra Castle who goes by the alias of Cossandra Natchios. She is the daughter of Frank Castle and Elektra Natchios and has a son named Franklin. When she is diagnosed with cancer, Cossandra sets out to teach her son everything he needs to know to become the next Punisher. Upon her death, Franklin chooses not to take over, allowing the Punisher title to end with his mother.


title: Punisher

text: In Amalgam Comics, the Punisher is merged with Steve Trevor to make Trevor Castle. In this continuity Trevor Castle lost his family when they were caught in a gang war, which led him to become the Punisher and eventually marry Diana Prince, with whom he had a son named Ryan before they separated. In "Bullets and Bracelets", Ryan is kidnapped which leads to Trevor and Diana to work together to figure out who is responsible. Their search leads them to Thanoseid, who apparently kills their son. Trevor was about to kill Thanoseid's personal assassin Kanto, but was stopped by Diana who figured out Kanto was actually Ryan.


title: Punisher

text: Wanting revenge on Trevor for indirectly causing the death of his own son, Thanoseid sent Ryan back in time to become Kanto so that either Trevor will kill his son or Kanto would kill his father. With his plan foiled, he sent Trevor and Diana back to Earth, with the two deciding to give their relationship another chance.


title: Punisher

text: Alternative versions of the Punisher have appeared for over three decades. The earliest examples of those alternative versions can be found within the monthly "What If" series. Using existing Marvel stories as a starting point, the series examined scenarios in which, for example, Frank Castle's family has not died or he had killed Daredevil in their first encounter. Other "what if" stories looked at his adventures as a new Captain America or as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Garth Ennis wrote a one-off special entitled "Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe" where Frank Castle kills every superhero and supervillain in the Marvel Universe after his family are caught in the crossfire of a battle with the Brood.


title: Punisher

text: The Punisher also featured in a number of more extended looks at alternative universes and lives such as the Age of Apocalypse's Frank Castle (as a man who fled genocide to become a monk).


title: Punisher

text: In the alternative universe House of M, Castle appears as a media vigilante nicknamed the "Punisher" and is recruited after his arrest by John Proudstar to join and be the other human in the strikeforce known as the Brotherhood.


title: Punisher

text: "The Punisher: A Man Named Frank", written by Chuck Dixon, was a western themed take on the character. Castle is a cowboy during the time of the American Old West who is out for revenge to the criminals who killed his family.


title: Punisher

text: In "The Punisher Noir", Frank Castelione is a veteran of World War I who has a winged version of a skull tattooed on his chest. His wife died from cancer and Castelione is killed by Jigsaw, Barracuda and the Russian after a fight. His only son is the Punisher, patterning himself after a radio pulp series. This version of the Punisher wears a mask emblazoned with his trademark skull (similar to Crossbones) which is later carved into his chest by Jigsaw. The Punisher fights against a criminal conspiracy controlling the entire city, and kills Barracuda by ripping him in half.


title: Punisher

text: In this universe, Frank takes advantage of the fact that the heroes and law enforcement officers are busy with zombies and he hunts and shoots down the super-villain leadership of New York City, known as the Kingpin, The Owl, and Hammerhead. Along the way he allies himself with Ash Williams, who he intends to help battle the zombie threat. When Ash sees him kill the still human criminal trio he becomes disgusted and mistakenly abandons the Punisher minutes later. This leaves Frank to be attacked and infected by a squad of zombies, causing him to at first be "killed". Frank returns as a zombie and turns Ash's ally, the Scarlet Witch into one. The Punisher appears in "Marvel Zombies: Evil Evolution", where he appears zombified along with other zombies attacking the Marvel Apes.


title: Punisher

text: In the alternative universe "Marvel Mangaverse" continuity, Sosumi Brown is Tokyo's Punisher, who fights the crime family of Skang Kee Ho. That family uses an Oni (Japanese demon) named Oni Yew to try to stop her, but her sister, Hashi Brown, finds out about her secret. In the process, she obtains a cursed weapon which she uses to slay the Oni and save her sister.


title: Punisher

text: In the alternative-future universe of "MC2", the Punisher is still active, but has moved to South America to deal with the level of drug runners there. He returns to New York after hearing of a gang war between Black Tarantula and a Maggia don called Silverback, whom he had once crippled, but now has cybernetic implants. He eventually dies in a final confrontation with Silverback.


title: Punisher

text: In the possible future timeline depicted in the "Old Man Logan" storyline that takes place on Earth-21923, the Punisher shows up to help fight the villains during the days the villains rose to power. He shot Electro before he was stabbed in the chest during a sneak attack from Kraven the Hunter. He survived the attack and resumed his war on crime, killing Nuke and other criminals. 50 years later, the Punisher finds that a gang calling themselves the "Punishers" has been tarnishing his reputation by killing men and kidnapping children in light of the Hulk Gang having most of its members killed. In addition, the Punisher is shown to have a failing memory as the Punishers have stolen his war journal. This causes the Punisher to assist Old Man Logan in attacking the stronghold of the Punishers to save the kidnapped children. Fighting the Punishers' leader, Panhead, he is fatally injured. When Panhead is killed, the Punisher reclaims his war journal and looks at the picture of his late family as he peacefully dies.


title: Punisher

text: On Earth-807128, a new Kingpin captures two men who have taken up the mantles of the Punisher and Daredevil after they along with Ashley Barton / Spider-Bitch apparently tried to destroy his empire. Chained to posts in a stadium and in full view of a crowd, the new Punisher and Daredevil are gruesomely dispatched by carnivorous dinosaurs as they ask after the imprisoned Ashley. After being freed by her father, Ashley kills Kingpin before attempting to kill her father, revealing that she and the new Daredevil and Punisher had actually sought to take over the former Kingpin's empire themselves, with Ashley becoming the new Kingpin of the Wastelands.


title: Punisher

text: Following his interview with Rick Jones at his apartment in Chicago, Phil Sheldon trips over the corpse of the Punisher in the snowfall.


title: Punisher

text: On Earth-TRN651, Frank Castle led a war on crime for years, until the Kingpin organized the crime families of New York against him, Frank found himself hunted by the criminal underworld. Growing desperate, Frank made a deal with the Venom Symbiote, the symbiote would allow him to kill Fisk and 'win' his war on crime, on the condition that Frank would kill one target for the symbiote. This target was revealed to be Spider-Man, an innocent, and Frank tried to resist the symbiote as it formed a rifle in his hands. Fortunately for Frank, a Venomized Doctor Strange chose that moment to transport them into a war between Venoms and Poisons, inadvertently saving Spider-Man's life. He was unfortunately assimilated by a Poison along with his symbiote, thus creating Poison Punisher.


title: Punisher

text: Later he was present in the Hive's invasion of the Prime Marvel Universe and was able to bond Spider-Man to a symbiote. He continued to face off against that universe's heroes, also successfully bonding Devil Dinosaur to a symbiote, but was soon killed when Agent Anti-Venom arrived and attempted to free him from the Poison, only to find he was hollow, having been already consumed by the Poison.


title: Punisher

text: In the alternate reality of Earth-TRN666, where Thanos conquered all the Universe, Frank Castle's early life was seemingly similar to that of the Frank Castle of the Earth-616 Universe. However, when Thanos came to Earth, the Punisher was one of the last casualties during the last stand of the heroes and his soul was subsequently sent to Hell. Willing to give anything in order to punish Thanos for slaughtering his planet, the Punisher signed a demonic deal with Mephisto and became the Ghost Rider. When he returned to Earth, however, Thanos was already gone and everything on the planet was dead. Roaming endlessly and undying with no one to kill or love, the Ghost Rider spent the next countless years alone. He eventually began to lose his mind when even Mephisto fell silent to his calls. When a badly injured Galactus arrived on Earth seeking help against Thanos, unaware that the population of Earth had already been killed by him, the Ghost Rider offered the dead planet to him in exchange for the chance of punishing the Mad Titan as his herald which the Great Devourer accepted. Bestowed with the Power Cosmic, Frank Castle became Cosmic Ghost Rider.


title: Punisher

text: The alternative universe Ultimate Marvel version of Punisher is Frank Castle, an ex-NYPD police officer whose family was killed by corrupt police officers who knew he was going to expose them. He manages to kill the one responsible for his family's death after sympathetic cops "accidentally" place him as the man's cellmate. After he unsuccessfully tried to kill Boomerang, he later kills corrupt cop Jeanne De Wolfe. In "", the Punisher is defeated and arrested by Captain America. He is saved from the death penalty by Nick Fury orchestrating his release from custody in exchange for joining the Avengers. After being equipped with a Captain America-inspired costume, he is implanted with a chip that delivers a violent electric shock whenever he disobeys orders. Being knocked out by Hawkeye, it allowed him to escape after the fight between the two Ghost Riders.