Punisher to wage war on Marvel Universe

The Punisher is to wage war on the Marvel Universe in a post-apocalyptic miniseries written by Jonathan Maberry.

Illustrated by Goran Parlov, Marvel Universe Versus The Punisher will launch this summer and run for four issues.

Inspired by Richard Matheson's classic horror novel I Am Legend, the storyline casts the Punisher as the last man on Earth. The other heroes from Marvel's roster have been transformed into superpowered predators determined to hunt the character down.

"Some folks have asked if it's another zombie story. No - it's not. And it's not supernatural in any way," Maberry told CBR. "Also, folks have asked if it's tied in any way to the 1995 Garth Ennis one-shot The Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe. Except for a coincidental similarity in the title, there are no similarities.

"In fact, the book has gone through a couple of name changes along the way. I pitched it as Punisher: Last Gun On Earth, and later it was changed to Marvel: Infected. But as the story grew in scope, Marvel decided to call it Marvel Universe Versus The Punisher. I'm good with that."

Maberry also revealed that the book will feature infected versions of Spider-Man, the Hulk, Deadpool, Daredevil, the Fantastic Four, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man and others.

Marvel Universe Versus The Punisher #1 arrives in August.