The Punisher has a 50+ year legacy at Marvel Comics, and like any long-running character, there have been many reboots and variants. Some of these versions, such as Punisher 2099, have become fan favorites. Still others, such as the Marvel MAX, gave the foundation to tell some of the character’s best stories.

Yet for every version of the Punisher that connects with fans, there have been other variants that have not. This may be for a variety of reasons: some stray too far from the concept, while others may take it a little too far. Still, others are just plain goofy. Here are 8 Punisher variants Marvel wants you to forget.

The Timeslip Punisher Put a White Collar Spin on the Character

This Incarnation of the Punisher Took the Concept To Its Creepy Extreme

At the turn of the century, Marvel’s Timeslip invited some of comics’ most popular creators to repurpose the publisher’s biggest characters, including the Punisher. Artist Frank Teran took the Punisher’s inherent psychopathic tendencies to their limit with the Timeslip incarnation. An accountant by trade, the Punisher still lost his family and still waged a war on crime.

Yet this dark variant may have been too dark. The Timeslip Punisher kept a ledger instead of a journal, in which he tried (in vain) to balance the cycle of life and death in New York City. The Punisher is a scary man in any universe, but the Timeslip variant takes it to the extreme.

“FrankenCastle” Was One of Many Attempts to Give the Punisher a Supernatural Gimmick

“FrankenCastle” Has a Cult Following Among Marvel Fans

For a majority of the Punisher’s career, he has waged a street-level war on crime, only meeting other Marvel heroes occasionally. Yet, every so often, Marvel will try a radically different take on the character, and nowhere was this more apparent than in the “Franken-Castle” version. Daken, Wolverine’s son, badly mangles the Punisher, and Frank is “rebuilt” by Morbius.

The Punisher’s “Franken-Castle” era was unabashedly goofy, teaming the character up with many of Marvel’s monstrous heroes. This was not the first attempt at giving the Punisher powers of some sort, but it was the one that connected the most with fans. The “Franken-Castle” era still enjoys a cult following among Punisher fans today.

Move Over Blade, the Punisher Is Getting Into the Vampire Killing Game

The Punisher’s Ruthless Nature Should Make Him an Ideal Vampire Hunter

The Punisher almost exclusively targets “normal” criminals, such as drug dealers, smugglers and other assorted low-lifes, yet when Wolverine becomes the vampire lord on an alternate Earth, Frank is pressed into service as a vampire hunter. In 1991’s What If…? #24, Doctor Strange supercharges Frank Castle with some of his power and charges him to kill an out-of-control Wolverine.

The Punisher has an extensive knowledge of weapons and combat systems, and he brings that to bear in his war on Wolverine and his vampiric lackeys. The “Vampire Hunter” Punisher gives Blade a run for his money. A vampire-killing Punisher is undeniably cool, but this was a one-off, and he will never be seen again.

The Hand Duped the Punisher Into Becoming Their Ultimate Weapon

Marvel Reckoned With the Punisher’s Controversial Legacy The Best Way They Could

By the early 2020’s, the Punisher had become somewhat problematic, thanks to his iconic logo being appropriated by white supremacists who lacked an understanding of the character and his motivations. There were calls for Marvel to retire the Punisher, and the publisher attempted to reckon with Frank’s legacy by making him the ultimate bad guy.

The murderous ninja cult known as the Hand tricked Frank into becoming the “Beast,” a vehicle by which they would finally fulfill their evil schemes. Marvel’s biggest icons tried to reason with Frank, but he was defiant to the bitter end. The series ended on a somewhat ambiguous note, but left the door open for Frank’s return.

A Desk Bound Version of the Punisher Can Still Be Scary

“General Castle” Was an Anti-Mutant Crusader

2011’s Age of X: Universe introduced another alternate Earth variant of the Punisher: General Castle. On this Earth, humans have ramped up their mutant-hunting efforts. In this new reality, the Avengers are an anti-mutant team. Under the direction of General Castle, the Avenger seek out mutants and handle them by any means necessary.

The Punisher is an ex-military officer, and the skills he gained in the Marines have served him well during his war on crime. Yet in the world of Age of X, his military background is warped, pressed into committing hate crimes against mutants. Most incarnations of the Punisher get their hands dirty, making General Castle something of an outlier.

A Funny Animal Version of the Punisher? You Had Better Believe It

The Punfisher Kept Peter Porker Spider-Ham on His Feet

In the mid-1980s, Marvel jumped into the “funny animal” genre by introducing Peter Porker, AKA Spider-Ham. A parade of animal variants of popular Marvel heroes followed, including the Punfisher, who Spider-Ham first encountered in 1988’s Marvel Tales #212. Resembling a giant fish wearing the Punisher’s trademark outfit, the Punfisher was one of the most unique variants to date.

Like many characters on Peter Porker’s Earth (dubbed “Larval Earth”), the Punfisher was played for comedy, forming a nice contrast to the Earth-616 version. However, Porker became an unlikely pop culture icon thanks to the Spider-Verse films. This leaves the door open for other Larval Earth characters, such as the Punfisher, to return.

The “Bleeding Heart” Punisher Has to Be Seen to Be Believed

This Punisher Variant Was Played for Laughs, But Also Made Some Good Points

Marvel has always had the ability to laugh at itself, and in 2005’s Wha…Huh? It cut loose with some wild and funny takes on their characters, including the Punisher. Writer Mark Millar and artist Jim Mahfood asked: “what if the Punisher was a bleeding heart?” and the results were nothing short of hilarious.

At the same time, Millar and Mahfood point out some of the flaws in the Punisher’s mission. The “Bleeding Heart” variant acknowledges the social conditions that push people into crime, and he wants to change that. The Earth-616 Punisher would never think thoughts like those, allowing Millar and Mahfood to show just how brutal Frank Castle can be.

The “Avenging Angel” Punisher Left a Lot to Be Desired

However, Marvel Gets Points For Trying Something Different

The Marvel Knights line launched to critical acclaim and high sales in the late 1990s, giving new life to icons such as Daredevil and the Black Widow. The Punisher was also part of the first Marvel Knights launch, but unlike Daredevil or Black Panther, his book failed to not only connect with fans, and for a variety of reasons.

The book reimagined the Punisher as an “avenging angel,” working for supernatural forces. Fans in 1998 cried “foul,” feeling this new version flew in the face of everything the Punisher had stood for over the years. Marvel must have agreed, as they quickly backpedaled on the changes, restoring the Punisher to his normal self a few years later.