Why is the Punisher the way he is?
Ive read he has a need to fight war, but why? is it post traumatic stress disorder? is that all there is to him?
for example Batman is very self conflicted, because of whats necessary vs his morals.
Batman and the Punisher are both my favourite as both are humans with flaws and no powers, and potential for any man to be.

Does the Punisher just have a need for war, if so, is it an addiction from trauma, or is it his true calling; being a warrior?
Though he may have a need, it cant be that simple, otherwise why doesnt he just go to the wars in africa or the middle east?
Or does he not have a need at all, but simply wants to get rid of the 'bad guys' with an any means necessary/militant mentality?
He is not a sociopath otherwise he would have no problem killing innocents/civilians. He could still have a (better) war if he went after police/government forces.
So can you offer any insight..? Thankyou

Its hard to analyzes the character of the Punisher because he is one of the most inconstantly written characters in comic. One day he fighting a war on crime because his family was murdered, the next its because of things he's experienced in war. Also he's written differently depending on situation, as was noticed in a similar article about What if the Punisher kills and innocent. Some times he mourns, others he goes bat shit insane, and others he rationalizes it as collateral damage.

Why is the Punisher the way he is?
Ive read he has a need to fight war, but why? is it post traumatic stress disorder? is that all there is to him?
for example Batman is very self conflicted, because of whats necessary vs his morals.
Batman and the Punisher are both my favourite as both are humans with flaws and no powers, and potential for any man to be.

Does the Punisher just have a need for war, if so, is it an addiction from trauma, or is it his true calling; being a warrior?
Though he may have a need, it cant be that simple, otherwise why doesnt he just go to the wars in africa or the middle east?
Or does he not have a need at all, but simply wants to get rid of the 'bad guys' with an any means necessary/militant mentality?
He is not a sociopath otherwise he would have no problem killing innocents/civilians. He could still have a (better) war if he went after police/government forces.
So can you offer any insight..? Thankyou

@devilzwar: 

While there is one school of ideas not brought up yet. The Punisher may be an avatar like Moonknight. he may  works for some dark demi-god. also he maybe socipathic or psychopathic.

not all of them kill people and in fact many go on to be very ruthless business people. I think in a famous book by Dr.Robert Hare he said something like 1 in 100 people have more the one trait of or full blown pathic disorders

add in the trama of being in 'nam, having you family killed before your eyes, and proabaly being born with mental problems.
I prefer the supernatural and psycho explaination mixed.

@cody1984 :  all one has to do is join the military to aquire those skills & knowledge. of course Punisher and Batman are exaggerated because they are fictional characters.

@:KenTheProfile:  "not all of them kill people" yes i know, but Frank does kill people haha.. so if he was a sociopath he wouldnt distinguish bad guys from good guys, he'd kill indiscriminately. also, if he was a sociopath, he wouldnt of loved his family.thanks both for your answers

war addict or Revenge fueled vigilante. Take yer pick.

"You're not insane. If you were, you'd have walked into a McDonald's with an Armalite by now. You're not a Dahmer or a Gacy in the making. You take no pleasure in what you do; take no pleasure in anything you see. And you FEEL. Showing you those pictures [of Castle's family] was not something I did lightly."

-Microchip, talking to Punisher

Punisher simply can't be a sociopath. He feels too much grief over his wife and children. When Micro showed him the pictures, and pried as to why Punisher did what he did and what role his family played in his motives, Punisher threatened to attack despite being bound to a chair. He also admits that he assaulted his neighbor after he came to have a drink and admitted to Castle that he had cheated on his wife. I think Punisher has a hero complex, thinking that he has some duty to wipe out crime in the city, but that can be said of any comic book hero, although Punisher doesn't show much of a moral code so he is probably less self-righteous than other characters. Dr. Larry Lewis is working on a series called Hero Therapy, and in the first episode he analyzed Punisher. He does not say that Punisher has any mental disorder, but instead suggests that he simply didn't completely move on from the loss of his family. Every kill is a little bit of redemption, but it's never enough. And because he has taken on the mafia, even if he does eventually get over his grief, he can't stop because the mafia will never die. There is no happy ending for him; he must carry on until he stops breathing.

I want my psychopathic war daddy back. Edmonson's characterization was awful.

@sprior93: Yes he was. Hated Punisher redesign in that too.

@immolation: Yes, the skull mask was silly.

@sprior93: Were going to get Steve Dillon again for the next one. I'm assuming he will probably draw him just like he did in welcome back Frank like he did in Thunderbolt's. I actually like Dillon.

@immolation: Me too. He did great work on Punisher MAX with Aaron.

We all go a little mad sometimes.