Every Punisher Movie, Ranked

The Punisher (aka Frank Castle) was first introduced in Marvel Comics as a costumed assassin in 1974's "The Amazing Spider-Man" #129 by way of comic book writer Gerry Conway, plus artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. After some sporadic appearances throughout the late '70s and early '80s, he finally received his own series in the mid-'80s, followed by the different spins of countless artists throughout the decades.

Frank's comics origin saw him go from a United States Marine Corps sniper to street-level vigilante in the wake of his wife and kids being murdered. He's very much a reactionary creation, born of Don Pendleton's "The Executioner" series and Charles Bronson's Paul Kersey in the "Death Wish" films. Frank is like a rorschach test, in terms of how you view him as the Punisher and the philosophy behind his deadly mission to snuff out people who make the world a worse place for others to live.

When it comes to feature film adaptations, the Punisher has definitely struggled, as opposed to more accessible Marvel characters like Spider-Man, Thor, and Captain America. Frank is an easier sell for hardcore comic book fans rather than general moviegoing audiences: His theatrical feature films either barely made enough money to get by or floundered at the box office, resulting in one reboot after another until he became a fixture on streaming. Before the Punisher returns to theaters with a full circle moment in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," let's look at all his movies (in addition to the recent Disney+ special) to see which screen Frank most successfully stormed the Castle.

• Cast: Jon Bernthal, Judith Light, Deborah Ann Woll
• Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green
• Rating: TV-MA
• Runtime: 51 minutes
• Where to Watch: Disney+

Some folks may balk at the idea of a one-hour streaming service special being lumped in with the movies, but considering "One Last Kill" is likely the only standalone story Jon Bernthal's Punisher is going to get in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (outside of supporting appearances or another television series), it should count. 

Frank Castle once again finds himself grappling with the ghosts of his past, while the town of Little Sicily is being overrun by the kind of rampant crime you would see in Ari Aster's "Beau is Afraid." Everything comes to a halt, however, when the vindictive crime family matriarch Ma Gnucci (Judith Light) tells Frank that she's put out a contract on him for wiping out her immediate family. What follows is a terrible reheating of lessons about revenge vs. justice that Bernthal's iteration has already learned.

The cheekily titled "One Last Kill" is a tonal disaster as we witness Frank grappling with his inner emotional turmoil in a gratingly self-serious manner that doesn't flow at all with him casually slaughtering a comically large pile of nameless bloodthirsty goons "Kingsman"-style. There's also a hilariously distracting CG-assisted stunt shot that neuters the intended effect it's supposed to have. Bernthal is a great actor, but his animalistic grunting makes Frank a much less interesting character, let alone one that's meant to conjure fear or sympathy. The idea that he needs a surrogate stand-in for his daughter to inadvertently give him permission to keep killing a bunch of folks is just a strange decision all around.

• Cast: Dolph Lundgren, Louis Gossett Jr., Jeroen Krabbé
• Director: Mark Goldblatt
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 89 minutes
• Where to Watch: Unavailable

Action movies with tough guys racking up a body count were all the rage in the 1980s, so it only makes sense that Marvel's in-house murder machine would get his own feature with Dolph Lundgren in the role. The funny thing is that 1989's "The Punisher" received a theatrical release almost everywhere except the United States, and only made a splash here on the home video market later on. It's a shame because the film is actually pretty good. 

We learn in flashbacks that this version of Frank Castle isn't a Marine, but a cop whose family was killed in a mafia car bomb meant for him. Since then, Frank's been on a one-man crusade to wipe out New York's rampant mobster element through a series of deadly means beyond the use of a gun.

In spite of never wearing his signature skull, Lundgren brings a despondent tiredness to Frank that suits the character, especially as his outrageous acts of violence start to wear on his soul. One of the more interesting character touches is Frank isolating himself, naked, in the depths of the city's sewer system like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The film does suffer from being overly formulaic, until the last third where Frank reluctantly teams up with mafia boss Gianni Franco (Jeroen Krabbé) to rescue his son from the Yakuza, creating a fascinating dynamic that culminates in a memorable ending. "The Punisher" has been reclaimed over the years as an underrated '80s action movie with more flair than you would typically expect.

• Cast: Thomas Jane, John Travolta, Ben Foster
• Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 124 minutes
• Where to Watch: Unavailable

Somewhere between the highest highs ("Spider-Man 2") and lowest lows ("Catwoman") of comic books movies in 2004 was "The Punisher," a tonally jumbled, yet no less interesting attempt to once again bring the Marvel antihero to the big screen. This time, Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) isn't a Marine, but an undercover FBI agent who fakes his death after helping uncover an arms smuggling operation.

Unfortunately, Tampa mob boss Howard Saint (John Travolta) isn't too happy about Frank's role in the death of his son, and sends a bunch of his men to slaughter his entire clan during their family reunion. After surviving being shot and nearly blown up, Frank comes out on the other side a changed man with revenge in his heart. With no one wanting to take a stand against Saint's empire, the grieving family man takes matters into his own hand as the Punisher.

Where "The Punisher" truly succeeds is in the melancholic nature of Jane's committed performance. You can see the rot of violence festering in his heart, which compels him to unleash a wave of psychological torment against Saint before going after him directly. In that way, Travolta is kind of perfect as this easily susceptible loser who reaps what he sows. It's the physical violence, however, that doesn't really fit the movie, alternating between things like an intimate torture interrogation and a cartoonish royal rumble with Kevin Nash's The Russian. It's a good comic book movie on the verge of being a great one, and one of those forgotten action movie failures that deserve a second chance.

• Cast: Ray Stevenson, Dominic West, Colin Salmon
• Director: Lexi Alexander
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 103 minutes
• Where to Watch: Apple TV, Pluto TV, Plex

"The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" made such totemic advancements for comic book movies in 2008 that "Punisher: War Zone" hardly made a blip, in spite of it being one of the best of its kind. Third time's the charm as Ray Stevenson embodies Frank Castle as this intimidating behemoth with slicked-back hair, stone-cold face, and a penchant for making a bloody mess out of nearly every room he enters.

The film picks up with an already established Punisher wiping out a manor full of mobsters, aka just another day at the office. But in the midst of his mission, Frank accidentally kills an undercover agent, in addition to turning local monster Billy "The Beaut" Russoti (Dominic West) from an overconfident mafioso to the heavily scarred villain known as Jigsaw. It's an all-out action extravaganza, with Frank having to clean up all his messes the only way he knows how.

Lexi Alexander understands that the best Punisher movie simply gets on the same psychopathic level as Frank. The fascistic power fantasy of being a tactical vigilante with this high of a body count is presented in such a knowingly overblown manner that suits the character like a glove. Stevenson is the best Punisher, and it's the kind of film you might get if Warren Beatty's "Dick Tracy" had a head-on collision with an '80s action movie. Where else can you see a parkour gang member being blown up with a rocket launcher mid-jump? "Punisher: War Zone" is a truly underappreciated gem among the bigger, safe bet comic book movies, and still packs a mean punch nearly two decades later.