Punisher (2004 film)

"Those who do evil to others - the killers, the rapists, psychos, sadists - you will come to know me well.Frank Castle is dead. Call me... The Punisher."

- The Punisher "I leave this as a declaration of intent, so no one will be confused. One: "Si vis pacem, para bellum." Latin. Boot Camp Sergeant made us recite it like a prayer. "Si vis pacem, para bellum - If you want peace, prepare for war." Two: Frank Castle is dead. He died with his family. Three: in certain extreme situations, the law is inadequate. In order to shame its inadequacy, it is necessary to act outside the law. To pursue... natural justice. This is not vengeance. Revenge is not a valid motive, it's an emotional response. No, not vengeance. Punishment."

- The Punisher Frank Castle was a family man, set to retire from the FBI as an undercover agent. His last job involved him in a sabatoged arms deal where Bobby Saint, the son of mob boss Howard Saint was shot and killed. Frank has a long history in the armed forces as he was actually in the Battle of Kuwait during the Gulf War and was a part of Delta Force. During a family reunion though, a group of assassins are sent to kill him and his family. His family is killed but he manages to survive barely. He eventually recovers and returns to the island where the reunion was, among the wreckage he found a shirt his son had given him. The shirt was a black short sleeve shirt with a white skull on it. Frank knew he had to get his revenge on whoever did this. During the film he has to fight assassins sent out to kill him like Harry Heck and the Russian while trying to find whoever did this to him. He eventually infultraites into Howard Saint's building and kills all the mobsters who are protecting him. He eventually kills John, Bobby's brother and Howard Saint, the man who was behind all of this. The ending of the film shows that he will fight more crime.

Battle vs. The Joker (Nolanverse) (By TheWetWaffle)
Gotham National Bank, 2008

Gotham City, the crime hellhole of the United States. This place was a criminal's paradise and today was an example.

"Everyone on the ground!" a man with a clown mask said as he shot his AKMSU in the air.

Everyone went down as two other men with clown masks went to the bank vault and tried to crack it.

"So how much he payin' ya?" one of the men said as they set their equipment down.

"I don't know, six shares is plenty." the other man replied.

Meanwhile, two other men in clown masks are rappeling to the roof of the bank from another building. Once they land they open up a metal box and cut some wires.

"So why do they call him The Joker?" the one cutting the wires asks.

"He likes to wear make up to intimidate people, war paint." the other man replies.

"And there goes the silent alarm. Weird, it doesn't connect to 911, only a private number." the man says confusingly.

As the man behind him prepared to raise his gun both meet a flurry of 9mm bullets. The bullets were from an MP5A5 held by a man in a trench coat and shirt with a white skull on it.

The man then rushed downstairs and tried to stop this bank robbery.

As this is going on, one of the bank robbers is putting grenades in each hostage's hand.

"Obviously we don't want you to do anything with your hands besides hold on for dear life." one of the bank robbers says.

At the vault, the men that have to crack the vault are having a pretty easy job, it's all going well until they hear footsteps. One of the men takes aim with his Glock 17 and investigates, only to meet a similar fate as the men from the roof.

The other man grabs his AKMSU and fires, not hitting a thing. He then gets shot in the chest and head by the strange man.

Another man in a clown mask sees this and opens fire with his M76. The man in the trench coat takes cover in the vault room but gets hit in the shoulder. He then takes out the M4A1 he had slung over his shoulder and puts the goon down.

"What was that?" one of the robbers who took care of the hostages asked. "I'll check it out."

He went up to the vault room but found nothing but three corpses. He tries to run back but sees the man.

"You're... you're..... Frank Castle!" he says in fear.

Castle opens fire with his M4A1 and moves on.

"What's taking him so long?" the last man asks.

Then the unthinkable happen, an employee with a sawed off Remington 870 in his desk shoots at the masked man but missed.

The masked man then opens fire with his M76, hitting the man in the head. The man takes the Remington and removes his mask, revealing the blood red lips, ghostly white face, and black eyes that have haunted Gotham.

The Joker. That's the name he went by in this town and everyone was scared of him.

Then he sees a figure at the opposite side of the bank. Then he notices that this wasn't a man in a clown mask but a name he's been hearing a lot lately.

"Frank Castle, The Punisher." The Joker says.

Castle then opens fire with his M4A1 but notices he's out of ammo. He then takes out the sawed off double barrel shotgun he had and tries to sneak up on The Joker.

The Joker just sprays with his M76 until he runs dry. He then picks up the sawed off Remington 870 and aims but can't find Castle. He then sees Castle but he unloads both of his shells rapidly.

The Joker laughs but got hit with a pellet from one of the shells. He then happily unloads his own shotgun shells but narrowly misses Castle.

"Great." The Joker says as he drops his Remington and takes out his Glock 17.

Castle then takes out his own pistols, his dual custom M1911A1s.

Both men unload their pistols towards each other. As they shoot they manage to hit each other in the shoulder.

Castle, with his already injured shoulder, grabs it in pain and notices The Joker with his Glock pointed at his head. The Joker pulls the trigger only to reveal a click that surprises both men.

Thinking fast, Castle hits The Joker in the mid section and takes out his butterfly knife. The Joker then takes out his Smith and Wesson Extractor 1600 and tries to stab Castle. Castle then thrusts his knife into The Joker's leg and twists it. The Joker howls in pain as Castle's knife tears his leg. The Joker then kicks The Punisher in the face with his other leg, falling down in the process.

All of a sudden, a school bus comes crashing in the bank. The back door opened, revealing the driver was a member of The Joker Gang.

"Come on boss!" the goon said.

"If you excuse me, I have to leave now." The Joker said limping towards his escape vehicle.

The Joker threw the sawed off Remington 870 and entered the bus. But didn't close the door. Instead he was grabbing something. He revealed his Norinco Type 69 RPG and takes aim at Castle.

"Here's a little gift." The Joker said grinning.

Castle looks of as The Joker aims the Type 69 but remembers the M203 he had on his M4A1. He looks at the M4A1 and rushes to it. But he was too slow, seemingly destroyed from the blast.

"Let's go." The Joker says. Disappointed he didn't get any money but satisfied he was able to kill The Punisher.

Then the unthinkable happens, a grenade shot flew to the bus killing The Joker and his goon in a firey explosion.

Castle looks at the carnage and the hostages. Then he hears police sirens wailing off in the distance. The Punisher leaves before the GCPD could spot him.

At an alleyway across from the Gotham National Bank, a white van is looking off at the scene with cops holding curious civilians back from the damage of the robbery. People looked in shock as they saw the destroyed school bus. Other people took pictures as more body bags exited the building and more crying hostages felt their loved one's embrace.

A male voice rang from the radio, "Today at the Gotham National Bank a failed robbery took place as the criminal known as The Joker attempted to steal money from the vault. This failed when him and his gang members were killed by an unknown man. The manager of the Gotham National Bank was also killed as he tried to shoot the criminals only to be shot himself. Hostages say the person who foiled the robbery was a caucasian male in his mid 30s to early 40s, of muscular build and had black hair. He also wore a black trench coat and black shirt with a white skull on it. Police believe that this man was vigilante Frank Castle, also known as The Punisher, is a former Delta Force member who committed several murders after the deaths of his family. If you have the whereabouts of Frank Castle, do not approach him and call the GCPD. This is Mike Engel of GCN, signing out."

With a blank look on his face, Frank turned the ignition and drove off onto the road. He then said "The guilty shall be punished." as he drove off, victorious.

WINNER: THE PUNISHER

Expert's Opinion
While The Punisher was outnumbered, he was better trained and mentally healthy compared to The Joker. The Joker was untrained and was only more brutal than Castle, which wasn't enough to get him the win.

To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.