The Punisher, also known as The Punisher: Purgatory, is a four-issue comic book limited series written by Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski, illustrated by Bernie Wrightson, and published by Marvel Comics (through the Marvel Knights imprint) from 1998 to 1999. The series was a departure from typical Punisher stories in that it dealt with supernatural themes. Plot After Frank Castle's suicide, the alley where he shot himself became a shrine for all the downtrodden victims of crime. However, a figure with glowing eyes and an arcane sigil on his forehead has been carrying out similar deeds as the Punisher once did. This phantom slowly begins to remember who he is, eventually discovering not only the possession that drives him, but the guardian angel that failed to save his family. Prints Issues "Purgatory, Part 1: The Harvest" "Purgatory, Part 2: The Mark of Cain" "Purgatory, Part 3: A Gathering of Angels" "Purgatory, Part 4: The Hour of Judgment" Continuity The angelic rendition of the Punisher reappears in the four-issue miniseries Wolverine/The Punisher: Revelation. In The Punisher series following this one, the character has gone back to being a mortal vigilante combating mundane criminals; the return to the status quo is explained via the Punisher commenting that he had grown weary of doing Heaven's bidding (referring to the offer made to him at the end of the aforementioned Revelation) and had quit its employ after telling the angels "where to stick it". The Egyptian deity Khonshu expressed interest in the Punisher, but was deterred from anointing him by the Punisher's connection to Olivier, remarking that the vigilante "belongs to another" and that he "flies his lord's banner" (the Punisher's skull insignia). Later, while a member of the Thunderbolts, the Punisher is healed by an angel's feather after being fatally wounded. When Deadpool asks why the feather was drawn to him, the Punisher snaps, "I don't want to talk about it". The series retcons the events in Marvel Super Action #1, which had the Costa brothers die at the hands of an assassin named Audrey, not the Punisher. Additionally, Olivier insinuates that his own skull-like face inspired the Punisher's emblem, when it had earlier been implied in The 'Nam that the inspiration for the symbol came from a Viet Cong sniper called Monkey. Reception The comic has been ridiculed for its revamping of the Punisher mythos, with Matt Duarte of The Weekly