Height: 6'
Weight: 200 lbs.
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Black

Abilities: A seasoned combat veteran of exceptional skill, the Punisher possesses the normal human strength of a man his age, height and build who engages in intensive regular exercise. A former U.S. Marine captain with a distinguished combat record who has undergone SEAL (Sea Air Land), UDT (Underwater Demolition Team) and LRPA (Long Range Patrol) training, Frank Castle is well-versed in the arts of warfare and hand-to-hand combat.

Weapons: The Punisher employs an exhaustive arsenal of portable weaponry. His firearms of choice include a Vietnam-era M16 automatic rifle in .223 caliber; a Sterling Mark 69mm, 34-round, clip-fed, semiautomatic rifle converted to automatic; a 14-round, 9mm Browning Llama automatic pistol; a government-issue, .45 caliber automatic frame re-chambered for 9mm ammunition with a replaceable barrel for conversion to .223 caliber; and a 4-shot derringer in .223 caliber. Thus, he need carry only two types of ammunition.

History:

A born soldier, Frank Castle enlisted in the Marines. He rose quickly to the rank of captain – collecting two Bronze Stars, two Silver Stars and four Purple Hearts for his exemplary service in Vietnam. A family man, Castle sought to make the world a safer place for his wife and young children. Given this level of personal attachment to his military career, he was well on the road to becoming one of the nation's finest Marines.

But fate had other plans. While on leave, Castle took his wife and children to New York’s Central Park for a picnic. There, the family happened upon the scene of a mob hit. Finishing off their intended mark, the mobsters then turned their guns on the only witnesses to the crime. Only Castle escaped. As his family died in his arms, he was changed forever.

Castle disappeared for several months, going AWOL from the Marines. During his time underground, he gathered resources and weapons. When the former Marine resurfaced, he had adapted his fighting skills to wage a one-man war on crime – a war that took no prisoners. Castle made his first mission the murder of the criminals who had killed his wife and children.

Castle repeatedly has run afoul of New York’s other costumed heroes, including Spider-Man and Daredevil, whom he regards with a mixture of disdain and annoyance. In his eyes, he is the only one making a difference, performing the radical surgery required to root out the criminal element. The others, he believes, merely are placing bandages on gaping wounds.

While Punisher occasionally has cooperated with Spider-Man, he and Daredevil are polar opposites in their respective views of crime and punishment, and frequently clash when they meet. On some level, Castle enjoys antagonizing Daredevil, who steadfastly believes in the merits of the nation's legal system.

Punisher has served time for his violent acts, but always manages to escape imprisonment – either on his own or with the aid of sympathetic guards. Even in jail, Castle has continued his one-man crusade, leaving many prisons with fewer inmates than when he entered.

Through the years, others who harbored similar feelings or lost loved ones to comparable circumstances have assisted Punisher. Police officers and prosecutors, frustrated with the legal system’s shortcomings, have aided Punisher by providing him with information on criminals or turning a blind eye to his actions. Punisher prefers to keep such interactions to a minimum, however, going so far as to kill several copycat vigilantes. His mission and his philosophy are simple, but his alone. The Punisher does not seek followers or teammates.

Having long ago expanded his mission from one of personal revenge to the extermination of all criminals, Castle fully acknowledges that his crusade will never end until the day he dies. He is as disciplined now as he was as a Marine – gathering intelligence, setting objectives and always planning his operations down to the smallest detail. It is virtually impossible to catch Castle off-guard.

While the authorities and New York's larger crime families know of his existence, Punisher remains shrouded in the mystique of an urban legend. To most criminals, he is the ultimate nightmare – single-minded and utterly unstoppable.