The Codpiece: A Retro-Spectacle

Tom Morgan's Cover for
The Punisher 2099 (1993) Issue #2

Paneloids.com, whom I follow on Tumblr, gathered the covers for several issues of The Punisher 2099 in a post they published this morning. As I scrolled past the covers, however, something about Jake Gallows' (the future Punisher's) costume stood out to me.

Was it the pointy red shoulder pads? The big red gun holsters? The extra big guns?

I jest, of course.

Who could miss a codpiece of this size and... fashion. I get that the "rods?" are intended to represent the teeth of the classic skull on Frank Castle's outfit, but wow. Just wow.

Portrait of Charles V &
his codpiece from
the Wikimedia Commons

I was so amused by Gallows' ginormous codpiece, I went to look up codpieces on the internet for this post. One of the top hits was an article from 2015 on the University of Cambridge's website about Victoria Bartels' dissertation on codpieces entitled:
"What Goes Up Must Come Down."

Bawahahahahahaha!

My favorite line from the article quotes Bartels:

“Ideas about masculinity were closely linked to notions of martial strength. The defensive codpiece was an integral part of the costume worn by German and Swiss mercenaries. On the battlefield, the armour codpiece was both protective and assertive.”

Tom Morgan's Cover for

The Punisher 2099 (1993) Issue #3

So, I always wonder when I run across an image like this one: "Does the artist intend this?"

I am not sure if the cover artist, Tom Morgan, also designed The Punisher's new costume, but I would love to know if he (or the costume designer) intended humor as a result of this toothy "protective yet assertive" barrier?

The imagery in comics from the 1990s and early 2000s leans towards the big: bigger muscles, bigger weapons, bigger baddies, bigger hair....

And, without question, bigger "costumes."