The Punisher was the only hero hunting real villains
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They had a good interaction in Civil War after Castle gunned down two villains who were trying to join the Resistance under Cap. Keep in mind Castle does this in full view of the entire room of heroes.
Cap then beats the shit out of him.
To be honest, Frank Castle was more hardline on his morals than Captain America. Two villains offered their services in order to protect their evil deeds and criminal actions. Steve never got a chance to accept their offer, because Frank wasn't going to tolerate an alliance with evil... ever.
That was the massive difference between the Punisher and Microchip.
The Punisher is a moral absolutist who doesn't believe reform is possible. Frank catalogs bad guys, makes a list, and then puts them in body bags.
Microchip is all about compromise. That is why he is working with an serial murder like Frank. Microchip armed and equipped Frank, gave him access to broad reaching intelligence sources and ... sometimes suggests targets for the Punisher; who sometimes might agree to kill them.
If Microchip wasn't working with the Punisher he would be working with CIA black bag operations or Mossad. He might even have found a gang to wipe out all of the others. Microchip knows that there is no such thing as an omelet without breaking eggs.
The were very different characters, and I really enjoyed the contrast.
Besides, sometimes Microchip was shown to be a cold blooded bastard too.
He'd have to be pretty cold bloded to be the guy making the list.
Frank is like a broken man who's taken up the mantel of the Angel Of Death. I feel like a person like that would understand that the people on his list, are already beyond saving. That's not for most humans in a Christian value system to understand, but God will not hesitate to smite you. Thing is, Punisher is not effectively an extension of God's wrath. What makes him evil is that he's an extension of man's wrath. I think that's what would make him different from someone like The Shadow.
Frank would shrug and tell you that when God wants to turn up and do the job, then he'll help.
The character of the Punisher sharply underscores the difference between policing and warfare. Frank is a soldier, and he uses the skills and tactics of warfare to find and remove the enemy. Reform has failed and these are evil people and he is removing them.
In continuity Frank has literally been sent to hell for his murders. He came back and got on with his job. Damnation holds no fear for him. His actions are selfless.
I don't believe Frank is right. Society works because almost all individuals want to be good and follow the rules. The Justice system is flawed but history has shown that it is better than any other yet tried.
Yet all that breaks down if even a small minority decides they don't care to play by the rules. If even as much as 5% of society abandons law, then society will collapse. We can see that already happening in Chicago and Portland.
So now what?