Punisher MAX: Get Castle One Shot (2010)

Not canon.

The opening sequence for this comic let’s you know right away that this is not going to be your typical Punisher book. It starts with Punisher holding a thug by the collar on the Brooklyn bridge. He’s got a gun in the criminal’s face as he begs for his life and tells Punisher about his kids.

I love the misdirection here. I really didn’t think Frank would shoot the guy but when he did I was like, “Well of course he did. He’s Punisher.”

From there, we get a story that ties to the Garth Ennis Punisher MAXverse. An old Army friend of Punisher is murdered, and Frank goes after the soldiers responsible for it. Throughout, he explores why he paused in the scene above and ultimately is “cured” of his hesitation blues.

This story is actually right up there with some of Ennis’ work with this character, and those stories are easily the most complex and best Pun stories of all time. Great work on this.