In the superhero universes, tales of regular guys becoming villains as a result of tragic events are rather common, and we have likely encountered many such origin tales for both villains and vigilantes.
One such antagonist is Ross Andru and Len Wein’s “Jigsaw” from the Marvel Universe. Former New York crime boss Jigsaw dedicated his life to exacting retribution against the Punisher after getting into trouble with him. Let us go into the past of this formidable bad guy, who also happens to be the Punisher’s arch-enemy.
Exploring the origins of this demented character
Jigsaw, once known as Billy Russo, oversaw New York’s criminal underworld as a prominent crime lord. In addition to his criminal activities, Russo was known as “The Beaut” for his attractive features, and he took great delight in his appearance. Russo frequently carried out murders for the notorious “Costa Family” and the criminal organisation “Maggia,” and occasionally he even did so for them.
When Bruno Costa of the Costa Family shot at Frank Castle’s family and killed the majority of them, he caused quite a bit of trouble. Bruno was in the thick of a mob attack when the Castle family, who were looking for a picnic area, stumbled upon them. Frank Castle was the lone survivor of this assault after Bruno ordered his troops to fire at them. In order to prevent further trouble, Bruno then recruited Billy Russo and requested him to kill Frank Castle as well as any attack survivors. Frank Castle, though, was already committed to bringing Bruno to justice and had his sights set on the Costas.
Billy Russo agreed to take on this job and soon found himself face to face with Frank Castle. However, Frank managed to escape Billy Russo and was quite a tough person to kill. Billy even planted explosives in Frank’s home, but Frank survived this as well.
Tired of the justice system not working in his favor, Frank Castle was then determined to take matters in his hands, and took on the identity of ‘The Punisher.’ His encounters with Billy Russo further motivated him to go on his path since he had managed to survive Russo’s attacks. Frank Castle then decided to take on the roles of a judge, a jury as well as an executioner, and he took on a new identity. As the Punisher, Castle traced Billy Russo at a party at the Maggia Club. The Punisher ruthlessly shot at all the people at the party and only left Billy Russo alive in order to send out a message to the crime syndicates of New York.
Before leaving, the Punisher pushed Billy Russo out of a glass window, severely damaging Russo’s face. The incident left many scars on Russo’s face and ruined his beauty and handsome features. Russo was quite bitter about this, and he got obsessed with getting revenge on the Punisher and destroying his life. He formed a new gang and started extensive training in order to get strong enough to battle the Punisher. Moreover, he assumed a new identity known as ‘Jigsaw’ since his face appeared like a piece of Jigsaw that had been scattered and then reassembled and stitched together.
Moreover, Jigsaw tried to frame Punisher for attempted murder, but he failed in doing so after some intervention from Spider-Man and Nightcrawler. Later on, Jigsaw often fought against Spiderman and was also a major villain in the Amazing Spider-Man comics.
Jigsaw in The Punisher T.V. series is a dark and intimidating villain story
Jigsaw was one of the main antagonists in Marvel’s ‘The Punisher’ series on Netflix, and here, the character was portrayed by Ben Barnes. Jigsaw’s character had quite a different story in this show, as he was not a crime lord but rather a lieutenant who worked alongside Frank Castle before they became enemies.
William ‘Billy’ Russo lived a life full of struggles as he grew up with a drug-addict mother in New York. At a young age, Billy was put up for foster care, where he was a victim of child harassment. He tried to defend himself and ended up with severe injuries as a child.
Later on, he grew up and became a lieutenant in the U.S. Special Forces, where he met Frank Castle. They both became friends and often saved each other’s lives on missions. However, things go south when Billy snitches about how Frank Castle’s unit used brutal force during one of their missions for Project Cerberus. When the leader of this project, Agent Orange, gets wind of these incidents, he blames Frank Castle for them.
Agent Orange, also known as William Rawlins, was a ruthless officer, and he arranged the murder of Castle’s wife and children to teach him a lesson. This leads Frank to leave the military, as he then turns into the vigilante known as ‘The Punisher.’ Frank also befriends a whistleblower known as ‘Micro’ to track down Rawlins and kill him.
Billy was also aware of Rawlin’s plan to kill Frank’s family, and Frank confronts him. Billy requests Frank to just kill him, but instead, Frank smashes Billy’s head into a mirror which causes severe damage to his face. The impact also results in memory loss, and Billy has a hard time recovering from this incident.
In the second season of the series, we learn that Billy had been unconscious for months after this incident and that he now has constant nightmares about that night when Frank smashed his face into a mirror. He has also become much more deranged and violent and seems to be throwing constant tantrums as he tries to regain his memory.
A therapist named ‘Krista Dumont’ was sent to help Billy recover from the trauma of this incident, and she kept quiet while Billy escaped from the facility where he was held. Krista was accompanied by two police guards who tried to subdue Billy, but Billy fought them and managed to take them down before running away. He later ran into Frank Castle, who had now become ‘The Punisher.’ Billy tried to apologize to Frank, but Frank did not give him a chance and shot at him before he could even complete his sentence.
Punisher: War Zone (2008) Punisher met his match in this gripping movie!
Jigsaw was the main antagonist in the ‘Punisher: War Zone’ movie that came out in 2008. The movie was a reboot that followed the life of Punisher as he becomes a vigilante and fights against crime. Directed by Lexi Alexander, the movie cast Ray Stevenson to play the Punisher, while Dominic West played the role of ‘Jigsaw.’
Frank Castle was a former US Marine who had lost his family in a tragic mob accident and had then taken on a new identity as ‘Punisher.’ Five years after taking on this new identity, Frank shows up at a party arranged by a criminal, ‘Gaitano Cesare.’ Here, he brutally murders Cesare, as well as most of his guests.
‘Billy Russoti,’ also known as ‘The Beaut,’ managed to escape Frank’s attack and sought refuge at a recycling plant that served as a hideout. However, the Punisher is accompanied by police officers ‘Soap’ and ‘Saffiotti,’ and they spot Billy as he escapes the party. With some help from these detectives, The Punisher then quickly locates Billy Russoti’s hideout, and he and Billy end up in a fight. The Punisher manages to overpower Billy and throws him into a glass-cutting machine which severely distorts Billy’s face. Billy then takes on the name ‘Jigsaw’ and is determined to take revenge on the Punisher.
Frank Castle later finds out that one of the people he killed during this attack was ‘Nicky Donatelli,’ an undercover agent of the F.B.I. who had only infiltrated the mob to provide information to the authorities. Donatelli’s partner, Agent ‘Paul Budiansky’, then creates an NYPD ‘Punisher Task Force’ to capture this so-called vigilante and bring him to justice.
In the meantime, Frank feels guilty for killing an innocent agent, and he tries to get rid of the guilt by making reparations to Donatelli’s wife, Angela, and daughter, Grace. He also questions if he should step down as a vigilante, but his ally ‘Microchip,’ also known as Micro, advises him against doing so. Micro further tells Frank that there is a good chance that Jigsaw will go after Angela and Grace and that he needs to protect them.
On a different side, Jigsaw frees his clinically insane brother ‘Loony Bin Jim’ who is also a cannibal. Jigsaw then goes after Donatelli’s family, accompanied by Loony Bin Jim and two more allies known as ‘Ink and Pittsy.’ They hold Angela and Grace hostage while the Punisher tries to locate Jigsaw’s whereabouts. Punisher approaches Jigsaw’s friend ‘Maginty,’ who gives up his plans to attack Donatelli’s family.
After getting information about Jigsaw’s whereabouts, the Punisher kills Maginty before making his way to the Donatelli house. However, Soap and Budiansky from the ‘Punisher Task Force’ catch up with him and place him under arrest for killing Donatelli. The Punisher tells them that Donatelli’s family is in danger and urges them to go after Jigsaw instead. Though Budiansky is skeptical, he sends a police car to check up on Donatelli’s residence and finally believes that something is amiss.
Along with Soap and Budiansky, the Punisher makes his way inside the house and kills Ink and Pittsy. He works along with the detectives to capture Jigsaw and his brother, and they also free Angela and Grace from this hostage situation. Budiansky finally places Jigsaw and Loony Bin Jim under arrest, while the Punisher gets Donatelli’s family to safety.
Jigsaw and Loony Bin Jim later manage to free themselves by striking a deal with the F.B.I. They give up crucial information about ‘Cristu Balut’ who was smuggling weapons for terrorists in New York. In return for this information, they are granted immunity, money, and a file on the Punisher’s ally ‘Micro.’ Jigsaw then goes after Micro and even kills his mother while taking Micro hostage. He also manages to capture Angela, and Grace again and critically injures Carlos’ who had been protecting them.
When Punisher visits Carlos, he finds that Angela and Grace have once again been captured. He also realizes that his friend is critically dying and has to kill him out of pity. Punisher then sets out to locate Jigsaw, who has set up base at the Bradstreet hotel along with a bunch of criminals who wish to defeat the Punisher. The Punisher seeks out Budiansky’s help, who in turn leaks Jigsaw’s location to Cristu Balut’s father ‘Tiberiu Balut.’ Since Jigsaw had betrayed his son, Tiberiu sends his men to attack Jigsaw, and they orchestrate a shootout at the Bradstreet Hotel.
The shootout leaves the Punisher with enough time to sneak into Jigsaw’s room, and he enters the hotel through a window on the second floor. The Punisher fights off Jigsaw’s men and his brother, Loony Bin Jim, who does not put up much of a fight. Finally, Punisher finds himself face to face with Jigsaw, who is now holding his friend ‘Micro’ as well as Donatelli’s daughter ‘Grace’ hostage. Jigsaw is pointing a gun at Micro and Grace, and he asks the Punisher to choose between saving the two. Micro asks Punisher to shoot at him so that the Donatelli family can be safe, but Punisher shoots his gun at Loony Bin Jim instead.
Enraged by the fact that the Punisher had killed his brother, Jigsaw then shoots Micro and kills him. The Punisher and Jigsaw end up fighting against each other, and the Punisher finally kills Jigsaw by impaling him with a metal rod in a very ghastly scene. The Punisher then throws Jigsaw’s body in the fire, thereby burning him to death.
Even without superpowers, he was quite a handful
Jigsaw was just an ordinary mob criminal before taking on his new identity, and he did not have any supernatural origins that bestowed him with powers. However, he was still quite a force to reckon with, and he often managed to create a lot of trouble without the help of any superpowers. He was quite athletic and had spent years and years doing intensive physical training that helped him match the Punisher’s combat skills. Jigsaw also spent his entire time in prison tending to his body and trying to increase his physical strength in order to defeat the Punisher.
Jigsaw was also exceptionally skilled in street-fighting techniques and was handy with all sorts of weapons and arms. In his years of working in the crime scene, he has picked up on various combat skills that make him a deadly opponent. Jigsaw’s weapons of choice are handguns, and he has quite a collection of guns that he uses according to his convenience. Moreover, he always wears special exoskeletons in his clothes, which helps him avoid injuries and enhance his combat skills.
Conclusion
To sum it up, Jigsaw is quite a deadly opponent who has had years of experience with criminal activities. He is a fittingly dark villain for someone as demented as the Punisher, and it makes sense for him to consider the Punisher his arch-nemesis. However, he has fought against other superheroes, such as Spiderman and Nightcrawler, and has a widespread presence that extends across the Marvel Universe!