In an interview with Vulture, law enforcement officer Jesse Murrieta expressed what seems to be a common sentiment among police officers who are Punisher fans: “Frank Castle does to bad guys and girls what we sometimes wish we could legally do, Castle doesn't see shades of grey, which, unfortunately, the American ...
The adoption of the skull is a sign some police no longer want to be police – they want to be vigilantes, capable of using “any means necessary”. After all, as Worcester states, “the legal system is little more than an inconvenience” to the Punisher.
Why would the police choose the Punisher skull instead of Batman's logo? The police chief in Lexington, Kentucky, defended its use on their police cars by saying that the skull “represents that we will take any means necessary to keep our community safe.”
The Punisher skull first gained popularity in military circles during the Gulf War, when soldiers began to wear it on their helmets and other gear. The skull's association with the Punisher's vigilante justice and "no mercy" attitude made it a fitting emblem for soldiers engaged in warfare.
As a former U.S. Marine and Navy SEAL, Frank Castle benefits from a physique built for combat, infantry, and special operations. Castle is also highly skilled in the use of weaponry, including automatic and semiautomatic rifles, handguns, grenades, and combat knives.
The character's real name is Frank Castle, an Italian-American Marine sniper who fought in Vietnam in the original comics and the Iraq War in more modern iterations of his story. The Punisher's goal was to stop crime as a vigilante, following the murders of his wife and two children by the mob.
In his book, Kyle wrote: "The Navy credits me with more kills as a sniper than any other American service member, past or present." He also explained that he and other men in his unit adopted the Punisher's skull as a mascot of sorts. "We all thought what the Punisher did was cool," Kyle wrote.
The Punisher skull is a favored symbol among white nationalists, Proud Boys, terrorist groups and January 6 insurrectionists. It's been found tattooed on mass shooters and would-be killers who were stopped before they could open fire.
More to the point, the character himself is inherently anti-police. The whole reason that Frank Castle took on his vigilante role was that he felt left behind by the system.
How does the Punisher react to cops with his symbol on their cars?
The titular vigilante anti-hero of the comic, Frank Castle, is cornered by two police officers who, upon recognizing him, confess their support for his work. The Punisher responds by rebuking the officers, tearing a distinctive “Punisher's skull” decal off their patrol car, and ripping it up in front of them.
What does the Punisher skull on the Texas flag mean?
For some, it symbolizes honor and gritty determination, and for others, unbound aggression and destruction. You've seen it before. The skull, as ubiquitous as Captain America's shield, is on jerseys, t-shirts, coffee mugs, even tube socks .
“We all thought what the Punisher did was cool: He righted wrongs. He killed bad guys. He made wrongdoers fear him,” Kyle's memoir reads. “We spray-painted [the Punisher skull] on our Hummers and body armor, and our helmets and all our guns.
However, while Castle is determined to stop every criminal he can, there are limits to his work. The Punisher won't kill cops, or other members of legitimate authority such as soldiers. Even when pursued by forces intent on killing him, Frank won't kill police officers.
The Punisher is infamous for killing his foes, and as a result hardly any other Marvel superhero will work with him. Castle's motivations for killing have always stemmed from tragically losing his family to violence - but even Daredevil can see that Frank has taken his revenge mission too far this time.
According to Conway, Frank Castle represents a “failure of the justice system” and “the reality some people can't depend on institutions like the police or the military to act in a just and capable way.” To Conway, this has a lot to do with why these same institutions embracing the Punisher's logo is so problematic.
It's his duty to protect the innocent. It's his burden to have to do terrible things to make it so. That's something many troops can get behind. It also helps that he truly encapsulates the rest of the minor moments that come with being a veteran.
Moving into the Marine Corps Force Recon, Castle participated in classified missions behind enemy lines. During this time, he became good friends with fellow Marine Billy Russo and US Navy Corpsman Curtis Hoyle.
Billy Russo deciding to call himself "Jigsaw". Billy Russo, better known as Jigsaw, is a vicious criminal mastermind from the Marvel universe. He mainly appears as the archenemy to the violent vigilante Frank Castle, and is the main antagonist of the Punisher franchise.
The vigilante anti-hero is fundamentally a critique of the justice sysytem, an example of social failure, so when cops put Punisher skulls on their cars or members of the military wear Punisher skull patches, they're basically sides with an enemy of the system. They are embracing an outlaw mentality.
What is the meaning of One Batch, Two Batch to the Punisher? Heads up - it's a bit of a sad explanation. In the MCU, One Batch, Two Batch is a rhyming children's story that became a favorite of Lisa Castle, daughter of Frank.
The path to unlocking Frank Castle's pathology practically always leads to one conclusion: Post-traumatic stress disorder. And while that's almost certainly part of it, I think there's something else going on here. Something a bit more sinister.
Weaknesses. Non-Superhuman Physical Conditioning: Castle is as susceptible to physical injury and disease as any other normal human, often having to rely more on strategy than strength when up against a superhuman opponent.
