Wow. I certainly wasn't expecting that. I knew Rick Remender had an arc coming up with the Legion of Monsters, and the Punisher somehow filling in as Frankencastle, but I never, ever expected this was how we'd get there.SPOILERS AHEAD:
The whole relaunch of the current Punisher title has been based around the Punisher making life miserable for Norman Osborn and his cabal. After siccing the Hood on the Punisher for a few months, to little benefit, Osborn decides to cut bait and bring in a more dangerous hunter. Enter Wolverine's son, Daken. After HAMMER troops soften up the Punisher, in comes Daken for the kill. Punisher does a decent job, and actually holds out for awhile against Wolverine Jr. but really, the fight is almost never in doubt. Daken is too powerful and too well matched against Castle's skill set, and so the fight ends with a Daken win. A definitive win. Daken calmly chops the Punisher to pieces, first slicing his head off, then his arms, then chunking him up from there. I mean, there is no legit way for the Punisher to ever come back as the same character. If he's a stictched up Frankenstein, he needs to stay that forever now. Remender has commented that we've got a "normal" Punisher in the MAX title, so I guess it makes sense to diversify, but wow. I was not expecting this.
So if you are a Punisher fan and want to see how the Marvel U version meets his violent end, pick this up. I honestly don't see how a pile of body parts can even come back as a character, but I guess we'll find out.
John Romita Jr., a classic Punisher artist, lends gravitas to the proceedings. This is an important chapter for Castle, and we get an important artist to draw it for us. I'm honestly in shock over this. It was well done, but man, how did this not get more hype?
Good
5 comments:
Sad I'm dropping this title (for the moment), but "Frankencastle"? Really?
Yeah, in the past few years I have seen some titles and universes take some seriously stupid turns but this rates up there as one of the most outstanding failures.
Even if it is temporary it just belittles the Punisher mythos.
I won't waste anymore time talking about this failure other than to say it was f*&king stupid.
Did you guys actually read this? I actually think it would be a decent death for Frank, if he wasn't coming back as a monster, that is.
Yes, I did read this. I only comment on issues I have read.
I disagree about this being a decent death for the Punisher.
First; Daken? Really? A C level character -at best- takes out Frank Castle?
Second; sliced into little bits? Unnecessary, even if the writer is trying to convince the readers that Frank is REALLY dead.
Third; Even ignoring my extreme distaste for killing off characters (I find it lazy and unimaginative) I found his end insulting. Frank goes out in a one shot tie-in? Really? That's the respect he gets? That's the respect the fan's get?
Fourth; you cannot ignore the fact that he IS coming back... as a monster. A Frankenstien monster. As absurd as ressurection stories are this one is really dumb. It's the kind of crap I expect from Hollywood.
Fifth; there has been talk that the Punisher doesn't fit in with the Marvel superhero universe. I disagree. There are plenty of titles were he is a good fit even if he doesn't have his own title (Daredevil, Spider-man, anything that has a crime theme). I think Frank's death robs those titles of potential.
Was it competently written? Yes.
Was it a good story? I will say it again; f*%king stupid. Even if his death and resurrection as a monster is temporary.
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