How does the new Punisher compare to Frank Castle?

The Punisher #1 interior art — (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

There's a new Punisher in the Marvel Universe as of November 8's Punisher #1 - Joe Garrison. We've known his name for a little while, but not his full backstory, or how he came to take up the mantle left behind by Frank Castle.

So what's the deal with Joe Garrison? How did he become the new Punisher, and how does his freshly unfolding saga relate to the story of his predecessor Frank Castle?

Spoilers ahead for Punisher #1

Now, we won't spoil all the beat-by-beat details of November 8's Punisher #1 by writer David Pepose, artist Dave Wachter, color artist Dan Brown, and letterer Cory Petit. But we will dig right into what makes Joe Garrison the heir to Frank Castle's brutal legacy of punishment.

Most of Punisher #1 revolves around Joe Garrison's quest for revenge for his dead family - a story that's not unfamiliar to classic Punisher fans. But rather than a chance killing like what happened to Frank Castle's wife and kids, Joe Garrison's family are the victims of a targeted attack.

The motive for the attack, in which their house explodes and only Joe survives, seems to come down to Joe's hidden history as a black-ops SHIELD assassin - a job that puts him alongside the likes of Black Widow and Winter Soldier in terms of his fighting skill and possibly even the amount of red in his ledger, as the saying goes.

Joe's history as a former SHIELD assassin, who retired and settled down MCU Hawkeye style after SHIELD disbanded a few years ago, also gives him access to high-powered armaments through his Microchip-esque former spy handler Triple-A, which stands for Arms and Analysis (or, as she jokes, "Aiding And Abetting").

Joe's bag of tricks includes things like a portable railgun that penetrates armor, as well as tracking rounds, and his own "ballistic chestplate," which resembles a skull.

It's that last bit that sparks Joe's connection to Frank Castle, a legacy that is tied to him through the media as witness reports of his actions in pursuit of vengeance for his family start rolling in, with reporters dubbing Joe a new Punisher.

For readers fearing that the new Punisher will fail to live up to the action-packed legacy of Frank Castle's heyday in the Marvel Universe, the new Punisher #1 doesn't skimp on the fight scenes or even the gnarly kills, with a few of the most hardcore fatalities Marvel has put on the page in some time.

That's the part that makes Joe Garrison really feel like a credible heir to Frank Castle, as of Punisher #1. He's got the tragic backstory that calls him into action, and the secret history of violence that allows him to undertake his mission. And he's even got a skull on his chest.

But all of that could be window dressing if the new Punisher #1 didn't have Frank Castle's edge, the unflinching grit and raw capacity for carnage that defined the original Punisher and set him apart from other Marvel heroes, and even anti-heroes.

Thankfully, by the time Joe Garrison engulfs an enemy in flames before the title page even comes up, that question should be put to bed in readers' minds.

Punisher #2 goes on sale December 13.

Punisher writer David Pepose is also the writer of the hit horror comic The Devil That Wears My Face.

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I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011, and now I'm the Entertainment Writer at GamesRadar+. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)