Punchline first appeared during the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in 2004, ostensibly as a participant but he never lodged any official application.  During his stand-up routine he systematically killed his audience, and it wasn't until a dozen people were killed that the majority of the audience realised what was happening.  They spilled into the streets amidst screams, and Punchline followed.  He met the police with a daring attack at the central Edinburgh Police Department where he swung through a window and detonated enough explosives to destroy half of the building.

He fled but was soon tracked down by Majestic and members of Knightwatch.  He was attempting to escape through Liverpool but was cornered in a disused brewery.  During the siege, Punchline was severely injured and caught in one of his own explosions.  He was presumed dead, but actually escaped via an aqueduct connecting to the Mersey.  He fled to Ireland and then to Europe where he resurfaced on the streets of Paris during a cultural festival.  He killed an Englishman, an Irishman and an Australian as part of an elaborate joke that no one actually heard the answer to.

Since making his home in Continental Europe, Punchline has appeared in as many as twelve countries but tends to focus his activities across France, Germany, the Lowlands and Luxembourg.  He generally targets comedy or cultural festivals and tends to follow his own internal logic.  At times he appears to be killing indiscriminately, while at others he follows a 'recipe' requiring certain victims for his sick, twisted jokes.

The closest he has come to being captured was in Denmark when he was cornered by Holger Danske and the vigilante Man Killer.  He escaped in another explosion (something of a calling card) but not before he lost one of his guns which was examined and catalogued by the French inventor, Armstrong.  Since gaining knowledge on Punchline's unique weaponry, it has come to light that the components needed for such a weapon are manufactured by Unger Munitions.  Armstrong has suggested that Punchline may have been a former employee of the company, although no concrete information has been found.

Punchline is a homicidal maniac.  He is solely concerned with killing in the name of comedy, and has so far created a new modus operandi for each of his attacks.  Sometimes he has attacked an audience at a comedy festival like in Edinburgh.  Other times he has killed through the distribution of booby-trapped toys during pre-Christmas sales in Copenhagen, or through bogus dating companies in Monaco.  The only thread between his attacks has been a joke which is usually sent to the authorities before his crime is fully committed.  At other times the joke is implied or half-given, and no solution is found.

"Wait for it... wait for it..."

Apart from being a sadistic sociopath, Punchline appears to be extraordinary lucky when it comes to avoiding capture or serious injury.  While he sometimes wears a long black coat which is lined with kevlar, he usually skips around in a tight red costume, relying on his natural agility to avoid capture.  His chief weapons are his grapple guns which fire miniature boxing glove projectiles, generally attached to a chain or cord.  These attacks are limited to about 15m.  Some of his projectiles include a deadly neurotoxin or explosive tips, while others simply bludgeon a target to death.  The gun also includes a grappling hook which allows Punchline to swing away to safety at high speeds.

He also uses an electric handshake device capable of frying a human, as well as extensive use of explosives.

The man who calls himself Punchline appears to be of Indian ancestry, with olive skin and thick black hair, although he has dyed (and wrapped) some strands of his dreadlocked hair purple, green, white and white.  He wears a red domino mask and a skin-tight red costume with grey sleeves, white trunks, boots and gloves.  He has an exclamation mark and stars on his shoulders, as well as a large white exploding star motif on his chest with another exclamation mark inside it.  Sometimes he will wear a dark trench coat, while other times he will appear in civilian clothes and blend in to crowds.

His face usually looks hard and cruel, and his sneer is distinctive because of his crooked teeth.