Hercules
Count Of Durfisto
I like him, he can take a beating thats for sure! I like the fact that he has no powers and has to rely on his training and of course lots and lots of firepower.
Most of his fights with Daredevil have been close run things, the ones that I can remember anyway, I have never doubted he is a highly trained hand to hand fighter.
I haven't read that much of him lately so I'm not sure about the statement that they're making him weaker (or apear to be weaker) I did read the Cap incident both in Civil War and in his own title, I think it was a case of Punisher not wanting to fight Cap out of respect for what he stands for.
I know in the past he hasn't had a problem with fighting Cap but I liked the angle, for me it showed just how tough he was.
I'm a bouncer, I know about fighting, I have been hit with bottles, pick axe handles, bats, even a paving slab once, I have been sewn up in casualty on quite a few occasions.
And trust me on this, it takes more mental toughness to take a beating and not hit back, than it does to wade in and end up rolling round on the floor trying to beat the tar out of the guy.
If anything I had more respect for Punisher and less for Cap in that fight, Cap let his emotions control him, he kept hitting even though it was obvious that Punisher wasn't resisting.
Punisher offed two known criminals, thats what he does, what did Cap expect him to do? its like caging a Tiger and introducing it to a couple of lambs and then being shocked when it kills and tries to eat them.
The fact that Cap was even considering accepting their help, for me showed just how desperate to win Cap had gotten, even when he went against the goverment in the late 80's (when Walker was Cap) he still fought criminals even though he was an outlaw himself.
The beating also showed how frustrated Cap was, for me he needed a whipping boy and Punisher gave him the excuse, Cap in his right mind would have hit him and then backed away, however he lost it and kept swinging.
Frank was right, Cap knew who had won that fight and despite the fact that Punisher got the beating it wasn't Cap.
I don't think he has really changed, the Electra incident I would like to see, has anyone got any scans? at the end of the day though, people get lucky.
Electra is a great fighter, she is up there with some of the best martial artists in the marvel universe, I don't see it as a slap in the face that she was faster than the Punisher at that given moment.