Punisher MAX: Born (#1-4)

"I have to go home.  I've had my fill."  - Steve Goodwin

Time for more Garth Ennis Punisher.  Now I have already covered main sixty issue MAX volume series, but before he started that run we got Punisher: Born, a four issue miniseries with pencils by his "The Boys" collaborator Darick Robertson and inks by Tom Palmer.  This tells the story of how Frank embarked on his start of darkness and also depicts the events related in the in-universe book that has extracts published in the final Punisher MAX volume "Valley Forge, Valley Forge" which, if you've read that makes the tragedy of this volume a foregone conclusion.  This story shows us Frank in Vietnam, the war that made him realise that waging war was what he always wanted to do.  It has an interesting mystical aspect to it as Frank makes a deal to keep his war going but finds that the price is everything he has ever loved, which goes someway to explaining how utterly broken the MAX Frank is.  Although not officially part of the main Punisher MAX series this miniseries has been included in the omnibus reprints of the main series and thus has been sanctioned as the prologue to that incredible run. As befits the subject matter, it's grim, sad stuff as we peak into Frank's soul and find the abyss gazing back and offering him a deal and so the Punisher is Born in the fire forged battles of jungles of Vietnam. If you're wondering why I am reviewing this last it's because before the omnibus reprint it cost silly money on Amazon. Anyway onwards.

We begin at the military base Valley Forge  on the "First Day" as the soldiers takes bets on a US aircraft plummeting to its doom.  We are then introduced to our main narrator, a man called Stevie Goodwin out on patrol with Frank's group. He thinksto himself how he will not die in Vietnam, he's only got "thirty-nine days and a wake-up" before the magic day he steps on a plane and leaves this place.

He will not die here, "I will escape these fields of slaughter".   He will not re-up and become a combat junkie "forever jonesing for their next sweet firefight, their lethal speedball of adrenaline and tracer."  He will not fall in love with war like Frank Castle.

Frank Castle.

Frank is the finest officer the Marines of Valley Forge have ever known and the reason Stevie thinks he will survive this.

Stevie: "His dedication to his men is total.  Not from love - that word and he do not beong together - but from the same determination to do his job correctly that informs his every action."

Since Frank arrived six months ago the have suffered no K.I.A's (killed in action).  The story goes that Frank began his first tour in '68 and showed such promise that Special Forces had themselves a new recruit.

His second tour there were rumours he was involved in wetwork in Cambodia, black ops, assassination and horror stories too outlandish to be true.   Now it's late '71 and the war is winding down and no one quite knows what to do with the "predators they have bred".  He was sent to Valley Forge because he had to go somewhere,  "alas for Captain Castle, he is running out of war."

After a brief interlude where they kill some Vietcong Stevie goes on to ruminate that he will have sons.  He will watch them grow with pride and he will take them into the woods and mountains and show them "the good America.  The real America.  And not this tragic misstep into darkness."  And one day his sons will ask him what he did during the war and what he saw, "and I will never, ever tell them."

Jungle combat.

Frank reports to the man running the base, a Colonel Ottman who is fed up and boozing.  Frank reports that they killed twenty-one Vietcong with no casualties on their side and captured a lot of weaponry.  He believes the Vietcong are building supplies with North Vietnam Army (N.V.A) equipment, they are stockpiling for an offensive push.   They should be getting ready for that.

Ottman just tells him General Padden will be there in an hour for a "surprise inspection".  He's going to be "sick" so it'll be Frank's job to show him around.  Frank wants to make sure his report is passed along, Ottman says "just like all the others."  Now Frank has an hour to get the place in shape before the General arrives.

Frank makes his report to the uncaring Ottman.

The General arrives via chopper and immediately tells Frank the place is a disgrace.  There are unmanned bunkers, artillery covered in rust and filth, there is rampant abuse of marijuana as well as it being rumoured to be the "heroin capital of the corps."  Also barely one in ten know to salute a senior officer, "why is Valley Forge a complete and total fuck story?!"

Frank calmly tells him the last man who tried to restore order "woke up next to a claymore mine."  Padden says the fragging of officers is a "myth".  Now he wants to know what the hell is being done to restore order there.  "Nothing" responds Frank.   It's undermanned by fifty percent and what men they do have are "rejects and fuck-ups." They are short of equipment and resupply is a bad joke.  The men figure if the brass don't give a shit, why should they? He's managed to put together one platoon of motivated men to maintain their offensive patrols because if they can't do that, what are they here for?

Padden says that once he makes his report Valley Forge won't be there anymore.  Frank asks if he's closing the base? Padden says fuck yes.  Frank says they are the only outpost watching Cambodia, who's going to keep an eye on the enemy, his resupplying and if he comes in strength - cutting the country in half.

Padden tells him this is not a popular war and soon the conflict and their involvement will end.  Charlie will no longer be his concern, they will be shipping him out with the rest of the rabble and if Padden has a say, Frank will be leaving the Marine Corp, "and then the closest you'll get to the enemy will be watching him on the T.V. news".

Not cool Frank!

Padden is about to board his chopper when Frank asks him to come look at something which will show him "incotrovertible evidence that Firebase Valley Forge has to remain open."  Angrily Padden comes with him.  Frank leans against a sign and tells Padden to go up the steps on to the wall.  Padden does so and asks what the fuck he is supposed to be looking at.  Then a Vietnamese sniper blows his head apart and Frank moves away from the sign which warns of danger from snipers.

The other men come and collect his body and Frank sits and broods and a voice speaks to him.  I'm going to call it the "Dark Voice" as it speaks entirely in black captions.  The voice congratulates him but also tells him what the General said was true, "this wonderland of yours is coming to an end."  For all his talk of duty when did he ever feel so alive, "so full of fierce black joy?"

The Dark Voice tells him he can fix it so Frank can keep doing this forever, there will be a price to pay but he'll be able to keep on going and never stop.  If he just says the word the voice can fix it. "Who am I?  Is that what you're asking?  Well who do you think I am, Frank...?"

The Second Day comes and Stevie finds his friend, an African-American soldier cooking heroin. Stevie drags him outside saying Frank wants to take the platoon out.  A man called Coltrane appears and demands to know "who's going to pay for this jungle bunny's fix?"  Stevie said they had a deal, that he wasn't going to let Angel (the black man's name) smoke in his bunker anymore.  Coltrane orders his goon Garcia to take a razor to them, but Stevie stands his ground and Coltrane backs off calling them queers.

Frank appears and asks if Angel is clean and Stevie says he is.  Frank tells him to keep it that way.  He leaves and and a shaken Stevie notes to himself that Castle cuts them no slack and a junkie can't shoot straight, "but Angel can."  The platoon moves out, the last twenty-nine men at Firebase Valley Forge who care enough about the enemy to go and find him.   They are all there for their own reasons, his is for Angel who shot the V.C. who caught Stevie changing magazines.  Stevie could sit out the rest of his thirty-eight at the base and no one would care, but he stays with the platoon.

Stevie: "Some of us are here for our brothers, some of us for our horror stories.  Some of us even still believe in duty.  Americans through te looking glass, lost in Vietnam."

Frank believes the Vietcong are laying the groundwork for a N.V.A offensive so they whole platoon is out in the hope that there will be strength in numbers.  Suddenly one of them takes a bullet to the neck and they all scramble for cover.

Frank Castle, force of nature.

They fire into the trees, calmly Frank says "give me the sixty" and as the others lie down he stands and fires upon the snipers in the trees and doesn't stop until they are all dead.  Stevie watches him and thinks to himself that at Valley Forge they have a saying, "if you think payback's bad... you haven't met Frank Castle."

Six of them are dead, Frank sustained a wound to an arm.  They search the area and find a Vietcong woman about to kill herself.  One of them boots the gun away from her head calling her a "cunt!!!" as he does so.  His name is MacDonald and he starts to pull his trousers down and lays on top of her about to rape her.  The others watch paralysed until Frank appears and shoots the woman in the head telling MacDonald they are here to kill the enemy not rape them.

MacDonald goes to a nearby river and starts washing her blood off his face.  Stevie, horrifed at what nearly just happened and composing himself then observes Frank walk up to MacDonald and place his boot on his head, forcing MacDonald's head under until he drowns.  The Hueys come to take them home, MacDonald is searched for but not found.  Stevie doesn't breathe a word of what he saw Frank do. Angel tells him not to let the "shit wit' the gook... fuck you up.  You think to much, man. Always have.  This place got zero slack to give."

Later that night Frank approaches Stevie and asks him what made him keep quiet?  Stevie says he was scared.  Then he asks what made Frank do it?  Frank says "I wanted to punish him".  Stevie asks about killing the Vietnamese girl. Frank says if he has her flown out of there his men would never trust him again.  She would never hand over intel and she'd just end up getting shot in the head further down the line.   He then tells Stevie he doesn't have to be scared of him and walks away.

Indeed.

Stevie thinks that he is though.  Because they need a man like that to lead them through, "and what that says about us is unthinkable."  He scared because of the look in his eyes and that worst of all Frank thinks what he did to the girl today is his idea of helping out.

The Third Day begins. Stevie thinks that they cannot lose in Vietnam, although the Generals are stupid, their tactics poor, their morals trampled into a ditch and shot through with heroin and bitter failure and although they face the bravest, toughest fighters in the world, "strange little men with hearts like those of tigers" and although they have made the world depise them and done things that will stain their souls forever while America eats its own intestines over this... "we cannot lose."

When they finally leave Vietnam after the brave little fighters kick them out and they finally lose their stomach for it, no one on South-East Asia or anywhere on Earth will look at what's left of Vietnam "and think it's smart to fuck with the United States."

Stevie then speaks aloud to Angel, wondering why America can't stay out of the rest of the world.  They have everything they could ever want so why can't they leave the world alone.  But Angel ignores him, watching the planes flying over and wishing he could get "that fuckin' high."

Elsewhere Frank and Colonel Ottman are walking and talking together.  Frank also notes the planes are staying low and that means a storm is on its way.  Once it hits they'll have no air support, Ottman says they'll have artillery support but Frank notes "There's our own. We're out of range of everyone else's".  The crews are too stoned to operate them and the ammo looks like it'll cook off.  They haven't had a resupply... Ottman interupts saying he hasn't requested any resupplys.

Ottman: "Look you're the only one that hasn't noticed.  So I'll spell it out for you:  no one cares about this place.  The enemy least of all.  Everyone knows the war is almost over."

He opens his hip flask and says that they'll get to go home soon, so long as they don't do anything stupid or raise eyebrows in Da Nang.  All they have to do is "shut the fuck up" and they can climb onto a plane and get out of this shithole.

Frank ponders another executive assassination.

He takes a swig as Frank says this could be a bad time not to rock the boat. The weather is perfect for the enemy and the activity he's been observing has him thinking they are up to something.  Ottman just tells him to go away and leave him alone.  Frank asks him about his responsibility to his men.  Ottman just says he's going for a shit.  As Frank stands outside the toilet block, he takes out a grenade and goes to pull the pin, but then stops, puts it back and walks away.

The Dark Voice asks him what stopped him blowing up Ottman. No one would have known or cared and it would have made him acting commander of the base right when the men need him most.   Because it is just the men he cares about and not maybe... wanting to "frag that bastard?" The Voice asks if he is worried that he kills at the drop of a hat, "that urge you have, to give every motherfucker in the world exactly what they deserve?"  The Voice tells him if he just says the world "you can kill every single one of them."

Frank approaches Stevie who is cleaning his rifle.  Frank praises him for that, saying not many grunts do that.  Stevie says many of them don't care about getting home.  Frank says it must be soon for him.  Stevie says he's got thirty-seven days and a wake-up left.  Frank tells Stevie he has a family, a daughter and his wife is pregnant with what he hopes is a son.  Stevie says that's great, it gives him something to stay alive for.  Frank says "I sometimes think they might be my last chance."

Frank then tells him his friend Angel is down in Coltrane's bunker again. Does he want a hand?  But Stevie says he'll deal with it himself.  As Stevie leaves, the Voice asks Frank what he was thinking "talking happy-ever-after with the softest heart in the platoon."  And his family isn't his last chance, the Voice is his last chance "to be what you want to be."

Stevie goes and drags the stoned Angel out of Coltrane's bunker.  They sit and talk.  Stevie says he thought Angel was going to stay off the stuff.  But Angel tells him "fuck you."  Stevie says Angel is getting close to being able to go, he doesn't want to take a smack habit home with him, "you've got far, far too much to live for."

Angel asks how the fuck he knows that.  Stevie has everything to live for, "all I got waitin' for me's a ghetto fulla death."  Stevie says they shouldn't be here and Angel agrees.  Stevie says they are making a mess of the place and screwing up America, this has nothing to do with the real America.

Angel: "Stevie, you are so fulla shit.  I keep hearin' you talk 'bout this idea you got... this real America?  It's a fuckin' dream man.  It belongs in the thirties.  The twenties, fuck, the Wild muthafuckin' West.  That's the real America right there: back when you was shootin' each other, rapin' red Indians an' callin' me nigga..."

Stevie says that's not true, but Angel tells him to "grow the fuck up".   Relentlessly Angel goes on to tell him not to give him shit about there is good with the bad and if people work hard they'll make it.   There's good for Stevie and bad for Angel, "ain't no more to it than that."

Stevie and Angel argue.

Before they can carry the argument on, someone yells "Sappers in the wire!"  The Vietnamese are hitting the base in force.  Behind the bunkers the men are firing on them, but Frank says they are blowing their attack lines on the wire, after that they don't matter and he orders illumination and the flares go up. This reveals a huge number of Vietnamese soldiers rushing to attack.  Once again Frank asks someone to "give me the sixty."

The Final Day begins in battle. It's all chaos and blood as Stevie thinks that there is "Great Beast loose in the world of men".  It awoke in dark times, stormed across Europe, moved to the Pacificand crushed the evil it found underfoot.  But after it was victorious the Great Beast's keepers found it would not go back to sleep.   The Beast has many heads upon which are written names: Lockheed, Bell, Monsanto, Dow, Gruman, Colt and many more, "and they are very hungry".

Stevie: "So the Great Beast must be fed: and every generation, our country goes to war.  A war for war's sake, usually.  And one that could have been avoided.  But there must be blood in extraordinary quantities, and whether it is foreign of American is of no consequence at all.  And so today, at Firebase Valley Forge, our turn has finally arrived."

As Frank keeps firing a soldier tells him the can't raise the Da Nang base, but they got a response from an armoured unit.  They lost them though but hope they can get them back a relay a message.   Frank says to tell them they are about to be overrun they need air and artillery immediately.  Ottman however says they can't use the radio, "he keeps saying don't rock the boat over and over."  Frank says to shoot him.

Frank always at the sharp end.

Their left flank folds and the Vietnamese are in.   Frank, Stevie and Angel run to a new position but Angel tangles with a Vietnamese soldier screaming "get some!  Get some!!"  Stevie say for God's sake, but Angel turns and yells "there ain't no God, fool!  There ain't no muthafuckin' God!!"  And Angel goes down.

Stevie takes cover as Frank directs the cannon fire.  Then Coltrane grabs Stevie from behind with a raor saying "where's your nigger, boy?"  But Frank appears and smashes Coltrane over the head with a shovel.   With the command post overrun the gunners bayonetted it looks like Frank and Stevie are the last.  We see Ottman sitting dead from a self inflicted gunshot wound and the radio calling them back before a Vietnamese soldier shoots it.

Steve sticks with Frank thinking how he was so sure he'd make it.  Above them the planes are dropping bombs.  Frank yells at Stevie to "pop smoke!  They'll it us too! Pop smoke!!"  Stevie fumbles with a smoke grenade when an enemy soldier runs through the fire, bayonet aimed at Stevies stomach.  Suddenly the scene changes.  The sky is clear and blue.  He is yanked inside a civilian aircraft, he is surrounded by beautiful women all calling his name.  He weeps as one says "you made it, you silly son of a bitch."  The plane flies on.

Stevie gets his plane home.

With Stevie dead, only Frank is left alive.  As he shoots until he runs out of ammo then begins beating the enemy to death with his shovel, the Dark Voice speaks to him. It tells him it's time to make a decision.  he's been hit four times now, the Voice can help him but he has to say the word.  Three tours here, what was it that kept him coming back, "what else would you be looking for but this?"

The Voice can give it all to Frank, there will be a price "but nothing's free." If he says no he will be one more K.I.A. on a hill no one cared about to start with. But if he says yes the Voice will give him "what you've wanted all these years".  A war that lasts forever, a war that never ends.  And Frank, almost more animal than man now, says "YES".

And The Punisher is born.

The next morning American soldiers arrive at the base to find everyone dead.  Everyone except Frank.  Who is just standing there, bleeding from several bullet wounds, holding a broken rifle and surrounded by dead Vietnamese soldiers.  He says nothing as the soldier in charge tells the others to get Frank on the chopper so he's not their problem anymore and they can finish up here.  And we say goodbye to Firebase Valley Forge with a shot of Stevie's body.

But it's not quite the end of the story.  We cut to Frank, smart in his dress uniform, his arm in a sling and using a crutch to walk as he arrives home to his family.  His wife, daughter and baby son.  She asks him if he's going to go back?  He says no.

Frank: "I went as far as I ever want to go, this time.  I still don't really remember... but I'm never going away again.  I'd be stuid to, so long as I've got you guys.  It took me far too long to realise that."

Then the Dark Voice speaks to him.  Tells him how he got an early discharge and medal or two for shutting the fuck up about Valley Forge.  But down to business.  He agreed to the Voice's offer and it delivered. Not everyday you beat two dozen men to death and soak up seven bullets.

And how can it put this?  There is a price to be paid.  And we see Frank's family looking up at him, smiling.  The Voice says it's too late, "things have already been set in motion".  But he'll have forgotten about this little conversation soon.  He should just enjoy what short time he has with them.  But who is the Voice?  It says it's in the same business as him and been at it a lot longer.  They'll be good friends in the years to come and although they'll never speak again, he'll keep the Voice busy, "and let's just leave it at that."  Frank's wife then asks if he is OK, Frank seemed to space out for a moment.  Frank holds her in a long embrace saying it's nothing, "hold on tight."

Oh Frank, what did you do?

And that brings the origin of The Punisher as envisoned by Garth Ennis to a close.  It's fascinating stuff and has made me appreciate the final wrapping up of the sixty issue series in "Valley Forge, Valley Forge" even more. This does seem to help explain why the Ennis Punisher was so wounded as it were, he may just be carrying around subconcious guilt about engineering the death of his family so he could have war without end.  Yet the irony is that his experience at Valley Forge seemed to cure him of that addiction. And was it Death itself really speaking to him? Or him suffering some kind of psychotic break that gave his darkest desires a voice of their own.  Seeing Frank the soldier is also interesting, for all his war addiction, he did care for the safety of the base and the grunts manning it.  Frustration that his reports were going ignored because the man in charge just wanted a quiet life and to sit out the war in peace.  The murder of the General is a little harder to forgive. He might have been an asshole and uneccesarily hostile towards Frank who was the only one trying to improve things there, but he was also correct. Valley Forge was a mess and he possibly became the first real sacrifice of Frank's future role as The Punisher.  When he drowned the man who tried to rape the Vietnamese girl, he simply declared he wanted to "punish" him, showing the same uncompromising views he again would carry with him after the death of his family caught in the crossfire of a Mafia war instigated his long futile crusade against all criminals.  It's heady stuff and the art properly conveys they panicked chaotic horror of battle and giving us an everyman viewpoint character like Stevie through whose eyes we see most of it makes it all the sadder when he dies as well. So unless Marvel release the rest of his post-"Welcome Back Frank" series, this is the last of the Garth Ennis Punisher material I have.  A stunning piece of work all-in-all and the best the character has ever been written.

The Punisher: Welcome Back Frank (#1-12) PART TWO

"I should have gone a long time ago" - Frank Castle

Welcome to part two of my look at Garth Ennis's first crack at The Punisher which managed to rescue a character from the laughing stock he'd been turned into by an ill-advised reinvention as a supernatural agent of Heaven redeeming himself by killing for God and which resulted in Ennis not only writing the character in the mainstream Marvel Universe but also writing the much acclaimed MAX run as covered by me previously.  After rejecting Heaven and picking up his guns to focus upon taking out the Gnucci Mafia family in New York, we closed out part one on cliffhanger where he'd been tracked down to the address he was living anonymously at as "John Smith" and although he'd taken out his attackers he passed out in a nearby alley after taking several bullets to the torso. Living in the same place are hyperactive "Spacker" Dave, the meek Joan and the obese Mr. Bumpo.  There is also a plotline with two cops, Lieutenant Molly Richtofen who has been tasked with taking down the Gnucci family and detective Martin Soap who has been tasked with catching The Punisher joining forces to wait until they take each other out before moving in and "arresting what's left".  There are also three men following Franks examples as vigilante killers, the snobbish "Elite", the class warrior "Payback" and the crazy priest "The Holy". On art duties are his Preacher collaborator Steve Dillon as penciller and Jimmy Palmiotti inking.  Time for the conclusion as the grotesque Ma Gnucci goes all out with her intentions to destroy The Punisher before he destroys her.

A somewhat inconvenienced Frank.

Frank comes to bleeding heavily, by sheer force of iron will he manages to rise to his feet and get back to the house.  We cut to the aftermant outside with several bodybags laid out and Molly and Soap at the scene.  Soap says to Molly they should have followed the Gnucci soldiers and been lead right to The Punisher.  Molly points out that he wouldn't have wanted to be around for this carnage.  The captain has also called to check out the vigilante killings uptown even though they aren't The Punisher's M.O.

We cut to Ma Gnucci who is mad that the men reporting to her didn't check The Punisher actually died.   She orders them to get back down there and find out which apartment is The Punisher's and if they stay alive and get it right she can call the other families and arrange for reinforcements.  We see Frank having reached his flat and says to himself all he has to do now is dig the bullets out, "how hard can that be" as he pitches forwards onto the floor.

We rejoin Molly and Soap at the church where The Holy in the guise of Catholic priest Hector Redondo has been killing criminals after they confess their sins.  They tell him that he's the one thing the men had in common which Hector agrees is a strange thing.  He tells them that he took their confessions regularly and he knew all five men.  "Four men" corrects Molly.  Hector says he can't break the seal of confession and we see inside the confession booth another man dead with an axe buried in his chest.

At the apartment building, Joan sees a trail of blood going into Frank's flat, she follows it querously asking if Mr. Smith (he's going by the name of "John Smith" here) is OK and he rises up behind her. We then cut to Elite who is telling a hot dog seller he doesn't want him in his neighbourhood and he puts a grenade inside his cart and blows it up.

Back with Frank, Joan pops her head round Dave's place and asks him to come help as Frank has passed out again.   When he sees "John Smith" is really The Punisher he is really excited.  Joan hasn't heard of The Punisher, she doesn't watch the news because it scares her.  He tells her what The Punisher does and she asks if they should call an ambulance.

Joan and Dave to the rescue.

Dave says that's not a good idea, they don't want him turned over to the cops. He decides they have to look after him themselves.  He took a first aid course so he thinks he can do it and also bad guys will probably come looking for him so they have to be careful, "anyone strange comes asking questions... we haven't seen anything okay?"  Joan agrees.  Between them they pick him up and set him on the bed.   Frank starts to come around and Dave excitedly says his secret's safe with them and he and Joan will look after him. "What?" thinks Frank.

We then see a woman interviewing the chairman of the Wall Street Investors about the antics of Payback.  But while he is talking Payback comes up and shoots him in the head then rants down the camera which is still broadcasting about his mission to take on corporate crime and defending the rights of the workers.  He then scarpers before the cops show up.

The two men Ma Gnucci tasked to find The Punisher walk to the house. One notes that now would be a good time to send "The Russian" which the other agrees is someone who would stand a chance against The Punisher.  They reach the house and Joan opens the door, they flash fake N.Y.P.D credentials but she says she lives alone in her flat, while we see Frank lying on her bed behind her.  They knock on Dave's door and he panics:

Dave: "Aaah!  You're not the cops!  I know who you are"  You're here for him, but, but I'm not saying anything! I'm not betraying The Punisher to punks like you!  So you can get lost you hear!"

One of the men responds with, "really".  We then return to Joan and the prone but concious Frank.  She asks him "why do you kill them?" Frank says he hates them   She says the thought it might be because he wanted to make the world a better place. As he lies there he thinks that of all the ways he could have checked out, "this has to be the dumbest."

The two men who spoke to Dave call Ma Gnucci saying they have a man who knows where The Punisher is.   They have him tied up and one of them has a pair of pliers.  They hang up and Ma Gnucci tells her goon to look for the contact details they have for The Russian.

In a local bar Soap is telling Molly the sorry story of his career so far.  She asks what's eating him and he says it's The Punisher being the latest in a string of disasters.  Molly reassures him that nothing will go wrong, The Punisher will come after Ma Gnucci, they just have to be patient.  The barman hits on her but she rejects his advances saying he's definitely not her type, which makes Soap smile.

FRank can still do the business even when seriously wounded.

Joan tells Frank that Dave is screaming, so Frank asks her to help him up. They stagger to Dave's flat where the two goons are pulling the piercings out of his face.  But he hasn't given Frank up.  Frank gets out his knife and when he knocks on the door and one of the men answers, he sticks him with the knife.  He falls to the floor with the now dead man, the other turns and Franks knife flies into his chest, "ballistic knife.  Spring loaded.  Old favourite of mine" thinks Frank. Poor Dave has had all his rings ripped out.

Back in the bar with Soap and Molly he asks how someone as young as her gets to be a lieutenant.  She says it was by being better than most people around her which wasn't difficult considering the rest of the department.  She says the rank and file are good people doing an impossible job, but the brass are all in bed with the scum they are supposed to be taking down.   Soap then starts to hit on her and she curtly tells him she's a lesbian.   He quickly changes the subject and then somewhat crushed orders some more drinks.

Frank is lying on the kitchen table.  He has called an alcoholic doctor who specialises in patching up wiseguys no questions asked.  He found his contact details in a dead man's wallet.  "Wanted to do this myself" he thinks, "but the boy's involved and he deserves the chance to keep his face".  The doctor downs some booze and asks if Frank wants anesthetic.  Frank says no and holds a pistol in one hand and a bullet between his teeth.  The doctor gets to work and Frank digs into a lifetime of blood and fire to keep him going.

Frank gets ready for surgery.

The doctor finishes patching up both Frank and Dave.  Frank pays him over double what they agreed and the doctor leaves. Frank asks Joan to walk Dave back to his apartment when he comes round.  He also tells Joan to call him Frank and she smiles to herself at that.

We cut to Kazakhstan.  A team of Green Beret's are about to take on The Russian in the house they tracked him down to.  We then get a sequence of panels showing the house as noise and gunshots ring out finally ending with one surviving Green Beret running out stark naked with a rifle bent round his neck calling for his mommy.  Inside the house we see the shadow of The Russian pick up the phone and it's Ma Gnucci, he says he'll be on the next plane to the U.S. "for you Ma.. anything".

It's now three weeks later.  Ma Gnucci is trying to get the other families to help with reinforcements.  But she is having no luck, none of them want to face The Punisher.  Angrily she calls them worthless cowardly scum.  But then some good news for her, "oh my dear, sweet Russian. I had almost lost all hope."

The Russian.

Frank has survived and now able to walk he's moving his armoury to a safehouse.  He leaves the flat and passes Mr. Bumpo carrying a stack of hot pizzas.  Mr. Bumpo tells him to "keep on punishing".  This makes Frank stop and asks what he means.  Mr. Bumpo says he knows all about him being The Punisher, somewhat annoyed Frank guesses that Dave told him.

Back with Ma Gnucci and The Russian, she asks why it took him three weeks to get here. He says he forgot he was wanted in forty-eight states, so when the plane was five miles above Canada he made the plane crash and he ended up confused for a while.  But he remembered, crossed the border and now he is here.   Ma Gnucci tells him she wants him to kill The Punisher and gives him a photo. She will give him ten million to do it.  He says it's a deal and she tells two reluctant goons to drive him to the apartment building in Manhattan The Punisher is holed up in.  He hugs one of them, crushing him to death leaving one to escort him.

Frank confronts Dave saying he told Mr. Bumpo who he really was.  Dave said he couldn't resist, the whole thing is just too cool. Also he says that Mr. Bumpo deserved to know it's dangeround for him too.  Frank says he's leaving.  Dave says he can't, having him here is awesome.  But Frank sternly says that if he's not out of here before Ma. Gnucci's boys come after him he, Mr. Bumpo and Joan will die in the crossfire.  Because of the pain Dave took for him he won't threaten him with death, he's going to trust him to stay quiet "and call it even, okay?"

A TV report on the vigilantes of New York.

Molly and Soap are still on stake-out duty at Ma Gnucci's and they spot The Russian being driven away.  Molly says they need to go to the lab.  On the news is a story about the various vigilantes.  All three are watching it and it gives them all the same idea.  Frank merely says, "uh-huh".

In the bar Molly has The Russian's dossier.  She says he's "a walking death camp". They look over photos of the various atrocities he's committed, and Molly says everyone wants him - the Feds, the D.E.A, every state force and sheriff's department, Interpol and so on.  He first shows up in Afghanistan on holiday during the Russian invasion. Then he just goes everywhere there's trouble, Lebanon, Iraq, East Timor, Chechnya, Balkans, Belfast and that's not counting his normal criminal activity.

Molly: "Sometimes he does it for money.  Sometimes just for fun.  Pretty much everyone wants to kill him... and now he's our problem."

Ma Gnucci's brought him in to deal with The Punisher. Now they have two choices.  They can call in tactical and immediately lose their case as well as triggering an enormous bloodbath. Or they can leave The Punisher to The Russian and "then we step in and arrest what's left: right? Why me lord?" groans Soap.   Molly says give it twenty-four hours.  Soap orders more alcohol.

Joan confesses to Frank.

Joan comes to see Frank saying she heard he was leaving.   He tells her he doesn't want to put them in danger.  She says she doesn't feel like she is in danger "ever since I found out who you really are I've felt safe for the first time in my life."  She says she doesn't like the city, it's dark and frightening and she doesn't feel safe walking to the end of the street.

He asks why she doesn't leave.  She says she'd love to have a house in the country with a pond and ducks and a dog to throw sticks for.

Frank: "Then you should just go.  You're right about this city, Joan.  It is a bad place.  Bad things do happen  Just go."

She says she's scared to. She doesn't have enough money and she is scared to think about changing her life.  Why does Frank stay?  "Because I like it" he replies.  "This is a terrible world" says Joan. And as we see The Russian approach the house Frank says "Yes Joan. It's a nightmare."

The next chapter starts with Frank taking a punch to the face after answering his door without checking who was calling.   He is knocked face down and The Russian treads on the back of his head before picking him up and smashing him through a wooden panel.

Frank Vs Russian round one.

Elsewhere Ma Gnucci is on the phone to the Mayor and tells him that as the cops did nothing about The Punisher she's had to bring in some outside help.  Now a certain building is going to become a charnel house and there better be no interference.  And "not a whisper of my name in the ensuing investigation".  If they have a problem with that they better remember she has photos of him and the commissioner on their fact finding tour of Vegas.  She tells the Mayor to stop whimpering and hangs up.

The Russian goes to jump on Frank who puts a boot up which smashes into The Russian's groin.   This makes him pause for a moment, then he helps Frank up who grabs a chair and smashes it over The Russian's head.  The Russian leaves for a moment then comes back with the toilet which he smashes a dazed Frank in the face with.

Soap and Molly are back staking out Ma Gnucci's place.  Soap is having a bit of a tearful breakdown.  He says her plan was stupid and they are doomed, Ma Gnucci and The Russian are going to cause havoc and it'll be his fault and he'll get fired and jailed and they'll do terrible things to him in prison and also his partner is a lesbian and she'll never falll in love with him.

She tells him, "now stop whing, you loser."  She says they are both losers, he's the unluckiest cop on the force and she refuses to sleep her way to the top. They are expected to fail, they have no back-up and no support only what they can do themselves, "and if that means doing something crazy... so be it."  Soap looks at her in awe, "you're... you're so decisive." She tells him to shut up and watch the house.

Back at the fight.  Frank pulls out his boot knife and stabs The Russian, which doesn't faze him at all.  Meanwhile Elite is executing a drug dealer on his turf and is being watched by Payback in his car.  Frank has had his head jammed in the fridge and The Russian is banging the door repeatedly on him. 

Ah the old head in firdge door gag.

Payback meanwhile speaks with Elite saying that they should team-up.  Elite isn't sure as they focus on such different targets, but Payback points out they both do what the cops can't or won't.  Elite takes the poin and gets in the car.  They head for Spanish Harlem to try and find the axeman, and then find the big man himself - The Punisher.

Who is being soundly thrashed.  The Russian bangs his head on the cooker and Frank lights up a ring burning The Russian's hand and making him howl in pain.  Frank makes a note to remember he doesn't like heat.  Elite and Payback are crusing around arguing about their differing ideals when an injured man comes out of the church chased by Hector with a bloody axe.  Elite shoots the man dead.  Hector is pleased to see them, and they make a pact to work together and also find The Punisher to lead them.

Frank lies on the kitchen floor, The Russian says "end of round one".  He starts singing the praises of American superheroes and that when he is done here he'll go looking for autographs.  Frank spots a gun under the cooker and crawls over to get it.  But as he picks it up, The Russian takes it off him and snaps it in half, then says "Okey-dokey, big boy.  Seconds away.  Round two."

Uh oh.

He throws Frank through the apartement door and out into the corridor. Joan and Dave come to see and The Russian comes out and sees them:

The Russian: "Ah!  These are your little friends, yes? When The Russian gets through with you, imagine the terrible things that will happen to them!"

Frank yells for them to go, and then gets punched through Mr. Bumpo's door where he is feasting on fresh pizza.  Landing by Mr. Bumpo Frank asks if it is hot?  Mr. Bumpo says yes and as The Russian bears down on him he slings a pizza in his face causing him to react in great pain.

Frank trips him up as he claws the burning melted cheese of his face and as The Russian lays face up on the floor, Frank pushes Mr. Bumpo on top of him and suffocates him.  He asks how long it's been and Mr. Bumpo says about twenty mintes.  "We'll give it another ten" says the tired Frank.

A very American way to go.

In the church Payback and Elite are having major ideological differences.  Elite says Payback is a "whining commie" and Payback says Elite is a "spoiled, rich creep". Hector tells them to cut it out and gets furious:

Hector: "You two idiots had better start shaping up before the wrath of God descends!  I'm not kidding!  We've got to get this together! Because right now, if we ask The Punisher to join this little band, the our particular battle for justice will be over before it's begun!"

Speaking of The Punisher, The Russian is dead and Frank says "he got me mad."  He tells Mr. Bumpo, Joan and Dave to go inside and lock their doors and not come out until he is gone.   "How do you do it Frank?" asks Joan.  He says it's a simple as her desire to live in the country.

Frank then throttles the goon who drove The Russian there and with something in a bag, takes the wheel and starts to drive to the Gnucci HQ.  Ma Gnucci is convinced The Russian will be back soon with The Punisher's head.   Outside Soap and Molly are still watching, Soap says the hunt for The Punisher is being called off, which Molly realises means the Gnucci's know he's dead  But the "dead" Punisher drives past them at that moment and Molly is gleeful, "go Punisher! Go Punisher! I knew he wouldn't let us down."

In the church Hector tells the other two they need to confront evil, every monster every piece of scum, "we have to go out and kill it."  He puts out his hand saying it's the judgement of The Holy.  Payback puts his hand on saying they need The Punisher's weapons and expertise.  Elite adds his hand saying he'll be their leader.  Hector says he'll lead a crusade to cleanse the city of its sin as well as casting the moneylenders from their temples, "he will lead The Vigilante Squad".

Frank goes to confront Ma Gnucci.

Ma Gnucci is getting antsy waiting for The Russian, he should have been finished hours ago.   One of her men carries her to the window and she looks out to see Frank holding The Russian's head and a sub-machine gun and he yells, "is this all you've got?!!"  At that all the goons stationed outside drop their weapons and walk away as do the ones inside, leaving a ranting Ma Gnucci completely helpless to do anything but scream in impotent rage.

Inside her room Frank starts pouring petrol all over the floor.   She wants to know why he is burning the place down, "talk to me, you pig!"

Frank: "Because I want you gone from the face of this Earth".

Ma Gnucci: "You scum! You vicious evil scum!  You're no better than I am, Punisher!"

She keeps ranting at him saying he isn't on the side of justice, he's a serial killer and insane.  He's a mass murderer and he should put a bullet in his own head to get peace for himself.  "You are damned!" she shouts.  "Tell me something I don't know" says Frank, now outside the house and he tosses a grenade through a window and the place starts to burn.

The end of the Gnucci family.

Ma Gnucci manages to force herself out of the window and crawls to Frank and bites his ankles, but he boots her hard back into the flaming inferno and she burns to death.   Soap and Molly sneak up to find their big arrest has gone up in flames.  A vexed Soap says he shouldn't have listened to her, "gaze on our triumph" he says sarcastically.

Frank appears behind them, Soap whimpers that he doesn't want to die. Frank tells him not to do anything stupid then.  He asks for any information they have on the copycat vigilantes. They say they don't have much.   Frank tells him he blew open Ma. Gnucci's safe. He found a million dollars which he is keeping, and also found some photographs. When Molly asks what kind he says "The career-making kinds".   In exchange for all they have on Elite, Payback and the axeman they'll get the photos.

He then departs as more cops arrive. As the fire is brought under control they look at the photos he gave them.   And it's the incriminating ones of the Mayor and the Commisioner doing something extremely blackmailable.  Molly and Soap both exchange broad grins upon this discovery.

Our intrepid cops get their happy ending.

We jump forward a month.  In Franks old apartment building Joan ventures out thinking she heard Frank.  Mr. Bumpo walks up and points out his door is open.  They go inside but find the place empty, Joan says sadly he won't ever be back and she'll always be trapped here and scared.  Then Mr. Bumpo spots a table and piled on it is massive amounts of cash with their names on top.  The card ontop of Joan's pile read "Joan.  Just go.  Frank". And she smiles happily while Mr. Bumpo and Dave celebrate loudly.  Outside listening is Frank

Frank. "Best I can do Joan. Dave.  Mr. Bumpo.  Maybe I am damned.  But I'm not dragging you good people down with me".

And he walks away.  Meanwhile, thanks to the photos Soap is the new commisioner.  He is looking at a photo of a beautiful woman and Molly has written on the back "Might stay an extra couple of weeks".  She is running for mayor herself and Soap sets up future meetings between them.

He asks the receptionist where the previous commissioner kept his cigars.  She says that he took his after he left in a hurry, but she took the liberty of leaving a new box for him.  He lights up and goes and stands on the balcony.

Soap: "I love this city.  Heck, even a loser like me can blackmail his way to the top. And now I'm going to give this place the N.Y.P.D it's always deserved".

At that moment a bird craps on his face.  As shit runs down his cheeks he just smiles and says, "...man.  I love this town."

Frank is dealing with the vigilante killers as loose ends.  Elite seems to have quit his patch and Payback could hit anywhere.  So that leaves The Axeman.  He finds the church they all went for confession to with Hector Redondo.  The three of them are still arguing, with Elite and Payback still at ideological odds and Hector caught in the middle.  Then suddenly Frank appears and Hector says "I knew you'd come.  It was inevitable".  Frank scowls, saying "It certainly was".

They say that he inspired them and now he can lead them.  This bemuses Frank who points out that Hector is a "lunatic".  Elite is a "Nazi" and Payback, does the name Maria Lopez mean anything to him?  She was a cleaner at World Wide investments and was killed when one of his bullets went through a wall.  She's one of four innocents who have been caught in Payback's crossfire because he couldn't be bothered to plan properly.

Payback mumbles that there have to be sacrifices in war.  Frank readies his gun.  The three of them say they thought he'd be with them.  They have it all worked out, The Vigilante Squad with secret plans and codewords and passwords and things.  They can punish the guilty, clean up the city once and for all.  Hector yells, "In heaven's name man! Isn't this exactly what you wanted?"  Frank opens fire on them saying just "No".  And that brings this storyline to an end.

Frank is the only vigilante the city needs.

A great ending to this revitalisation of good old Frank Castle, doing what he does best.  Although there is a grotesque aspect to elements of the story, like Ma Gnucci's being just a torso and the indestructability of The Russin taken out by an obese New Yorker, there is also a sweetness here as well.  His dealings with his neighbours are lovely, especially Joan and giving them the money to realise their dreams at the end was a gorgeous gesture.  As he said himself, people like that, who looked after him, refused to give up his name under torture and helped kill the unkillable man deserve to have a chance to live the lives they want and not live in danger thanks to him. The final fate of Ma Gnucci was quite reminsicent of what happened to a bad guy in Preacher, but she totally deserved it.  The two other plot threads running through the story were fun,  poor Soap seeing what he is tasked to do being dragged into Molly's cunning plans.  And yet it did pay off with the deal for the photos and now the N.Y.P.D and Mayor's office might just be a little less corrupt now the tainted people have gone and the Gnucci family influence destroyed. Elite, Payback and The Holy trying to form a sort of Superfriends team of vigilantes was always going to come to a sticky end when Frank tracked them down.  He might be dedicated to wiping out criminal scum, but he needs no help and no people who will allow the deaths of innocents or people guilty of lesser crimes.  All-in-all this was a triumph for Garth Ennis, with his trademark balance of The Punisher's killer side and more human side makng the character eminently readable.  Artwise it's great as well, Palmiotti appears to be a light touch inker as the art is recgonisably the late Steve Dillon's.  So if you're a fan of the Punisher this is well worth a read as a salutory lesson in how to take a character who'd become a joke and make him viable again.  Superb stuff.

The Punisher: Welcome Back Frank (#1-12) PART ONE

"Nothing stops me.  Nothing" - Frank Castle.

Time for more Garth Ennis I think, we haven't had him on here in a while.  Now regular readers of this blog will know I covered Ennis's seminal Punisher run on the mature readers label MAX.  However that was not the first time he wrote for good old Frank Castle, he was actually hired to write a reboot of the character in the mainstream Marvelverse in the year 2000 coming off the back of his acclaimed DC Vertigo series Preacher.  The reason it's called "Welcome Back Frank" was that the Punisher had fallen into a notorious Dork Age. Frank had killed himself then an angel had brought him back to kill villains and earn his way back into Heaven using his supernatural guns.  Unlike the awesome "Franken-Castle" storyline, Angel Punisher was desgined to be a permanant change for the character but was so derided by fandom that Marvel quickly decided a rethink was needed and Ennis was brought in to return the character to his roots and make him a viable character again.  And he did this with aplomb, dealing with Frank's rejection of his Angel self and God-given mission in a few pages and then threw him into a storyline in which he takes on the worst of the New York Mafia that won back the crowd for the character and lead to Ennis being allowed free reign during the rest of his run and on Punisher MAX as well. The artists for this story are his Preacher collaborator Steve Dillon on pencils and Jimmy Palmiotti on inking duty.  As this storyline is twelve issues long I have split it into two posts. Let's crack on shall we?

We begin with Frank at a drug deal where he has killed all but one of the particpants who he holds a gun to and says "and get a haircut" too.  Then he leaves and the man excitedly recounts what happened to someone over his mobile phone which was that Frank came in all guns blazing and he's been left alive and oh he now has a tonne of money and all of the drugs enough to set them up for the rest of their lives! Then he senses Frank behind him and realizing what's about to happen, says farewell.  Frank breaks his neck, doses the cash and guns in petrol and sets it all ablaze and walkes away.

Spacker Dave and Mr. Bumpo.

Later he returns in his civilian wear to where he is living.  A small set of flats each one inhabited by a different person.  There's the massively facially pierced "Spacker Dave" who sits out on the stoop all day.  The very obese "Mr. Bumpo" and "Joan" a very timid young woman.  He says hello to all of them and returns to his rooms thinking he uses the alias John Smith"whatever works."

He ruminates that he's back to acting alone, no "Microchip" no fancy ammo, no battle-vans, no surveillance, "just the basics".  He been gone a while, "the scum in the city need a wake-up call and here it comes."  And we cut to the local morgue where the bullet ridden burned corpse of Frank's victim is having revenge sworn over him by his brother "Bobby Gnucci".  Frank enters the morgue and the coroner asks him for one hundred bucks to see the body too.  Frank stuffs him in a locker.

He enters the room and the mobsters tell him to get lost, but Frank goes for his guns, "first they do is freeze.  Like always.  So number one's a freebie."  He opens fire with his shotgun saying the rest he "pays full price for".  The bullets fly and he takes them all down finishing them off with a grenade.  He tells them he has a message, "listen".

Walking away from the scene he thinks they need to remember the terror every time they picked up the phone "because you knew I was out there".  The message is one for all scum but the Gnucci's are a good place to start.  He queues to get into the Empire State Buiding as he reflects that Sticky Eddie was the dealer who liked to choke rivals in their own blood.  Brother Bobbie was a date-rapist.  And Carlo is "Ma Gnucci's number one son."

He's been tailing him since he left a club, he can't have heard about Bobbie yet.  He's taking a woman to the one-hundreth and fourth floor, deck closed tonight apart from a select few.  Carlo slips the manager an envelope and takes a woman up there, he disables the manager and follows them.  He sneaks in telling the woman to shush.

Welcome Back Frank indeed.

Carlo turns and she's gone but the window is open. Confused he leans out and the Punisher grabs him from above  and ties him up before holding him above his head.

Frank: "I caught a glimpse of Heaven once.  The angels showed me.  The idea was I'd kill for them.  Clean up their mistakes on Earth. Eventually redeem myself.  Tried it.  Didn't like it."

And we see him pitch Carlo off the building.  He then thinks that he was taken up to see his wife and daughter and son all finally at peace.  "Then I was cast down", back into a world where rapists, psychos, perverts a brand new evil every minute spewed out as fasts as men can think them up.  The world where pitching a criminal dwarf of a skyscraper to tell the criminal scum was a sane and rational act, "the angels thought it would be Hell for me.  But they were WRONG.  Welcome back Frank says New York City".

We begin the next chapter with the police commissioner on the phone to the mayor as he demands the police turn up the heat on the Punisher reminding him that incriminating photos exist of him and the commissioner on a fact finding tour in Las Vegas.  After he signs of one of the cops says "Gnucci's must be turning up the heat."  The commissioner grumbles that putting his best men on the case will get laughed in his face, then he suddenly says "wait a minute.  Get me Soap."

Then a man called Joe, cousin to Ma Gnucci goes to a meeting in Little Italy to inform the men there that the N.Y.P.D. has been enlisted to do all they can to find the Punisher and when the cuffs go on, "one of you gentlemen will cancel The Punisher's ticket."  Listening to them discretely is Frank, having a meal with a sex worker as cover. He hands out envelopes of cash and then tells them to come back tonight and they'll have all the weapons they need.  Frank gets up to leave and tells the sex-worker to forget this ever happened.

Detective Martin Soap.

Back at the police station a down trodden looking man called Martin Soap is beng told by the Captain that his run of bad luck with cases is about to run out as he's going to be put in charge of finding and arresting The Punisher.   After the meeting he mopes about how the hell he is supposed to find The Punisher when "every cop in the department loves him."  He shown to his office by the Lieutenant whic is jammed full of files in boxes, he's told he's heading up a task force who are going to be meeting him at the crime scene.

Frank stalks his prey, which are the men handed those envelopes.  The first to die is " Harry 'Neck' Thorton".  It is said he outshot four State Troopers, "dodged a bullet.  But not thirty" as he opens up on him with his machine gun.  Then there is "Eddie Lau", expert martial artist, Frank knows a little, but his favourite is "splat fu" as he pushes Lau in front of an underground train. Then there is "Tall Joe Small".  Sniper who capped fifty guys in Desert Storm.   As he runs him over he thinks that the trouble with that was was that it wasn't Vietnam a war where "you don't fight dirty. You do things that make dirty look good."

Soap arrives at the scene of Carlo's death and meets a nervous looking man called "Buddy Plug. Most people call me Bud.  I'm the rest of the taskforce."  Soap tells him they got given the case because they don't have a hope in solvng it.  It's the Captains way of the Captain saying "you got it boss and drop dead to the commissioner simultaneously".  He says well it can't get any worse.  Then Bud reveals he's not a cop he's a "Behavioural Psychologist."

Joan.

Back at Frank's place, Joan presents him with a plate of cookies saying she baked too many and didn't want them to go to waste.  Frank thinks if he takes them she might come back and want to talk.  He doesn't take them and she has a nervous breakdown on the spot.  So he takes them.   As he sits sharpening his knife he eats one and thinks they are actually pretty good cookies.  He leaves going past Mr. Bumpo getting several pizza's delivered and Spacker Dave out on the stoop.

It's ten-thirty and Joe is waiting for the three now deceased hitmen to come.  Joe looks out his side windown grumbling about how unproffesional they are as Frank dispatches the man in the driver's seat next to him.  Joe looks back round and is rendered speechless on seeing him sat there.  He tells Joe to lose the piece and to put his boss on speaker phone.  Ma Gnucci picks up and asks who the hell it is and Joe stutters it's him and The Punisher.

Frank tells her that he thought he let her know his plan so she could plan her funeral in advance, "I got your sons.  I got your killers.  Now I've got your "man-behind-the-man".  Or the "man-behind-the-hag in your case". Then he tells Joe to get out of the car currently speeding down the freeway.  Joe wails that he will die, he's got to gve him a chance.  Frank points a gun at his head so Joe tumbles out of the car, survives the initial impact on the road, but is then run over by an eighteen-wheeler.

Frank notes that Ma Gnucci is screaming blue murder now.  He'll take the guns for himself and ditch the limo in the Hudson river, "almost the end of a rich, full day."  We then cut to a young Catholic priest taking a confession from a gangbanger who tells him all sorts of sordid things.  In a rage he grabs an axe and chops the gangbanger to bits in the Confessional yelling that he'll absolve him all right. When he is done he snaps out of it and says "Oh God forgive me.  I've done it again".

Hector Redondo does his thing.

Next chapter begins with Frank deciding he needs to thin out the army Ma Gnucci has around her.  He goes to a wiseguy bar and shoots the cars parked outside.  When the Gnucci soldiers come rushing out they get what's left in the belt of his assault rifle. Then he unleashes a flame thrower and burns some more.  He then runs saying the flamer is lousy for a prolonged firefight, to much of  a risk in it taking a bullet to the tank.  But he runs into a building and those following see the lift go down.  They race down the stairs to catch The Punisher and open fire as the lift opens, which only has the flamer in it and the die in a firey explosion.  "That's my boys" thinks The Punisher.

Back with Soap, he is reading Bud's psychological profile of The Punisher which is full of the usual psychobabble.  Soap says to him,"don't take this the wrong way Bud... but what does all this actually mean?"  Bud says he thought it would help understand his motives.  Soap says they know his motives, "he kills criminals because he hates them. It's not exactly brain surgery"  He wants more on his methods so Bud should look into that in finding where he'll strike next.  And he leaves the office with an upset Bud left behind.

Cut to the priest.  His name is Hector Redondo and a daft old woman with poor eyesight comes in to clean the church even though it's the wrong say.  She sees the blood and thinks Hector spilled the communion wine and despite Hector telling her she's here on the wrong day she is mostly deaf too and gets to work cleaning up.

Frank returns him, greets Spacker Dave, see's Mr. Bumpo getting a new toilet delivered and tells Joan he liked the cookies.  Inside his rooms he thinks about Ma Gnucci's brother standing trial tommorrow, this time for a crime he didn't do.  He has the slickest defence lawyers in the city and we see a newspaper telling us it's Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson on his case.  He wants Dino dead before Ma Gnucci because Dino would "bathe New York in blood."  So his real problem now is Matt Murdock and "the Guardian Angel that follows him everywhere".

Back with Soap, he returns to his office and finds Bud has committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling using his tie. The Punisher is waiting on a roof close to the jail. Apparently Murdock made mincemeat of the prosecution.  Dino is on his way back to the jail in an unmarked car.  He arrives in seven minutes and dies in ten.  He realises as one of Daredevil's billy clubs bounces off the wall next to him that he'll need every second.

heh heh heh "fap".

Daredevil asks if he ever stops.  He knows Dino Gnucci is a monster but he should fall according to the law and not shot down like a street dog.  Frank says he knows these speeches of his by heart. So Daredevil jumps down and starts pummeling him.  Frank thinks that he's giving him the first round which is easy because in a straight fight he never stands a chance against him.

He thinks that Daredevil is not the enemy but he's sick of his self righteousness and he deserves "a wake up call".  He rigged an ultrasonic device an hour ago and it goes off overwhelming Daredevil's supersenses.  Frank then punches him out.  Daredevil wakes chained securely to a post and a gun taped to his hand.

Frank: "One bullet.  One shot.  Once chance to stop me killing Dino Gnucci. It's time for that choice you were telling me about."

He's got his back to him and he's wearing kevlar, so it'll have to be a headshot.  If he doesn't shoot he has a death he could have prevented on his conscience.  If he does shoot he's a killer. 

Daredevil asks what kind of choice is that?  Frank says "the one I make every time I pull the trigger." Dardevil says he won't kill him.  Dino Gnucci is a dead man then says Frank.  Daredevil begs him saying Dino deserves to be taken off the street for something he's done.  We have laws otherwise the society they have built is completely worthless. "The thought of Dino living one more minute is enough to drive me insane" responds Frank.  Daredevil cocks the hammer, "that's the spirit" says Frank.

Daredevil given an impossible choice for him.

Daredevil keeps begging Frank to not put him in this position but Frank starts commentating on Dino getting out of the car. Finally Daredevil says "God forgive me" and pulls the trigger  But the firing pin had been removed.  Frank assassinates Dino then punches Daredevil out saying the chains will be gone when he wakes up.  The chapter ends with Hector praying to God for guidance to help him with his psycotic episodes.  Then another gangbanger walks in saying he has some "real bad sins" he wants to confesss to and Hector's face contorts in rage saying "of course my son.  For I am The Holy."

The next chapter starts with Soap's captain reading out Buds suicide note that all his life he felt rejection all his life in many forms and Soap's was the last straw.  "Jeez Soap" laughs the Captain, "what did you say to this guy?"

Cut to Frank taking a bullet to the side, ribs and shoulder thinking "that's the sound of my luck running out".  He was scoping out Ma Gnucci, getting a look at her security teams, he wasn't even going to hit her tonight.   But he was discovered and he only has a forty-five and the man who saw him had a sub-machine gun, "my night goes downhill from there."

Ma Gnucci.

Ma Gnucci gets out of her car and orders her men to kill him, "he killed my sons!  he killed my brother!  I want his head!". Three armed men follow the trail of blood into the closed Central Park zoo. Frank hides thinkng the shot to his ribs is the killer.  He realises he's going to have to use what's to hand to kill them and it's the one who made him who walks through the door.  Frank leaps out quickly grabs him and upends him into a tank full of pirahnas. Who start to tuck in.

When the other two men come in first thing they see is the stripped, bloody skeleton of their comrade.  Frank goes deeper into the zoo and finds a snake which he gets to squeeze the life out of one of the other men.  Ma Gnucci catches up demanding to know what they are up to.

Back at the precinct a Lieutenant called Molly Richthofen pokes her head around Soap's door telling him to call her Molly, "I'm the first piece of luck you've had all day."  She lights a cigarette and says he's the departments biggest loser and she's it's biggest embarrassment, "want to prove everybody wrong, crack both cases and then take over the world?" 

Molly, meet Soap.

Soap asks about the whole "biggest embarressment" thing.  She says she refused to sleep with the commissioner which she said at a press conference when the mic was still on.  As a special thankyou he's assigned her to take down the Gnucci family. Which is a farce as half of city hall and the department are in bed with them.  She is a taskforce of one.  And as the Punisher is working his way through them, they should team up.

We return to Frank, he thinks that he has to close this down soon as he's lost too much blood and the cops will be here soon.   He climbs into the polar bear enclosure taking another hit as he does so.  He looks around at something he can use as a weapon and spies the bears themselves.  One wakes up and he punches it hard in the face then quickly climbs out to escape the now enraged bear.  Ma Gnucci and the final goon have climbed in after him and the bears turn on them.  Frank looks back to enjoy the sight of them getting ripped apart, "oh yes.  It's one of the greats."  Then he scarpers as he hears sirens in the distance.

Hector is burying another murdered gangbanger and prays to God again saying God has forsaken him, he could have fought ths madness with His strength but He ignored him and now several people are dead by his hand. Hector asks for anything that could be taken as a sign of what to do now.  A newspaper then blows in his face with a headline about The Punisher and Hector takes that as the sign he needs, "now I see.  I am no longer alone."

The chapter ends with Molly and Soap arriving at the Central Park carnage site.  Molly thinks that it looks like her problems are all over. "So much for the titanic team-up" says Soap.  But then they see someone being taken away in an ambulance.  The cop there says the three creeps are dead, "Ma Gnucci is still alive."

The somewhat diminished Ma Gnucci.

We cut to ten days later.  Ma Gnucci is back home minus arm and legs and hair.  One cousin asks how she is doing and she orders him shot in the head for asking a stupid question.  When the man queries this she asks a second man to shoot both of them in the head. When they won't she demands a third man to kill all of them, and despite their pleas, he does so.

Ma Gnucci: "Ten days ago I was fed to a pack of polar bears.  Anyone doubting I mean what I say would do well to remember that.  Clean up this mess and let's get down to business."

Her goons tell her that finding The Punisher has always been impossible.  So she puts a ten million dollar bounty on his head.

Back at Frank's home, Mr. Bumpo is being taken to hospital via a hole in the wall as he had a coronary and they couldn't get him out through the door.  He tells Bumpo to take it easy and returns to his rooms.  He's been recovering from the bullets that hit him.  But tonight he's going looking for trouble.  Ma Gnucci living was a shock, "old witch is blessed by the devil himself."  Then there is a knock on the door.  He holds a gun behind his back but it's only Joan saying she baked too many pies.

Molly and Soap go to a bar called "Lucky's".  He says it's nice and quiet and the food's cheap. Molly says that her guess will be that Ma Gnucci will hole up while her people hunt The Punisher.  She'll be hoping they get to him before he gets to her.  So if the stake out her place they can be there on the spot when The Punisher shows.  They sit back, watch the massacre and step in and rest whatever is leftover.  She asks if Soap is in or out with this plan?

Before we see his answer we're back with Hector murdering another confessor.  The mostly blind and deaf old woman comes to do the cleaning and Hector tells her outright he killed the man for beating his wife and taking cocaine.  She doesn't register that and goes to clean up. Hector smiles and thanks God for showing him The Punisher, "for showing me I'm not alone."

Elsewhere in a corporate boardroom meeting for Worldwide Investment Corporation, a rough looking man with a mask appears and tells them his name is "Payback".  He accuses them of having millions of gallons of blood on their hands and when one protests he shoots him.   He say they invested in a company that built substandard aircraft and many people dies in a plane crash as a result.  A lawsuit closed down a Kentucky factory cost a thousand people their jobs, and the town became a crime ridden slum.

Another vigilante, Payback.

They set up shop in Taiwan with some of the lowest standards on the planet and colluded with local authorities in the murder of over a hundred union organizers killed by death squads. They are criminal scum, "lower than the filthiest hood on the street!  You are guilty! And now it's time for Payback".  And he fires on them with a submachine gun.

Somewhere else in a nice neighbourhood a masked vigilante called "Elite" is patrolling the street.  He sees some drug dealers sitting in a car saying perhaps they could find somewhere else to deal drugs. They tell him to drop dead.  He responds that crime is minimal here, property values are very high, he won't let them conduct their business within a ten clock radius. "I want you trash to leave because you lower the tone." 

Then he shoots them all in the face with a silenced pistol and walks off thinking "peasants". He bumps into a woman whose dog is urinating on the pavement. He introduce himself to her as Elite and then he shoots the dog saying it's a nice neighbourhood so lets keep it that way.

And Elite.

Back with Frank, he's been walking the streets all night but all is quiet. He says Guiliani has a lot to answer for in bringing the crime rates down.   Then a mugger appears, Frank deals with him by jamming him head first into a garbage can and decides he's as healed as he's going to get.

Frank: "Tomorrow I finish the job I started.  Here I come, Ma.  Ready or not."

We then cut to Ma Gnucci and the first bit of good news for her.  A stuttering man has be brought to her saying he's got information on The Punisher, "he lives right across the road from me."

The weasely man goes onto say he was coming home from his job at an adult bookstore and it was late because they close at midnight.  And he glances up to see a dude staggering down the street, he see's the Skull shirt and the blood and realises that it really is The Punisher, "an' I just about wet myself."

The weasely man then carries on saying he say him cross the street, fall down a few times then go into the building opposite his.  He watched him come and go for a week wondering what to do about it and then heard of the ten million bucks reward.  She says the ten million is for killing him, if his information is true it's worth ten thousand.  She sends Billy and Benny with him to check it out, if he's wrong "make it a messy one."

There is now a double page spread of the news broadcasting a report on the killers who have cropped up since The Punisher came back in the scene.   It reports on Payback and Elite's murders as well as the mysterious deaths of all the Catholic criminals marked on their foreheads with the sign of the cross.  Vox pops seem to show support for the killers, The Punisher most of all except for one who says they are a "bunch of fascist lunatics!  The Punisher's the worst of the lot."

Inside a helicopter are two executives from the company Payback is targetting.   The C.E.O admits that everything Payback said was true and they need to stop him before people start looking into their company more closely.  But as they fly they see Payback with a rocket launcher and he fires on the helicopter, destroying it.

More gang members arrive on Elite's patch intending to show him "what time it is." But using a sniper rifle out of his bedroom windown he headshots all three of them.   He then stashes the rifle in a secret compartment in his bathroom while conversing through the door with his kids.

Billy and Benny and the weasly guy are parked up outside his home. Inside Frank has packed up a bag full of guns saying it's the night he closes the Gnucci family down for good.  His car is parked a block over and he thinks this is a good time to leave as he is getting to well known here. He leaves the house and the two goons confirm it is The Punisher.  They call Ma and she says to follow while back-up arrives, the weasly man gets his money and goes.

Soap and Molly on stake-out start playing a game where one says a film title and the other has to give a film that starts with the final letter and so on. They see the Gnucci's start to leave and Soap wants to follow them.  Molly says that they are unlikely to get him, so best to stay fixed on Ma Gnucci and anyway they can't do what even a bunch of tactical units can do.  So the sit and carry on with the game.

Punisher giving as good as he gets.

The Punisher is under heavy fire, thinking that they came out of nowhere.  He tosses a brick of plastique at them to clear out some in the resultant explosion.   Then he starts with the automatic weapons.  He thinks of the song of the 'sixty as one he remembers from a long time ago.

Frank: "Of fireteams dug in on the breaks between the paddy field tracer lasering the jungle night.  Of hueys screaming through the void... of Lieutenant Castle getting short and hating it, wanting 'Nam to last forever.  A lullaby come all the way to New York City".

His shots find their targets, but one fires a rpg at him and forces him down an alley. He only has his forty-five pistol left now.  He notes a bullet to the chest the kevlar took.  The rest of the goons still left standing come after him he punches the first in the throat and gets out his knife and stabs him.  He takes another to the chest that goes through his kevlar.  He approaches the final man standing and as he fires on Frank just walks towards him and breaks his neck.  Then he collapses next to him and blacks out, prone in the alley.

Frank passes out.

Cliffhanger! So it's a different take on Frank than we've seen from Ennis before in Punisher and Fury MAX.  There's much more of an element of humour and the grotesque more like you would find in Preacher and The Boys.  Sometimes you want an in-depth look at Frank's psychological motivations and sometimes you want to see him punch a polar bear in the face. The resolution of Franks Angel Punisher era is beautifully dealt with.  Some writers would spin that out to a whole arc, but Ennis in his no nonsense manner dimisses it in a couple of pages.  Hell on Earth is actually the Heaven the Punisher wants to do his work in, and he really does get to work in this storyline.  Given Ennis's distate for most heroes who aren't Frank or Superman, Daredevil was treated very fairly in his appearance, with Frank admitting he doesn't stand a chance against him in a straight fight and only wins by using his brains and cheating.  Having Daredevil pull the trigger was probably quite a controversial move back when the comic was first published as he's another hero with a "thou-shalt-not-kill" reputation.  But Frank put him in that position to prove a point and saying that he can't live if Dino isn't killed is pretty much his whole mindset laid out right there.  Soap and Molly are fun characters, Soap rather meekly goes along with her cunning plans to let The Punisher and the Gnucci's war it out until they can step in at the end.  We'll see how this plan plays out in the Part Two of this storyline up in a few days time.