Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe | |
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Cover to Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe reprint. Art by Steve Dillon.
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
Format | One-shot |
Genre | |
Publication date | November 1995 |
No. of issues | 1 |
Main character(s) |
Punisher Daredevil Marvel Universe |
Creative team | |
Written by | Garth Ennis |
Penciller(s) | Doug Braithwaite |
Inker(s) | Martin Griffiths Mike Halbleib Sean Hardy Don Hudson John Livesay Robin Riggs |
Letterer(s) | Bill Oakley |
Colorist(s) |
Malibu Shannon Blanchard Tom Smith |
Editor(s) | Marcus McLaurin |
Collected editions | |
Punisher by Garth Ennis Omnibus | ISBN |
Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe is a 1995 one-shot comic book written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Doug Braithwaite with most inking done by Michael L. Halblieb, which depicts a story where Frank Castle kills every superhero and supervillain in the Marvel Universe including himself.
Marvel would ultimately reprint the special (with a new cover by Steve Dillon) and include it as a bonus feature in a number of reprintings.
Frank Castle becomes an officer in the NYPD SWAT team after leaving the U.S. Marine Corps. Rather than falling victim to a gangland slaying, Castle's wife and children are instead killed when caught in the middle of a battle between the Avengers, the X-Men, and a group of Brood and other aliens in Central Park. Castle arrives to find his family dead, and Daredevil berating Cyclops and Captain America for their carelessness.
As Castle grieves, none of the heroes are willing to admit their fault in the deaths, until finally Cyclops attempts to apologize. Enraged, Castle opens fire on the assembled heroes, killing Cyclops, Hawkeye, and Shadowcat. He is then attacked and wounded by Wolverine, and only survives due to the intervention of Colossus.
After recovering from his injuries, Castle is put on trial for triple-homicide. His attorney is Matt Murdock, who recognizes Castle as the man who rescued him from a gang of ruffians when they were both boys (the two characters did not know each other as children in the normal Marvel universe). Despite Murdock's defense, Castle is sentenced to life imprisonment.