Marvel decides to kill “The Punisher”: the right likes it too much
The Punisher character “ The Punisher”, (Frank Castle) , originally created by writer Gerry Conway in 1974 with artists Ross Andru and John Romita, was the product of a chaotic age; a reaction to the increase in war, stagflation, instability and the explosion in the crime rate in the United States. The story of the Punisher is the tragedy of a returning military veteran whose family is killed during what appears to be an underworld heist. As federal agencies do little to apprehend the perpetrators, Castle takes matters into his own hands and begins systematically assassinating the criminals.
In the 1970s, the concept of "citizen crime stopping" and "vigilantism" was becoming popular in the cultural zeitgeist, with many people living in metropolitan areas grappling with rising criminal violence and unreliable government protection. City governments in places like New York were actively limiting gun ownership rights for law-abiding people, which only made things easier for criminals. It was after all also the era of Inspector Callaghan, played by Clint Eastwood with a series of films that ended in the eighties, not by chance.
The exact same conditions are returning today in the United States and the vigilante debate is once again on, just look at the media fury over Kyle Rittenhouse or Daniel Penny, and all of this is all that is most unwelcome to the activist left and “Wooke”: in fact, what could be worse than a citizen who freely arms himself and fights crime?
In recent years, the Punisher icon has been very popular with conservatives, military veterans and law enforcement. The skull symbol can be found throughout, with patches, gear, and flags sporting the image, often as a representation of citizens taking matters into their own hands. The symbol was also seen during the January 6 protests.
This infuriated the Marvel Comics left. They first looked to make fundamental changes to the character, including a redesign of his popular skull symbol, as well as taking away his guns and giving him swords in 2021. Instead of fighting against criminal organizations, Frank Castle joins one of them, violating its fundamental code of ethics.
This month, however, Marvel officially declared The Punisher persona non grata, axing the character as readers know him. Did he go in a blaze of glory? Nope, in typical woke style Frank Castle is captured by progressive heroes, shackled and forced into a wrestling session in which he is booked as a murderer and terrorist . Marvel even resurrects the Punisher's wife, only to allow her to divorce him and take his money and property, then informs him that his lifelong crusade against the underworld has been for naught. A real excess of cruelty.
The character then "dies" from an apparent suicide, but the story is left open to his return, just not as the gun-toting hero people know and love. In short, it must be "Re-educated" in perfect Soviet style.
Marvel writers, including original Punisher creator Gerry Conway, specifically cite the character's popularity among conservatives as the reason for his virtual elimination. As Newsweek noted, the Punisher was "problematic" for Marvel because conservatives liked it too much. He represents the common man: he doesn't have superpowers, he's not a billionaire like Batman, but he still fights evil with an unshakable will and a lot of guns.
The co-optation and erasure of popular heroes (or anti-heroes) is representative of the disturbing politicization of our times. Much like the Cultural Revolution in China, leftist movements in America are systematically purging all contrary beliefs, including any positive representations of vigilantism, from our cultural catalogue. They openly admit why they do this: Conservatives can't be the good guys.
The character then "dies" from an apparent suicide, but the story is left open to his return, just not as the gun-toting hero people know and love.
Marvel writers, including original Punisher creator Gerry Conway, specifically cite the character's popularity among conservatives as the reason for his virtual elimination. As Newsweek noted, The Punisher was "problematic" for Marvel because conservatives liked it too much. He represents the common man: he doesn't have superpowers, he's not a billionaire like Batman, but he still fights evil with an unshakable will and a lot of guns.
The co-option and erasure of popular heroes (or anti-heroes) is representative of another reality.
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The article Marvel decides to kill “The Punisher”: the right likes it too much, it comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/marvel-decide-di-ammazzare-the-punisher-piace-troppo-alla-destra/ on Fri, 09 Jun 2023 21:48:18 +0000.