PUNISHER SKULL LOGO IS A SYMBOL IN MILITARY FOR MANY

The Punisher by Marvel isn’t only a fan-favourite comic character. For many in the military, he’s a symbol. His The Punisher skull logo is also worn as a badge of honour among those who serve. However, for British SAS troops, this practice is over.

 

 

 

 

 

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BRITISH SAS TROOPS BANS THE PUNISHER SKULL LOGO

According to Daily Star, those serving in the SAS- Special Air Force- have been banned from wearing the logo on their helmet. This is due to its similarity to the Nazi SS Death’s Head symbol from WW II. The soldiers adopted the Punisher skull logo after serving alongside US Navy Seals in Iraq.

While the use of this skull is uncommon, it’s not something that Punisher creator Gerry Conway supports. He recently told Syfy Wire that he finds these things disturbing and even offensive as the use of iconography by the military and police completely miss the point.

“I’ve talked about this in other interviews,” Conway said. “To me, it’s disturbing whenever I see authority figures embracing Punisher iconography because the Punisher represents a failure of the Justice system. He’s supposed to indict the collapse of social moral authority and the reality some people can’t depend on institutions like the police or the military to act in a just and capable way.”

WHY IS IT A PROBLEM?

Conway then explained that this co-opting of the symbol, the military and police are misunderstanding the character, what he stands for, and are aligning themselves with a criminal.

“The vigilante anti-hero is fundamentally a critique of the justice system, an example of social failure, so when cops put Punisher skulls on their cars or members of the military wear Punisher skull patches, they’re basically sides with an enemy of the system,” he said. “They are embracing an outlaw mentality. Whether you think the Punisher is justified or not, whether you admire his code of ethics, he is an outlaw. He is a criminal. Police should not be embracing a criminal as their symbol.”

“The Ministry of Defense should be doing everything in its power to support the SAS, not messing around telling them what they can and can’t wear on operations,” Ex-SAS Sergeant Trevor Coult said. “This is politically correct nonsense and it’s ludicrous.”

The SAS’ banning of The Punisher logo isn’t the first time its use has been banned. This has also happened in 2017. Catletrsburg Police Deptt in Easter Kentucky ended up removing the logo with words, “Blue lives matter”. The reason behind this wasn’t given, though there had been complaints from locals about the logo use.

Source: Comicbook.com, The Vulture