WEBVTT
1
00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:15.720
So, okay, we are going to get into Punisher Annual
2
00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:21.199
number one. This was on the shelves April nineteenth of
3
00:00:21.320 --> 00:00:25.879
nineteen eighty eight, and we've got two Punisher centric stories
4
00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:30.079
in here. This book takes place during the Evolutionary War
5
00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:34.719
event that's happening through a lot of the annuals in
6
00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:38.679
Marvel at this time. There's two stories. Our first story
7
00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:42.759
is called Evolutionary Jihad, and then our second story is
8
00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:45.759
called Three Hearts. So our first story will go ahead
9
00:00:45.799 --> 00:00:47.640
and get into that, and I'll talk about my thoughts
10
00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:54.240
for that. Our writer is Mike Baron, penciled by Mark Tschera,
11
00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:58.159
inked by Scott Williams, letter by James R. Novak, and
12
00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:01.880
colored by Janet Jackson. Now, before we get into the story,
13
00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:04.799
got to take a look at the characters. First, right,
14
00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:07.680
Frank Castle, the Punisher, is going to be involved in this.
15
00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:09.359
I'm not going to go into detail who he is,
16
00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:12.159
but i will tell you that this story starts out
17
00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:13.920
and the war has taken him all the way to
18
00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:17.640
Colombia in pursuit of one of the biggest drug traffickers
19
00:01:17.719 --> 00:01:22.519
in the region, thus bringing us to El Chaimon, also
20
00:01:22.599 --> 00:01:25.959
known as the Great White He has a powerful Colombian
21
00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:30.000
drug lord who controls a major cocaine operation. While he
22
00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:33.480
is undeniably a criminal, he also sees himself as something
23
00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:36.439
of a provider for the people in his community, using
24
00:01:36.439 --> 00:01:41.480
his wealth to supply food, water, education, and medical care.
25
00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:48.439
Then there's Lucinda el Kaimon's daughter. She's not involved in
26
00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:52.560
her father's criminal empire, but ends up caught in the
27
00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:56.640
violence surrounding him. Her presence gives the story a more
28
00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:00.359
personal element and puts Frank in a situation where his
29
00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:04.640
mission becomes a little more complicated. And finally, we have
30
00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:09.240
the Eliminators, heavily armored soldiers working for the High Evolutionary.
31
00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:13.240
They are part of the larger Evolutionary War storyline and
32
00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:16.159
are carrying out a campaign against people and activities they
33
00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:20.360
believe are damaging humanity's genetic future. Their advanced armor and
34
00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:22.879
weaponry make them a much different kind of threat than
35
00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:27.400
the criminals Frank normally faces. And looming behind this, of course,
36
00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:30.960
is the High Evolutionary himself. He does not play a
37
00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:33.800
direct role in Frank's story here, but his ideology and
38
00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:36.759
his plans are what set the Eliminators in motion and
39
00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:40.759
connect this punisher annual to the larger Marvel event our
40
00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:45.240
story Evolutionary Jiad opens in Bagoda, Columbia, where Frank Castle
41
00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:48.800
has tracked down one of the biggest cocaine operations in
42
00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:52.199
the city. His target is a drug lord now named
43
00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:55.879
El Kaiman, a man with a reputation for moving enormous
44
00:02:55.879 --> 00:02:59.759
amounts of cocaine and disposing of his enemies and particularly
45
00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:04.360
gruesome ways. Frank is watching the operation from a rooftop,
46
00:03:04.439 --> 00:03:07.039
waiting for an opportunity to move in, but the streets
47
00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:10.560
below are still crowded despite the late hour. Before he
48
00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:13.439
can make his move, an explosion erupts nearby, and the
49
00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:17.840
situation quickly turns chaotic. A man named Claudio is gunned
50
00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:19.960
down while trying to escape, and a young woman with
51
00:03:20.039 --> 00:03:24.080
him is wounded. Frank moves into protector, only to discover
52
00:03:24.199 --> 00:03:27.879
that the attackers are not ordinary gunmen. They are heavily
53
00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:31.919
armored soldiers equipped with a dance weaponry, including armour that
54
00:03:32.039 --> 00:03:37.039
easily shrugs off Frank's bullets. Frank manages to bring one
55
00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:39.879
of them down with a grenade and begins interrogating him.
56
00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:43.199
The man reveals that his group is attempting to eliminate
57
00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:47.039
drug users, criminals, and anyone else they see as damaging
58
00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:52.520
humanity's future. Before Frank can learn more, armored attackers arrive,
59
00:03:52.960 --> 00:03:56.319
forcing him to flee with the wounded young woman. That
60
00:03:56.360 --> 00:04:00.319
woman is Lucinda, and Frank soon discovers that she is
61
00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:03.840
the daughter of the very man he came to kill.
62
00:04:03.960 --> 00:04:06.840
Lucinda leads Frank to one of her father's safe houses,
63
00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:10.919
where El Chimon's men are understandably suspicious of the heavily
64
00:04:11.080 --> 00:04:15.199
armed stranger wearing a skull on his chest. Lucinda convinces
65
00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:17.560
them that Frank saved her life, and he has eventually
66
00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:21.920
brought before el Kimon himself. El Chaimon is not quite
67
00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:25.879
the simple monster Frank expected, though. He freely admits that
68
00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:28.199
he sells cocaine, but he insists that he does not
69
00:04:28.279 --> 00:04:31.560
sell it to the people living in his own community. Instead,
70
00:04:31.639 --> 00:04:34.079
he claims that the money from his criminal empire has
71
00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:38.360
allowed him to provide fresh water, food, schooling, and medical
72
00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:42.600
care to help the people their own government has ignored. Frank.
73
00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:47.120
He's not impressed. He explains that El Chaimon was one
74
00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:50.040
of the twenty four major drug dealers whose name he
75
00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:53.800
put into a fish bowl. El Kaimon's name happened to
76
00:04:53.839 --> 00:04:56.800
be the one that he pulled out. For now, however,
77
00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:01.079
the two men have a bigger problem. The armored soldiers,
78
00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:04.680
whom Frank begins referring to as eliminators, are still coming.
79
00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:09.800
Frank and al Chaimon agree to a temporary truce. They
80
00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:12.439
will deal with the eliminators first, and then they can
81
00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:17.360
settle things between themselves. The next attack comes quickly. An
82
00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:20.160
eliminator storms the safe house, but Frank realizes that the
83
00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:23.360
visor in the man's helmet is a weak point. Using
84
00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:25.680
an armour piercing round, he shoots through it and brings
85
00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:30.759
the attacker down. Unfortunately, more eliminators are already closing in
86
00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:35.759
al Coiman's guards are forcing everyone to retreat. Alcaimon leads
87
00:05:35.800 --> 00:05:38.680
Frank and Lucinda through an underground tunnel to another safe house,
88
00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:42.519
where a helicopter is awaiting. His plan is to move
89
00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:45.199
the fight away from the city and toward a remote
90
00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:49.160
mountain compound where he has more men and weapons. Once
91
00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:51.759
they arrive, Frank gets a look at one of Alchaimon's
92
00:05:52.040 --> 00:05:56.639
more infamous possessions, an enormous aquarium filled with dangerous animals,
93
00:05:56.680 --> 00:06:02.839
including a couple crocodiles. El Kaimon casually demonstrates exactly what
94
00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:05.920
the tank is used for. When one of the captured
95
00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:10.800
Eliminators is thrown inside and torn apart, there's little time
96
00:06:10.839 --> 00:06:13.079
to dwell on it. Though the Eliminators are already on
97
00:06:13.199 --> 00:06:16.639
the way. Frank learns that El Kaimon has managed to
98
00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:19.959
acquire a Stinger missile launcher, although none of his men
99
00:06:20.040 --> 00:06:23.920
actually know how to use it, Frank does. When the
100
00:06:23.959 --> 00:06:26.800
Eliminators approach in a heavily armored craft, Frank fires the
101
00:06:26.839 --> 00:06:30.680
missile and blows it out of the sky. Unfortunately, destroying
102
00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:34.600
the aircraft does not kill everyone on board. The surviving
103
00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:38.480
Eliminators descend into the jungle and continue their attack. Frank
104
00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:41.680
quickly realizes that ordinary ammunition is not enough against their armor.
105
00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:45.319
Remembering their weakness around the visors and searching for anything
106
00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:48.800
cabable of penetrating their suits, he gets hold of tethlong
107
00:06:48.839 --> 00:06:53.519
coated ammunition and begins turning the fight around. One by one,
108
00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:57.959
Frank and El Kaimen's men begin taking down the armored soldiers. Eventually,
109
00:06:58.040 --> 00:07:01.439
the battle moves into the compound itself, near l Coiman's
110
00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:06.040
aquarium and a large stockpile of ammunition. After a brutal firefight,
111
00:07:06.199 --> 00:07:10.040
only one eliminator remains. From the top of a stairway,
112
00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:12.959
the last soldier reveals who has sent them, the High
113
00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:17.160
Evolutionary The eliminators are part of a much larger campaign
114
00:07:17.240 --> 00:07:20.920
designed to push humanity toward what their master considers its
115
00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:25.319
next stage of development. Drugs and other supposed genetic pollutants
116
00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:28.360
are to be wiped out, along with anyone who gets
117
00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:32.319
in the way. The final eliminator attacks with a flamethrower,
118
00:07:32.519 --> 00:07:36.839
sending a wall of fire toward Frank. Frank waits for
119
00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:40.000
his opening, switches to single fire, and places a shot
120
00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:44.800
directly into the flamethrower. The weapon explodes, killing the last attacker.
121
00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:50.079
The evolutionary war has moved on, but Frank's business with
122
00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:54.639
El Kimon has not. What the Eliminator's dead, their temporary
123
00:07:54.680 --> 00:07:58.639
truce is over. El Chaimon immediately turns his gun on Frank,
124
00:07:59.319 --> 00:08:01.360
who send a begs her father to let him go,
125
00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:04.879
but Alchimon knows better. He understands that the punisher came
126
00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:07.240
to Columbia to kill him, and he knows Frank will
127
00:08:07.240 --> 00:08:11.319
not simply forget why he's there. Frank only has one
128
00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:15.639
bullet left. Smoke fills the room, making El Chimon difficult
129
00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:19.959
to see. El Cimon taunts him, asking how Frank can
130
00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:23.439
possibly make this shot. Frank replies that he does not
131
00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:27.279
have to. He cannot miss the inside of a goldfish bowl.
132
00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:32.320
Instead of firing at Elchimon, Frank fires his final teflon
133
00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:36.399
coated round into the mass of aquarium. The supposedly impenetrable
134
00:08:36.440 --> 00:08:40.159
glass cracks. Then it gives way thousands of gallons of
135
00:08:40.200 --> 00:08:43.720
water fish and the crocodiles come crashing into the room.
136
00:08:44.039 --> 00:08:47.320
Frank grabs Lucinda and pulls her to safety, and when
137
00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:50.799
the water settles, elchim On is trapped beneath the crocodile
138
00:08:51.159 --> 00:08:56.279
and appears to be dead. Lucinda is devastated. She asks
139
00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:59.799
Frank why he killed her father, insisting that elchim On
140
00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:04.320
was a good man. Frank does not pretend otherwise. He
141
00:09:04.360 --> 00:09:06.399
tells her that her father may have done good things,
142
00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:11.080
but she knew what he really was. The story ends
143
00:09:11.080 --> 00:09:13.799
with Frank leading Lucinda away from the ruined compound and
144
00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:17.360
into the jungle. He has saved her life twice, he
145
00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:20.679
has also killed her father, and as the two disappear
146
00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:24.679
into the wilderness together, Frank has only one final concern
147
00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:28.200
whether Lucinda might decide to put a bullet in his
148
00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:34.440
back before they find their way home. Looking back at
149
00:09:34.679 --> 00:09:38.039
the story now, I think the biggest compliment I can
150
00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:41.120
give it is that it still feels like a punisher story. First,
151
00:09:42.200 --> 00:09:45.240
this is technically the second chapter of the Evolutionary War,
152
00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:48.200
and Frank is suddenly dealing with these armored Eliminators who
153
00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:51.200
are tied to the High Evolutionary But it never feels
154
00:09:51.240 --> 00:09:54.240
like Frank has been dropped into somebody else's comic book.
155
00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:59.080
He still has a target, He's still hunting major drug dealers,
156
00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:02.799
just happened to run into something much bigger along the way.
157
00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:06.440
I dug the Eliminators as opponents because they force Frank
158
00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:09.720
to adapt. He can't just overpower these guys. They're armor
159
00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:12.639
is to advance. Their weapons are better, and they've got
160
00:10:12.679 --> 00:10:17.120
technology that Frank immediately realizes beyond what he normally deals with,
161
00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:21.759
so he has to start figuring things out. He notices
162
00:10:21.799 --> 00:10:23.919
the weakness in the visors and he gets his hand
163
00:10:23.960 --> 00:10:27.919
on some better ammunition. He uses the Stinger against their aircraft.
164
00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:31.720
And that's the kind of punisher I like seeing. Frank
165
00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:34.799
isn't superhuman, but sometimes he has to almost be a
166
00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:38.279
tactical savant, because that's how he survives people who should
167
00:10:38.279 --> 00:10:43.360
completely outclass him. The Columbia setting also works, although it
168
00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:47.240
doesn't necessarily feel unusual for Frank. He's the type of
169
00:10:47.320 --> 00:10:50.879
character who will go wherever the target is. He's trying
170
00:10:50.919 --> 00:10:53.200
to cut the head off the snake, and in this case,
171
00:10:53.240 --> 00:10:56.879
that leads him to El Chaimon. And I thought Mike
172
00:10:56.879 --> 00:10:59.360
Baron did a good job giving Alchimon more depth than
173
00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:03.279
just making him stereotypical drug lord. We find out that
174
00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:06.320
he provides water, food, education, and medical care to the
175
00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:09.720
people around him. The government hasn't taken care of these people,
176
00:11:10.200 --> 00:11:12.440
so in his mind, what he does with the cocaine
177
00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:16.080
trade helps support his community. Now, that didn't really change
178
00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:18.240
my opinion of him, but it did make him more interesting.
179
00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:21.279
We've seen this kind of character before, the criminal who
180
00:11:21.320 --> 00:11:23.600
does terrible things but takes care of his own people.
181
00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:27.919
But it gives the story something to wrestle with, and
182
00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:30.840
really Frank and el Cimon have more in common than
183
00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:35.080
either of them would probably like to admit. Frank does
184
00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:39.679
something objectively terrible, he kills people, but in his mind
185
00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:43.080
he does it for a good reason. El Cimon does
186
00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:47.559
something objectively terrible. He deals cocaine, but in his mind
187
00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:50.320
he does it for a good reason. So that kind
188
00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:52.960
of makes Lucina accusing Frank at the end of killing
189
00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:55.080
a good man much more interesting because the story is
190
00:11:55.120 --> 00:12:00.200
almost asking us where that line actually is. Frank think
191
00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:04.080
has already decided where it is. Once you cross that line,
192
00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:09.320
there's no coming back. It doesn't matter that Alchimon loves
193
00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:13.519
his daughter, or that he feeds people, that he built
194
00:12:13.559 --> 00:12:16.919
a school. Frank knows what he does for a living,
195
00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:21.759
and that's enough. Lucinda also gives the story a really
196
00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:25.440
good complication because Frank keeps saving her. She's completely innocent
197
00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:27.639
in all of this, and Frank never wants innocent people
198
00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:30.919
getting caught in the crossfire. You see that throughout the story,
199
00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:33.559
whether it's Lucinda or the people living in the village.
200
00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:36.679
His war with criminals is his war. He doesn't want
201
00:12:36.679 --> 00:12:40.080
civilians paying the price for it. So there is that
202
00:12:40.200 --> 00:12:43.320
question hanging over the story. Does saving this girl and
203
00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:47.919
getting to know her make Frank reconsider killing her father? Well,
204
00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:51.919
clearly the answer is no. The temporary alliance between Frank
205
00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:55.360
and Elchimon made perfect sense to me. They have a
206
00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:58.200
common enemy, so they work together until that enemy is
207
00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:01.480
gone and the instant, the last eliminator is taken care of.
208
00:13:02.200 --> 00:13:06.480
Elchimon makes his move because he knows exactly what is
209
00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:09.919
coming next. He knows Frank isn't going to suddenly shake
210
00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:13.480
his hand and walk away. I also like the fish
211
00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:18.200
bowl idea. Frank essentially has no particular direction when this starts.
212
00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:20.840
He knows what his mission is in life, but sometimes
213
00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:23.759
he has to decide where to point himself next. So
214
00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:26.080
he puts the names of twenty four major drug dealers
215
00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:31.000
in a bowl and pulls out Elchimon. That's almost funny,
216
00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:34.159
but it also tells you something kind of disturbing about
217
00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:37.200
where Frank is mentally. And then they bring the whole
218
00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:40.120
fish bowl idea back at the end with the aquarium.
219
00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:42.559
I like the way Frank handled that he's got one
220
00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:45.679
shot left. He knows the teflon round can get through
221
00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:48.000
the glass, and instead of trying to shoot El Kaimon
222
00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:51.720
through all the smoke, he just shoots the enormous aquarium.
223
00:13:52.039 --> 00:13:56.879
My only complaint I wanted more violence. He got this
224
00:13:57.039 --> 00:14:02.200
giant crocodile there. You've already established Elchimon feeds people to
225
00:14:02.279 --> 00:14:05.399
this thing. I wanted that crocodile coming out of the
226
00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:08.519
tank and getting hold of them, give me that nasty
227
00:14:08.559 --> 00:14:13.399
Punisher poetic justice. Instead, it looks like Elchimon basically gets
228
00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:16.720
trapped underneath it and dies. It works, but I wanted
229
00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:18.879
them to go just a little bit further with it.
230
00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:23.360
And then this issue's got some nostalgia for me as well.
231
00:14:23.879 --> 00:14:26.080
I was nine years old, getting ready to turn ten
232
00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:28.600
when this thing hits shelves in April of nineteen eighty eight,
233
00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:31.399
and I can still remember where I was when I
234
00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:33.679
bought it. I'm pretty sure I was out of town
235
00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:36.759
with my mom and stepdad, standing in a Kroger or
236
00:14:36.759 --> 00:14:39.960
some other grocery store that had comics in the magazine section.
237
00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:45.200
Thirty eight years later, I don't really remember this story,
238
00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:50.720
but I remember that cover. I remember the Punisher fighting
239
00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:53.960
those armored guys. I remember seeing Punisher Annual number one,
240
00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:56.159
and back then, an annual felt like you were getting
241
00:14:56.200 --> 00:15:00.440
something special. Says Special on the cover. You had this
242
00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:04.639
thick comic in your hands, sixty four pages, and you
243
00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:07.399
felt like you were getting a ton for your money.
244
00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:11.840
And then there was the excitement of seeing Punisher included
245
00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:16.080
in this much larger Marvel event. I knew the Evolutionary
246
00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:18.519
War was happening. I had some of the other annuals
247
00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:20.879
as well, although there was no chance I had enough
248
00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:23.279
money at nine years old to buy all eleven chapters.
249
00:15:23.960 --> 00:15:26.879
So just owning one piece of this giant Marvel storyline
250
00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:31.639
was cool. Reading it again now I appreciate it much
251
00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:34.320
more than I probably could have back then. Mike Baron
252
00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:37.600
gives me a villain with a little complexity, puts Frank
253
00:15:37.639 --> 00:15:39.519
in a situation where we have to wonder whether he
254
00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:42.639
might actually reconsider his mission, and then he gives us
255
00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:46.080
the answer. Frank may understand why el Kaimon does what
256
00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:49.960
he does. He may even recognize that there are good
257
00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:54.639
things about him, but understanding somebody is not the same
258
00:15:54.679 --> 00:16:00.240
thing as forgiving them, and the punisher does not forgive.
259
00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:04.120
It adds some depth to Microchip, shows me that there's
260
00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:08.399
more going on underneath the surface, and then puts him
261
00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:12.679
back into Frank's world without overstaying It's welcome. Between this
262
00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:16.639
and Evolutionary Jihad, I'd probably still give the edge to
263
00:16:16.679 --> 00:16:20.279
the main story. Frank big pulled into a larger Marvel event,
264
00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:22.559
and having to deal with those eliminators carries a little
265
00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:26.039
more weight for me, but as a backup story, three
266
00:16:26.039 --> 00:16:29.639
Hearts does exactly what I want an annual backup to do.
1
00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:15.720
So, okay, we are going to get into Punisher Annual
2
00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:21.199
number one. This was on the shelves April nineteenth of
3
00:00:21.320 --> 00:00:25.879
nineteen eighty eight, and we've got two Punisher centric stories
4
00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:30.079
in here. This book takes place during the Evolutionary War
5
00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:34.719
event that's happening through a lot of the annuals in
6
00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:38.679
Marvel at this time. There's two stories. Our first story
7
00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:42.759
is called Evolutionary Jihad, and then our second story is
8
00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:45.759
called Three Hearts. So our first story will go ahead
9
00:00:45.799 --> 00:00:47.640
and get into that, and I'll talk about my thoughts
10
00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:54.240
for that. Our writer is Mike Baron, penciled by Mark Tschera,
11
00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:58.159
inked by Scott Williams, letter by James R. Novak, and
12
00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:01.880
colored by Janet Jackson. Now, before we get into the story,
13
00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:04.799
got to take a look at the characters. First, right,
14
00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:07.680
Frank Castle, the Punisher, is going to be involved in this.
15
00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:09.359
I'm not going to go into detail who he is,
16
00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:12.159
but i will tell you that this story starts out
17
00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:13.920
and the war has taken him all the way to
18
00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:17.640
Colombia in pursuit of one of the biggest drug traffickers
19
00:01:17.719 --> 00:01:22.519
in the region, thus bringing us to El Chaimon, also
20
00:01:22.599 --> 00:01:25.959
known as the Great White He has a powerful Colombian
21
00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:30.000
drug lord who controls a major cocaine operation. While he
22
00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:33.480
is undeniably a criminal, he also sees himself as something
23
00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:36.439
of a provider for the people in his community, using
24
00:01:36.439 --> 00:01:41.480
his wealth to supply food, water, education, and medical care.
25
00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:48.439
Then there's Lucinda el Kaimon's daughter. She's not involved in
26
00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:52.560
her father's criminal empire, but ends up caught in the
27
00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:56.640
violence surrounding him. Her presence gives the story a more
28
00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:00.359
personal element and puts Frank in a situation where his
29
00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:04.640
mission becomes a little more complicated. And finally, we have
30
00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:09.240
the Eliminators, heavily armored soldiers working for the High Evolutionary.
31
00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:13.240
They are part of the larger Evolutionary War storyline and
32
00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:16.159
are carrying out a campaign against people and activities they
33
00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:20.360
believe are damaging humanity's genetic future. Their advanced armor and
34
00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:22.879
weaponry make them a much different kind of threat than
35
00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:27.400
the criminals Frank normally faces. And looming behind this, of course,
36
00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:30.960
is the High Evolutionary himself. He does not play a
37
00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:33.800
direct role in Frank's story here, but his ideology and
38
00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:36.759
his plans are what set the Eliminators in motion and
39
00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:40.759
connect this punisher annual to the larger Marvel event our
40
00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:45.240
story Evolutionary Jiad opens in Bagoda, Columbia, where Frank Castle
41
00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:48.800
has tracked down one of the biggest cocaine operations in
42
00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:52.199
the city. His target is a drug lord now named
43
00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:55.879
El Kaiman, a man with a reputation for moving enormous
44
00:02:55.879 --> 00:02:59.759
amounts of cocaine and disposing of his enemies and particularly
45
00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:04.360
gruesome ways. Frank is watching the operation from a rooftop,
46
00:03:04.439 --> 00:03:07.039
waiting for an opportunity to move in, but the streets
47
00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:10.560
below are still crowded despite the late hour. Before he
48
00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:13.439
can make his move, an explosion erupts nearby, and the
49
00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:17.840
situation quickly turns chaotic. A man named Claudio is gunned
50
00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:19.960
down while trying to escape, and a young woman with
51
00:03:20.039 --> 00:03:24.080
him is wounded. Frank moves into protector, only to discover
52
00:03:24.199 --> 00:03:27.879
that the attackers are not ordinary gunmen. They are heavily
53
00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:31.919
armored soldiers equipped with a dance weaponry, including armour that
54
00:03:32.039 --> 00:03:37.039
easily shrugs off Frank's bullets. Frank manages to bring one
55
00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:39.879
of them down with a grenade and begins interrogating him.
56
00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:43.199
The man reveals that his group is attempting to eliminate
57
00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:47.039
drug users, criminals, and anyone else they see as damaging
58
00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:52.520
humanity's future. Before Frank can learn more, armored attackers arrive,
59
00:03:52.960 --> 00:03:56.319
forcing him to flee with the wounded young woman. That
60
00:03:56.360 --> 00:04:00.319
woman is Lucinda, and Frank soon discovers that she is
61
00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:03.840
the daughter of the very man he came to kill.
62
00:04:03.960 --> 00:04:06.840
Lucinda leads Frank to one of her father's safe houses,
63
00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:10.919
where El Chimon's men are understandably suspicious of the heavily
64
00:04:11.080 --> 00:04:15.199
armed stranger wearing a skull on his chest. Lucinda convinces
65
00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:17.560
them that Frank saved her life, and he has eventually
66
00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:21.920
brought before el Kimon himself. El Chaimon is not quite
67
00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:25.879
the simple monster Frank expected, though. He freely admits that
68
00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:28.199
he sells cocaine, but he insists that he does not
69
00:04:28.279 --> 00:04:31.560
sell it to the people living in his own community. Instead,
70
00:04:31.639 --> 00:04:34.079
he claims that the money from his criminal empire has
71
00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:38.360
allowed him to provide fresh water, food, schooling, and medical
72
00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:42.600
care to help the people their own government has ignored. Frank.
73
00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:47.120
He's not impressed. He explains that El Chaimon was one
74
00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:50.040
of the twenty four major drug dealers whose name he
75
00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:53.800
put into a fish bowl. El Kaimon's name happened to
76
00:04:53.839 --> 00:04:56.800
be the one that he pulled out. For now, however,
77
00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:01.079
the two men have a bigger problem. The armored soldiers,
78
00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:04.680
whom Frank begins referring to as eliminators, are still coming.
79
00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:09.800
Frank and al Chaimon agree to a temporary truce. They
80
00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:12.439
will deal with the eliminators first, and then they can
81
00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:17.360
settle things between themselves. The next attack comes quickly. An
82
00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:20.160
eliminator storms the safe house, but Frank realizes that the
83
00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:23.360
visor in the man's helmet is a weak point. Using
84
00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:25.680
an armour piercing round, he shoots through it and brings
85
00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:30.759
the attacker down. Unfortunately, more eliminators are already closing in
86
00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:35.759
al Coiman's guards are forcing everyone to retreat. Alcaimon leads
87
00:05:35.800 --> 00:05:38.680
Frank and Lucinda through an underground tunnel to another safe house,
88
00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:42.519
where a helicopter is awaiting. His plan is to move
89
00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:45.199
the fight away from the city and toward a remote
90
00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:49.160
mountain compound where he has more men and weapons. Once
91
00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:51.759
they arrive, Frank gets a look at one of Alchaimon's
92
00:05:52.040 --> 00:05:56.639
more infamous possessions, an enormous aquarium filled with dangerous animals,
93
00:05:56.680 --> 00:06:02.839
including a couple crocodiles. El Kaimon casually demonstrates exactly what
94
00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:05.920
the tank is used for. When one of the captured
95
00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:10.800
Eliminators is thrown inside and torn apart, there's little time
96
00:06:10.839 --> 00:06:13.079
to dwell on it. Though the Eliminators are already on
97
00:06:13.199 --> 00:06:16.639
the way. Frank learns that El Kaimon has managed to
98
00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:19.959
acquire a Stinger missile launcher, although none of his men
99
00:06:20.040 --> 00:06:23.920
actually know how to use it, Frank does. When the
100
00:06:23.959 --> 00:06:26.800
Eliminators approach in a heavily armored craft, Frank fires the
101
00:06:26.839 --> 00:06:30.680
missile and blows it out of the sky. Unfortunately, destroying
102
00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:34.600
the aircraft does not kill everyone on board. The surviving
103
00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:38.480
Eliminators descend into the jungle and continue their attack. Frank
104
00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:41.680
quickly realizes that ordinary ammunition is not enough against their armor.
105
00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:45.319
Remembering their weakness around the visors and searching for anything
106
00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:48.800
cabable of penetrating their suits, he gets hold of tethlong
107
00:06:48.839 --> 00:06:53.519
coated ammunition and begins turning the fight around. One by one,
108
00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:57.959
Frank and El Kaimen's men begin taking down the armored soldiers. Eventually,
109
00:06:58.040 --> 00:07:01.439
the battle moves into the compound itself, near l Coiman's
110
00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:06.040
aquarium and a large stockpile of ammunition. After a brutal firefight,
111
00:07:06.199 --> 00:07:10.040
only one eliminator remains. From the top of a stairway,
112
00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:12.959
the last soldier reveals who has sent them, the High
113
00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:17.160
Evolutionary The eliminators are part of a much larger campaign
114
00:07:17.240 --> 00:07:20.920
designed to push humanity toward what their master considers its
115
00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:25.319
next stage of development. Drugs and other supposed genetic pollutants
116
00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:28.360
are to be wiped out, along with anyone who gets
117
00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:32.319
in the way. The final eliminator attacks with a flamethrower,
118
00:07:32.519 --> 00:07:36.839
sending a wall of fire toward Frank. Frank waits for
119
00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:40.000
his opening, switches to single fire, and places a shot
120
00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:44.800
directly into the flamethrower. The weapon explodes, killing the last attacker.
121
00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:50.079
The evolutionary war has moved on, but Frank's business with
122
00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:54.639
El Kimon has not. What the Eliminator's dead, their temporary
123
00:07:54.680 --> 00:07:58.639
truce is over. El Chaimon immediately turns his gun on Frank,
124
00:07:59.319 --> 00:08:01.360
who send a begs her father to let him go,
125
00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:04.879
but Alchimon knows better. He understands that the punisher came
126
00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:07.240
to Columbia to kill him, and he knows Frank will
127
00:08:07.240 --> 00:08:11.319
not simply forget why he's there. Frank only has one
128
00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:15.639
bullet left. Smoke fills the room, making El Chimon difficult
129
00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:19.959
to see. El Cimon taunts him, asking how Frank can
130
00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:23.439
possibly make this shot. Frank replies that he does not
131
00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:27.279
have to. He cannot miss the inside of a goldfish bowl.
132
00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:32.320
Instead of firing at Elchimon, Frank fires his final teflon
133
00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:36.399
coated round into the mass of aquarium. The supposedly impenetrable
134
00:08:36.440 --> 00:08:40.159
glass cracks. Then it gives way thousands of gallons of
135
00:08:40.200 --> 00:08:43.720
water fish and the crocodiles come crashing into the room.
136
00:08:44.039 --> 00:08:47.320
Frank grabs Lucinda and pulls her to safety, and when
137
00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:50.799
the water settles, elchim On is trapped beneath the crocodile
138
00:08:51.159 --> 00:08:56.279
and appears to be dead. Lucinda is devastated. She asks
139
00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:59.799
Frank why he killed her father, insisting that elchim On
140
00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:04.320
was a good man. Frank does not pretend otherwise. He
141
00:09:04.360 --> 00:09:06.399
tells her that her father may have done good things,
142
00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:11.080
but she knew what he really was. The story ends
143
00:09:11.080 --> 00:09:13.799
with Frank leading Lucinda away from the ruined compound and
144
00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:17.360
into the jungle. He has saved her life twice, he
145
00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:20.679
has also killed her father, and as the two disappear
146
00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:24.679
into the wilderness together, Frank has only one final concern
147
00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:28.200
whether Lucinda might decide to put a bullet in his
148
00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:34.440
back before they find their way home. Looking back at
149
00:09:34.679 --> 00:09:38.039
the story now, I think the biggest compliment I can
150
00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:41.120
give it is that it still feels like a punisher story. First,
151
00:09:42.200 --> 00:09:45.240
this is technically the second chapter of the Evolutionary War,
152
00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:48.200
and Frank is suddenly dealing with these armored Eliminators who
153
00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:51.200
are tied to the High Evolutionary But it never feels
154
00:09:51.240 --> 00:09:54.240
like Frank has been dropped into somebody else's comic book.
155
00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:59.080
He still has a target, He's still hunting major drug dealers,
156
00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:02.799
just happened to run into something much bigger along the way.
157
00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:06.440
I dug the Eliminators as opponents because they force Frank
158
00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:09.720
to adapt. He can't just overpower these guys. They're armor
159
00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:12.639
is to advance. Their weapons are better, and they've got
160
00:10:12.679 --> 00:10:17.120
technology that Frank immediately realizes beyond what he normally deals with,
161
00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:21.759
so he has to start figuring things out. He notices
162
00:10:21.799 --> 00:10:23.919
the weakness in the visors and he gets his hand
163
00:10:23.960 --> 00:10:27.919
on some better ammunition. He uses the Stinger against their aircraft.
164
00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:31.720
And that's the kind of punisher I like seeing. Frank
165
00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:34.799
isn't superhuman, but sometimes he has to almost be a
166
00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:38.279
tactical savant, because that's how he survives people who should
167
00:10:38.279 --> 00:10:43.360
completely outclass him. The Columbia setting also works, although it
168
00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:47.240
doesn't necessarily feel unusual for Frank. He's the type of
169
00:10:47.320 --> 00:10:50.879
character who will go wherever the target is. He's trying
170
00:10:50.919 --> 00:10:53.200
to cut the head off the snake, and in this case,
171
00:10:53.240 --> 00:10:56.879
that leads him to El Chaimon. And I thought Mike
172
00:10:56.879 --> 00:10:59.360
Baron did a good job giving Alchimon more depth than
173
00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:03.279
just making him stereotypical drug lord. We find out that
174
00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:06.320
he provides water, food, education, and medical care to the
175
00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:09.720
people around him. The government hasn't taken care of these people,
176
00:11:10.200 --> 00:11:12.440
so in his mind, what he does with the cocaine
177
00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:16.080
trade helps support his community. Now, that didn't really change
178
00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:18.240
my opinion of him, but it did make him more interesting.
179
00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:21.279
We've seen this kind of character before, the criminal who
180
00:11:21.320 --> 00:11:23.600
does terrible things but takes care of his own people.
181
00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:27.919
But it gives the story something to wrestle with, and
182
00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:30.840
really Frank and el Cimon have more in common than
183
00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:35.080
either of them would probably like to admit. Frank does
184
00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:39.679
something objectively terrible, he kills people, but in his mind
185
00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:43.080
he does it for a good reason. El Cimon does
186
00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:47.559
something objectively terrible. He deals cocaine, but in his mind
187
00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:50.320
he does it for a good reason. So that kind
188
00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:52.960
of makes Lucina accusing Frank at the end of killing
189
00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:55.080
a good man much more interesting because the story is
190
00:11:55.120 --> 00:12:00.200
almost asking us where that line actually is. Frank think
191
00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:04.080
has already decided where it is. Once you cross that line,
192
00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:09.320
there's no coming back. It doesn't matter that Alchimon loves
193
00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:13.519
his daughter, or that he feeds people, that he built
194
00:12:13.559 --> 00:12:16.919
a school. Frank knows what he does for a living,
195
00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:21.759
and that's enough. Lucinda also gives the story a really
196
00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:25.440
good complication because Frank keeps saving her. She's completely innocent
197
00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:27.639
in all of this, and Frank never wants innocent people
198
00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:30.919
getting caught in the crossfire. You see that throughout the story,
199
00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:33.559
whether it's Lucinda or the people living in the village.
200
00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:36.679
His war with criminals is his war. He doesn't want
201
00:12:36.679 --> 00:12:40.080
civilians paying the price for it. So there is that
202
00:12:40.200 --> 00:12:43.320
question hanging over the story. Does saving this girl and
203
00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:47.919
getting to know her make Frank reconsider killing her father? Well,
204
00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:51.919
clearly the answer is no. The temporary alliance between Frank
205
00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:55.360
and Elchimon made perfect sense to me. They have a
206
00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:58.200
common enemy, so they work together until that enemy is
207
00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:01.480
gone and the instant, the last eliminator is taken care of.
208
00:13:02.200 --> 00:13:06.480
Elchimon makes his move because he knows exactly what is
209
00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:09.919
coming next. He knows Frank isn't going to suddenly shake
210
00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:13.480
his hand and walk away. I also like the fish
211
00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:18.200
bowl idea. Frank essentially has no particular direction when this starts.
212
00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:20.840
He knows what his mission is in life, but sometimes
213
00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:23.759
he has to decide where to point himself next. So
214
00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:26.080
he puts the names of twenty four major drug dealers
215
00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:31.000
in a bowl and pulls out Elchimon. That's almost funny,
216
00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:34.159
but it also tells you something kind of disturbing about
217
00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:37.200
where Frank is mentally. And then they bring the whole
218
00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:40.120
fish bowl idea back at the end with the aquarium.
219
00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:42.559
I like the way Frank handled that he's got one
220
00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:45.679
shot left. He knows the teflon round can get through
221
00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:48.000
the glass, and instead of trying to shoot El Kaimon
222
00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:51.720
through all the smoke, he just shoots the enormous aquarium.
223
00:13:52.039 --> 00:13:56.879
My only complaint I wanted more violence. He got this
224
00:13:57.039 --> 00:14:02.200
giant crocodile there. You've already established Elchimon feeds people to
225
00:14:02.279 --> 00:14:05.399
this thing. I wanted that crocodile coming out of the
226
00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:08.519
tank and getting hold of them, give me that nasty
227
00:14:08.559 --> 00:14:13.399
Punisher poetic justice. Instead, it looks like Elchimon basically gets
228
00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:16.720
trapped underneath it and dies. It works, but I wanted
229
00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:18.879
them to go just a little bit further with it.
230
00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:23.360
And then this issue's got some nostalgia for me as well.
231
00:14:23.879 --> 00:14:26.080
I was nine years old, getting ready to turn ten
232
00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:28.600
when this thing hits shelves in April of nineteen eighty eight,
233
00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:31.399
and I can still remember where I was when I
234
00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:33.679
bought it. I'm pretty sure I was out of town
235
00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:36.759
with my mom and stepdad, standing in a Kroger or
236
00:14:36.759 --> 00:14:39.960
some other grocery store that had comics in the magazine section.
237
00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:45.200
Thirty eight years later, I don't really remember this story,
238
00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:50.720
but I remember that cover. I remember the Punisher fighting
239
00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:53.960
those armored guys. I remember seeing Punisher Annual number one,
240
00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:56.159
and back then, an annual felt like you were getting
241
00:14:56.200 --> 00:15:00.440
something special. Says Special on the cover. You had this
242
00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:04.639
thick comic in your hands, sixty four pages, and you
243
00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:07.399
felt like you were getting a ton for your money.
244
00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:11.840
And then there was the excitement of seeing Punisher included
245
00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:16.080
in this much larger Marvel event. I knew the Evolutionary
246
00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:18.519
War was happening. I had some of the other annuals
247
00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:20.879
as well, although there was no chance I had enough
248
00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:23.279
money at nine years old to buy all eleven chapters.
249
00:15:23.960 --> 00:15:26.879
So just owning one piece of this giant Marvel storyline
250
00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:31.639
was cool. Reading it again now I appreciate it much
251
00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:34.320
more than I probably could have back then. Mike Baron
252
00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:37.600
gives me a villain with a little complexity, puts Frank
253
00:15:37.639 --> 00:15:39.519
in a situation where we have to wonder whether he
254
00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:42.639
might actually reconsider his mission, and then he gives us
255
00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:46.080
the answer. Frank may understand why el Kaimon does what
256
00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:49.960
he does. He may even recognize that there are good
257
00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:54.639
things about him, but understanding somebody is not the same
258
00:15:54.679 --> 00:16:00.240
thing as forgiving them, and the punisher does not forgive.
259
00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:04.120
It adds some depth to Microchip, shows me that there's
260
00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:08.399
more going on underneath the surface, and then puts him
261
00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:12.679
back into Frank's world without overstaying It's welcome. Between this
262
00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:16.639
and Evolutionary Jihad, I'd probably still give the edge to
263
00:16:16.679 --> 00:16:20.279
the main story. Frank big pulled into a larger Marvel event,
264
00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:22.559
and having to deal with those eliminators carries a little
265
00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:26.039
more weight for me, but as a backup story, three
266
00:16:26.039 --> 00:16:29.639
Hearts does exactly what I want an annual backup to do.