after St. Louis police unions instructed officers to publicly display The Punisher's insignia (the mark of a lawless, fascist murderer) the comic book community was quick to point out the stupidity, and the frankly horrifying message sent by supposed peace officers endorsing a maniac. So it's a good thing The Punisher personally confirms he hates cops who see him as a friend… making every cop who "wears his mark" or calls themselves a "fan" look like shameful fool in the process.
-- Andrew Dyce, The Punisher Confirms: He HATES Cops Who Support Him
The punisher is a murdering lawless maniac but I don't think he's a fascist, is he?
I assume they mean "murderer of fascists?"
Has he ever been portrayed in comics killing fascists?
I haven't actually read any Punisher, but it sounded more plausible than The Punisher being fascist
I haven't read a lot, but it would be interesting to see how corporate comics would write an 'antifa' Punisher. They would absolutely slander the movement, like with the Joker (Johann Most + L'Homme qui rit), the Flag Smasher, or Anarky. But it would still be a curious read.
A fascist is someone who supports a single strong leader with total control of the nation. 'Dictator' was an actual position in the Roman Republic; the people could vote to give one man absolute power for a period of time. Makes sense if you're dealing with a natural disaster or invasion and don't have time to go through the usual channels. Fascism became popular in the chaos of the post WW1 era. Things were changing rapidly, and conservatives wanted to rein in the 'undesirables.' Ironically, the Communist Russian Revolution was a huge spur to the creation of numerous fascist parties across Europe.
Frank Castle, the Punisher, is not a fascist. He isn't interested in taking power for himself, and doesn't want a dictator. He often speaks of having the greatest respect for Captain America, the guy who always chooses the side of liberty and fair play. Frank knows that he's a criminal and a murderer. He just doesn't care. IMHO if he and the Joker were both locked up and unable to kill each other, the two would get along fine.
How fascist he is depends on who is writing him. His symbol is literally a stylized Nazi totenkopf, and while he has never voiced support for totalitarian leaders, his solution to crime - escalating the violence - is consistent with fascist ideology.
People used skulls as a symbol of death long before the Nazis.
I don't see the relation? Not all skull motifs are a totenkopf.
Seems like they specifically changed it in Pre production
I don't really see how he could be construed as one, other than the kneejerk "fascism is when bad things".
The whole point is that he's not like cops.