Why is Spidey so chill about the Punisher?

[Spidercide]

Numerous times throughout the decades, even beginning with his first 2 appearances, the Punisher and Spider-Man have had a kind of uneasy alliance.

In ASm #129 (the Punisher’s debut) Peter allows Frank Castle to just walk off. He does the same in ASM #135 and in that issue willingly worked with the guy even though he was packing a sub-machine gun.

And like I said he’s continued to do that sort of thing over the years, such as that 2 issue arc Michelinie and Larsen did in the 1990s.

Spidey has regarded Castle as a lunatic though, such as one particular issue of DeFalco's run where he tried to bring Punisher in. But mostly he is cool to work with him but just doesn't like him killing people.

My question is...isn’t this like...seriously out of character for Spider-Man given Punisher’s murderous tendancies. And if it isn’t out of character...can anyone find a believable way of justifying it?

[Webhead]

Real world reason is that Punisher is a brand that sells, so Spider-Man or any hero with a rule against killing bringing him down would be Marvel shooting themselves on the foot.

In-universe it's either that he does bring him down and Punisher just escapes prison, or he turns a blind eye because he feels "deep down he's doing the right thing". The latter being unsavory for the integrity of the character, since, if it's the right thing to do, why doesn't Spidey do it himself?

[Frontier]

The Superhero community's reaction to the Punisher is inconsistent at best and problematic at worst.

[Tuck]

In-universe it's either that he does bring him down and Punisher just escapes prison, or he turns a blind eye because he feels "deep down he's doing the right thing". The latter being unsavory for the integrity of the character, since, if it's the right thing to do, why doesn't Spidey do it himself?

If you think about it, any superhero of the absolute "no-kill" variety should have problems with police, SHIELD, Wolverine. Obviously there are degrees, but the absolute "no-kill" thing is ultimately a fantasy idea. Frankly, just from the number of people Spider-Man and Batman have punched in the face, there should have been at least a few unintentional deaths over the years. (Beyond that one suicide-by-Spider-Man.)

[Webhead]

If you think about it, any superhero of the absolute "no-kill" variety should have problems with police, SHIELD, Wolverine. Obviously there are degrees, but the absolute "no-kill" thing is ultimately a fantasy idea. Frankly, just from the number of people Spider-Man and Batman have punched in the face, there should have been at least a few unintentional deaths over the years. (Beyond that one suicide-by-Spider-Man.)

Police and SHIELD get a pass since superhero vigilantes try to aid the system, not override it, I guess. Even then, you could point to a number of times where Spidey prevents villains from being shot by police forces.

I get your point though. It's what made The Return of The Sin-Eater so chilling, even if he didn't die from fighting Spidey: it gave us a glipmse on the "realistic" effects that superhuman fighting would have.

[Spidercide]

Real world reason is that Punisher is a brand that sells, so Spider-Man or any hero with a rule against killing bringing him down would be Marvel shooting themselves on the foot.

In-universe it's either that he does bring him down and Punisher just escapes prison, or he turns a blind eye because he feels "deep down he's doing the right thing". The latter being unsavory for the integrity of the character, since, if it's the right thing to do, why doesn't Spidey do it himself?

That doesn't address Spidey's atttiudes to Punisher during his first 2 appearances though. Like I outlined above back in Punisher's debut he let him just walk away. And that was before he was a brand.

I mean for a guy who's origin story is him letting a criminal and potential killer go free, why does he just let a guy who he knows shoots up criminals walk away twice?

[Alan2099]

There have been times Spider-man has let Frank go because he feels that he owes it to him after they work together on something.

I think part of him also sympathies a little bit with Frank, if loosing Uncle Ben messed Peter up that bad, loosing everybody is almost unimaginable to the guy.
Peter is also the eternal optimist. He probably thinks that there's some good in Punisher somewhere. He just isn't quite sure how to get to it.

[Kuwagaton]

It's not a consistent thing at all. Zeb Wells had the Punisher sneak off after tangling Spidey in a trick, Rucka had Peter plead and plead until his fellow Avengers decided to do something about Frank.

[WebLurker]

The OP might like how Ultimate Spider-Man handled the character. Whenever the Punisher appeared, Peter had some sympathy for the crappy things that happened to Castle, but still webbed him up like a criminal. It's one of the few comics I've seen that acknowledges that the Punisher is not a hero or an antihero, just a serial killer with a specific MO, with no redemption or justification for his murders.

[Spidercide]

There have been times Spider-man has let Frank go because he feels that he owes it to him after they work together on something.

I think part of him also sympathies a little bit with Frank, if loosing Uncle Ben messed Peter up that bad, loosing everybody is almost unimaginable to the guy.
Peter is also the eternal optimist. He probably thinks that there's some good in Punisher somewhere. He just isn't quite sure how to get to it.

But again, in the Punisher's debut story in ASM #129, Peter doesn't know about his family's death.

My intention with this thread is to take a look at the characters' interactions from the start and explain them.

[SpideyCeo]

I don't know. Sometimes I think Peter relates to those type of people that deep down he knows is right(hes got dark shades about him that shows he can be cruel and just as viciously cold blooded to a person if pushed), he is just stubborn about the fact naive self righteousness pacifism will always win out and people will value his train of thought not to take a life, like someone said Spideys a optimist that is trying to deny to himself hes just as crazy as they are and wants to ignore their methods out of pride or moral integrity and sanity.

What I wanna know is why os it hard for him and wade to get along more than frank and even eddie.

[Alan2099]

What I wanna know is why os it hard for him and wade to get along more than frank and even eddie.

Venom and Punisher treat killing people as something they need to do. Deadpool treats killing people as something that's just fun.

[boots]

Real world reason is that Punisher is a brand that sells, so Spider-Man or any hero with a rule against killing bringing him down would be Marvel shooting themselves on the foot.

In-universe it's either that he does bring him down and Punisher just escapes prison, or he turns a blind eye because he feels "deep down he's doing the right thing". The latter being unsavory for the integrity of the character, since, if it's the right thing to do, why doesn't Spidey do it himself?

another real world reason? people fail or compromise or are hypocritical all the time, often to make their lives or careers work.

if peter is an "every man" rather than a paragon, then i'm ok with that reasoning. he does his best, but the world is bigger, badder and more complex than he can overcome.

[ViewtifulJC]

because the last thing we need is Spider-Man moralizing Frank Castle for 22 pages. They have an uneasy alliance, same as with Wolverine(who has DEFINITELY murdered more people than Frank, lets be real)

[Webhead]

another real world reason? people fail or compromise or are hypocritical all the time, often to make their lives or careers work.

if peter is an "every man" rather than a paragon, then i'm ok with that reasoning. he does his best, but the world is bigger, badder and more complex than he can overcome.

Yeah but that's just depressing and bleak.

because the last thing we need is Spider-Man moralizing Frank Castle for 22 pages. They have an uneasy alliance, same as with Wolverine(who has DEFINITELY murdered more people than Frank, lets be real)

Dunno, they both have to have body counts on the four digits only counting people they've killed on panel, but Punisher's MO is entirely centered around doing just that, while Wolverine very occasionally refrains from or is unable to kill some enemies.