Monday, March 27, 2023

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!


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do writers name particular characters, only in anticipation of a punning title? The Jackal being a case in point. "Day of the Jackal" is a convenient story title pun!

Stating the obvious mode. How does the Punisher - an ordinary (albeit highly skilled) guy - survive being punched by Spidey who - as this story admits - has much more than the strength of ten men?

Phillip

Comicsfan said...

I imagine by this point Spider-Man knows when and how much to pull his punches, Phillip--fortunately for the Punisher. (Though that doesn't explain how the Punisher is still alive after that punch slams him head-first into a brick chimney!)

Big Murr said...

The Punisher can break a brick chimney to pieces with his head.

In Amazing Spider-Man Annual#15, he was fast enough to shoot out Spider-Man's webshooters in mid-leap.

In that same issue, Spider-Man webbed Punisher to a support pylon of a pier–a pillar of wood as big around as a man's waist. And Punny snapped it off.

Obviously, Punisher "has no super-powers. He's just a guy!" in the same spirit of Batman. To which I roll my eyes.

(Speaking of Batman, my favourite Punisher moment was his cameo in Avengers-JLA. Where Batman gave him a damn good thrashing off panel.)

Anonymous said...

According to the Amazing Spider-man Pocket Book 1977:

https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=512361

If Spidey's webbing was only a quarter of an inch thicker, it could hold the might Thing a prisoner for life!

So, Frank Castle must be one tough hombre!

Phillip

Anonymous said...

*mighty* - damn typos!

Phillip

Comicsfan said...

Murray, it's been a few years since I've thumbed through my copies of the Avengers-JLA crossover, and I'm sorry to say I think I overlooked that Punisher/Batman incident. Something to look forward to on a rainy night. :D

Big Murr said...

The re-reading of that particular encounter won't sustain you too long, CF. When I say "cameo" and "off-panel", I ain't exaggerating.

It's in volume #1, when the JLA has separated into teams to recon Marvel Earth.

Anonymous said...

The Punisher works with a realistic treatment. Namely, from Savage Action # 1 onwards (the Tony DeZuniga stories.) Frank Castle, a military veteran, defeats his adversaries through his combat experience, NOT superpowers. Battle-hardened Castle could observe his opponent's behaviour, and anticipate what they would do next. For Marvelites, this pattern of behaviour was completely unlike that of any other character. The Punisher is NOT in the spirit of Batman(a superhero), except maybe their internal monologues sometimes "sound" strangely similar!

As regards snapping Spidey's webbing, he doesn't do it in this Jackal story (Spidey himself breaks his webbing, freeing Castle) - so, I'll grant it that! As regards Amazing Spidey Annual # 15, I haven't read it, but it's by Denny Miller. At the back of my mind, I seem to remember Denny did some less than stellar Spidey stories, in the early 80s (I'd have to find the exact issues.) So, to me, I'd establish precedent earlier. No serious story can claim Frank Castle is as strong as the Lizard, in snapping Spidey's web. If Castle used a knife to cut it, perhaps...

Respectfully, we'll have to agree to disagree!

Phillip

Big Murr said...

Phil!

1) I think you'll find on a closer look that Amazing Spider-Man Annual was written by Dennis O'Neil and draw by Frank Miller. How much each contributed to this rollicking good tale is unknown.

2) Sorry if you were mislead by my description, but "non-super" Punisher didn't snap webbing. He snapped the support pylon of a dock by leaning forward really hard. I'd like to have a sample of the combat training that allows a man to snap a pillar of wood 30-40 cm across.

3) When I compare him to Batman, I mean strictly in the sense that, even as these characters are thrown thru a brick wall, their staunch fans maintain "they're just normal humans without enhancement!!".

As you say, agree to disagree.

Anonymous said...

Denny Miller's an actor - I meant Denny O'Neil !

Phillip

Anonymous said...

Whoops - sorry, Murray. Looks like I completely misunderstood your(totally valid) comments!

Phillip

Comicsfan said...

Phillip, your comments to Murray are eerily prescient in regard to the Punisher's ability to size up his opposition through observation and careful planning, given that, in late April, the PPC will cover a story that offers stark evidence of just how effective he can be in that regard when it comes to a certain wall-crawler. Also, while I came this close to delving into that ASM annual, you'll instead be seeing a review of other Spidey O'Neil/Miller annual work in mid-May.

(Gosh, I should be tapped for letters page promotional duty--I'm starting to feel I might have a knack for it!)