Punisher’s Magical Team-Ups Part 2: Along Came A Spider

Honestly I could just post those images and leave it at that.

Really, any ideas that come to mind for you to fill in the gaps and bridge yourself to some form of a logical answer to “What The Hell Happened Here?” would make just as much sense as the truth. It also wouldn’t be any more ridiculous either.

…

Still here?

Okay, fine, I suppose since I’ve got your attention I might as well give a little detail.

So in my last post about Punisher and his superhero team-ups (found in Punisher trolls Daredevil Issue 1) during Garth Ennis’ run, I touched on how Ennis seems to have a wonderful understanding of how The Punisher sees the rest of the superheroes in the Marvel Universe.

Broken down, heroes to Frank are either seen as an obstacle to overcome and or a pawn to manipulate. Daredevil got the obstacle route, so this time Spider-Man, pretty much gets played like a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos, except the lever for his toy Hippo is broken. Oh, and he gets punched in the face repeatedly.

In the Welcome Back Frank arc, Punisher readers were introduced to The Russian, a super strong..well Russian.

How strong is he?

Well, a team of highly trained soldiers with automatic weapons march into a lone house, containing an unarmed Russian and get massacred.

Before Russian

 After Russian 

In short, he ain’t Hulk, but he also ain’t some pushover either.

And he proves to be the biggest challenge to The Punisher thus far. Castle gets the crap beat out of him in probably his first one-sided battle.

I really love The Russian confrontation with The Punisher because it’s a scene that manages to bend the mold of what Ennis has done so far, bringing it closer to  the rest of The Marvel Universe wackiness but still essentially keep it a Punisher world.

Punisher’s comic universe is shared with the Marvel Universe but still feels like its own world. For me, it’s kind of like going to a Wendy’s in a suburb area at noon versus going to one in Downtown Memphis near Beale Street at 11:45 p.m. On a Friday. Yeah, we’re still in the same city, but the rules of the suburb do not exist to the drunken patrons dancing on top of the tables, or the dude that got stabbed for talking smack to some other dude’s girl.

It’s the same with Punisher.

Concepts of life and death are a bit more grounded then say the rest of the Marvel Universe. And in the world of Punisher, it’s often used for great comedic effect to boot.

Magneto in X-Men: giant asteroid base blows up with him in it, but somehow still manages to survive because F*ck You It’s Comics that’s why.

Magneto in Punisher World: Probably gets ripped apart somehow by two giant horseshoe-shaped magnets and doesn’t come back.

See the difference?

Punisher basically feels less like a comic book, and more like a Tarantino film pre-Kill Bill era.

The Russian coming in, and initially getting killed the first time completely breaks that mold and gives this run it’s first, “Yo, it’s a Comic Book” moment. But his fight and death is still essentially part of a Punisher comic book (Frank basically crushes him to death with his very large neighbor if you’re wondering).

With all that being said, it makes complete sense why The Russian returns from the grave and comes back as big-boobed cyborg in a sundress.

I mean:

You can’t get anymore comic books than this.

The Russian is that sudden break in the story that screams “Comic Books Everybody!”

And his reintroduction is the perfect reason to bring in Spider-Man, because when the door is open you might as well invite neighbors…or friendly Neighborhood Spiders into the fold.

Spidey swings in at the right moment, saving a Frank Castle who’s falling to his death thanks to The Russian. It’s a miracle that Spidey is even there, and if this were any other Punisher issue, Castle would likely just fall to his death.

But again, Russian is here, so all normal Punisher rules are off and normal Marvel Comic Book Wackiness is on, including out of nowhere superhero saves.

But, we’re still in Punisher’s playground, so he has to treat Spidey as either a nuisance or pawn.

Pawn it is.

Now Spider-Man getting used as a punching bag might seem out of character to casual audiences of the character. He’s got super-strength for crying out loud which seems to mean nothing against the Russian. But honestly I think this is actually the most in character of Spidey. And I say that as a long-time fan.

Spider-Man is known for his good ole Parker Luck. Sometimes this means having to handle a job, stopping robbers from hitting a bank, and juggling women all while dealing with the Common Cold in the span of a week.

Other times, it means trying to save your girlfriend from falling to her death, only to accidentally snap her neck anyway.

Peter Parker is not a superhero where everything goes his way, In fact really, it hardly ever goes his way. But yet he still keeps going, and that’s really the heart of the character because With Great yadda yadda etc whatever.

You’ve heard it just as many times as you’ve seen Uncle Ben die, which are both more than you really should.

So Spider-Man getting punched worse than an early Mike Tyson victim completely makes sense.

And if we’re going to bend the Punisher world for Marvel Comic Book Shennigans, you might as well use the ones that fit so well.

And I mean, what fits better than this?

Punisher’s Magical Team-Ups Part 1: Daredevil

Lately, I’ve found myself reading more of Garth Ennis’ run with the Punisher. And besides, the immaculate black humor that makes this series so great, it’s also the fact that Ennis showcases just how well he understands Frank Castle and his relationship with the Marvel Universe.

Whenever the Punisher makes an appearance in some other superhero title, either as an antagonist or as a begrudging team-up, the hero often see him as a psychotic mirror they are afraid to potentially become. So they treat him as some moral benchmark or line they must never cross.

And if you’re Spider-Man or the Fantastic Four, that’s fair. Your moral ground makes sense. You put on the colorful underoos or onesie and you’re automatically sworn into the “I must not kill my baddies,” club. Granted nearly every modern superhero now has broken this rule (Wolverine is apparently the “best at it”) on one occasion or another, but even then they often go through one to two issues or guilt ridden depression or angst, before being reminded why they are heroes in the first place, and triumphantly get back on the saddle again.

However, when the heroes stumble into the Punisher’s world, especially via Ennis’ pen, Punisher sees the heroes as nothing more than either a nuisance to take care of, or pawn to use. Punisher doesn’t see the heroes as something to aspire to become a better person, or even really that scary of a threat. They’re nothing more than an obstacle he can just manipulate, except for Captain America.

He sees him as a soldier, and former soldiers, if not malicious, seem to rank higher in terms of respect compared to costumed heroes.

For Daredevil, during the “Welcome Back Frank” arc, it seemed to be nuisance. Punisher basically knocks out Daredevil, chains him, and places a gun in his hand pointed at the vigilante’s back.

He leaves Daredevil with a choice: either take him out or the Punisher will kill his next mark: a crime boss on trial.

It’s one of the strongest moments from the Welcome Back Frank arc, as a hero is in turmoil having to make a dire decision that the Punisher treats like it’s choosing what to have for dinner at this point. Or maybe that’s just it. Maybe Punisher hints that while it is a decision he makes constantly, it’s never one he takes lightly.

So does Daredevil shoot?

Yes, but there’s no firing pin so….

He gets knocked out again for his troubles.

Not only did Punisher take care of Daredevil but he managed to break the hero from the inside.

This is probably one of the harshest trolls in comics. But it also highlights how Punisher ultimately sees the rest of the Marvel Universe.

Obstacle or Pawn.

Not Dead…Yet

My apologies dear followers, as it’s been over a month and some change since any updates in these parts.

But just because I’ve been absent, doesn’t mean I haven’t been putting in work.

These next few posts are pieces and projects I’ve done lately.

The first of course, is lending my voice and thoughts on the Geek Talk Podcast. This podcast features some of my former colleagues from the late Population GO.

They were two episodes in before I made the hot Marvel Vs Capcom Tag to join in during Episode 3 and 4. We cover some E3 news, as well as the Summer Movie Season. Yet the main creme le creme of both episodes is Pokemon GO, where we discuss before and after its release.

So take a listen to them.

And speaking of Pokemon GO, I also made a post about it on another blog project of mine that you can find here.