OneDumbG0
Find Your Own Fire
I originally stated that Joker should win this 7/10. Mainly because although Punisher is top notch at hunting criminals, I believed Joker would surpress his flamboyancy enough because he would recognize Punisher for who he is, a stone-cold killer who wouldn't hesitate to kill him. But now I amend that position. For two reasons. First, Frank is on his home turf and Joker is not. The relevance of this is that if either were hunting each other actively, Castle has the advantage. Castle knows NYC better. He knows the underworld better. He knows the avenues of escape better. Joker does not. It's more probable that Joker doesn't even have any established hideouts or gangs. His knowledge of the NYC underworld would probably be quite limited too. At best, he could use his reputation to take advantage of the underworld and do what he needs to do, i.e. escape, hire goons, set up a hideout.
The second reason revolves around the main debate. Who would be more effective at drawing the other out into a trap or into a battle setting most favorable to him? The obvious answer would be Joker. He could go on a mass murdering spree or hold innocents hostage, etc. Punisher, at the risk of his own life, would surely have to engage him unless he knew there was no way to save the innocents. And Joker would probably not overdo it to the point where he leads Castle to believe it's impossible.
But it's more complicated then that. Because simple efforts to ferret Punisher out like walking out onto Times Square with a girl and a gun would leave Joker too open. He's a genius. He'd know not to do that. So Joker would probably go about and set something up that's more elaborate. One of his trademark schemes that puts foes like Batman in a real twister. But that in itself is a problem. Joker needs resources, hired help and most of all, time. When I speak of resources, I don't mean money. He can probably withdraw money dozens of ways that are untraceable. But if he were to take advantage of his Joker toxin, he'd need appropriate chemicals. If he wants bombs, he needs them manufactured or he requires components. He'd need to either go get them himself, hire goons to do it or purchase them through the underworld. Each and every step leaves a trail that Punisher could trace back to Joker. The more elaborate the plot, the bigger the trail is. Would Joker be able to gather everything he needs AND set it up before Punisher tracks him down?
If this were Gotham City or a neutral city. I would say yes. But this is NYC. Punisher knows exactly who to sweat. Punisher knows exactly what databases to crack, i.e. shipping companies, chemical companies, Gotham PD for Joker venom and anti-venom recipe. Punisher also has got safehouses all over to ready himself up to tackle the Joker at a moment's notice throughout the city. Because this is NYC, I would say it's about even that Joker would finish and Joker would get caught.
However, despite this homefield advantage that I think effectively neutralizes any elaborate inescapable trap setup, I'll still call it a split. Why? Punisher has taken out worse. But Joker has better escape feats than Punisher. I don't believe Punisher would ever be able to draw Joker into a trap or completely ambush him in his sleep. Punisher would have to take him straight on or break into his hideout and such a scenario gives Joker a chance of escaping and/or fighting back. And while he may get captured by Batman an awful lot... and capturing Joker alive is harder than killing Joker... I think Joker would ramp it up, knowing he's facing an opponent who's out to kill him.
Stalemate 5/10. If this were a neutral city or Gotham, Joker 7/10 easy.
