Here at Major Spoilers, we love comics and we know you do too. We are not always prepared, however, for which comics people love and hate. For me, there’s a fine line between a work like ‘Watchmen’ (which is nuanced and ground-breaking, if not always subtle) and ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ (which is equally important in terms of storytelling and historical placement, but comes across as just a distillation of Batman turned up to eleven.) I think of it as the line between “Genius” and “Cheese Sandwich.” So, when a recent discussion turned to the Punisher’s turn as an undead Frankencastle circa 2009, I was shocked to find that others though it was unrealistic and dumb, rather than my assessment that it was entertaining and unexpected, leading us to today’s subjective query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “cah-stee-lee-oh-nay”) would caution anyone making the “realistic” argument that the Punisher lives in a world where Galactus visits on occasion, and has participated in world-shattering crossovers with the likes of Superman and the Silver Surfer, asking: Frankencastle: Genius Or Cheese Sandwich?
2 Comments
Can be genius, but must be used mostly in a vacuum, where strongest guys he faces are Kingpin and Daredevil level. I’ve always liked his interactions with Matt Murdock, at least when they write Punisher with some complexity in his character and when he’s clearly not a match for Daredevil physically but tries anyway.
I have held a theory for a long time that there are two guys called frank who run around new york in a skull shirt.
one is 60 year old guy aging in real time who shoots mobsters / dealers / and the worst scum
the other has not aged since franklin richards was born and he takes pot shots now and then at super villains