Ranking EVERY Version Of The Punisher From Worst To Best

Who's a headshot and who's barely a flesh wound?

By Neil Gray /

Since his first ever appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 in 1974, there's always been something different about Frank Castle.

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Maybe that has something to do with his fondness for brutally slaying anyone he deems worthy of punishment - or his fetching skull t-shirt - but whatever it is, the Punisher has gone from strength to strength in comic book land, finding a certain place in the hearts of fans.

He even made it as a video game character in the much underrated 2004 classic from THQ, but when it comes to film and TV, well... there hasn't been a great deal to shout about.

Only six people have donned the black and white, which is a surprise in itself, as the character has so many different tales to tell, you'd have thought there would be more companies clamouring at Marvel's door for some sweet vigilante justice.

For whatever reason though, that just isn't the case. From animation to big budget live action and down to the small screen again, which actors truly portrayed the character best?

6. Norman Reedus - Iron Man: Rise Of Technovore (2013)

Playing Punisher in this 2013 straight to DVD movie, The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus turns in a surprisingly memorable turn - though there's a catch.

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When Ezekiel Stane unleashes his techno organic weaponry on the world, in an attempt to create a new kind of Eden, it's up to Tony Stark to stop him. On the run from S.H.I.E.L.D and with Hawkeye and Black Widow on his tail he has to find a way to destroy the Technovore before it takes complete control of the planet.

This is full on Japanimation cranked up to 10, with big freaking monsters, mech suits out the wazoo and more doe-eyed soliloquies than you can shake a stick at. It has enough action sequences to easily make the 88 minutes fly by.

Which begs the question: Why is Reedus' Punisher only at number 6?

It has nothing to do with Reedus's performance, he just Norman's the hell out of The Punisher, but the fact remains he's only in it for the grand total of 11 minutes.

Granted, in that time he kills a group of weapons dealers, helps Iron Man with much needed Intel and get's into an epic fight with Hawkeye and Black Widow but this is the definition of a cameo.

Shame really, the world can always use more Norman Reedus.

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