In what should surprise no one at all, The Punisher YoHe is the last surviving superhero in the middle of a zombie apocalypse within the Marvel Universe. Since his debut in 1974 The amazing Spider Man #129, Frank Castle has proven to be the ultimate survival expert, no matter what story or setting the writers decide to place him in.
Most recently, the creative team of Garth Ennis, Rachael Stott and VC’s Clayton Cowles represented Punisher in Marvel Zombies: Black, White and Blood #1, in the story “Undefeated.” In a brief appearance, Frank Castle manages to survive a zombie apocalypse, including bloodthirsty humans who treat everything like a sport.
The cameo not only reminds readers of The Punisher’s survival skills, but also how jaded he can be with the world as a whole. Frank Castle fits perfectly into the zombie apocalypse of the Marvel Universe, and all the skills he applies to hunting criminals are put to the test against hordes of the undead.
The Punisher becomes the last Marvel hero standing
The story focuses on a world where the world is overrun by zombies, as many of the zombies (including heroes like Daredevil) are forced into an underground fight club by a surviving human population. While in captivity, Daredevil is visited by an old enemy in Frank Castle, who ultimately turns the former hero into a walking bomb. Frank seems even more disgusted by the humans, who transformed the zombies into fighters to slaughter each other, than by the zombies themselves. Daredevil digests Frank’s bomb off-panel, and at the end of the story, Frank activates it, killing everyone in the sewers.
Except for the antagonistic group of humans and the zombified heroes, shown in Marvel Zombies: Black, White and Blood #1, The Punisher is the only person seen in this entire story.. Until proven otherwise, it may be safe for readers to assume that he is the only other human being fending for himself in this new world; at least on the ground. If this is indeed the case, then after orchestrating this bomb attack, the Punisher simply solidified himself as the last human alive in the midst of the zombie apocalypse. Which, honestly, shouldn’t surprise anyone even remotely familiar with Frank Castle’s pedigree and what he’s capable of.
Punisher’s disdain for human cruelty is on full display
What should be even less surprising is how The Punisher’s disdain for the cruelty that humanity is capable of feels even more prominent in the midst of a zombie apocalypse.. As the Punisher, Frank is all about punishing the kind of evil things people do and he despises these fight club owners in the same way, referring to them as “animals” to Temeraire. For tThe Punisher, The evil that humans can do feels even more prominent in a world where there are barely any humans left, to the point that he has no qualms about becoming the last human if it means ridding the world of them. “animals”.
Marvel Zombies: black, white and red #1 is now available at Marvel!