To say Jason Aaron, Jesus Saiz, and Paul Azaceta’s Punisher is a bold step for the title character would be an understatement. Gone are the guns – replacing them is a sword. He’s no longer a loner, but leader of the Hand. Now tethered to some kind of godlike power, Punisher even has his wife back, further separating the character from his origins. It’s the kind of storytelling that feels incredibly refreshing in an industry where characters haven’t changed in decades. That said, is it working?
It’s hard to say if it’s working since Punisher is a twelve-issue series and we’re rounding the corner on only a third of the story. Since it’s too early to say, it’s all about the journey at this point and Punisher #4 might be the wonkiest issue in the series so far. All these changes to the character build towards a questioning of Punisher’s identity and meddlers outing themselves in this issue.
Punisher #4 opens with a young Frank Castle stuck in his room. Captions detail how he can’t stick with any one thing, not after burning a man alive who deserved it. It was his first kill and presumably, Aaron is revealing Punisher would never be the same. That, or maybe these flashbacks to Punisher’s youth aren’t actually real.
It’s confusing to be sure, but at least the meat of this issue begins to tug at what may really be going on. All in all, this series has been more smoke and mirrors than certifiably explaining what is going on and why. For that reason, some sort of direction in this issue is helpful.
Slicing and dicing!
Credit: Marvel
Much of this issue is devoted to the god Ares and Punisher’s handler the Hand’s Archpriestess discussing what has become of Punisher. In these scenes, Aaron depicts Ares as a god who truly admires Punisher and wishes he’d be his old self. The Archpriestess meanwhile promises Ares he is different and better. Ultimately, we learn the Archpriestess has been manipulating Punisher (I think?) and the reader may begin to see Punisher isn’t becoming his ultimate true self, but something tainted and twisted. It’s still not 100% clear what is going on, but maybe these revelations will move things in the right direction.
This issue has a lot of talking, so much so an action scene with Punisher fighting against Lady Bullseye and Lord Deathstrike seems rather dull. Punisher is absent in much of this issue, even in the scenes he’s in since so much talking is done by the Archpriestess. He comes off as absent-minded as he dream-walks through scenes with his wife and with the Archpriestess. While previous issues built Punisher up as a man in control of his new role, this issue flips everything on its head and makes him come off as ignorant and going through the motions. It’s a weird shift in the narrative that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Either the balancing act is off, or the reader isn’t given enough information to understand what is truly going on and that’s frustrating.
There are two neat ideas in this issue. One involves Ares and his ability to appear when folks pray. It shows gods do have abilities, even gods like Ares who aren’t about magic and are more physical. The other is a trick Archpriestess plays on Punisher by turning a few of the Hand ninjas into disciples of Punisher. It’s a clever idea that leads to an understandable cliffhanger.
At least the art is top-notch. Saiz draws the scenes in the present and they’re super clean and detailed with good volume via shadows and light from color artist Dave Stewart. Paul Azaceta continues to draw the flashbacks with only a few pages here, but the art style change aids in showing a rawer side to a young Frank Castle.
Punisher #4 is a step back for the series, making the lead character seem unsure and untethered from anything that’s going on. He’s the lead character and yet after reading this issue it’s made abundantly clear he’s not in control of anything. The creators are trying to create mystery, but after four issues, it’s not so much mysterious as it is confusing. It’s hard to root for a character who, after reading this issue, seems like a man with no understanding of who he is or where he’s going.
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