There’s a new Punisher in town, and this week, we get to find out what his whole deal is thanks to David Pepose and David Wachter. This series follows Jason Aaron’s “final” story for Frank Castle, and given the political ramifications this character has had in recent years, a lot is riding on it. Can a new Punisher work in the Marvel universe? For the most part, I think Pepose and Wachter pull it off.
Right off the bat, Punisher #1 focuses on well-written and realistic characters. Detectives are on a crime scene early in the morning where an explosion has gone off. Even though many will be screaming, “Where is the Punisher?”, Pepose makes you believe these guys are real and take their job seriously.
Cut to mobsters in a bar, and Punisher cuts through them like butter. Throughout the issue is quite good at fighting and killing. At least, I think it’s killing, but it’s not exactly gory or bold in the murdering. Punisher fans will likely agree this character is a lot like the Frank Castle they love from earlier eras, save for a major character element: He’s ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. That makes him highly trained and able to access resources even Frank probably couldn’t get.
He’s back! Or is he?
Credit: Marvel
This leads to a major supporting character who is a “Man in the chair,” so to speak. She goes by Triple A and is used to explain his backstory. A key flashback fills us in on the tragic loss Punisher is facing, and away we go. He’s out for justice, similar to Frank, but under slightly different circumstances.
So why is he called Punisher? The answer may not work for many, although it does the job well enough. I won’t spoil it here, but it’s a bit arbitrary. One can imagine Pepose and Wachter are going to use this first story arc to make him earn the name, or even gladly take it on. It’s hard to say, but right out of the gate, it’s sort of hanging there unwanted or even unused.
Wachter is a great artist for a book like this, making Punisher’s futuristic guns look cool as hell but also functional. He’s higher-tech, so don’t expect machine guns or guns that look like they belong in real life. Color artist Dan Brown brings a cool glow to the eyes in the chest and guns. The symbol on the shoulder also has a nice touch. This character isn’t as futuristic as Cable, but he’s certainly upgraded over the Punisher you’re picturing.
There’s plenty of action in this issue which will please Punisher fans as well. The creators were smart to have him fight regular gangster goons, but also a supervillain. I won’t spoil it, but it’s a nice opener as it shows he can fight different levels of enemies. Wachter makes the action feel intense and dangerous. That’s key in making the fighting matter.
Something lacking in this issue is the humanity in Punisher. The deaths he’s getting justice for are still fresh, but he’s also quite cold with little emotion. Is he going through trauma, PTSD, or something else? It’s unclear, so he comes off a bit like a robot. That makes him hard to relate to and more of a stand-in for Punisher, like a Life Model Decoy.
Given the tech and the background of Punisher, I’m on board for more. It’s unclear how deep it’ll get with the man behind the skull, or even if he’ll continue to use the name, but there’s enough here to get hardcover Punisher fans excited while drawing interest from casual Marvel fans.
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