Happy Saturday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another Top 5 Villains List. Today’s post breaks down The Punisher’s best villains. Honestly, The Punisher has a thin number of unique villains. The Punisher borrows quite a few villains from other superheroes’ rogues’ galleries, so you may see some villains on this list that are typically connected with another superhero. This isn’t to say that The Punisher is devoid of great stories; we shared some great Punisher Starter Stories a year ago, but The Punisher lacks a compelling rogues’ gallery. Still, The Punisher special presentation releases soon (I’m writing this early, so we won’t know when The Punisher Special’s release will occur), so now may be the perfect time to discuss The Punisher’s Top 5 Villains.
Honorable Mention: Bushwacker
While we typically include at least one honorable mention, I debated mentioning Bushwacker. He has a machine gun for a hand, his goals change with the flip of a coin, and his origin, at best, is flimsy. Bushwacker looks ridiculous. Is he a hired gun or a mutant killing maniac? Who knows? What we do know is that The Punisher has few unique villains, so Bushwacker makes this list as an honorable mention by default.
5: Bullseye
We begin this list in earnest with Bullseye, who typically opposes Daredevil. I’ll prepare you now. The bottom portion of this list will be dominated by other superheroes’ villains. We’ll save the top two spots for Punisher-only villains. Regardless of his affiliation with the Man Without Fear, The Punisher has had plenty of battles against Bullseye. It makes sense. Both Bullseye and Punisher can serve as mercenaries. Both have similar abilities. In the comics, the two have almost polar-opposite personalities. The Punisher resembles Batman, while Bullseye leans toward The Joker, which leads to some interesting confrontations.
4: Daken
Daken may be Wolverine’s deranged son and spends a lot of his time terrorizing the X-Men, but he’s also the man who killed The Punisher. That’s right. Daken took down The Punisher. Like most comic book deaths, The Punisher rose from the dead in Franken-Castle, but the fact still stands. Daken and The Punisher have had some epic battles. Maybe not as many as Bullseye, but plenty of great ones. I also like the idea that Daken isn’t human. He’s a mutant. Too many of The Punisher’s villains fall under the just a human category.
3: Kingpin
Yep. Kingpin is yet another primarily Daredevil villain, but he’s also a significant Punisher villain. Heck. Kingpin is the MCU’s big bad for its street-level heroes like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Punisher. He had to make this list. And the Kingpin Punisher battles skews toward rated-R. I hope we see a straight-up blood-fest between Frank Castle and Wilson Fisk. We could see a lot more scenes like the one from Daredevil: Born Again, season one, where Fisk crushes a man’s skull. More please. And mind the splash zone.
2: Barracuda
Frank Castle and the man named Barracuda are products of war. As an ex-Green Beret, Barracuda went from the armed forces to the CIA to the mob, leaving behind a trail of bodies. Barracuda is just as vicious and unforgiving as The Punisher. He’s also well-connected to powerful, evil people and employs a team of hired killers to fight by his side. And Barracuda loves to kill. He doesn’t care if his victim deserves it or not. Barracuda is one of Punisher’s greatest challenges and foes. Too bad he doesn’t show up more often in the comics. We need to see more of the Marvel Universe’s most hardened and sickest killers.
1: Jigsaw
Jigsaw is Punisher’s arch-rival. He had to take the top spot on this list. If Billy Russo had a heart at all, it’d be rotten. His face reflects his soul. Is it any wonder Jigsaw thrives against the Marvel Universe’s worst vigilante? Jigsaw fits the Kingpin mold. He can rule from afar or get his hands dirty. And boy, does Jigsaw ever get his hands dirty. The top two villains on Punisher’s list could scar viewers for life. But Jigsaw gets top billing as Punisher’s arch nemesis, because he has systematically torn apart Frank Castle’s life. Jiggy has taken out everyone and everything that Castle holds dear and framed him for it. It’ll be interesting to see if or how the MCU will handle Jigsaw. This is not a villain for the faint of heart.
That’s our list of the Top 5 Punisher Villains. Did your favorite make the list? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
