#when i realized that the punisher was one of his gravemarkers and hed carried it around with him since the beginning

[huginsmemory]

Wolfwood, the Symbolism of the Punisher and Tragic Narratives

ID: A shot of Wolfwood carrying the Punisher.

MAJOR MANGA SPOILERS

Considering that my post on Wolfwood being a tragic character is doing the rounds and people seem to adore it in the most horrified manner, I thought it might be fun to point out some of Wolfwood's 'dead-since-the-beginning' motifs, specifically through what the Punisher signifies.

Symbolism of the Punisher

There are five (from what I've pulled out) things the cross-machine gun of the Punisher symbolizes. First and foremost, I'm going to talk about how the Punisher, in it's shape of a cross, represents Christianity and Christian morals. This is something that is highly ironic, as while it shape symbolizes the morality and salvation of Christianity, of forgiveness and unconditional love--and such missives as 'thou shalt not kill'--it is also clearly a specialized weapon created specifically to kill people, violating the assumptions of Christian morality.

In a way, this irony or contradiction reflects Wolfwood's own irony; outwardly looking like and pretending to be a priest with Christian morals while at any closer inspection is clearly an assassin. However, the inverted is also true; although Wolfwood is an assassin and kills people, it is shown through his moral quandaries, that these Christian ethics are ones that Wolfwood subconsciously believes in, but has rejected to survive in the world. As a result, the Punisher symbolizes the irony and contradiction of Christian ethics that Wolfwood carries.

Interesting side note, Chapel directly says that their actions as assassins--executing people with their machine gun crosses--is mercy and leads them to save themselves and others to redemption, much in the same way humanity was redeemed through the cross in Christianity, which is the excuse that Wolfwood carries with him for killing others; but that's a digression from what I want to talk about.

ID: Chapel says, “If killing is a sin... it is also the path to redemption. Did you not understand that?” Wolfwood, through black panels of narration, thinks: “I understand. I understand, but... He is foolish. His words are no more than the nonsense of a child. Idiot. I understand that.”

The second thing I wanted to talk about, was that in a way, the Punisher in a cross shape is apt, as the cross previous to Christianity was a literal torturous execution device. To be sentenced to crucifixion meant hours of pain until one finally died from asphyxiation. The Punisher in that manner, stays true to the execution part of the original symbolism of the cross, as it is being used to kill and hurt others; as well as in a way, it applies to Wolfwood himself, which we will get to later.

The third thing I want to talk about the Punisher, is how contextually it symbolizes Wolfwood's profession, and his connection to the Eye of Micheal (EOM), which causes him guilt (the fourth thing). The cross is literally given to him by Chapel, the man who inducted him into EOM; Chapel giving Wolfwood the Punisher, a prestigious weapon used by those from the EOM, can be considered the physical signifier of Chapel giving Wolfwood the brutal lifestyle that he lives under and his connections to them. Hell, specifically because of his weapon, Wolfwood is mistaken for being Chapel, it is so tied to EOM and Chapel himself. As well, by both being the weapon that shows his correlation to the EOM and the weapon that he uses to kill people with, the Punisher (and it's weight) also represents his guilt from the lifestyle, becoming literally the 'cross he has to bear' as a result of trying to protect the orphanage.

ID: First 2 images show young Wolfwood being given the Punisher and being told it’s the Eye of Michael’s highest honor. Its skull-shaped handle is shown. 3rd has Legato saying, “That cross... I’ve been waiting for you. You’re ‘Chapel,’ correct?” He and Wolfwood look at each other.

A quick, bullet point recap, of what the Punisher signifies:

Christian morality: unconditional love, absolution and forgiveness, and 'thou shalt not kill' and Wolfwood's irony around this concept

a literal historic torturous execution device

signifies his profession and connection to the eye of Micheal

signifies his guilt over his profession

Narrative doom and Wolfwood

The fifth thing I want to talk about, is how the Punisher and it's symbolism is related to Wolfwood being a narratively doomed character. I choose this specifically as the Punisher literally becomes Wolfwood's grave marker (or one of them, at least). Thus, the fifth thing the Punisher symbolizes as Wolfwood's grave marker is his death-- and how he's been dead since the beginning.

ID: Wolfwood’s grave with the Punisher sitting as a grave-cross above the flat headstone is the foreground of the last page of volume 10, chapter 8. In the background Vash and Livio discuss where Vash will go next.

Hell--our first introduction to Wolfwood is him slumped under the Punisher in the desert, and assumed to be dead by the bus driver. The bus driver even comments that he's a really well-prepared dead guy, referring specifically to the cross of the Punisher, which in the first-ever panel we see Wolfwood, looks like a grave marker for him-- and ultimately ends up being his grave marker. Since the beginning, our introduction to Wolfwood is him as a dead character, and in a way, he remains so as he literally carries his grave marker throughout the story, only waiting until the right moment when he can truly die.

ID: 1. Wolfwood is starkly shaded as he sits unconscious in the desert with the Punisher behind him, almost like a grave marker.

2.. The bus driver comments, “Whew... That’s one well-prepared dead guy.”

As well, not only is the Punisher literally his grave marker and is a symbol of his death, but the other symbolism that it carries can be considered to cause Wolfwood's death; Wolfwood's connection to the EOM, his guilt, and Christian morals. For Wolfwood's connection to the EOM and Chapel, it is Chapel whose actions cause Wolfwood's death. In fact, as Chapel is the one who gave Wolfwood the Punisher, Chapel is the one to give Wolfwood his grave marker--and was the one to ensure that it became his gravemarker. Since the beginning of Chapel taking him under his tutelage, he was condemned to die.

Not only does it symbolize Wolfwood's death as a result of Chapel, but it also symbolizes Wolfwood's guilt over killing as a result of working for EOM, which also contributes to Wolfwood's death. Wolfwood's guilt come into play in his choice to defend the orphanage alone, as he believed that due to his guilt he wasn't worthy or important enough to ask Vash to help him; even if he knows Vash has proved over and over again that he would put aside everything to help anyone. Ultimately, he is proved wrong when Vash shows up anyways, but by this time, it is already too late. Adding to this is Wolfwood's staunch refusal to kill Livio as he declares his belief in Vash--and Vash's principles, ie, Christian principles-- which also causes Wolfwood to die, which Chapel himself notes. As a result, it is his guilt, his connection to Chapel, and to a smaller degree, his acceptance of Christian ethics, that kills him--all things the Punisher, his grave marker, signifies.

ID: Chapel berating Wolfwood for not shooting to kill Livio.

As well, tying into the historical interpretation of a cross as a torturous execution device, one can take the symbolism of the Punisher, specifically of Wolfwood's profession and deep self-loathing guilt as a result of his ethics he's had to forsake, and interpret the Punisher as metaphorically torturing Wolfwood. And, as it's symbolism is tied to the reasons for his death, one can also metaphorically claim that it is also what causes Wolfwoods own death, or execution; fully fulfilling its historic significance.

Summary

TLDR/To summarize: The Punisher, in its cross shape, ironically symbolizes Christian values which both the punisher itself and Wolfwood contradict, although may aptly symbolize it's historic use of a torturous execution device. Contextually, the Punisher also symbolizes Wolfwood's connection to Chapel and the Eye of Micheal, as well as his guilt over killing people.

The final thing the Punisher represents, is Wolfwood's death, as it literally becomes his grave marker. This is connected to how he is narratively doomed as that he has since the beginning been carrying his grave marker, and even in our first interaction it is foreshadowed to be his gravemarker. The other things the punishers signifies is directly correlated to his death as well, such as Chapel being to one to give Wolfwood his gravemarker, and being the one to cause Wolfwoods death.

All in all, Wolfwood as a character was never, since the very moment we met him, meant to survive the series; he's been literally carrying his grave marker the whole time. There was never any chance of him being able to escape his life the way he so desperately wanted to. He's been dead since the beginning.

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ANYWAYS Uhm if u enjoyed reading my meta, here's a master post of some other trigun meta I've done :D

Edit (mar 26): At the suggestion of @princess-of-purple-prose and using/adapting the ID's they've added via a reblog on my post, I've added ID's to the photos to allow clarity of reading for those unable/have difficult accessing the photos.