If the Punisher became a valuable piece of intellectual property during the closing decades of the twentieth century, he has become a global icon in the twenty-first.
In this carefully argued study, Kent Worcester explores the sometimes ridiculous and often socially resonant storyverse of the most famous rageaholic in popular culture. As Worcester reminds us, punishment is a political and social construct. Violence does not imply or claim legitimacy. Punishment does. To talk about punishment is to
ask who deserves to be punished, who decides who deserves to be punished, and what form the punishment should take. All costumed heroes have their political moments; the Punisher is political. He inhabits the most politically charged corner of the entire Marvel Universe. His adventures should attract our interest for precisely
this reason.
