In the past decade the Punisher's skull symbol has been co-opted by the police and the military, as well as by right-wing protesters. Punisher skulls were even seen during the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, as well as on neo-Nazis in the Charlottesville protests (via Inverse).
Punisher co-creator Gerry Conway has been vocal in his outrage over the use of the skull. He told Syfy in 2019 that "the vigilante anti-hero is fundamentally a critique of the justice system, an example of social failure, so when cops put Punisher skulls on their cars or members of the military wear Punisher skull patches, they're basically siding with an enemy of the system." According to Comics Beat, after the death of George Floyd, Conway even created an online fundraiser called Skulls for Justice to benefit Black Lives Matter.
Similarly, actor Jon Bernthal who played Frank Castle in "The Punisher" Netflix series, called the rioters who wore Punisher skulls "misguided, lost and afraid" in a tweet. At this point, it simply made sense for Marvel to disassociate themselves from the symbol and change Frank's logo for good, after the skull had been used in such a horrible fashion.
