Another response to PUNISHER #3's Moral Dilemma—Reversed:

Rob replies
>> WHAT DO YOU DO?

Oh, but that's a simple one. I drop my gun and smile. I am silent as they cuff me and drive me off to the precinct. <<

Curiously, my buddy Ron also said this riddle was simple. Unfortunately, he came to the exact opposite of your conclusion. He said the Punisher would willingly die, but not before pumping as many bullets into the psycho-killer as possible.

Hmm. One of you grossly misunderstands the Punisher's personality, since you chose polar-opposite, mutually exclusive answers. Or maybe the riddle is trickier than either of you realized.

>> I have been escaping such arrests for years now. There're very important people out there who want me running around frank and free. <<

That only happens in comic books. In the real world, perhaps even in the Marvel world, the Punisher would be sent to the planet's highest-security prison. You don't hear about jailbreaks that often in the MU anymore, and even the most powerful criminals stay locked up for years, so you can assume Frank wouldn't be going anywhere soon.

>> For I am the Gunman. The City is afraid, she turns to me for protection. <<

The city has the FF, Avengers, Spider-Man, and Daredevil for that. Not to mention Speedball and the New Warriors.

>> The scum of her streets are the vicious lice, tormenting her seething flesh. <<

The city has exterminators for that. If they're busy, someone like Vermin can take care of the lice, although an ointment is usually sufficient.

>> there're all the other Gunmen, in the comic books and movies and novels, blessing and asserting my presence, making me easy to live with <<

In the comics, there are also people like Captain America and DD who hunt down gunmen like Scourge. That they wouldn't treat Frank the same is a total artifice. The Punisher gets a free pass because his books sell, not because it makes sense within the MU's "logic."

>> People like my unseen supporters in the city government, the media. <<

Politicians and the media would be clamoring for the capture of a vigilante like the Punisher. The surest route to reelection or ratings is to clamor for a crackdown on crime.

You're kidding yourself if you think there'd be city-wide approval for someone like Frank. In reality, huge swaths of most cities don't even trust the police. They certainly wouldn't trust some white-trash nutcase who assassinated their fathers, husbands, and brothers for minor offenses (e.g., guarding a warehouse where drugs are kept, PUNISHER #1-2).

>> And don't forget my biggest fan club. The NYPD. Trigger-happy, vicious fascists no doubt, but my eager helpers nevertheless <<

Only in comics, not in reality. The police don't want competition from anyone. They like being "the man." In most cases they disdain the help of superheroes. That's how it would be in reality too—not support for a loose cannon like Castle.

>> This here won't stop me from getting that little murdering fuck before he gets anyone else. <<

Wrong. This psycho-killer is so enraged that he triggers a bomb as soon as the the police disarm the Punisher and take him away, just to spite him. Even if Frank does find an escape route, it's likely to take him hours, days, or weeks. In that time, our killer will have killed dozens of people—maybe hundreds or thousands.

Apparently, Frank is a hypocrite who values his life and his political agenda more than the innocent lives he supposedly "protects." According to your solution to the puzzle, that is.

>> No, the Gunman is to punish the Guilty. <<

It's to punish the guilty and anyone associated with the guilty, as long as they participate in the small subset of crimes Frank deems worthy of prosecution. If his goal were simply to punish the guilty, he'd go after master villains like Dr. Doom and Magneto, mass killers like Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, and white-collar criminals like the makers of Firestone tires (who have killed more people than most drug dealers have).

Much like our criminal justice system, Frank's crusade is very, very biased against certain classes of people. Which is why I call it a political agenda.

>> In a society that's resting on a foundation of crimes, lawless at its heart, the Gunman is the only hope for justice to millions for whom other justice is out of reach. <<

Millions? No, that's precisely what Frank doesn't do. He doesn't go after white-collar or corporate or political criminals who have harmed millions. What he does do is go after small-time punk criminals who have harmed tens or twenties.

>> I will save many more later. It's simple mathematics. <<

Nadia, meet Ron. Ron, Nadia.

>> Note from the author: IMHO I would make a fine Gunman. Do you think a woman can embody the archetype, Rob? <<

She could try, but I'm not sure people would buy it. Women are supposed to be sweet, helpful, and nurturing, so a Femme Nikita goes against our cultural mindset. Compare your hyper-aggressive gunwoman to someone like Hillary Clinton, who's also much more aggressive than our society accepts. The outcome probably would be similar: massive support from some quarters, massive hate and disgust from others.

Rob

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