He’s Back! Frank Castle Reclaims the Skull in Ultra-Violent ‘Punisher: Red Band’ Series This Fall!
Get ready, True Believers – the one true Punisher is making his explosive return! After a period of controversial changes that saw Frank Castle hang up his war (and another hero take his place), Marvel Comics is officially bringing the original angel of vengeance back. And he’s coming back meaner, bloodier, and more relentless than ever.
Mark your calendars for September 2025, because Frank Castle is set to unleash hell in a brand-new, five-issue limited series titled “Punisher: Red Band.” As the name emphatically suggests, this series is pulling no punches. Expect a visceral, gore-soaked experience, so intense that Marvel will be shipping issues in a polybag due to explicit content. This is the Punisher fans have been clamoring for!
The creative team ready to spill the ink (and blood) includes writer Benjamin Percy and artist Julius Ohta, who previously collaborated on the popular Hellverine miniseries. The first issue will boast a main cover by the legendary Marco Checchetto, with stunning variant covers by E.M. Gist and Mike Zeck.
Marvel’s official description paints a brutal picture: “Reread and reload, True Believers – Frank Castle is BACK. With no memories, a full clip and a thirst for wrathful vengeance, his violent search for answers could only be chronicled in a Red Band series! Bullets will fly, blood will flow, and the citizens and criminals of New York City alike will fear the name THE PUNISHER!”
Writer Benjamin Percy couldn’t contain his excitement: “Frank Castle—that dark-hearted, vengeance machine, that monster who fights monsters—is one of my all-time favorite characters, and Punisher is a series I’ve been gunning to write for a long, long time. Not only is Frank back in black, but this is a Red Band book. You know what that means. I’m going to lean in fully and push the very limits of my favorite genre: hairy psychopaths. This is going to be as gritty and bloody as it gets. Street-level mayhem awaits you.”
This new series signals a welcome return to form, moving away from the recent revamp that saw Frank transformed into a super-powered agent of The Hand and later finding a semblance of peace in Weirdworld. While ex-SHIELD agent Joe Garrison admirably carried the Punisher mantle for a time, it appears the skull is being handed back to its most iconic owner.
While Marvel continues to navigate the real-world misappropriation of the Punisher logo (a theme set to be explored in Daredevil: Born Again), this comic return focuses squarely on delivering the raw, uncompromising Frank Castle that fans have been missing.
Prepare for the carnage: Punisher: Red Band #1 drops on September 10, 2025. It’s time to reload!
