Well, I’d certainly hate to look silly. Therefore, I concede your argument that the publishers, writers, and superheroes of Marvel Comics have always considered the Punisher a psychotic, murderous villain.
So, with that out of the way… do you have any thoughts as to why actual Vietnam vets never objected more strenuously to the Punisher? I was under the impression that Vietnam vets had to fight against stereotypes of violence and mental instability, and I assume that at least some of them read comics. Yet for decades Marvel has gotten away with publishing stories about an insane, gun-toting Vietnam veteran who routinely massacres huge numbers of people.
If I remember correctly, Frank was a pretty well-adjusted cop, who happened to be a Vietnam vet, until his family was gunned down. Then he snapped, developed a hatred for criminals, and his means of revenge just happened to utilize his military experience. I don’t recall seeing him portrayed as reliving his Vietnam experiences while gunning down criminals. (My collection includes the original miniseries, the first 50 or so issues of the regular The Punisher title, as well as the first 40+ issues of The Punisher War Journal. Also many reprints of his early appearances in Spiderman and Daredevil comics.)
Well, I hadn’t actually intended for my little corollary to Ranchoth’s gun rule to spiral out of control like that. I just found the idea that comics teach ‘guns are bad’ a little amusing, considering that one of the most massively popular and lucrative comic characters of the 1980s/90s was a guy whose only superpower is an inexhaustible assload of automatic weaponry. That’s like saying comics teach that impaling people with adamantium claws is bad.
If I’d thought about it a bit more clearly, I would have preferred the term ‘antihero’ instead of ‘good guy’ to describe the Punisher earlier; thanks for the clarification. Of course, I think we’re all convinced now that the Punisher was always supposed to be a homicidal maniac…
If your super powers depend on a prop which can be used on anyone, even you, the person whom it will be used against most often will be, of course, you. Frex, Wonder Woman’s golden lasso. (Not that I’m complaining, mind you.)
The word “FLICK” is never to be used by anyone, ever.
Every sentence must end in an exclamation point.
The presence of a superhero in the city renders the local police department incapable of solving a crime themselves.
Falling from a great height and hitting the ground is fatal. However, if you are caught by a superhero in mid air, even after falling a great distance, you will suffer no ill effects.
People instinctively recognize uniquely personalized exotic variations of common words. For example, if you announce, *“I am called… KometFyre!” * everyone automatically knows the proper spelling and will never refer to you as “Cometfire” by mistake.
If you are a super-power of any “unconventional” ethnicity, your ridiculous accent will imply you use your native tongue in all casual conversation, but you will lose all ability to speak in a fluid, colloquial, non-cliche manner in said native tongue. Most often you’ll simply pepper your English with phrases made popular to Americans through film and stereotypes. Sacre bleu!
Somewhat related to Terrifel’s post above, anyone who discovers they have super powers must immediately and spontaneously give themselves a ridiculous code name. This applies even if you don’t have a secret identity to protect. It also helps if you announce your name out loud while striking a dramatic pose, even if no one else is there to witness it.
Actually, I find that somewhat believable. The superhero would be able to gradually yet quickly decrease the person’s acceleration and break their fall, so to speak. A regular person would do it without the super-control, but could possibly do so well enough to keep the other person from dying (of course the catcher might die instead).
