Two of Marvel’s most popular characters are about to fight each other. As ComicBook reports, writer Fred Van Lente and artist Pepe Perez are teaming up to create Deadpool vs. The Punisher, a new versus comic series hitting store shelves in April.
According to Van Lente, the series follows the intense rivalry between Deadpool and the Punisher, which began with their inclusion in the Thunderbolts team. The Punisher plans to go after The Bank, a character who is “one of Wade Wilson’s best friends,” leaving Frank Castle to target Wilson along the way. While the two have never gotten along, the antagonism only plans to increase within this series, with the Punisher and Deadpool directly at odds with one another.
Calling the story a “classic ultraviolent super-crime tragi-comedy,” Van Lente is excited to see the superhero dynamic play out between the two rivals. “To me you know Punisher is best as a killing machine,” he said. “I wouldn’t call him a ‘humorless’ one, though, because when Garth Ennis was writing him there was certainly quite a bit of deadpan black humor to him, and that’s definitely my take. Likewise, whenever I’ve done Deadpool I love writing his quips and burns as much as the next person, but what makes him a compelling character is that element of tragedy to him.”
2017 looks to be a big year for the Punisher. After the string of success that the Marvel Netflix series have experienced, the Punisher will be getting his own series on the online distributor, titled The Punisher. Filming takes place in New York City, with Jon Bernthal taking on his role from the original Daredevil series. The upcoming Netflix TV show is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the same as the films and the Marvel television series. While intended as a spin-off to Daredevil, it follows the Punisher through his own storyline.
