Editing Don Pendleton (section)

==Adaptations==
Numerous rumors of upcoming film treatments of the Executioner series have circulated over the years. It was announced August 2014 that [[Shane Salerno]], Hollywood producer and screenwriter, had optioned the Executioner novels for a film franchise.<ref name =movie>{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/bradley-cooper-shane-salerno-mack-bolan-films-095517783.html?ref=gs|title=Bradley Cooper, Shane Salerno for 'Mack Bolan' films|publisher=AFP Relax News|date=August 19, 2014|access-date=August 23, 2016|archive-date=September 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920103215/https://www.yahoo.com/news/bradley-cooper-shane-salerno-mack-bolan-films-095517783.html?ref=gs|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Spider-Man writer Gerry Conway (who went on to become a show runner on [[Dick Wolf]]'s ''[[Law & Order]]'' series) has acknowledged that his creation of Marvel's Punisher character was directly inspired by Pendleton's Executioner, in perhaps the most blatantly direct adaptation (or less politely, "lift") of Pendleton's character. Originally conceived as a villain for the Spider-Man comic book series, the character proved incredibly popular and the costumed version of the Executioner that became a comic book hero has taken Pendleton's original idea to comic-book-ridiculous extremes in comics, cinema and television, all carefully sidestepping any issues of creative ownership.