Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Marvel Comics | Tagged: ceo, punisher

Marvel's Punisher Copycat Vs CEO Story by Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon

Marvel Comics' Punisher Copycat Vs CEOs Storyline by Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon and Jimmy Palmiotti gets a revival

Published Tue, 10 Dec 2024 09:57:07 -0600

Article Summary

Marvel's Punisher revives with copycat vigilantes targeting CEOs, stirring up corporate vengeance dilemmas.
1990s storyline by Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, and Jimmy Palmiotti explores the impact of Punisher's influence.
Writer Jimmy Palmiotti teases connections between his "Ballerina" screenplay and potential John Wick spin-offs.
Exploring revenge fantasies vs. real-world ethics, as Punisher inspires mixed reactions on justice approaches.

In 2000, Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, and Jimmy Palmiotti revived The Punisher for Marvel Comics and Marvel Knights. In which the Punisher discovered that he had inspired copycat characters such as Mister Payback, who took his own personal brand of vengeance against corporate CEOs. Both in the boardroom…

…in the airspace above the city…

… and then taking his message to the media of the day as well.

However, Frank Castle has an issue with Mister Payback as much as he did with the Punisher wannabees, in that innocents got killed in his targeting of CEOs.

Jimmy Palmiotti also wrote, "In 2006 – based on an original story Justin and I did, we had a screenplay written by Chris and Ruth Gage called BALLERINA- About a sniper killing the CEOs of a corrupt corporation that made the studio rounds. Drawing of the character by since-passed Steve Lightle. The story was a soldier overseas gets word her retired military father killed himself. She comes home and finds out the company he worked for did it and takes out the CEO's as they hire assassins to take her out first." Any relation to the John Wick spinoff? "We shall see." He also asked, "Do you think a damn good lawyer could get Luigi Mangione free if we find out his motives were justified in a way? All I am reading about how sh-tty United Healthcare is and how many died because of their greedy practices…I mean, is there a case to be made here? Opinions?"

While this panel from Mark Russell and Steve Pugh's Billionaire Island, published by Ahoy Comics in 2020, has also been making the rounds.

I would like to point out though that there is usually a difference between a revenge fantasy and a revenge actualite. And I am also rather disturbed by how some folks who would be usually averse to the death penalty are suddenly… less averse.

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