In the same story he kills a bunch of dudes at once by dropping a giant Christmas tree on them. The ’90s were a strange time.
—Punisher Holiday Special #1, 1993
And Then There Was The Time That the Punisher Stabbed a Man To Death With Santa’s Reindeer
The speed lines on his costume, and his pose, make me think of the Flash.
And to think, this happened on the standard Earth 616 Marvel Universe.
Look like Frank was growing some Reed Richards hair back in the 90’s. Also I like to think that the reindeer up front is straight up exploding instead of actually going through the guy.
[Mike Nelson voice]
“Santa CLAWS comes with a gift of HO,HO,HORROR to crime. It’s Christmas… in DEATHlehem!”
I call this one the “horror” special, where Frank acts just like Freddy or Jason…systematically killing everyone in the mall, in the dark, in a variety of ways (power tools are even involved).
There’s also a double-page splash of Punisher raining down death from above with that afore-mentioned tree :P
Strange… and wonderful.
My favorite Christmas issue with the punisher was “Slay Ride”> Frank gets kicked out of Micro’s house because he just watches “It’s a Wonderful Life” over and over while he cleans his guns, and he’s driving Micro crazy.
Oh, and there’s a serial killer on a greyhound bus that gets trapped in an avalanche. Frank deals with it.
Oh, the ninties. I had this one. Had giant foil ornaments on the cover, right?
“Frank deals with it.” Should be the last line of every Punisher solicitation ever.
“Ma Gnucci sends an unstoppable killer known only as the Russian after the Punisher! Frank deals with it.”
“Chopped to bits by Wolverine, Morbius and the Man-Thing stitch the Punisher back together in a gruesome mockery of life! Frank deals with it.”
I remember when this issue came out. One of the other kids at daycare had it and we all crowded around to watch the Punisher kill people in a mall at Christmas.
It stands with the climax of Gremlins as the prominent Christmas memory from my early childhood.
The 90’s were a time when the true spirit of Christmas reigned.
My favorite Christmas issue with the punisher was “Slay Rideâ€> Frank gets kicked out of Micro’s house because he just watches “It’s a Wonderful Life†over and over while he cleans his guns, and he’s driving Micro crazy.
Maakes total sense. Capra’s original script involved George Baily systematically slaughtering his way through the town until he finally got to the man at the top… Mr. Potter-whom he methodically tortured and dismembered. Eventually, Capra went another direction.
Oh man, I never knew about “Slay Ride.” Thanks for the tip! I’m currently writing a detailed literary analysis of Punisher Christmas Specials – does anyone know of any other issues within the series themselves I should be aware of?
“Bring yo’ mama… she’ll like it too.”
It strikes me that Frank Castle mounting a criminals torso on a shopping mall wall through the judicious application of a display reindeer is a hell of a lot LESS strange than a whole bunch of crap from the nineties.
Frank obviously saw Silent Night, Deadly Night.
“Death by antlers” is a classic.
Punisher Holiday Special. What else needs to be said?
Strange… or radical?
Only Frank Castle could combine the sacred America icons of Rudolph, and zero-tolerance policies on crime into one grand, blistering statement on our life and times.
God bless us, every one.
So uh, did anyone else spend a while wondering why Santa was so tiny?
The phrase sounds so much better when you insert the appropriate punctuation:
Punisher Holiday? Special.
Thom –
“Eventually, Capra went another direction.”
Eventually? Or Sadly?