Across the Marvel multiverse, characters like Spider-Man and Wolverine took on the Punisher’s mission instead of Frank Castle in Marvel’s What If…?
In most incarnations of the Marvel Universe, Frank Castle is the Punisher. A murderous vigilante with no problem shooting down his enemies, Frank uses his rage over the loss of his family to inspire a truly brutal war on crime.
But across the Marvel multiverse, as explored in What If…?, there are others who’ve taken up the trademark skull logo and guns to become their own world’s Punisher — including two realities where some of Marvel’s most famous heroes took on the mantle. Now, here’s how variants of Spider-Man and Wolverine ended up becoming the Punisher of their respective worlds.
WHAT IF SPIDER-MAN WAS THE PUNISHER?
In 2018, What If? Peter Parker Became The Punisher by Carl Potts, Juanan Ramierez, and Rachelle Rosenberg imagined a world where Spider-Man gained his powers in a similar manner as in the core Marvel Universe of Earth-616. However, things were thrown into dismay when he lost his uncle to a robber. Chasing down the burglar and confronting him, the pair wrestled over the gun, with it eventually going off and striking the robber in the chest, killing him. This version of Spider-Man — known to the public as the Punisher — became a defender, but one with a more casual attitude towards firearms and lethal tactics. Like many versions of Spider-Man, he becomes a public target of J. Jonah Jameson and gets a job taking pictures of himself for the Daily Bugle.
Although he doesn’t jump to kill his enemies and captures them alive if he can, he still took the gun used by the Burglar with him to every mission. His unique and inventive gadget bullets proved useful to bring down the villains he did decide needed to be killed due to the risk they posed — including the Sinister Six and the Green Goblin. After saving Gwen Stacy’s life from the Goblin and revealing his identity, this incarnation of Peter was inspired to give up his costume and throws it away for Gwen, seemingly giving up his alter-ego. However, it’s revealed that a wounded Frank Castle discovered the costume in the garbage and likely became inspired by the vigilante to take revenge against the criminals who killed his own family.
WHAT IF WOLVERINE WAS THE PUNISHER?
In 2005’s What If? Featuring Wolverine, by Daniel Way and Jon Proctor, focused on the exploits of Matteo DiPriggia, a criminal from the 1940s. It reveals that in one world, a version of Logan in the 1920s was offered the chance to run a bar that assisted bootleggers in bringing illegal alcohol into the United States from Canada. Although he had a child with a local woman and was offered a home, Logan was initially hesitant to take the position and rejoin society. However, the bar was attacked, and everyone in it was killed by one of the bootleggers, going by the name of Scarface. Furious, Logan went to Chicago to confront the man — with a skull and crossbones flag from the bar as a memento of the people he lost.
Not long after arriving in the city, Logan found an unlikely friend in small-time crook Matteo, who led him to a possible hideout for Scarface. Wearing the flag as a shirt, Logan was captured and confronted by Scarface, this world’s version of his villainous half-brother Dog. Revealing that he’d set up bombs as he made his way into the building in the first place, the hotel was destroyed in a massive ball of fire. However, Logan survived the inferno and reunited with Matteo. Deciding that he’s going to change Chicago whether it likes it or not, Logan tells Matteo to find him more guns and bullets as they set out to effectively become the Punisher of this reality.
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