Jigsaw (Marvel Comics)
| Jigsaw | |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Amazing Spider-Man #162 (November 1976) |
| Created by |
Len Wein Ross Andru |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Billy Russo |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | Earth |
| Team affiliations | Maggia |
| Partnerships |
Hood Stuart Clarke |
| Notable aliases | The Beaut, The Heavy |
| Abilities |
Experienced street fighter Exceptional strategist and tactician Highly charismatic criminal organizer Wears a special exoskeleton |
Jigsaw is a fictional character, a villain, and archenemy of the Marvel Comics antihero the Punisher.[1] He was created by Len Wein and Ross Andru, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #162 (November 1976)
Publication history
Jigsaw debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #162-163, returning in The Amazing Spider-Man #188, and The Punisher #1 and #4-5. Jigsaw then allied with the Rev in The Punisher Vol. 2, #35-40, and Gregario in #55-56. Following a cameo appearance in The Punisher War Journal #61, Jigsaw's origin was detailed in Issues #3-4 of the prequel limited series The Punisher: Year One, and he furthered bedeviled the Punisher in Punisher Vol. 3, #2-4 and #9-10.
Proceeding an encounter with the eponymous character in Daredevil Vol. 2, #62-64, Jigsaw appeared in The New Avengers #1-3, #35, #46, #50, #57, and The New Avengers Annual #2; concurrent to his appearances in that title, Jigsaw also starred in Punisher War Journal Vol. 2, #18-20 and #22-23. He was then featured, and killed off, in the five-issue miniseries Punisher: In the Blood.
Jigsaw received profiles in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #6, The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #10, Marvel Encyclopedia #4 and #5, The New Avengers Most Wanted Files #1, and Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #6.
Fictional character biography
Billy Russo is a professional criminal and brutal assassin for the Maggia crime family, nicknamed "the Beaut" because of his good looks. He is also a favorite assassin for the Costa crime family. After the execution-style killings that inadvertently led to the deaths of Frank Castle's family, Russo is hired by Bruno Costa to assassinate another assassin who had failed to kill Frank Castle as well. Russo kills all of his targets but Castle, who narrowly avoids death in an explosion. Hours later, Castle returns and tracks down Russo to one of the Maggia's nightclubs. Several criminals are killed, and Russo is thrown through a glass pane head-first. He survives with his face torn to shreds; because of the extent of the facial damage, surgeons stitch it back together like a jigsaw puzzle.
Taking advantage of his now hideous visage, the formerly handsome gangster adopts the identity of Jigsaw, and attempts to frame the Punisher for murder. However, the plan fails due to the intervention of Spider-Man and Nightcrawler; Spider-Man witnesses one of Jigsaw's murders, and one of his victims is an old friend of Nightcrawler.[2] Jigsaw later battled Spider-Man again.[3]
It is revealed in the first Punisher miniseries that Jigsaw was behind a plan to drug the Punisher, causing his enemy to behave erratically and attack any criminals, even for things as minor as littering. Jigsaw also attempts to kill the Punisher in prison. The Punisher confronts and defeats him, and later stops Jigsaw from escaping in a prison riot.[4] Later in the series, Jigsaw is brainwashed by the Trust into serving as a member of a Punisher-style assassination squad. He manages to remember who he is after encountering Castle once again, and attacks the Punisher. He is defeated once more.[5][6]
Jigsaw becomes involved with a demon worshipper, Reverend Samuel Smith, whom Jigsaw refers to as "the Rev". Based on healing demonstrations, the Rev convinces Jigsaw to work for him in exchange for healing his face.[7] Jigsaw follows the man on a home invasion/murder spree, and then kills several cops on the way out; Jigsaw would continue to work for the Rev for some time. When the Rev finally does heal Jigsaw's face, Jigsaw is killed at the hands of the Punisher.[8] He is subsequently resurrected by the Rev and his master, Lucifer (actually Belasco). He battles the Punisher and his face is ruined again when the Punisher pushes him face down into an aloe plant.[9]
Jigsaw has been a persistent foe of the Punisher's for years. While he still works as an assassin for criminal organizations, his pursuit of the Punisher is relentless, as Jigsaw sees Castle's assassination as an unfinished job. The deranged gangster's vendetta once took a bizarre turn when the Punisher faked his death by appearing to be executed in prison. Furious with rage, Jigsaw briefly became a new Punisher, getting revenge on Castle's apparent killers for denying him the kill he believes to be rightfully his.
After his arrest for attacking Matt Murdock's home,[10] Jigsaw is one of many villains to break out of the Raft, a floating prison for supervillains and other high-risk criminals. He breaks Spider-Man's arm in the escape.[11] He is later seen fighting Luke Cage.[12] Once freed, Jigsaw fights and is defeated by Tigra. This humiliating defeat leads to his forming an alliance with the self-proclaimed "super-villain Kingpin" the Hood; together the two join forces to brutally torture Tigra, which Jigsaw records with a video camera.[13] He also takes part in the attack on the Sanctum Sanctorum, attempting to murder Jessica Jones. He is foiled by Spider-Man.
Jigsaw has resumed his vendetta against the Punisher, in the pages of Punisher: War Journal. Now wearing a color-inverted mockup of the Punisher costume, Jigsaw arrangea for the brainwashing of a young auxiliary police officer in the NYPD. Exploiting the naive cop's pathological "hero-worship" complex, Jigsaw and his new psychiatrist girlfriend turn the young man into a new version of the Punisher.
After a battle on the Brooklyn Bridge where the Punisher once again spares Jigsaw's life, Jigsaw is taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. While imprisoned he is seemingly shot dead by the man that he and his girlfriend (who was actually undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Lynn Michaels) had brainwashed. Jigsaw survived the attempt on his life, and was transferred to a "reprogramming asylum" by H.A.M.M.E.R.[14]
He returns to the Hood's Gang in Secret Invasion to assist in fending off the invading Skrulls, and rejoins again in Dark Reign to help attack the New Avengers.[15][16] His tech-savvy son, Henry, aids Punisher in his war on H.A.M.M.E.R. director Norman Osborn.[17][18] Henry would go on to aid the Punisher in many threats far beyond those caused by Osborn.
Powers and abilities
Jigsaw is an athletic man with no superhuman powers. During his time in prison he was able to hone his physical strength to a level comparable to the Punisher. He has extensive experience with street-fighting techniques, and familiarity with a variety of weapons and criminal techniques. He carries various handguns as needed. He has been known to wear a special exo-skeleton in his outfits.
Though lacking any formal military training, Jigsaw is an exceptional strategist and tactician. His unorthodox pattern of operation makes him more difficult for the Punisher to anticipate than the majority of Punisher's enemies. Before Jigsaw was disfigured he was a highly charismatic leader and criminal organizer; after the accident only the latter trait remained.
Other versions
2099
Jigsaw 2099, originally known as Multi-Fractor, is a fictional villain in Marvel Comics' Marvel 2099 imprint. He is an enforcer for the Cyber Nostra, the main crime organization of 2099 New York. He was a recurring villain in The Punisher 2099 and was created by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner. [19]
Crossovers
Jigsaw also appeared in both Batman/Punisher intercompany crossover books. In the first crossover, Jigsaw allies with the Joker and they both fight the Punisher and Batman (Jean Paul Valley). In the sequel, Jigsaw's face is repaired by one of the world's foremost plastic surgeons, extorted by the Joker, who Jigsaw allies with again to take over Gotham. At the end of this crossover, Jigsaw's reconstructed face is destroyed by one of the Punisher's fragmentation grenades, and he is knocked out and left for the police by Batman (Bruce Wayne).[20] Jigsaw and the Punisher's activities in Gotham are later recounted by Azrael, and Nightwing.[21][22]
When the Amalgam Universe came into being as a result of the events of DC vs. Marvel, Jigsaw was merged with Wonder Woman foe Cheetah to form "Pelt-Man"; a handsome narcissist, Billy Minerva was cursed to resemble a big cat, the transformation driving him insane and leading him to mutilate the faces of "the beautiful people". Pelt-Man is subdued by Trevor Castle and Diana Prince, in what the couple regard to as one of their many "dates".[23][24]
Earth X
At some point, Jigsaw died, and was sent to the Realm of the Dead. When Captain Marvel destroyed Death and created Paradise, Jigsaw was among the many who came to realize that they were actually deceased. Jigsaw rejected Paradise and remained in the Realm of the Dead, where he and the Jackal took to tormenting the Punisher, who had committed suicide, and was living in blissful ignorance with his equally unaware family. Jigsaw and the Jackal's actions cause the Punisher to remember his death, and drive a wedge between him and his disbelieving loved ones, who only come to accept that they are dead much later. Captain America, who had been sent by Paradise to bring others to it, punishes Jigsaw and the Jackal by banishing them to a desolate region of the Realm of the Dead.[25]
Marvel MAX
In the "Girls in White Dresses" storyline in Punisher vol. 6, Jigsaw — using the alias "The Heavy" — is shown working for a Mexican drug cartel that the Punisher traveled south of the border to eliminate. Jigsaw develops a plan to demoralize Frank shortly after the 30th anniversary of his family's murder by making him think he shot and killed a little girl. Frank saw through the scheme after performing an impromptu autopsy. During a raid on the cartel's base, Frank and Jigsaw have a fight that results in Jigsaw falling through a broken window and onto a passing freight train.[26]
Jigsaw's role in the arc was regarded as generic and anticlimactic, and his inclusion in the MAX imprint criticized as obtrusive and gratuitous, by Jesse Schedeen of IGN, who felt that the character was "planted in this story mainly to appeal to fans of the recent movie".[27][28]
Marvel Noir
Jigsaw is Al Capone's top assassin in Punisher Noir. He, Barracuda, and the Russian are hired to kill Frank Castelione, a grocer who had defied mob boss Dutch Schultz.[29] Years later, Frank's son, the Punisher, tries to ambush Jigsaw, but is shot unconscious, and has his skull-face mask removed. Jigsaw takes the Punisher to his lair, and tortures him by carving a skull into the Punisher's chest. After Jigsaw mentions who helped him and Barracuda murder Frank, the Punisher escapes his bonds, and kills Jigsaw by garroting.[30]
In other media
Film
- Dominic West portrayed Jigsaw in the 2008 film Punisher: War Zone, which changed the character's real name to Billy "The Beaut" Russoti. Billy is introduced attending a mob dinner, which the Punisher attacks. Billy escapes the ensuing massacre, but is pursued to his recycling plant, where he falls into a glass crusher, and is mangled when the Punisher turns the machine on. Billy survives, but his plastic surgeon is unable to restore his mutilated visage, stating that Billy's facial muscles, tendons, skin, and bone structure were damaged beyond repair. After killing the surgeon, Billy rechristens himself "Jigsaw". He then breaks his brother, James "Looney Bin Jim" Russoti, out of a psychiatric hospital, to assist him in getting revenge on the Punisher. In the final battle at the Brad Street Hotel, Jigsaw is impaled and thrown into a fire by the Punisher.[31]
Video games
- Jigsaw is the final boss of the Game Boy port of the 1990 Punisher video game.[32]
- In the 1993 Punisher video game, Jigsaw is a sub-boss in the game's sixth and final stage, where he is fought inside of a moving elevator within the Kingpin's hideout, and is armed with an M16 rifle.[33]
- A character based on Jigsaw appears in the 2005 Punisher video game, voiced by Darryl Kurylo. Here, Jigsaw is John Saint, the son of Howard Saint (the primary antagonist of the 2004 film, and the man responsible for the death of Frank Castle's family). The explosion at the end of the film did not kill him, but instead launched him through a window, and disfigured his face. Under the name Jigsaw, he takes up his father's old business, and vows revenge on the Punisher. He is also the lieutenant of a Yakuza-offshoot called the Eternal Sun, and is the final boss of the game, using stolen Stark Armor to attack the Punisher on Ryker's Island. Upon being defeated, Jigsaw is thrown out of a helicopter by the Punisher.[34]
- Jigsaw is a playable character in the PlayStation Network downloadable game The Punisher: No Mercy, released in 2009.[35]
Toys
- In 2006, Jigsaw was one of the figures in the second wave of the Marvel Legends "Face-Off" series. He was paired with the Punisher and came in two versions, one with a business suit and one with a Punisher costume. The two-pack was released in December 2006.[36]
- In 2008, a minimates boxset was announced that is based on the Punisher: War Zone film. The boxset features civilian Frank Castle (the Punisher), Jigsaw, and Loony Bin Jim, Jigsaw's mental, cannibalistic killer brother. The toys also come with mini weapons. They are sculpted and designed by Art Asylum and feature 14 points of articulation as well as accessories from the film.
- In 2009, Hasbro released a Jigsaw figure in its Mighty Muggs toy line, which came with a silver pistol.
References
- ↑ Beard, Jim (1 January 2011). "Archrivals: The Punisher vs. Jigsaw". marvel.com. Marvel Comics. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ↑ The Amazing Spider-Man #162 (November 1976)
- ↑ The Amazing Spider-Man #188 (January 1979)
- ↑ Steven Grant (w), Mike Zeck (p), John Beatty (i), Mike Zeck (col), Ken Bruzenak (let), Carl Potts (ed). "Circle of Blood" The Punisher #1 (January 1986), United States: Marvel Comics
- ↑ Steven Grant (w), Mike Zeck (p), John Beatty (i), Mike Zeck (col), Ken Bruzenak (let), Carl Potts (ed). "Final Solution, Part 1" The Punisher #4 (April 1986), United States: Marvel Comics
- ↑ Jo Duffy and Steven Grant (w), Mike Vosburg (p), John Beatty (i), Bob Sharen (col), Ken Bruzenak (let), Carl Potts (ed). "Final Solution, Part 2" The Punisher #5 (May 1986), United States: Marvel Comics
- ↑ The Punisher vol. 2, #35 (July 1990)
- ↑ The Punisher vol. 2, #39 (November 1990)
- ↑ The Punisher vol. 2, #40 (December 1990)
- ↑ Daredevil Vol. 2 #63-64 (October–November 2004)
- ↑ New Avengers Vol 1 #2
- ↑ New Avengers Vol. 1 #2 (February 2005)
- ↑ New Avengers #35 (December 2007)
- ↑ Rick Remender (w), Roland Boschi (p), Roland Boschi (i), Dan Brown (col), VC's Joe Caramagna (let), Sebastian Girner (ed). "Part One" Punisher: In the Blood #1 (3 November 2010), United States: Marvel Comics
- ↑ Brian Michael Bendis (w), Billy Tan (p), Matt Banning (i), Justin Ponsor (col), Richard Starkings and Albert Deschesne (let), Tom Brevoort (ed). "Secret Invasion (Part Seven)" The New Avengers #46 (December 2008), United States: Marvel Comics
- ↑ Brian Michael Bendis (w), Billy Tan, Bryan Hitch, David Aja, Michael Gaydos, David Lopez, Alex Maleev, Steve McNiven, Leinil Yu, Steven Epting, and Greg Horn (p), Matt Banning, Bryan Hitch, David Aja, Michael Gaydos, Alvaro Lopez, Alex Maleev, Dexter Vines, Mark Morales, Steven Epting, and Greg Horn (i), Justin Ponsor, Rain Beredo, Dave Stewart, Alex Maleev, Morry Hollowell, Dave McCaig, and Greg Horn (col), Richard Starkings and Albert Deschesne (let), Tom Brevoort (ed). The New Avengers #50 (April 2009), United States: Marvel Comics
- ↑ Dark Reign: The List - The Punisher #1 (December 2009)
- ↑ Remender, Rick (w). Punisher v7, 1-5 (January–May 2009), Marvel Comics
- ↑ The Punisher 2099 #10 (Nov. 1, 1993)
- ↑ Chuck Dixon (w), Klaus Janson and John Romita, Jr. (p), Klaus Janson and John Romita, Jr. (i), Christie Scheele (col), Comicraft's Richard Starkings (let), Don Daley (ed). "Deadly Knights" Punisher and Batman #1 (October 1994), United States: Marvel Comics
- ↑ Doug Moench (w), Mike Manley (p), Dick Giordano (i), Adrienne Roy (col), Ken Bruzenak (let), Dennis O'Neil and Jordan B. Gorfinkel (ed). "KnightsEnd, Part 1: Spirit of the Bat" Batman #509 (July 1994), United States: DC Comics
- ↑ Chuck Dixon (w), Patrick Zircher (p), José Marzan, Jr. (i), Patricia Mulvihill (col), John Costanza (let), Bob Schreck and Joseph Illidge (ed). "The Stalkers" Nightwing v2, #44 (June 2000), United States: DC Comics
- ↑ John Ostrander (w), Gary Frank (p), Cam Smith (i), John Kalisz (col), Richard Starkings (let), Chris Cooper (ed). "Final Thrust" Bullets and Bracelets #1 (April 1996), United States: Amalgam Comics
- ↑ Amalgam Comics Trading Cards (Base Set) 50-A: "First Fight!"
- ↑ Alex Ross and Jim Krueger (w), Doug Braithwaite (p), Bill Reinhold (i), Peter Pantazis (col), Todd Klein (let), Mike Marts and Mike Raicht (ed). Paradise X #0-4 (April 2002 - September 2002), United States: Marvel Comics
- ↑ Punisher vol. 6, #61-65 (October 2008 – February 2009)
- ↑ Schedeen, Jesse (19 November 2008). "Punisher MAX #64 Review". ca.ign.com. IGN. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
- ↑ Schedeen, Jesse (17 December 2008). "Punisher Vol. 6 #65 Review". ca.ign.com. IGN. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
- ↑ Frank Tieri (w), Paul Azaceta (p), Paul Azaceta (i), Nick Filardi (col), VC's Joe Sabino (let), Sebastian Girner (ed). "Punisher & Son" Punisher Noir #2 (16 September 2009), United States: Marvel Comics
- ↑ Frank Tieri (w), Paul Azaceta (p), Paul Azaceta (i), Nick Filardi (col), VC's Joe Sabino (let), Sebastian Girner (ed). "Two Down..." Punisher Noir #3 (21 October 2009), United States: Marvel Comics
- ↑ Lexi Alexander (Director) (5 December 2008). Punisher: War Zone (Motion picture). United States: Lions Gate Entertainment.
- ↑ Krome Studios Melbourne (November 1990). "The Punisher: The Ultimate Payback". Game Boy (v1.0). LJN.
- ↑ Capcom (22 April 1993). "The Punisher". Arcade (v1.0). Capcom. Level/area: 6.
- ↑ Volition (16 January 2005). "The Punisher". PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows (v1.0). THQ.
- ↑ Zen Studios (2 July 2009). "The Punisher: No Mercy". PlayStation 3 (v1.0). Sony Computer Entertainment.
- ↑ "Marvel Legends Face-Off: Punisher/Jigsaw Review". OAFE.net.
External links
- Jigsaw at Comicvine
- Billy Russo as Marvel Wikia
- Jigsaw at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
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