The Punisher Runs a Batman Villain Gauntlet

[Punisher Rising]

http://www.punisher-art.com/misc_art/2004_movie/punisher_movie_still_3.jpg
The Punisher

Vs.

http://www.comicdepotllc.com/images/posters/19jimlee_villains.jpg
Batman Villains


A What If? scenario, where The Punisher operates in Gotham City and Batman is either inoperational in it, dead, nonexistant, etc. (if there isn't a Batman Vs. Punisher thread already here I'd be up for it) and he's up against every one of Batman's major villains and the minor ones, too. With Frank having no qualms with killing and torturing (the guy has single-handedly annihilated countless criminal factions and organizations all over the world and taken thousands of lives), is he possibly the solution to Gotham's crime problem? Which Batman villains you think Frank can defeat and who would be the most challenging for him to overcome? What are the possible scenarios or outcomes?

I myself think Frank can take on most of them, with the possible exceptions of Ra's Al Ghul and Clayface, but if Batman's non-lethal methods have helped him defeat them, who knows what Frank's much more vicious tactics could accomplish. Let's break it down by each villain and see how Frank fares.

Also, forgive me if this isn't in the proper forum (the mods can move it to the correct one if this isn't it), I didn't see a polls forum on here anyway and assumed it would be okay here since The Punisher is a Marvel character and the thread is mainly about him.

 

[batnkevlar]

The villains know Gotham like the back of their hand. They know the sewers and backalleys and everything in between. I'd say Frank Castle would be able to take out the powered villains, but the smarter ones, like Two-Face, Joker, Ras, Riddler, Talia, and Hush, would be tougher to take down.

 

[Midnyte_Sun]

Give Punisher time to plan and he could take them all out permanently.

 

[Punisher Rising]

The villains know Gotham like the back of their hand. They know the sewers and backalleys and everything in between. I'd say Frank Castle would be able to take out the powered villains, but the smarter ones, like Two-Face, Joker, Ras, Riddler, Talia, and Hush, would be tougher to take down.

By that same token, I think those villains too would need time to plan. Example, if The Joker just bumps into Frank, Frank would probably blow him away with no hesitation and The Joker won't be prepared enough for him. On the other hand, if The Joker has prep time for Frank he could lure him into a trap and be considerably tougher and trickier to take down.

 

[Punisher Rising]

*bump*

Curious to see more peoples' thoughts. I'm considering doing a story like this, someday.

 

[Morg]

*bump*

Curious to see more peoples' thoughts. I'm considering doing a story like this, someday.

*wags finger* Unless you own those sites hot linking isn't allow

 

[Punisher Rising]

Sorry, didn't know. Just put up the pictures for a visual reference was all.

 

[JonathanKNathan]

I have the Punisher beating everyone but Croc, Catwoman, Clayface, Ivy, Ra's, and Man-Bat. The reason is: Croc, Clayface, Ivy, and Man-Bat present a certain level of metahuman challenge that I don't really think the Punisher is up for. (Granted, for me, the Punisher is the Ennis MAX Punisher.) And I just see Catwoman being able to outsmart Frank pretty well, especially on her turf. And Ra's has an organization far too large for Frank to even really know much about, let alone do anything about.

Most of the rest of them are mob bosses, and Frank would take them out the way Batman does (by going straight to the top) or the way Frank does (by killing everyone, anywhere, ever.)

I suspect I'd vote similarly if Batman ran through Frank's rogues gallery.

Now, put Frank against the Superman rogues, or the Green Lantern rogues, and I don't think much of his chances at all.

 

[Punisher Rising]

I think Frank is definitely outclassed against Superman's rogues, much as I hate to say it. I'd be embarrassed to see him up against someone like Doomsday, who'd own him in mere seconds.

I think if Batman has been able to defeat the villains of his rogues you've mentioned, I think Frank could as well. Frank has taken on entire criminal syndicates on his own and several are practically extinct due to his actions, but Ra's would certainly be unlike any he's faced before. I see Ra's easily being one of the toughest for him to beat and one who would require a ton of prep time and skill. Croc and Man-Bat would also be challenging, but well-aimed AP rounds or rockets could handle them. Catwoman I think could actually be a formidable foe for him if he's unprepared for her or doesn't prep properly, given her swiftness and agility. I don't see Frank killing Selina though, as most of the time she isn't a murderer. I think he'd liken her to Spider-Man, a nuisance but not someone deserving of death. He'd probably just try to knock her out and leave her tied up for the police to find, or possibly even co-erce and bribe her into helping him.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

I think Punisher is most likely to defeat JOker, Sacrecrow, and Two Face. Hell, he might even be able to defeat more.

 

[Punisher Rising]

If Frank is up against the more humanoid Croc I think he can defeat him without too much difficulty, but the monstrously huge Croc like in Hush and the Arkham Asylum video game would be a lot harder.

When it comes to The Joker, I'd like to see Max Punisher up against The Joker as he was in The Joker GN, which is the closest there is thus far to a Max version of him.

 

[JonathanKNathan]

I think if Batman has been able to defeat the villains of his rogues you've mentioned, I think Frank could as well.

I disagree, and it's precisely because of Frank's lethal methods. Frank won't just haul a guy in to the police station. He has to kill them. It's kill-or-be-killed. Just wounding a guy to fight another day is not a win for Frank. Frank also just plain isn't as smart as Batman.

 

[Punisher Rising]

On the subject of Ivy, wouldn't a flamethrower handle her? He could burn her plants and set her ablaze with it. It's been a while since I last read a comic with Ivy as a major threat in it though, so my memory isn't entirely clear how Ivy is with fire.

 

[Punisher Rising]

I just read the Civil War issue of Punisher: War Journal earlier and it got me thinking (spoiler for those who haven't read that comic, you've been warned),

Spoiler

with Frank having planted the kerosene to blow inside the bar the villains were hanging out at, maybe he could try luring some of the villains together to a specific location like the stacked deck and rig that with kerosene or explosives to kill that many of them at once? Granted some of the more intelligent villains may not fall for that, but if he's careful with his luring tactics I'd imagine he could take a lot of them out that way and especially the ones that are human or not that powerful or difficult to kill.

Taking the films into account as well, he could even turn some of the villains who are usually on good terms by scheming to set them against each other and become more vulnerable, like he did with the Saints in the 2004 movie. I know not a lot of fans liked that, but I would think he would save himself a lot of hassle that way and get a lot done and save himself some trouble later.