Woe To The Unpunished!

 

Of all the scenes the Punisher has to his credit over the years, one that often comes to mind for me comes courtesy of the character's creators, Gerry Conway and Ross Andru, during his second appearance in the early '70s:

The context of the panel consists of his reaction to his foe, the Tarantula, making a fool of him and giving him the slip (and, perhaps most frustrating of all, escaping punishment). The Punisher, after all, is conducting a one-man war against criminals--and while his motivation at this point in time is unclear, what does seem evident is that his obsession with that mission is driven by a mixture of rage and vengeance. Simply put, he cannot tolerate this low-life remaining free--or alive.

But there are more curious circumstances occurring in the Punisher's first appearance, taking place in Amazing Spider-Man in 1974, where we find him in an alliance with the bizarre interloper known as the Jackal, who has his own obsessive agenda in regard to the wall-crawler--a twisted mindset that the Punisher is apparently unaware of, or the Jackal might also find himself in his partner's crosshairs. Here, the Jackal takes advantage of his knowledge of Spider-Man's role in the death of Norman Osborn in combination with our hero's history of evasion of law enforcement, to make sure the Punisher's sights are now turned on a target that both men are convinced is deserving of death.

And so Frank Castle breaks into the comics world as...

It would be some time before we learn of the Punisher's real name, or details of his background--but for now, we shouldn't put too much stock in what Mr. Cover Captioner is telling us about him. For instance, while the Punisher is certainly different and it probably goes without saying that he's deadly, he's not a hired assassin on the order of the Mercenary, the Hitman, or other for-hire killers, nor is he complying with an assignment by the Jackal to kill Spider-Man; rather, the Jackal has convinced him that the two of them are out for the same thing, namely, the elimination of New York's criminal underworld.

As it happens, it's the Punisher's target who goes looking for him, when Peter Parker is told in no uncertain terms by the Daily Bugle's irascible publisher to bring back news photos of what rival newspapers have reported as the Punisher's war against the mob. But it's only the web-slinger's spider sense that saves his life when it becomes clear that he's come all too close to appearing in the Bugle's obituaries section, instead.

Given that the Punisher is still in his "I don't enjoy doing this, but..." phase and, for the sake of characterization, reciting just how much he detests what he's seen of criminal operations and the unknown personal price he's paid, we can overlook the fact that he hasn't coldly put a bullet in Spider-Man's head immediately upon having him at his mercy, or at the very least kept a sharp eye on him. But today, it's the Jackal who's keeping a sharp eye on how this encounter is now playing out, and who doesn't hesitate to act decisively.

Fortunately for Spider-Man, both of his foes assume he's plummeted to his death. (Really? Neither man takes a look to be sure?) But when they return to the Jackal's base, the Punisher makes it clear to his partner that, in terms of meting out justice, the Jackal's methods are incompatible with his own, and, from this point on, unacceptable.

The Punisher, like the Jackal, is also having second thoughts about their partnership, but heads off instead to replace his weapon at the armory shop of his friend, "the Mechanic" (aka Mr. Reiss). What he doesn't know is that someone has been there ahead of him--nor is he aware that the man he fought earlier is still alive, and pursuing a lead to the same shop.

(Nice touch with the shop door's bell-ringer, Mr. Andru.)

With the Punisher finally subdued (you don't hear assertions like that too often, do you?), Spider-Man makes an effort to compare notes, and the blame for this murder is finally laid at the right doorstep--that of the Jackal, whose plan didn't pan out and who in fact managed to make an enemy of his former partner in addition to finding out that Spider-Man remains among the living.

Come to think of it, Spider-Man's troubles with the Jackal may be over if the weasel didn't have the good sense to clear out of that hideout he and the Punisher conducted their business at--a locale which is probably headed for a War Journal entry in short order.

NEXT: A South American death camp... and Moses Magnum!