Jigsaw (Marvel Comics)

Jigsaw
Jigsaw. Art by Leinil Francis Yu.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Amazing Spider-Man #162 (November 1976)
Created by	Len Wein Ross Andru
In-story information
Alter ego	Billy "The Beaut" Russo
Team affiliations	Maggia crime syndicate
Abilities	Brutal and ruthless criminal. Good fighting skills and mastery of various weapons.

Jigsaw (Billy "The Beaut" Russo) is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. Throughout his many appearances he has served as one of the Punisher's few recurring villains. Created by Len Wein and Ross Andru, he first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #162 (Nov. 1976).

Fictional character biography

Billy Russo was a professional criminal and brutal assassin for the Maggia crime family, nicknamed "the Beaut" because of his good looks. He was 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 was 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 were killed, and Russo was thrown through a glass pane head-first. He survives with his face torn to shreds; surgeons stitch it back together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Taking advantage of his now hideous visage, the formerly handsome gangster took on the identity of Jigsaw, and initially attempts to frame the Punisher for murder. However, the plan failed due to the intervention of Spider-Man and Nightcrawler; Spider-Man witnesses one of Jigsaw's murders and one of his victims was an old friend of Nightcrawler. Jigsaw later battled Spider-Man again.

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. Later on 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.

Jigsaw becomes involved with a demon worshiper, 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. 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 did heal Jigsaw's face, Jigsaw was killed at the hands of the Punisher He was subsequently resurrected by the Rev and his master, Lucifer (actually Belasco). He battled the Punisher and his face was ruined again when the Punisher pushes him face down into an aloe plant

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.

Jigsaw was one of many villains to break out of the Raft, a floating prison for supervillains and other high-risk criminals. Once freed, Jigsaw fought and was defeated by Tigra. This humiliating defeat led to his forming an alliance with the self-proclaimed "super-villain Kingpin" the Hood; together the two joined forces to brutally torture the super-heroine Tigra, which Jigsaw recorded with a video camera.

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 arranged 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.

In Secret Invasion, he is among the many supervillains who rejoined the Hood's crime syndicate and attacked an invading Skrull force.

Jigsaw will appear in the upcoming storyline "Girls in White Dresses" written by Gregg Hurwitz.

In Punisher War Journal #25, Stuart Clarke, after vowing to kill the Punisher, receives scars in a manner similar to Jigsaw.

Powers and abilities

Jigsaw is an athletic man with no superhuman powers. During his time in prison he was able to hone is 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 talent remained.

Other versions

2099

Jigsaw 2099, on the cover of The Punisher 2099 #10. Art by Tod Morgan

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.

In one incident, corrupt police officers set Multi-Fractor against Punisher for the enjoyment value. The Punisher believes he has killed the villain. The police officers die under the control of Punisher's ally Axel Stone.

Captured by rogue military officers, his body is augmented with a cybernetic shell and a gorilla arm. The arm itself was put on backwards but kept that way on the whim of the soldiers. Fractor escapes, killing most of his tormentors. He was later assaulted by youths with a deliberately malfunctioning teleportation unit, causing his body to look even more like patchwork.

Elseworlds

Jigsaw also appeared in both Elseworlds Batman/Punisher crossover books. In the first crossover, Jigsaw allies with the Joker and they both fight Punisher and Azbat. In the second crossover, Jigsaw returns to Gotham City and allies with Joker once again, undergoing facial reconstruction surgery. His facial restoration is relatively short, however, as Punisher disfigures him once more with a Frag Grenade (notable is that Jigsaw's character is closer to that of Two-Face, though likely paired with Joker instead to avoid such comparisons). Interestingly he is one of the only Marvel characters to be directly referenced in an in-continuity DC book, during the KnightSaga Jean Paul Valley, who replaced Bruce Wayne as Batman, references his battle with Jigsaw during a mental hallucination.

In other media

Film

Jigsaw, as he appears in the 2008 film Punisher: War Zone.

Dominic West portrays Jigsaw in the film, Punisher: War Zone, though the character's real name has been changed slightly to Billy Russoti.

Video games

Jigsaw appears as the final boss of The Punisher video game for the Game Boy, replacing the Kingpin, who was the last character fought in the original NES version of the game. He also appears in the Capcom arcade game as a sub-boss in the final stage prior to the final confrontation with the Kingpin, where he is a head swap of "Gaullee", a secondary enemy character in the game armed with an M16 rifle. Unlike the other bosses, he has no lines of dialogue.

A character based upon Jigsaw also appeared in the 2005 Punisher video game, but with an origin that ties directly into 2004's The Punisher. In this version, Jigsaw is John Saint, the son of Howard Saint, the film's primary antagonist 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, similar to Marvel Comics' Jigsaw, sends him through a window, disfiguring his face. Using the name Jigsaw, he takes up his father's old business, vowing revenge on the Punisher. He is the final boss of the game. After defeating Jigsaw, a cutscene is shown where the Punisher seemingly kills Jigsaw by throwing him out of a flying helicopter.

Jigsaw will be making an appearance in the upcoming Punisher: No Mercy video game for Playstation Network and downloadable for Playstation 3. He will be one of many playable villains for the upcoming game.

Toys

In 2006, Jigsaw was announced as one of the figures in the second wave of the Marvel Legends Face Off series. He is paired with the Punisher, and come in two versions, a business suit and a Punisher costume. The two-pack was released in December, 2006.

In 2008, a minimates boxset was announced that is based off the upcoming movie Punisher: War Zone. The boxset features Civilian Frank Castle, the Punisher, Jigsaw and Looney Bin Jim. 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 upcoming film.

External links

• Jigsaw at marvunapp.com
• http://marvel.com/universe/Jigsaw