Marvel Universe vs. the Punisher

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

A terrible plague has swept the Earth, turning everyone – human, hero, villain, god and monster — into sadistic cannibal predators. As Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Thing and other infected start a feeding frenzy, the world falls in a wave of insatiable violence. Now, five years later, one man hunts the wasteland that was New York City. One man stands against the hordes of monsters who hunt the night. He is the Punisher, the Last Gun on Earth, and he has an endless supply of ammunition.

Marvel Universe vs. the Punisher is a four-issue miniseries by Jonathan Maberry and Goran Parlov, set in an alternate universe where an accidental bio-weapon spill has mutated almost every major Marvel character with the notable exception of Frank Castle. In an effort to make up for having caused that spill, Castle hunts the former heroes and villains throughout what used to be New York City.

The original miniseries was followed by a prequel, Marvel Universe vs. Wolverine. Set during the original outbreak, it follows Logan and a handful of other surviving heroes as they do their best to survive against overwhelming odds. Unfortunately for Wolverine, as we know from the original series, there's one big obstacle in their way. His name is the Hulk.

Not to be confused with the 1995 one-shot comic, Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe, by Garth Ennis and Doug Braithwaite.

Tropes used in Marvel Universe vs. the Punisher include:
  • Anti-Hero: The Punisher, as usual.
  • After the End
  • Apocalypse How: New York City is a depopulated hellhole, occupied by cannibal mutants, the very occasional uninfected survivor, and Frank Castle. It is heavily implied that the plague has spread everywhere else in the world as well. The handful of surviving super heroes and scientists who escaped the city, however, have successfully evacuated to a hidden base in Antarctica, where they're working on a cure, and more survivors arrive at their facility every day. The world could conceivably rebuild.
  • Butt Monkey: Deadpool.
  • Downer Ending
  • Evil Versus Evil
  • Hate Plague
  • Mercy Kill: Castle executes Captain America, by his request, just before Cap succumbs to the plague.
  • One-Man Army
  • People Farms
  • The Immune: Castle got a super-dose of the original bio-weapon that caused the plague, so he's completely immune to it. Characters with healing factors, like Wolverine and Deadpool, can feel the infection in their systems, but can also opt to ignore it if they exercise enough willpower.
  • The Plague
  • Preacher Man
  • Technically Living Zombie: The plague in this alternate reality is a lot more like some kind of hell-blend between the Crossed and Plagas infection. Higher brain functions take a hike and all victims devolve into members of cannibalistic, tribal societies.
  • Those Who Fight Monsters
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