#statism

The reason the Punisher gets so much trashing by so many creators, even by the ones that ostensibly like him, is because the entire superhero genre is at odds between its core purpose and the outlook of most people that work in the genre.

Superheroes are inherently anarchist to a certain extent. The core idea behind them is that the actions of the individual can make a difference and affect a positive outcome where the state fails to. The problem with this comes from the fact that most people who write for comics are hardcore statists. It's why so many of them turn towards the idea of superheroes working for the government or under government supervision, or turning on the idea of superheroes completely, or in some cases simply shrugging and making a distinction without a difference between "superheroes" and "vigilantes". The entire premise of their setting requires them to attempt to resolve its fundamental clash with their worldview.

So here's the Punisher. A guy who rejects basically every other foundational principle of superheroes except individual action, but also whose methods solve many of the sticky problems people tend to bring up about other superheroes (they let villains live to go on causing harm). This does in fact make him quite popular among a fanbase who leans harder into the individualistic nature of the medium than many of the writers do.

So now the problem is that writers have this character who embodies the core concept of their medium, perhaps better than most, but who also innately flies in the face of the veneer of respectability and state cooperation virtually every other superhero operates under. Most of them understand that they can't really argue with his drive or the fact that he's taking the law in his own hands, so they have to resort to other methods.

The most often-used is that he's "taking it too far" because gunning down bad guys is a privilege that is reserved for the police and federal agents. Again, this one tends to fail specifically because the entire genre revolves around vigilantism, however they try to dress it up.

So then what they turn to is basically character assassination. Other superheroes hate him, which just proves he's bad (give in to social pressure, kids!). Or they undermine his motivation, implying or outright declaring that he never really loved his family and is just using them as an excuse to be a serial killer. Because every other superhero's dead family is a valid motivation, but not the guy that uses lethal force, his can't be.

And of course, an institution is not "the state" unless they believe they control it.

As more people recognize the reality of living under a concentrated, elite‑driven economic order, class consciousness in America is rising. But naming the system isn’t enough, solidarity and fairer structures only matter when we understand the forces shaping them.

Read More: https://thefreethoughtproject.com/the-state/with-class-consciousness-on-the-rise-it-must-be-accompanied-with-an-embrace-of-anti-statism

“Wants to win? You mean like you do? So you must be winning all over the place, right?”

“…”

“Right?…”

“…utopian.”