system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Marvel] In-universe, is the Punisher classified as a serial killer?
gpt
Not really. In universe, the cops and feds recognize he's a whole different animal than a serial killer, and The Punisher (plus his accomplices/apprentices/imitators) is a category onto himself. In terms of objective measurements, his addiction to war isn't really targeted the same way as a serial killer; SKs are compelled to a fairly narrow target list for the most part (sickos killing women who remind them of mom, nurses playing "angel of mercy" to those they decide are too far gone to save, etc.), while Castle was just as at home fighting the NVA in the jungle as he is fighting the Maggia in the city streets. He also doesn't suffer a hardcore compulsion to kill; be can (and does) choose to let valid targets slip away if doing so would lead him to a bigger fish. Finally, a lot of killers experience a "cooling off period" after a kill where they have a diminished urge to kill, wheras Frank Castle will kill all day, every day, non-stop, stacking the bodies up like sandbags *and never cool off*.