I recently took a job that has me frequently interacting with veterans, which made me realize...

I recently took a job that has me frequently interacting with veterans, which made me realize, Vietnam happened a long time ago. Is Frank still a Vietnam vet? The average age of a Vietnam veteran is around 54 years old, and that's lowballing it. I know Ennis did a run where Punisher is old as hell, but he's like 20-30 in Daredevil, and you don't usually see the Punisher depicted as an old man. Have they changed his backstory from Vietnam vet to -nondescript war- vet?

He's probably a gulf war vet now or maybe some made up war

MAX universe Punisher is pushing if not over 60, but 616 (or whatever they call it post-Secret Wars) Frank's backstory has been updated to make him an Afghanistan and Iraq veteran IIRC

>Is Frank still a Vietnam vet?
MAX Frank, yes. 616 Frank, no.

But isn't MAX Punisher ________dead?

It ended with "Valley Forge, Valley Forge", user. Don't let anyone tell you different.

But i liked Aarons MAX run.

he got deaged/restored to full health by the Bloodstone

The Daredevil TV series had him as an Afghanistan War vet. I don't know what the comics what are up to, but I presume they retconned it. Didn't they retcon Tony Stark's ties to the Vietnam War as well?

>tfw the Afghanistan War started 16 years ago

Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
Aaron's writing didn't do it for me, I'll admit that, but what really put me off was the art. The Frank face, man.

I can tolerate Dillons art. Yeah he can only draw 2 faces, but it's not horrendously offensive. That and i just love watching Frank kill the shit out of daredevil villains.

Also even if he only had two faces at least they were expressive, and Dillon was an artist with great comedic timing.

Tony's shit actually works better with the whole endless war thing going on now actually

that is ironic because Iraqi troups have been spotted using Punisher logo recently

Greg Rucka very quietly changed it so he fought in the Gulf War.

Yep. My understanding is that he has (or at least his logo) has always been pretty popular with US armed forces, at least.

So US armed forces are edgy teens?

Yep. They recruit young and you end up mentally stunted.

Kinda sad how you can serve in the US army before you can even buy a drink at a bar.

That's what happens when half your country's funds go to the military industrial complex.

I'm not sure that the "edgy teen" excuse really applies though, considering that 46-48% of US enlisted are in the 22-30 age range. From what I've read, it's because of the extreme black and white morality that the Punisher offers. There's no grey-scale with him, it's very black and white, and I guess that appeals to soldiers?

It's easier to say "edgy teens".

What does edgy even mean any more?

t. autist

I could only tolerate Dillon's art on a Frank book. Hated his art on Snikt bub origin

it means "I don't like it" nowadays

>The average age of a Vietnam veteran is around 54 years old, and that's lowballing it.

Saigon fell 42 years ago. Lowballing is a bit of an understatement.

It's also very popular among gun owners, you can't walk into a gun store without seeing some Punisher themed gun parts (AR-15 lowers, grip panels for handguns, etc.)

I'm honestly surprised they don't just sell Punisher comics in gun stores right next to the reloading manuals.

>I guess that appeals to soldiers?
You're not wrong. War is relatively simple for the guy with the gun. You're the good guy and you have friends. The bad guys want to kill your friends. Kill the bad guys.

>The average age of a Vietnam veteran is around 54 years old

Vietnam was 42 years ago, dude. It'd be more like 64 or older.

And no he's not still a Vietnam vet.

Though he did it so quietly that no one seemed to notice, as he was still referred to as a Nam vet in things like The Punisher: Nightmare and Thunderbolts.

So they really solidified it in Cloonan's run.

how is Cloonan's run? I dropped it after like 4 issues of nothing happening at all

There were bits and pieces I liked. Kingpin sacrificing his son to gain power and Frank's final moments.

I haven't read "Punisher: The End" yet, but that sequence for me was pretty definitive.

>Get home. Rest. Heal. There will be another Wilson Fisk tomorrow. And the day after that. Then maybe that day, that day will be the day it all meant something.

Frank simply running out of steam during his perpetual motion is the only logical end I could see for him.

I dunno, is Magneto still a holocaust survivor?

Dillon's Frankface was a prank. Some people bitched about his sameface tendencies, so he cranked it up to 11.

Rest in peace you bastard.

Punisher The end was canon.

Or going off the rails, like in his dreams