FAQ

Punisher: War Zone is based on a Marvel comics character. The Punisher aka Frank Castle first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 (Feb. 1974) and was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr. and Ross Andru. Since then, he has appeared in several monthly publications, including The Punisher War Journal, The Punisher War Zone, and The Punisher Armory, as well as in The Punisher (1989) (1989) and The Punisher (2004) (2004). Punisher: War Zone was written by screenwriters Nick Santora, Matt Holloway, and Arthur Marcum.

No, there is no connection at all. It's not an origin story—in PWZ, Frank Castle has been operating as the Punisher for five years. His family's death is shown in a brief flashback sequence, and it is the canon origin as per the character's creation in 1974.

Punisher: War Zone was inspired by the corresponding series under the MAX Comics imprint, The Punisher (2004-2009) and The Punisher: Frank Castle, in terms of both tone and appearance. The main characters, including Detective Soap, are mostly Garth Ennis era. However, Jigsaw and Microchip are also important roles in the movie, which suggests that the movie is inspired by old school comics as well. The story takes place in New York City whereas the Thomas Jane version moved the locale to Florida.

Aside from Frank Castle (the Punisher) the film incorporates some characters from the comic's many incarnations.

Jigsaw - Billy Russo (Russoti in the film) considered to be the Punisher's archenemy, is laregly unchanged. He is a mutilated madman obsessed with the Punisher. In the comic, he was frequently depicted with a comically overstated eye. This was removed for the film, but as a tribute, one of his eyes is similarly disfigured.

Detective Soap - While retaining the "loser" qualities of the character, the film deletes much of his backstory and his complex relationship with Frank. The movie assumes that he has been working with Frank from the beginning and that he isn't quite as inept as his comic counterpart.

Microchip - In the comic, he provided Frank with intel on his targets due to the fact that he went through a similar crisis. He worked with the Punisher for many years before they had a falling out. The film version of the character is little more than an armorer and it's assumed that he's helping the Punisher to aid his dying mother.

Pittsy and Ink - In the comic, they were a duo of mob enforcers who were equally anti-social and psychopathic. The film changes them to more standard "goodfellas" and it's implied that they are father and son.

Paul Budiansky - From the "Widowmaker" saga, though changed from a hero NYPD detective to a coke head FBI agent.

Cristu and Tiberiu Bulat - From "The Slavers" saga, human traffickers from the Balkans, war criminals and probably the most ill fated of the Punisher's enemies. However in the movie they're typical Russian mobsters. Much like what they did to Pittsy and Ink.

Cesare Gaetano - A name change from Messimo Cesare who is killed right off the bat in "In the Beginning". The killing of the character starts a series of large problems for the Punisher.

Maginty - From "Kitchen Irish", a great character cut down to a barely visible supporting role. His death in the film was originally used in "In the Beginning" in an attempt to kill Pittsy, though it failed miserably.

Mrs Gordlock says, "They shot him right in our front yard. My dear, sweet little boy."

Thomas Jane walked out on the then in-development Punisher sequel in the spring of 2007, citing creative differences. Rumor has it that Marvel wanted the movie to be closer to the MAX line of the comic, something which was fine with Lionsgate (LGF), as long as the Punisher got to keep some redeeming features. On the other hand, Jane wanted the movie to be closer to Taxi Driver, and allegedly wanted to develop Frank Castle in the same direction as Travis Bickle, taking the movie even further away from the comic. (Jane has officially stated that the similarity to Taxi Driver was the main reason he accepted the role in the first place and that he was never a fan of the Punisher comic). Another rumor was that Jane wanted more money than LGF was willing to pay in order to keep him. When both Marvel and LGF refused to give in to his demands, Jane walked out on the movie. Jane's departure caused a rethinking of the movie, and the entire project went through a major overhaul. Everything they had developed thus far was scrapped and production started anew. Marvel, LGF and the director they hired shortly after Jane's departure found a vision that all involved parties could agree upon and production moved forward in one direction. Director Lexi Alexander wrote a new script from page one with only a passing resemblance to previous drafts. Her script was then rewritten and further polished by Iron Man screenwriters Art Marcum and Matt Holloway.

"Days of Revenge" by Ramallah