Happy Birthday to the Punisher

It's hard to imagine a world without Frank Castle. The Punisher has been a major player in comic books, movies, television and video games for decades at this point. The world's favorite anti-hero made his debut in Amazing Spider-Man 129, which came out in February of 1974.

The war hero turned vigilante captured the world's attention almost immediately. By the 80s, Frank was starring in 4 separate mainstream comic titles and the Punisher became a major motion picture starring Dolph Lundgren.

Since then, the Punisher's star has only gotten bigger. Amazing Spider-Man 129 is one of the most desired comic books in the world. Thomas Jane and Ray Stevenson portrayed the character on the big screen and Jon Bernthal played Frank Castle in the Netflix series set in the MCU. He's also been in numerous Marvel cartoons and video games.

In his 46 years, the Punisher has captivated audiences world wide and received tons of praise. Frank Castle was named the 19th Greatest Comic Book Character of All Time by Empire magazine, 27th by IGN and 39th by Wizard Magazine. On top of that, IGN named the Punisher comic book series #15 in the best comic runs of the 2000s.

Some people love Frank Castle. Some people hate him. But no matter where they fall, the Punisher has been exacting revenge for over 45 years with no signs of slowing down.