A Recap of Garth Ennis's Fantastic Run with the Punisher

With issue #60, released in August, Garth Ennis has concluded his run as writer for the Punisher Max comic. Max, being Marvel's line of comics that carries a parental advisory warning, allowed for a brutal and realistic view of The Punisher that had never been seen before.

Ennis, who may be best known for his worker on the comic series Preacher, had worked with the character of Frank Castle for a couple of years prior to the start of the Max series, but it was here, with an unchecked amount of writing freedom, that Ennis truly developed the psychologically scarred, highly trained, and often extremely violent Castle. Ennis's work may indeed be the best that has ever been done on the character and it is difficult to see his stellar run come to an end. Because of this I am offering a recap of the the multiple story arcs Ennis has produced over the past five years in the Punisher Max comic. Each of these arcs can be found in trade paperback form, making each a fantastic stand alone tale of The Punisher.

In The Beginning
In the appropriately titled first story arc Ennis re-tells the Punisher's origin - his wife and two children were caught in a mob cross-fire leading him on a personal crusade to punish all criminals - before placing Frank in the middle of a government organization hoping to use him as an operative and the Cesare crime family. The former have enlisted Frank's one-time partner, Microchip, to help them bring in the vigilante, while the latter have brought in three twisted and extremely violent hit-men from Boston to help stop the Punisher's rampant slaughtering of their crime family. Ennis quickly shows just why he has such a great handle on the Punisher, he combines Frank Castle's military background, political intrigue, and clandestine operations with doses of extreme and often creative violence. Seeing The Punisher attack a mob family at a funeral for relatives he has recently killed or witnessing a psychopathic mob member impaled on a wrought iron fence may not be for the faint of heart, but make for fantastic Tarantino-like moments.

Kitchen Irish
Ennis's second story arc pits Castle against the Irish mob in New York City. A number of rival factions led by a crazed Rastafarian, a former IRA bomb expert with most of his face missing, and sadistic mob wife, and a pair of slick criminal twins are all after the money and territory left behind by a former Irish boss. The Punisher, his old British war buddy, Yorkie, who now works for MI-6, and young-man he's promised to help find his father's killer team up to strike at each group and figure out why they are tearing up New York City. Meanwhile a former torture expert is forced to cut up one of the Irish figure-heads when his grandson is kidnapped. Of course this makes for more blood-bathed Ennis, but also for an emotionally charged sub-plot.

Mother Russia
In this third story arc, The Punisher goes international. Nick Fury asks The Punisher to join a highly-trained US military operative on a mission to retrieve a biological weapon from Russia. The Punisher agrees, but things aren't quite that simple. Frank soon learns that the "weapon" is a man-made disease that the creator has placed in his own daughter in order to keep her alive. While The Punisher and the US soldier are attempting to rescue the girl from a missile silo the US also launches a highly covert plan to fake a terrorist attack on Russia, thereby forcing them to lash out at the Middle East. It is a complex tale of political intrigue and military maneuvering that sees the Punisher pushed to his limits as he merely seeks to protect the life of the Russian girl and the world on the brink of nuclear war. The story arc also ends with what may be one of the best escape plans ever formulated.

Up is Down and Black is White
How do you get to The Punisher? That is the question asked in this story arc by mafia boss Nicky Cavella. The Punisher destroyed his organization in the past and now Cavella has formulated a sick plan for revenge by defiling the remains of Frank Castle's family. In response we see The Punisher go on his most brutal rampage ever stating that he will not stop until his family has been returned to the earth. Meanwhile Agent O'Brien, one of the operatives who attempted to capture The Punisher back in the first story arc, escapes from prison and helps in Frank's war against Cavella and we are exposed to Nicky Cavella's past, a disturbing combination of murder and incest that made him the twisted man he is today.

The Slavers
The Slavers revolves around The Punisher's attempt to shutdown a cross-continental slave trade that sells young women from Eastern Europe to high-priced brothels in the New York area, while the NYPD launches a war against the Punisher after corrupt members of the force feel the sting of the Punisher's work against their connections in the criminal underworld. The Slavers of one of the more emotional Punisher tales as it shows that brutal and family-destroying nature of the international slave trade and how it impacts women on a personal level. It also manages to give insight into a corrupt police force and the two cops that hope to stand up against it. Still, this is a Garth Ennis story, and The Punisher's choice of torture tactics close towards the end of the arc are downright grotesque, yet effective.

Barracuda
When The Punisher rescues a man from drug dealers he accidentally learns of a major financial scam. Here Ennis basically re-tells the story of Enron and we get The Punisher's first attack on white-collar crime. What complicates matters greatly is that once the corporation learns of The Punisher's involvement they higher Barracuda, a massive monster of a man, and a highly skilled killer to go after The Punisher. It is in Barracuda that Frank finally finds a formidable foe, making for some of harshest and intense fight scenes ever scene in The Punisher. Once again Ennis manages to combine intrigue, this time in the form of financial scandal and an attempted business takeover, with brutal violence and extreme justice.

Man of Stone
The Punisher's actions in Russia come back haunt him in Man of Stone. When Frank learns that a hardcore Russian general he disgraced with his mission in Russia has set out to see him murdered he decides to take the fight to him instead. This means that The Punisher is off to the war-torn Afghanistan where he teams up with O'Brien and Yorkie, who are both in the country for other reasons, once again. Meanwhile, General Zakharov, who is now operating outside of the military that developed him into a cold-blooded killer, has enlisted the help of Rawlins, the former CIA operative who designed the fake terrorist attack on Russia way back in the Mother Russia storyline. Backstabbing and psychological warfare ensues as The Punisher and O'Brien willing walk into a trap set by Zakharov.

Widowmaker
The Punisher has killed hundreds of men over the course of his career, so what happens to all of the wives and girlfriend's left behind? In Widowmaker, five mafia and gang widows plot to do what all the men in their lives have failed to do: kill The Punisher. After studying Frank Castle they determine to use one of their own as bait by having her pose as an innocent that has been kidnapped. Things may have worked out for the women, but little do they know that someone they have permanently damaged is already hunting them. It is a complex game of cat and mouse and cat that sees Frank finding a kindred spirit in a woman who's life was torn about by the mob. Meanwhile, we once again gain insight in the corrupt police force as one good cop is continually punished for his unorthodox, yet beneficial tactics.

Long Cold Dark
When Barracuda returns the only thing he has on his mind is revenge. First, he sets up a mob meeting merely to lure The Punisher into a booby trapped building. Then he goes even farther in order to finally to get to The Punisher. After killing one of Frank's only "friends" Yorkie, Barracuda learns that The Punisher may indeed have another child, a child Barracuda kidnaps and uses as a bargaining chip in a long and disturbing plot for revenge.

Valley Forge, Valley Forge
In Ennis's final story arc The Punisher feels the repercussions of his actions in Russia yet again. This time the generals that engineered the fake terrorist attack, as well as the plan to use the Russian girl (dead or alive) as a new weapon are seeking to take down The Punisher before he reveals to the public just how corrupt and manipulative they are. In order to do this the generals order a group of special forces soldiers to capture The Punisher knowing that Frank Castle would not kill members of the military. Meanwhile excerpts from a book about Frank Castle's time in Viet Nam and the devastating battle that he was the sole survivor of are interwoven throughout the story providing some insight into just how damaged Frank Castle's mind really is. The story is detailed and full of plot-twists, providing a proper send off from the talented Garth Ennis.