Punisher's Origin Makes Way More Sense If He Didn't Love His Family
Since his inception, the Punisher has always been a troubled character. As a war veteran scarred by the horrors of battle, Frank Castle returns home only to promptly find his family violently taken away from him. His trauma shaped him to become one of the Marvel Universe’s most efficient vigilantes, and ruthless killers. While this premise makes for fascinating reading, in reality the Punisher’s origins would make a lot more sense if he didn’t love his family, at least, not in the traditional sense of the word.
Frank Castle was a highly efficient soldier during his time in the army. In his various origins, he’s been everything from a gifted infantryman to an exceptionally deadly black ops soldier. In either case, he saw combat action, killed enemy combatants, and came home a war hero, ready to return to his family. When tragedy strikes again and his family is killed by criminals, Frank Castle enlists in a new kind of war, creating the Punisher persona and violently lashing out at criminals.
Related: Punisher's Love For Captain America Gets A Disturbing New Origin
Over many years, the Punisher has amassed a frightening body-count. While colloquially, any civilian individual with a kill-count in the triple digits earns the title of a “psychopath” or “psycho” in the public consciousness, there is a lot more going on with Frank Castle's psychological pathology. The label of psychopathy falls apart quickly when examining the character deeper. Frank clearly has a love for his family, and feels their loss. However, one of the hallmarks of psychopathy is a lack of care or love for other human beings. Rather than being a psychopath, Frank Castle instead presents more characteristics corresponding to a sociopath, or a narcissist
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