Frank Castle (Earth-616)/Quotes

Sticky Eddie. Dealer. User. Liked to O.D. business rivals, watch them choke on blood.

Eddie Lau. Local Boy. Martial Artist. Black Belt Minium. In anything you care to name.

They laugh at the law. The rich ones who buy it and twist it to their whims. The other ones, who have nothing to lose, who don't care about themselves, or other people. All the ones who think they're above the law, or outside it, or beyond it. They know all the law is good for is to keep good people in line. And they all laugh. They laugh at the law. But they don't laugh at me.

Harry "Heck" Thornton. 100% Arkansas redneck. Big time pistol fighter. Quick as lightning.

Tall Joe Small: Sniper. Ex-Marine Recon. Capped fifty guys in Desert Storm.

I don't do friends well, Tuggs. But you've been a solid one.

I kill only those who deserve killing, Jackal. And Spider-Man deserves to die!

Well, Spider-Man... it seems we meet again... and this time, I'm in control. This time, you have to face... THE PUNISHER!

I didn't care about the politician haranguing the crowd below -- I'd had enough of his kind when I was younger and believed that sort of drivel -- but I knew what another assassination would do to this country -- and that was something I cared about.

War Journal, Entry Ten -- continued: The Mechanic was my ordinance man in 'Nam. He had a special genius for devising weapons and explosives... a genius that was almost terminated by a claymore mine in Quảng Trị Province. "Maybe its just as well," he said when I first looked him up in the Maryland Veteran's Home... "Guys like us, Captain, we were trained for one thing only... killin'. What good are we to anybody without a war?" At the time, I didn't have a good answer for the Mechanic. I suppose I don't really have one for him even now... but I do have a war.

Remember my face! It's the last thing you're ever going to see ... and I want you to carry the memory of it straight to HELL!

Doesn't take a doctor of theology to know they are not doing the Lord's work.

They laugh at the law. The rich ones who buy it and twist it to their whims. The other ones, who have nothing to lose, who don't care about themselves, or other people. All the ones who think they're above the law, or outside it, or beyond it. They know all the law is good for is to keep good people in line. And they all laugh. They laugh at the law. But they don't laugh at me.

Ninja Training Camp--a commercial mutation of the ancient Japanese way of life--or maybe not. The ninja began as a way of life--of self-preservation against the government. But ninjutsu became a business. Ninjutsu is derived from the written character shinobi, and means to "steal in". All ninja had to be proficient with three major weapons--some were skilled with as many as twenty. The modern ninja looks little like his traditional counterpart. But the purpose remains the same--to steal in, steal secrets, maim, kill and bamboozle your enemies, often at the behest of a wealthy client--or government.

I came to Scully's Ninja Training Camp to find Iris Green, who'd poisoned the middle-weight boxing champ, B.J. Johnson. I found Iris's file seconds before encountering Katherine Yakamoto, daughter of the legendary ninja teacher, Hatsu Yakamoto. Katherine claimed to be on a mission to punish the bogus Scully for his presumption, and I was her unwitting ally. Scully and his men surrounded the house. She split, leaving me holding the bag, so I torched the place and escaped into the surrounding fields...

That's a good deal of lead flying around right where you want it.

Frankenstein, meet Dracula!

The Bengal wasn't after the girl. He was after the priest. I'm the one who's after the girl.

There're over eleven thousand cabs in New York City. And almost nobody has a good word to say about any of them. But when it's raining New Yorkers keep their opinions to themselves. They hate the cabbies even more. New York cabbies are near legendary for their surliness and indifference. It's their suit of armor. But somebody out there hates them with more than the usual venom. Five cabbies in as many weeks. All done with a .44 Magnum. Probably a Charter Arms Bulldog. David Berkowitz's weapon of choice. No sex angle. No big names. The press is ignoring. The cops have better things to do. Time for me to pull a few late nights.

Funny thing about Uzis - the smaller they are, the faster they shoot.

Give it up, Marrs. You played the most dangerous game, and you lost. Take your punishment like a man!

Nobody suspects the caterer.

See? It's not how much it hurts. It's how much you think it'll hurt.

I was the Punisher. Long as there's a crime preying on innocents in the swill of corruption, I will be.

I'm only human

No matter where you turn, there's a decision to be made. Life or death. Right or wrong. Regular or crunchy.

"My way is to cap him in the face and leave him in the street but this way is more ... traditional ..."

Four dead & I'll bet my pulse is still under eighty. Not bad for a warm-up.

We're nothing alike, me and the enemy. Yes, we both deal in death. But they sell theirs. I give it away.

Wait what?! This where you beat the crap out of me for what I did to you? What?!

Wire's around my wide-pipe now...arms going numb...vision red around edges... Gonna die in the stinking subway.

Lower the shield, man! Just walk away! Or you can never go back......and it's lonely as hell once you get here! There's nothing...But the cold satisfaction of punishment!

You wouldn't like where I'm going.

What have I done?

"I won't shoot you, you're an honest cop. But I'm going to shoot him. Even if he goes to prison, he'll be out in five years to do it all over again."

Find a way to live -- by making the thing that wronged you pay!

Survivors aren't your problem.

Sometimes, there is a happy ending, John Blaze. You remember that every time you look at those kids... and you remember that there are some people out there who won't ever have a happy ending.

I think I shoulda just killed you after all, spider.

I'm through being anybody's soldier.

I caught a glimpse of Heaven once. The angels showed me. The idea was I'd kill for them. Clean up their mistakes on Earth. Eventually redeem myself. Tried it. Didn't like it. Told them where to stick it. So they brought me up to Heaven, to see what I'd be missing. A wife. A son. A daughter. All finally at peace. I hadn't seen them since they bled out in my arms. Then I was cast down. Back to a world of killers. Rapists. Psychos. Perverts. A brand new evil every minute, spewed out as fast as men can think them up. A world where pitching a criminal dwarf off a skyscraper to tell his fellow scum you're back is a sane and rational act. The angels thought it would be Hell for me. But they were wrong. Welcome back, Frank. Says New York City.

I'm coming for you, Ma Gnucci. I thought I'd let you know so you could plan your funeral in advance. I got your sons. I got your killers. Now I've got your man-behind-the-man. Or man-behind-the-hag in your case, Ma.

I'm disappointed in the choirboy. He didn't bring out the world class supercreeps. Two females and a blind guy. Looks like I'll still be doing all the heavy lifting.

In a place like this, what comes to hand depends on your imagination. Always did like the zoo.

I'll be watching you.

Links disintegrate -- bolt clanks back and forth behind the thudding roar -- brass rains on the sidewalk--the 'sixty rattles out its song. A song I first heard years ago -- of fireteams dug in on the breaks between the paddyfields, of tracer lasering the jungle night, of Hueys screaming through the void -- of Lieutenant Castle getting short and hating it, wanting 'Nam to last forever -- a lullaby come all the way to New York City -- come to sing you to sleep.

We had a team-up. You were great.

I don't smile much. Don't smile ever. But if I did--this would be one.

Whatever Kriegkopf had on you died with him. The fact he had something means you're dirty. But that's your business. My business is the maniac you let in was sicced on me. Most people involved in attempts to kill me die. Not you. You get a warning. Don't ever give me cause to visit you again. Like I say I can get in anywhere. Nothing stops me. The latest idiots to try are vapor. Nine millimeters. I'm never further away than that.

It's okay, Joe. I caught you.

True story. I never think about it. That way I figure I'll stay sane. But it's true.

All of a sudden, I'm in the mood for a cheeseburger.

Your time's over, Oswald Zinn, "Napoleon", or whatever the hell you call yourself. This is your Waterloo.

Just because you married a bunch of greaseballs, doesn't make you gangsters.

S.H.I.E.L.D. could swoop down in from the sky and put one long-overdue bullet between my eyes right this very second.

Me, I know where I stand. And I don't worry about it. Because when it's over. When they're all dead and the war is over... there'll still be one bullet left. To clear all accounts.

Children. He's using children. I should't be surprised. Children are always in the front lines of a war. At least this won't take long. One look at me and they're frozen. Like they're looking at the angel of death. It's a good start.

You think that's all it'll take to kill me? You think that's all it'll take to kill CAPTAIN AMERICA?

Relax. It'll fade. And if it doesn't, well...You get used to it.

So they're idiots. Nobody with that kind of gear is harmless. Just like the last Stilt-Man. They'll get cocky and overconfident and open fire in a crowd to prove a point and people die when idiots get power.

Inside the first twenty-four hours there won't be an Alceno crew. They're on my list anyway. I'll bump them to the top, give you the space you need to work.

Excuse us. Coming through. Thank you.

One click down for automatic. Two clicks down for semi. Mikhail Kalashnikov was not a man to mess around.

Joey Balls...I thought I killed you.

That's where the caped crowd always misses the point. Some enemies you charge head-on. Others you shoot through the head with a high-powered Skrull sniper rifle from four miles away.

I send them to hell. I sleep just fine.

I didn't break up that biotech weapons deal in New York...and follow the merchandise halfway around the world...to sit on the sidelines watching a five-foot-two hairball try and stab a giant metal dog to death.

You boys like Skynyrd?

Microchip's dead.

Only one way to cure a junkie. Same way you cure a killer.

I see Maria waiting... it's a good lie.

You don't know what it's like to hate. To have your entire life become nothing more than an expression of hate. Nothing else matters. Nothing else can compare. Or taste as sweet.

They kept her alive. Maria. My wife.

Why all of this--for what? Revenge for your old man? Was it worth making me kill you?!

You killed Bridge. Sold my wife to Jigsaw.

A good place to end things. Just don't say another word. Let him remember you like this.

It's called spider-sense. Idiots.

We have a new target, Marine. Form on me. We're going to war.

These are your tools. The rest are the luxuries of the living. The dead don't get music. The dead don't get beauty. The dead don't get flavor, or warmth, or friendship. Because the dead don't feel.

Punisher War Journal entry #22173. Whatever it was that changed Spider-Man's worldview on dealing with criminals... I approve. Which is something that before now, he would never want. And if he goes too far over the edge? I'll be waiting.

We're trying to find the Paguro Family, which has survived everything thrown against them -- me included -- because they're incredibly good at not being found. Other criminals won't talk about them. They're too afraid. If you want to find out anything about the Paguros, you need to be scarier than they are.

No. They're all here. All of the scum. All in one place. It's perfect.

All I need was a reason to be in court also, a trial of my own.

Going against a target guns blazing feels like swimming straight up. I still have to know what kinds of guns to bring, though. Death is immediate... but killing takes patience, or so training says. Sometimes, lots of patience, gathering intel. Been struck in traffic now for 30 minutes. I'm not feeling patient today.

Let's talk outside. Got something for you in the car. Dos Soles brought some weapon in last night. What ever it is, it's not what they used in Mexico. Not chemical. EMP, maybe. Shorted out my NVGs.

Hey, Mercy, that's your name, right? You know what they call me? Punisher. Never had much use for mercy.

No, Tuggs. I'm the doctor here and the patient needs continuity of care. I have to see it through. If I don't stop them, well... everyone will get involved then, anyway.

I'm not afraid of death, Electro. That's a weakness of men. I'm the Punisher.

This feels more and more like fighting a war in someone else's name, fighting a war for politics... victory doesn't feel like victory. When war becomes politics you fight for your brother instead. We are soldiers, not politicians. Not even civilians. But my brothers are gone... so who do I fight for?

What was your mission?

I'm not your sherpa. Come on, sister. Tick, tock.

You made things easy. I don't have to come and find you. You're next on my list.

I don't care when the first time you saw me was, as long as this is the last time. We're done.

Mr. Ruiz. My name is Frank Castle. I thought we could have a little chat.

L.A. is a stray coyote. All it wants is to bite my hand off. But I've held it like a muzzle. Looked into it's eyes. And made it my bitch. It's time to make L.A. do what I want it to.

Can I ask you something? Is it part of your regular duties to scoop up American citizens and bind and terrorize their children?

I can take on a city. But not a nation.

You can hear the truth... or you can kill me.

These men believe they are agents of death. The terrorists think that they bring war. But they don't know how long I've spent in the company of death and war. They don't know... death and war are my allies.

I need some air. One last breath. Pain is drowning. And drowning is --

Don't be an idiot. Too many idiots in masks out there already, living in their fantasy dream world. You think heroes don't kill? Heroes get people killed all the time. Ask your boss. Ask Daredevil. Lotsa people died on his watch.

So choices. Maybe you and I fight, which would give that wannabe Crimson Dynamo idiot time to grab Antonov and leave. In which case nobody dies -- unless the red guy kills us while we're fighting over who's got moral superiority. Or instead, I'll just kill them both right now. You don't even have to look, Daredevil. It'll be our little secret.

Don't be an idiot. Too many idiots in masks out there already, living in their fantasy dream world. You think heroes don't kill? Heroes get people killed all the time. Ask your boss. Ask Daredevil. Lotsa people died on his watch.

Now, how about some ice cream?

That's a ten-inch blade and I'm guessing about a two-inch thick table. How much fat does it have to go through before that thing reaches your heart? Let's find out

You're sending us in with a bunch of mercenaries?

Stranger things have happened.

I don't want to be friends. I just know my limitations. And the fires of Hell will burn this city to the ground if you don't follow me. That enough to get you out of bed, Doc?

No. This isn't your fight. You protected me. It's my turn to protect you.

Wait. Look at them. Look at what they're doing. These aren't monsters. They're people from another realm. Families... just wearing a different skin. That -- that magician. He pulled them into our crossfire. Not a thing I take kindly to.

I don't want to be friends. I just know my limitations. And the fires of Hell will burn this city to the ground if you don't follow me. That enough to get you out of bed, Doc?

I'm looking for a couple of out-of-towners. Nasty-looking dirtbags. Probably real #$%@.

You can fly a World War I biplane?

Wait. Look at them. Look at what they're doing. These aren't monsters. They're people from another realm. Families... just wearing a different skin. That -- that magician. He pulled them into our crossfire. Not a thing I take kindly to.

I can't thank you enough for your hospitality. Are you sure you're safe out here all alone?

Come on, Strange. I don't know if you're the best anymore, but you're the best we got.

You can fly a World War I biplane?

You like magic tricks? Abracadabra.

Stay here until you hear the gunfire stop.

Come on, Strange. I don't know if you're the best anymore, but you're the best we got.

Tag. You're it.

What is even happening?

Never kiss me when I don't have a free hand to shoot you with.

If he doesn't get justice... I promise you... he'll get punishment.

It don't matter who I am, Fred. It matters what I could be, if you and I don't come to an understanding. I could be God's red right hand. I could be His swift and terrible vengeance. I could be your punishment. Hail Hydra.

Go ahead. Give it to him. He's too much of a coward to pull the trigger.

The cockroaches always come out when the lights go off.

Are you up for an adventure tonight?

Don't tell me when the conflict is over.

I'm not here to save your country.

Your goons broke my suit, Fury.

You know I'm close, Fury. Petrov dies today or I do. And I know you're okay with either option.

Two dozen prison guards were killed by Hydra and rioting convicts. Ghost escaped. Baron Zemo escaped. The Supreme Commander is still alive. And you consider tonight a win. That's why I'm not on your team.

Come on, Daredevil! You have to -- wake up!

Either way, this is going as well as all the others.

What's your endgame here, Fury? You going to ask me to stop killing Hydra?

Okay, listen up. This is how it's going to be. You don't like it, you leave now...

I'm not leaving. There are a lot of people here I need to see.

Sounds like a suicide mission in the perfect place for an ambush.

You're following a little too close, Doc.

You know what? I don't care if that's true. That's the greatest story I've ever heard in my life, and I want it to be. Let me get you a beer. For real this time.

Is this where you tell me not to kill them?

No, Doctor... the war never ends.

Whoever this High Evolutionary is, he's got some kind of fetish to be Dr. Frankenstein.

No. We have one more name on our list. This one belongs to me.

Our hearts will give out eventually. Until that day... we fight.

Conversations with Frank Castle (Earth-616)

Spider-Man

What's the difference between you and them?!

The Punisher

The difference is I'm right and they're dead!

— Amazing Spider-Man #285

D.X. Hanrahan

Ye should have rigged your explosives to a dead man's switch!

I'll remember that...!

...That might come handy in the future!

— Punisher: War Zone #22

Luke Cage

All right.

But I call the shots, got it?

Iron Fist

Okay. But no killing.

Right, Luke? Okay, Castle?

!@#&*!

— Heroes for Hire #9

Punisher (Frank Castle)

When this is over, Gadriel, no more secrets!

Gadriel

One way or another, Frank... I have a feeling all your questions are about to be answered.

— Punisher Vol 4 #3

Frank

I know what this girl's gone through. I've seen it. It isn't her fault, what's happening. We have to help her, not kill her.

"Logan"

Might be that's the only way we can help her.

Frank

Help her?

— Wolverine/Punisher Revelation #2

"Logan"

I never figured angels to be so arrogant.

Frank

They're not arrogant. They're bitter. The only thing they know of life is what they see in us.

— Wolverine/Punisher Revelation #4

One bullet. One shot. One chance to stop me killing Dino Gnucci. It's time for that choice you were telling me about. You can't break loose in time. You haven't the space to throw the gun, maybe knock me off my aim. I've got my back to you. I'm wearing Kevlar. It's got to be a headshot.

Now wait a minute--

If you don't shoot you've got a death on your conscience. A death you could have prevented. If you do shoot, you're a killer.

What kind of choice is that...?

The one I make every time I pull the trigger.

— Punisher Vol 5 #3

Joan

Why do you kill them? Bad people, I mean.

Frank Castle

I hate them.

Joan

Oh. I thought it might be because you wanted to make the world safe for good people.

— Punisher Vol 5 #8

Russian

You chill there, Big Boy! I go find something else to hit you with! Chill, get it? Funny joke! Okay, maybe not.

Why can't I just pass out?

— Punisher Vol 5 #10

Ma Gnucci

You scum! You vicious, evil scum! You're no better than I am, Punisher! You think you're better, you think you're on the side of justice, but you're wrong! You're a serial killer, Punisher! You're insane! It's mass murder, whatever you want to call it! It's genocide! What'll you do, keep going 'til we're all dead? Will that make you happy, you sick, twisted creep?! You should put a bullet in your own head, Punisher! That's the only way you'll get any peace! And you know, it too! You're a dead man walking, Punisher! You are damned!

So tell me something I don't know.

— Punisher Vol 5 #12

I guess the Daredevil witness protection program didn't pan out, huh?

Neither has your one-man war on double-decker buses.

— Marvel Knights Vol 2 #2

Black Widow

A boat is coming to pick you up in fifteen minutes -- try to hold out.
If the enemy gets past us, my advice is for you to commit suicide.

You ought to do that anyway.

— Marvel Knights Vol 2 #3

Helen Kim, I can tolerate. I can't stand the sight of you two.

Black Widow

Castle, if it weren't for us you would have drowned in red water!

Calm down. Did you notice? He took the pin with him.

— Marvel Knights Vol 2 #6

You'll have to kill me first.

Whatever.

— Wolverine/Punisher #2

I leave you alone for one minute and you pick a fight with the entire town.

They started it.

And you mean to finish it.

It crossed my mind.

— Wolverine/Punisher #4

Frank? You okay?

Jaw might be busted. Teeth loose. Bleeding under the skin. Tissue damage. Blurred vision. Slight concussion. You asked.

Wish I hadn't.

— Wolverine/Punisher #5

Rachel Cole

I thought I could be like you. Be precise and cold and dead and pure like you. But no one can be like you.

Rachel...no one should be like me.

— Punisher Vol 9 #16

Spider-Man

I don't know if you killed those people or not. I really don't. You've always given cops a pass before, but as you are a nutjob, you may have changed your mind. Heck, one of them may have looked at you funny or called you moo-moo bunny-lips. Whatever, your murderous run is over. You are over, Frank. You're done.

I'm done when I'm dead, kid.

— Punisher: War Zone Vol 3 #1

Black Widow

Your friend, Sergeant Cole-Alves, she is going to die for you, Captain. She will be found guilty in the eyes of the law and they will execute her.

I don't have friends. And the only law here is me.

— Punisher: War Zone Vol 3 #2

Relax. You won this battle.

Spider-Man

But I might have just lost the war.

— Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #10

You know why Murdock wants to get Antonov to Texas?

Because it's the only place he can be brought to justice.

Un-huh. Their version of justice looks a lot more like mine than yours. Texas is a death penalty state.

— Daredevil/Punisher: Seventh Circle Infinite Comic #7

What's the difference? You know Murdock's sending him down there to die. You know that. You know that, and you're making that happen. You want to see him punished just as much as I do.

I do Frank. But not by me. And not by you.

Hnh. Suppose I can always get myself down to Texas.

Yeah, well... so can I.

— Daredevil/Punisher: Seventh Circle Infinite Comic #8

You know why Murdock wants to get Antonov to Texas?

Because it's the only place he can be brought to justice.