I was going to post this question in the movie forum, since it was the movie trailer that is sparking this interest, but the history is all in the comics right?

So, from the trailer for the Punisher all I can tell is that it is a guy that almost gets killed and loses his family, so he needs to "punish" the ones responsible. To me this seems like a rehashed Van Damn movie.

Ok, so what makes the Punisher a super hero? Does he have any powers at all? Or does he just love guns that much?

It's been years since I was into super hero comics, but if I remember correctly The Punisher isn't a superhero. He's a vigilante. I believe his first appearance was in Amazing Spiderman as a villian. The Punisher didn't get his own series till years later in the mid 80's.

He is not a super-hero. He has no super powers just a ton of guns and no feelings really left about shooting as many people as possible. The Punisher comic just switched to Marvel's MAX line of comics this week. MAX comics are more adult oriented and feature more violence, language, and sometimes nudity.

So, he is like Batman, but with absolutely no remorse. Got it. Thanks for the info.

He's like Batman, without the psychological stability. He's closer to Bronson's character in the Deathwish movies, where an ordinary guy shoots criminals.

I picked the first issue up on Wednesday and was surprised how much I actually enjoyed it. I've never liked the character and the bit I've read of Ennis' previous work on the book had left me flat, but this was good. Go figure.

Ennis does his best work when he is working on a MAX or Vertigo type title. He really needs to be able to go all out. The should skip making another Punisher movie and make a Preacher movie.

Here here, that could potentially be really good.