The Punisher is a complex character, often blurring between “good” and “evil.” He’s an anti-hero in fiction, known for his brutal nature. Despite this, he’s become one of Marvel’s popular anti-heroes, appearing as a comic book character in various media and origins.
Most of the time, Marvel fans look down on Frank Castle because he chose violence and always kills people. Although they don’t hate him, they disagree with his methods. Therefore, let’s know what Chuck Dixon, a longtime Punisher writer, reasons why Marvel Comics holds hatred towards the character.
Chuck Dixon Reveals Marvel’s Complex Hatred For the Punisher
In Episode 152 of his Ask Chuck Dixon series on YouTube, The Gunslinger asked why Marvel hates Punisher, to which Dixon responded:
“They don’t like him for the same reason that DC doesn’t like Guy Gardner and fans like the Punisher for the same reason they like Guy Gardner.”
He then added:
“Most comic book characters are either brainiacs, mutants, scientists, you know whatever. There’s very few superheroes that have blue collar origins. Frank Castle and Guy Gardner are blue collar superheroes.”
Here Dixon tries to say that they hate Punisher because he’s a blue-collar and those who follow shows which narrate the story of an elite character won’t ever relate with the character of Frank Castle.
Chuck Dixon Explained that New York Elites Distate Blue-Collar Characters
In Netflix’s The Punisher, the story picks up after the second season of the American streaming television series Daredevil. Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), presumed dead, tries to lead an everyday life. He takes on a blue-collar job, dealing with PTSD and struggling to fit in. The show addresses real-life gun violence issues amid his challenges and eventual violence.
The series portrays Castle as a combat veteran and blue-collar construction worker. His strong moral values stand out in a genre often lacking such realism from working-class characters. Prestige television shows often exclude working-class narratives, but The Punisher breaks this pattern and places veterans at the forefront by highlighting their feelings of societal neglect.
Chuck Dixon tries to explain the same context in the Ask Chuck Dixon series. He said:
“People’s response to these characters because of those origins and because they have blue collar origins — when they’re written correctly — they say stuff and do stuff that other comic book characters won’t. They don’t have the same mores, the same code.”
Dixon said that America embraced Archie Bunker in All in the Family (Punisher followed a similar trajectory related to blue-collar). While Americans embraced the character, New York elites and writers were “horrified at the results” of the sitcom because it revolves around a blue-collar.
Source: Bounding Into Comics
