Punisher: Nightmare 5, Punisher War Zone 4

Punisher: Nightmare 5
Gimple (w) and Texeira (a) and D'Armata (c)

Punisher: Nightmare, the five issue weekly mini-series, comes to an end with this issue. As you may have seen from past reviews, I've gone a little back and forth on this book. It spawned from a distaste of Punisher as a character and turned a little because the story was at least enough to keep me entertained. As the series went on, I found it, at different points, frustratingly written and really well-written. It went from showing Punisher as the guy who has to find and kill bad guys to Punisher quietly questioning himself and showing pain and an overwhelming sadness that plays into his typically quiet demeanor. Overall, it was a solid series with the big bang kind of ending that most comics strive for. What I would say is most interesting about the finale is that it could of gone a couple different ways. In a way, I think some of the bigger questions that surround Frank Castle in this book were pushed aside a bit as he faced a greater and greater enemy. Still, Gimple did his work to make sure there was a resolution, an affirmation of what it is Punisher does. Instead of falling back into the moral question that always will surround Frank Castle (is it right or necessary to kill killers?), Gimple allows Castle to remember why he does everything he does.

I'm not trying to make it sound like Gimple is putting forward a big statement. It never comes across that way. Gimple is simply writing what Punisher is doing. Punisher thinks it's necessary for people to pay for their crimes, we all know that. That's why he's Punisher. Does he shoulder the weight because he think he's already going to hell so he might as well alleviate those kinds of worries others might have? Or is he just a psychopath who is still trying to avenge his murdered wife and kids? Or, as Thor suggested in the last Punisher War Zone, is he just a soldier who has forgotten his war? Punisher can't answer that and Gimple doesn't try because it's not his business. What Gimple does so well is show that Punisher himself doesn't have a real answer. He has an answer insofar as to what he's going to do (keep killing) but the why is probably a mix of everything and Punisher likely feels that. We don't need him to come out and explicitly ask himself why he's doing it. He's just going to do it.

As a minor side-note, I'm a little nostalgic writing this review. My blog has only been going for a little over a month and it HAPPENED to coincide with this mini-series. I've reviewed every one (as linked above, or all over the right side if you're patient) and fallen right into Punisher's corner of the Universe as a result. At this point, it's possible I've reviewed Punisher more than any other Marvel character on this blog, a distinction I absolutely would not have assumed I'd be making at this point. It's a little sad to see this arc go, but it's also kind of exciting to know I won't have to decide if the tags for this post should have colons or not.

Punisher War Zone 4
Rucka (w) and Di Giandomenico (a) and Hollingsworth (c)

Both Punishers this week strayed a bit away from the questions of their last few weeks and towards the action the Punisher is better known for. It's not a bad thing, necessarily. We're working in a medium that requires thought and action for a full story, typically, and we're particularly working with a character who has been known to be more heavy on the action side. So where the first three issues of this series have focused on Punisher evading the Avengers in their quest to find him, this issue focuses on the Punisher finding the Avengers in their quest to evade him. By that confusing plot reveal, we know already that there's likely to be more action abound in this issue (though last issue's Thor attack was pretty awe-inspiring).

Punisher's sidekick of sorts, Sergeant Rachel Cole-Alves, has been found guilty (in the background of this series which serves as the foreground of this issue) for killing police officers. Everyone from the Avengers to her defense attorney Matt Murdock believe that the punishment the DA is seeking (death penalty) is overly severe and that the DA is trying Cole-Alves as if she were Punisher because they can't get their hands on him. She's still guilty but the punishment doesn't fit the crime (it wasn't just straight-up killing two officers in cold blood, it was more nuanced). This series has focused on the Avengers trying to bring Punisher in so he can a.) stop being Punisher and b.) get Cole-Alves' sentence reduced. Last issue was a big deal, as Punisher and Thor hashed out a ton of Castle's past and dug into his psyche a bit. By this issue, he's returned to America from hiding from the Avengers overseas (while breaking up drug and slavery rings there for a bit) and begins to plan his rescue of Cole-Alves. The Avengers attempt to plan for this with a big ruse, having Black Widow dress as Cole-Alves as Captain America transports her with Thor overhead to her holding facility. They indeed get attacked on the road but they find out too late that it wasn't Punisher attacking them, just two criminals Punisher let live to aid him in this (which was a little weird, I admit). Meanwhile, Punisher has gotten the jump on Tony Stark and stolen the Iron Man armor, in which he proceeds to attack Spider-Man and rescue Cole-Alves from the courthouse.

So yes, plenty of action, plenty of Avengers, plenty of Punisher. I think we're going to see some more questions on top of good action in the next issue, as a few threads have been left unpulled. Wolverine remains kind of a wild card (in the first issue, he told Punisher that the Avengers were coming for him. In this issue, Cap benches him from the mission because they don't know where his loyalties lie in this), Tony's out of action but we don't see how so there's always the chance we'll see dueling Iron Men. Cap, Thor, and Black Widow are somewhere else right now but always have the possibility of getting back to the courthouse (particularly Thor). Spider-Man, though attacked by Punisher's Iron Man, is still the one with the biggest axe to grind with Punisher and is the only one in the courtroom with him (and it's still Peter Parker Spidey, so he won't just leave going "WELL THIS IS TERRIBLE, I'M LEAVING"). More importantly, we haven't heard from Cole-Alves in any of this and it's entirely possible, even likely perhaps, that she will refuse Punisher's assistance and force him to look inwards. Plenty of possibilities. This book is good for most Marvel fans. Punisher is interesting in it (and it's pretty rare we have a protagonist who is as quiet as Castle, so that's a neat kind of change) and the Avengers, for what limited amounts we see of them, are portrayed well and competent, though still beaten by Punisher at every turn. It's a really interesting dynamic. I still believe that, given enough time and energy, the Avengers would bring Punisher in. But they don't have as much time as that, so there's a good chance Punisher leaves here unpunished (HA). It leaves the stakes feeling high, which is how you want each book to leave things. Exciting times.

Indestructible Hulk 3, Punisher Nightmare 3, Venom 30

Indestructible Hulk 3
Waid (w) and Yu (a)

One of the great things about Hulk's power is seeing its limits. By that, I mean seeing what his limits aren't. If we'd seen his limits, he'd be more dead than he is now. SPOILERS: he doesn't end up dead after this issue, despite fighting a new version of the Quintronic Man and also fighting some lava. Neither killed him, though both tried and both expected to. After a neat sleight of hand trick by SHIELD (I rarely call anything SHIELD does "neat," which gives me some extra level of intrigue for this series), Banner is subbed in for the last surviving original Quintronic Man operator as he's being kidnapped by AIM. Once there and examined, he hulks and Hulk fights the aforementioned Quintronic Man and lava. Meanwhile, Banner and Maria Hill work on finding him a staff for his new lab, all of whom have some kind of personality and distinctive trait.

It's too soon to say whether the addition of a lab staff is a good play or not. I think that it's smart to give Banner a supporting crew he hasn't had before and to give him one with so much mystery surrounding it (Hill is certain that at least one of the hires is hiding something). We'll see if these characters are strong enough to hold the book up (you know, aside from Banner and SHIELD). Like I said, too early to tell, as they weren't the focus of the issue. The focus of the issue was strategic SHIELD and indestructible Hulk. That was still pretty good to watch. We're three issues in and I'm not as sold on this series as some other new ones (ie New Avengers, OBVIOUSLY) but more sold than I am on some others (All-New X-Men). It's somewhere in the middle, though my trust of Waid and Yu puts it far closer to the New Avengers category.

Punisher Nightmare 3
Gimple (w) and Texeira (a)

This book is going very back and forth in my head. I liked the first issue and didn't know if it could hold up but I enjoyed it. Issue two started pretty well then kind of dragged and ended up losing me a bit. Issue three changed courses out of nowhere, but it also made the plot more interesting and made me like the book again. Though it's still carrying the repetition and complication that issue two had, it works better in this one. It's somehow less complicated than it was in two, when we were seeing only Niman's shattered mind, because now we're seeing the minds of Punisher, Niman, and a soldier from Niman's old platoon named Dubose, who appeared last issue. It sounds a little weird, I know, that adding two narrators made the whole thing less confusing but that's the way it works.

From Niman we still have the splintered mind unsure of who his enemies and friends are, from Punisher we have regret over not killing the Kozlowski brothers (the shooters who killed Niman's family), and from Dubose who does what's necessary because he's a soldier. We also get flashbacks from Dubose to his days in the army, when he was assigned to kill Niman and his family (spoilers) and from Punisher to his days involved in Civil War and the anti-registration forces. I'm also a sucker for Civil War tie-ins and anti-registration forces. I do remember Punisher's mini-storyline in there ending predictably and never really feeling like there was anything surprising to it. Granted, I didn't read as many comics then and knew far less about Punisher so I didn't really care that he didn't get any kind of extra explanation. Still, it's nice to see his thought process then and how it translates to now. He is what he is and he'll do what he does. I'm not sure that this series adds a ton of depth to Punisher though I think that's a little bit the point so I'll cut it some slack. Good issue and so far a good series. We'll see what the next one puts me through.

Venom 30
Bunn (w) and Silas and Robinson (a)

After getting thoroughly beaten by the U-Foes in the last two issues, Venom finally beating up the U-Foes is good to see. What's better, though, is whatever combination of the demon infecting Flash and the symbiote he wears taking control. It's not necessarily encouraging to watch Flash go through it, but it does signal bigger happenings coming down the pipeline. I will say though, as I said last time, it's undermined a little bit by the need to put Valkyrie's boobs and butt in in every panel she's in at the same time. That's not how bodies work, guys, no matter how much you want to see butt and boobs at the same time. I KNOW, it's a pain you have to go all the way around a body to see one or the other (barring an elastic spine), but that's the way anatomy works and when you start changing anatomy to fulfill sexual whims, it tends to take a reader out of a book. I hope. It took me out each time.

That aside, the development of the symbiote and the demon teaming up or one working over the other (Flash isn't sure what's happening, he blacks out as it/they take over) is certainly a step forward. It's setting up something as the book moves into a new symbiote-related villain, Eddie Brock's Toxin, steps up. I'm sure we'll hear more on this symbiote/demon as we enter into a symbiote storyline. Not to mention that Flash ends this issue by Moon Knighting two personalities to talk to with his symbiote. So now there's some crazy mixed in to everything else. Like he needed that. Anyway, solid issue with some confusing fighting and weird Valkyrie obsessions but also with some exciting developments to move forward with.



This week's picks coming up tomorrow. Remember to come back no matter what I say next. Most of the picks will likely be the same as they were in the looking forward post I had this week. BUT WHICH THREE WILL BE CHOSEN FROM THAT PREVIOUS FIVE? Yeah, now I've got you hooked.