Wolverineand thePunisherhave had some bloody brawls throughout the years, but one fight took things to a whole other level. Frank Castle has his armory and Logan has his claws and a healing factor, so the two find themselves more or less evenly matched in any fight. Their brutal encounter in the early 2000s pushed things even further, as Castle pushed Wolverine’s healing factor to the brink.
Wolverine and the Punisher’s most brutal encounter came inThe Punisher#16-17 by Garth Ennisand Darick Robertson. Ennis had just recently rebooted the Punisher as a part of the Marvel Knights imprint, which brought Frank Castle back to his gritty, street-level roots.
The two heroes run into each other while on the trial of mobster Tony Casino, who has been kidnapping gangsters all over New York and chopping their legs off at the shins. The Punisher wastes no time uponrunning into Wolverine, giving him a face-full of twelve-gauge buckshot as a greeting.
The Punisher and Wolverine Have Their Most Violent Fight - Ever
The Punisher#16 by Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Matt Milla, Wes Abbott, and Richard Starkings
Wolverine survives the blast thanks to his healing factor, although he spends the rest of their “team-up” missing his face, leaving just his Adamantium skull on display. While they don’t necessarily work together, both Wolverine and the Punisher wind up taking on Tony Casino’s forces. They ultimately prevail over Casino, although the Punisher turns on Logan at the end, knowing the X-Man will attempt to bring the gun-toting vigilante to justice. The Punisher slows Logan down by shooting him in the crotch beforecrushing him underfoot by literally flattening Wolverine with a steam-roller.
You May Not Agree With the Punisher, But One Dark Scene Converted Most Marvel Haters
The Punisher has had some dark stories throughout the years, but one story in particular took things to a brutal new level.
The whole encounter is pureLooney Tunes– little more than an ultra-violent showdown between the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, as thePunisher and Wolverinekeep trying to one-up each other in increasingly brutal ways. Wolverine’s healing factor means that he can take all the punishment that Castle can deal out, and Frank doesn’t hold back anything when taking the X-Man on. Given that this is Frank’s title and writer Ennis doesn’t care for superheroes like Wolverine, the Punisher winds up coming out on top of this particular fight, butthe truth is that a battle between the two could go either way.
The Punisher Pushes Wolverine’s Healing Factor to the Limit
An Unforgettable Wolverine Moment
Fans would think thatWolverine and the Punisherwould get along better thanks to both heroes’ willingness to exercise lethal force. But like many other heroes in the Marvel Universe, Logan sees Frank Castle as being just as bad as the villains he puts down. The two have teamed up on more than one occasion, however, and it hasn’t always led to them fighting tooth-and-nail. ThePunishermay have gotten the upper hand overWolverinein this one particular instance, but there’s always the next round to even the odds.
The Punisher#16is available now from Marvel Comics.
Wolverine
The human mutant Wolverine (a.k.a. Logan) was born James Howlett, blessed with a superhuman healing factor, senses, and physiology. Subjecting himself to experimentation to augment his skeleton and claws with adamantium, Logan is as deadly as he is reckless, impulsive, and short-tempered. Making him the X-Men’s wildest and deadliest member, and one of Marvel Comics' biggest stars. He’s played in Fox and Marvel’s movie franchises by Hugh Jackman.
