It was also a bit cutting edge, because he was so clearly an anti-hero, and they used the conflict between him and Spidey to examine some real questions about vigilantism. Even in the 1970s Marvel World of Imperfect Neurotic Superheroes, the Punisher was a bit out there.

That said, he now seems just boring. With every superhero on the planet overdosing on testosterone, I have no idea what he brings to the table anymore.

Having read up a little on Doomsday’s background, I didn’t think he was boring. And besides, if you polled 100 readers as to who they thought would finally get Supes, 100 would have said ‘Lex.’ I’m not saying bring things in out of left field just to be different, but come on, who saw that coming?

The problem with Supes is that you need villains that seem greater. Admittedly Doomsday was a little bit the equivalent of getting hit by a bus… but sometimes that happens.

Pretty much like Cable in the X-Men, and many others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_(comics)

I thought the fascination would fade, and I think it did, -pretty much.

But the Punisher is more akin to the superspy movies than the superhero genre.

Word!

He was played wonderfully by Eric Allan Kramer. Honestly, the movie was not that great, and they really screwed with Thor’s concept and origin, but I liked Kramer’s take on Thor. I was always pleased to see him go on to have a long career after that Hulk movie.

As for blaming Frank Miller for everything, I don’t. Once upon a time, I thought he was brilliant. Then I noticed he really only has the one story to tell, and every woman he writes is either a hooker, a lesbian, or an innocent.

I don’t blame Miller for everything, but I don’t think he is the greatest artist in comics, either.

With The Flash you have to differentiate between the Golden Age Jay Scott Flash, the Silver Age Barry Allen Flash, and the modern era Wally West Flash. That’s not confusing.

I just hope they don’t screw up Wonder Woman. She’s the only one of the DC Trinity not to have a major motion picture yet, and it’s time.

I seem to remember Thor showing up in one of the old Bill Bixby Hulk TV movies. It was a pretty comical Thor, too.

The Punisher can go pound sand. He came out at the height of the Grim-n-Gritty(tm) era, and I never really liked him even though I was a big-time X-fan at the time. He’s not even comparable to Batman; Bats doesn’t use Big Damn Guns. He’s just a borderline lunatic with an arsenal.

By way of explication, I think the reason I liked Strange was that he was a ‘superhero’ due to what he KNEW. He’d studied and worked hard and acquired his abilities, and defeated his enemies without punching them through walls. Not a bad role model for the kids.

Whose only ability was that he was strong and tough. Yeah, Supes has gotten so strong and has so many abilities that it’s been difficult at times to find a decent challenge for for him. But he does have those powers and abilities.

Yet when faced with a brute who could do nothing but hit him, Supes chooses to go toe-to-toe in a smashfest? Stupid. Boring. If they wanted to kill Supes off so they could tell those other stories there were far, FAR better ways to do it than just have him beaten to death.

I’d forgotten those, all very good. I loved the Doomsday issues because Superman had seemed basically invincible for sixty years or so – sure, somebody would weaken him now and then but you sort of knew he’d always pull it out – but he’d finally met his match. Talk about a build-up.

As, at one time, so were the origins of Iron Man and the Fantastic Four (cold war space race).

Fortunately (heh) there’s Gulf Wars 1 and 2 and Iraq to continue to provide wars that could be slotted into their origins.

Well, the aftermath with Funeral for Friend, World without a Superman, etc were pretty good. But the actual Doomsday portion was basically just several issues of fight scenes, rather pointless ones at that.

The writers have already acknowledged that he’s getting older, and no matter how you do the math, he’s got to be pushing 60.

Garth Ennis’s MAX run on the Punisher has been terrific, and shows that in the right hands, the character can be really entertaining. His wiki bio says it all:

“His work is characterised by extreme violence, black humour, profanity, an interest in male friendship, a disdain for organized religion, and contempt for superheroes.”

What more do you want?

Bruce Wayne was orphaned young and developed into a man (eventually a Batman) surrounded by inherited wealth and privilege (Wayne Manor, Alfred, et al.). As a result, he can afford to have an elevated view of justice where the guilty must be made to suffer for their crimes, but only as that justice is afforded by the due process of law. The Batman would honor his parents’ memory by making the guilty pay for their crimes, but never stooping to their level.

Frank Castle had already seen death in Vietnam and came away from it scarred. His family provided comfort to him post-action, reminded him of a humanity that had been chipped away during his tour of duty. Sadly, that family was torn from him through the murderous actions of organized crime. Without a family, what need had Frank Castle for his humanity? He became The Punisher, sentencing the guilty to death on his terms, as he saw no need for the trappings of law.

The Punisher could be a good movie property, a study in how far a man can go before losing their soul entirely. But instead, the character is wasted on spent shells, explosions and body counts. You want a good Punisher film, find a promising indie director, give them a limited budget, and tell them to take a long, hard look at just how much of Frank Castle is left at the end of The Punisher’s bloody day.

There’s not much to the character, so he’s easy crank out book after movie after book about. And since it’s basically the same crappy story over and over again, all these movies and books suck.