Gerry Conway, who co-created The Punisher wants to take his character’s logo back from the police. Touted as one of the most controversy-plagued characters in the superhero category, The Punisher character, whose real name is Frank Castle witnesses the death of his family at the hands of criminals. Following this incident, Castle decides to take advantage of his military training and becomes New York City's self-proclaimed judge, jury, and executioner.
The Punisher has fought alongside some of Marvel's most popular heroes; however, fans as well as fictional characters argue about his methods. While Captain America or Spider-Man for instance hand the criminals over to the concerned authorities, Castle believes he is justified to kill the criminals who oppose him.
Citing the character's unconventional moral code, co-creator Gerry Conway finds it so mind-bending that The Punisher’s controversial white skull logo has garnered huge popularity among law enforcement, with many using it for pro-police slogans and sporting it on their uniforms. Amid the ongoing demonstrations against racial injustice and police brutality triggered by the death of George Floyd, who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for over nine minutes, Conway is hoping to place the logo in a different frame of reference.
In a statement, Conway unveiled a clothing line that integrates The Punisher’s logo into Black Lives Matter products. The popular comic book writer points out that for a long time, symbols linked to the character he co-created have been used by forces of oppression and to threaten black Americans.
The Punisher's skull logo was never meant to be used as a sign of oppression, he explains. Conway wrote that the logo represents a systematic failure of equal justice, adding that it is time to reclaim his symbol for Black Lives Matter and the cause of equal justice.
Conway took to Twitter to reveal that a major portion of the designs was done by young artists of color and announce that the earnings from merchandise sales will go to the Black Lives Matter organization. He made similar comments last year during an interview with SyfyWire when he was responding to a question about police using the logo.
Emphasizing that the Punisher represents the Justice system's failure, Conway said he is disturbed every time he sees authority figures adopting his iconography. Conway explains that the character makes accusations about the social moral authority downfall as well as the fact that some people can't rely on the police, military, and similar institutions to do justice.