Marvel’s Punisher killed a god, so his wife divorced him

Punisher, from writer Jason Aaron and artists Jesús Saiz and Paul Azaceta, is not explicitly a book that tries to redeem a character co-opted by hate, but it’s not a book that’s unaware of the context in which it exists.

And that’s never felt more sneakily true than in its conclusion, in which — after becoming an unstoppable god of murder and war — Frank Castle’s resurrected wife undoes his godlike powers, divorces him, and takes all of his money.

What’s happening on the pages of your favorite comics? We’ll tell you. Welcome to Monday Funnies, Polygon’s weekly list of the books that our comics editor enjoyed this past week. It’s part society pages of superhero lives, part reading recommendations, part “look at this cool art.” There may be some spoilers. The context may be lacking. The comics will be fantastic. You can read it if you’ve missed out on the last issue.

Maria Castle, the Punisher’s resurrected wife, explains that on the fateful day that her murder occurred and sparked his life of revenge and violence, she was going to ask him for a divorce. Now that she’s alive again, she’s taken all his money, donated half to charity in their kids’ names. “That’s how you honor your dead family, Frank. Not by using them as an excuse for slaughter,” she tells him.

This logline is a great way to get started. PunisherFrank Castle would be the avatar for the Beast, the murder god worshipped by Daredevil’s Hand ninjas. Saiz’s epic graphics matched the gonzo theme. Frank developed a whole suite of superpowers and used them to strike down armies and murder Ares himself — the book was anything but about taking out low-level criminals and earthly mobsters.

Azaceta, on the other hand, delivered the flashbacks to the story, redefining Frank’s childhood in the key of “evil-god-destined serial killer” and telling the story of Frank’s wife, Maria Castle, in such a way as to make it clear that if there was ever anything good in Frank it was from his family — who grew to hate and fear him for loving war more than them.

This is a good question Punisher series gonna stop people from worshiping the character’s murders as righteous behavior? No. There ain’t no book anybody can write or draw that’s gonna do that. Did you find it fascinating to read? Was the conclusion one that quietly subdued Frank, in ways those people also consider important? Yes.

In better news, DC’s Pride special establishes that Batman has a Letterboxd and he gave WeekendFive stars. Each time an artist adds a new detail that portrays Batman as a well-meaning but emotionally repressed ally of his gay friends and family members, an angel gains wings.

As foretold, Kamala Khan was killed in this week’s Amazing Spider-Man, complete with a very contrived callback to her beloved update on “with great power comes great responsibility.” The wait is on to see how Marvel Comics brings her back in time for Marvels hits this November — my money is on a Krakoan resurrection, with the potential twist of making her canonically a mutant, which would be pretty funny. It’s not funny enough to compensate for the shallowness of this death story, but it is pretty funny.

It’s been a couple weeks since this comic came out, but I just want all the Raven/Beast Boy shippers out there to know: DC’s new TitansSeries has got your back.

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