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All right, so we're going to get into The Punisher.
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Number ten here on sale date April fifth of nineteen
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eighty eight. Written by Mike Barron, penciled by Wilis Portassio,
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inked by Scott Williams, lettered by Ken Brusenak, and then
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colored by John Wellington's a real quick character run down here.
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This is going to only really feature about four characters
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here that make up this story. Of course, we got
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Frank Castle, the Punisher, I'm not going to go into
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depth of who he is, but we also have Matt Murdoch,
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Dared Devil, who's going to be showing up here. He's
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on the cover. It's yeah, it's pretty fantastic actually seeing
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somebody from the Marvel universe that we know in love
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show up here and the Punisher ongoing series. Matt Murdoch
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by day is a defense attorney fighting for justice within
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the legal system. By night, he patrols the streets of
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New York as Daredevil, a masked vigilante whose heightened senses
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and acrobatic fighting skills make him one of the city's
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most formidable heroes. Unlike The Punisher, Daredevil believes even the
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guilty deserve due process under the law. Our villain of
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this story is Alfred Coppersmith, a large, intimidating, and deeply
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troubled man living in Queens. Alfred harbor's intense anger and
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resentment that have isolated him from the people around him.
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Beneath his rough exterior lies a dangerous obsession that puts
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innocent lives at risk. And then, our fourth person we
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are going to bring up is Cindy, Alfred's neighbor, one
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of the few people who genuinely tries to connect with him.
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Kind Hearted and compassionate, Cindy sees a side of Alfred
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that others overlook and serves as a reminder that people
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are often more complicated than they first appear. Anopsis of
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his punisher number ten goes a little like this. The
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issue opens with a series of shocking cyanide poisonings linked
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to a popular pain reliever, prompting Frank Castle to launch
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his own investigation into the killer responsible. Following a trail
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of disgruntled former employees, Frank narrows his search to Alfred Coppersmith,
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a disturbed and isolated man living in Queens who has
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escalated his revenge campaign by poisoning additional products the skuise
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as a plumber, Frank tracks Alfred to his apartment building
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and narrowly prevents neighbor Cindy from becoming the next victim.
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A brutal confrontation erupts, spilling from the hallways onto the rooftop,
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where Frank prepares to execute Alfred for the deaths that
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he caused. Before he can do so, Daredevil intervenes, leading
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to a fierce ideological and physical clash between the two
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vigilanes over justice, due process, in the value of the
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legal system. While Daredevil ultimately captures Alfred and delivers him
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to the authorities, Frank remains convinced the courts will fail
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and that the killer will eventually free. The issue closes
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on a bitterly ironic note, as Cindy, devastated to learn
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the truth about the man she admired, turns her anger
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toward Frank and brands him a creep, forcing readers to
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reconsider who the title of the story is really referring to.
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So again, you got this fantastic cover of this issue
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where Frank and Daredevil are kind of wrestling. Frank is
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clearly the aggressor here, with a knife and a pistol
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in his hand while Daredevil was kind of trying to
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fight him off, So we don't really have a villain
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on the cover here, which is interesting now. After reading
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the issue, I came away thinking that this is one
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of the strongest issues of the series so far, because
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the issue is willing to ask some interesting questions about
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Frank Castle and how other people see him. The story
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itself is pretty straightforward. Somebody is poisoning over the counter
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medicine and killing in it's some people. That's a premise
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that immediately grabs your attention because it's rooted in reality.
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This isn't a mob war or it or an international conspiracy.
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It's a disturbed individual targeting random strangers, and that makes
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it feel scary in a different way. The villain, Alfred Coppersmith,
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isn't the most memorable villain we've had in the first
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ten issues, but he doesn't really need to be. What
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makes him effective is that he feels believable. He's angry
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and isolated, also consumed by hatred toward company he feels
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wronged him. His plan isn't about making money, it's about revenge.
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He wants to hurt the company, and he's willing to
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kill innocent people to do it. Now, what I found
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interesting is that Alfred isn't connected to organized crime at all.
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He's just one guy, and because he's just one guy,
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his actions feel unpredictable. Frank knows how to deal with mobsters,
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knows how to deal with drug dealers. But somebody poisoning
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random products on store shelves, Yeah, that's a different kind
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of threat. I also liked Frank's investigation in this issue.
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We don't see every step of it, but what we
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do see is for Clever using the Jehovah's witnesses and
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their records to essentially canvas a huge neighborhood. And I
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think that was a pretty smart idea and gave Frank
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a way to cover a lot of ground quickly. And
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it reminded me that sometimes we forget Frank just isn't
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a walking arsenal here, He's actually a pretty capable investigator. Now,
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I will admit that the case did come together pretty easily,
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but this is a single issue, and you have only
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so many pages to work with. The story moves quickly
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enough that I never felt like that's a problem. And
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then we get to Daredevil. When I first started reading.
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I was waiting for him to show up. You know,
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he's on the cover, right, so he's going to be
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showing here at some point. He's coming. The question is
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how they're going to use him, and I think Mike
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Baron uses him exactly the right way. Daredevil doesn't show
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up to help Frank. He shows up to stop Frank.
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That's the key. This isn't really a superhero team, and
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you could probably tell that by the cover as well
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as a philosophical argument. The Skies is a fight scene.
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Frank catches Alfred. Frank has him, and he's literally got
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him in the air, on the edge of a building
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and ready to drop him. Then Daredevil arrives and says no.
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Suddenly the story isn't about Alfred anymore. It's about justice.
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Daredevil believes Alfred deserves his day in court. Frank believes
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Alfred deserves a trip off the rooftop. And the thing
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I really liked here is that neither side completely wins
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the argument. Now, look, this is a Punisher comic. I'm
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naturally going to lean toward Frank's side of things here.
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When Frank asks how many killers have slipped through the
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cracks of the justice system. It's pretty hard to argue
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with him. That's the entire reason the Punisher exists as
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a character. At the same time, Daredevil isn't wrong either.
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Matt Murdock is a lawyer. He believes in due process.
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He believes the system matters even when it gets things wrong.
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So what we get isn't a debate with a winner.
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It's a debate that's still ongoing to this day. The
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comic literally tells us the discussion isn't over, and that's
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what makes it work. The fight itself is good, but
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I found the argument more interesting than the punches. Frank
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getting beaten by Daredevil made sense. Yeah, Frank takes a
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beaten here. Daredevil should actually be the better fighter here
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as well. He's got abilities Frank doesn't have. What interested
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me wasn't who won the fight, though it was why
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they were fighting in the first place. The issue also
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does something I wasn't expecting. It gives us Cindy. Cindy
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could have easily just been a background character. Instead, she
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ends up being sort of the emotional core of the story.
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She genuinely likes Alfred, even though he's rude, he's strange,
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He's definitely difficult. She sees something good in him. Then
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in one afternoon, she learns that the man she cared
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about is a murderer and she can't process it. I
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thought the reaction was pretty realistic. A lot of people
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have had that experience where someone concluding myself, they know
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turns out to have done something terrible, and the first
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reaction is an acceptance. It's disbelief. No, not him, That's
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Cindy's reaction. And then the story delivers its best moment.
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The title of the issue is the Creep. For the
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entire comic, you assume Alfred is the creep. He's the killer,
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he's the villain, he's the guy poisoning medicine. But at
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the very end, Cindy looks at Frank and calls him
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a creep, and suddenly the title takes on a completely
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different meaning because from Cindy's perspective, Frank's terrifying. Think about this.
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He lied to her. He pretended to be a plumber
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just to get into her apartment. He pulled a gun
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out of a toolbox. He beat the man up that
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she cared about, and he was fully prepared to kill him.
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We know Frank is right, but Cindy doesn't see the
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story through Frank's eyes, and for one brief moment, the
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comic forces us to see Frank through somebody else's eyes.
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It doesn't make Frank wrong, but it does make you
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think about how other people would view him, and I
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think that's why the ending hit harder for me than
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Daredevil's arrival. The final line is especially interesting. Frank thinks
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to himself, Yeah, most people are creeps at first glance.
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Sounds pretty cynical, right, But the more that I thought
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about it, the more I realized it isn't necessarily Frank
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saying everyone is evils. It's Frank saying everyone has darkness
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in them. Everyone has secrets, They have that capacity to
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disappoint you. Frank has spent so much time seeing the
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worst of humanity that he assumes that the darkness is
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there before he assumes the goodness. That's a sad worldview,
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and I think that's why this issue feels more mature
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than a lot of the stories we've read so far.
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It's not really about whether Frank can stop the bad guy.
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It's about what Frank's methods say about him, and that's
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a much more interesting question. One final thing Before we
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wrap up, there are a couple panels in this issue
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where we see the New York City skyline, including the
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twin towers of the World Trade Center. Every time that
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I see those in older comics, it hits me a
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little differently. When this comic was published in nineteen eighty eight,
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those towers were just part of the skyline. The artist
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drew them without a second thought. Nobody knew what they
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would eventually come to represent. Today, those panels feel a
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little like time capsules. You're not just looking at New York,
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You're looking at a version of New York that no
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longer exists. Those images carry a little extra emotional weight
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for me. How overall, I think Punisher number ten is
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one of the stronger issues of the series so far.
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It's grounded and thoughtful, it uses Daredevil well, and it
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gives us one of the more interesting discussions about Frank
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Castle's worldview that we've had up to this point. But
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the best part is that conversation isn't actually over, because
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it turns out this story has another side. So stay tuned.
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We're gonna take a look at Daredevil number two fifty
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and see the same conflict from Matt Murdoch's perspective. We've
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heard frank side of the argument. Now it's time to
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find out what Daredevil saw when these two very different
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versions of justice collided on a New York rooftop. So
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our creative team for issue two fifty seven of this
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was on sale April fifth of nineteen eighty eight. Written
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by Ann Nascenti, penciled by John Ramita Junior, inked by
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Al Williamson, and lettered by Joseph Rosen, colored by Christy
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Shiel And again, the title of the story is The Bully,
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on sale April fifth, nineteen eighty eight. The cover of
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this one is Daredevil and Punisher about to go at it,
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and they look like giants among the city skyline and
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the trade centers are actually kind of in between Frank
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and Matt here, so great cover and John Ramina Junior
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doing the art here just fantastic. Now, just to kind
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of give you an idea of who the characters are,
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they're pretty much going to be the same that we've
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already discussed and punish her number ten. There's a small
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side story that's going on in this issue that I
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really won't talk much about, but it's Mary slashed Hyphoid
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Mary and Kingpin coming together, and there is, you know,
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a plan already in motion to ruin Matt Murdoch's life.
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Didn't take up a lot of the issue, but it
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was probably about two or three pages. I would say
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of content there. I think Matt has taken Mary in
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and there is a relationship growing there, and she has
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a different personality by the name of Typhoid Mary that
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is in, you know, all in a relationship with the Kingpin.
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So sounds pretty interesting, but that's not why we're here.
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We're here for the Punisher. We're here for Alfred Coppersmith.
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We're here for Daredevil. So Daredevil two fifty seven The
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Bully retells the events of Punisher number ten from a
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different perspective, while expanding the motivations of both the villain
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and Daredevil himself. As Frank Castle continues his relentless war
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on crime and hunts the cyanide poisoner targeting pain reliever products,
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Daredevil independently investigates the case and quickly traces the culprit
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to Alfred Coppersmith, a former factory worker driven to bitterness
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after losing his job to technological change. While Matt Murdoch
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believes Alfred is a damaged man who deserves justice and
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rehabilitation rather than execution. Frank views him as a murderer
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who must be permanently stopped. The issue revisits their rooftop
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confrontation through Alfred's eyes, portraying Daredevil and the Punisher as
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two powerful bullies fighting over his fate while debating the
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merits of law versus vigilantism. Alongside the main story, Matt's
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personal life continues to unravel as the Kingpin manipulates the
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unstable typhoid Mary in an effort to emotionally destroy Matt Murdoch.
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After Alfred is captured, Matt meets him as a lawyer
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rather than a vigilante, offering him legal representation and a
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chance at redemption. The issue closes with Alfred accepting Matt's
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help after realizing that Daredevil's version of justice offers hope
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for a future, reinforcing the book's central argument that even
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the guilty deserve the opportunity to answer further crimes through
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the legal system rather than at the end of a gun.
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So now we've talked about Punisher number ten and going
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into Daredevil two fifty seven This is one of the
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situations where reading the companion issue really does change the
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way you look at a story. I don't even know
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if i'd call this a traditional crossover. Really. Usually when
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we say crossover, we mean the story starts in one
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book and continues in another. But that's not exactly what
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happens here. What we get instead is basically the same
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event from another angle. Punisher number ten gives us Frank's
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side of the story, and Daredevil number two fifty seven
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gives us Matt's side, But more importantly, it also gives
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us Alfred's side, and that's what makes this issue work.
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Because a Punisher number ten, Alfred is mostly just the creep.
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He's a big guy, he lists weights, he's poisoning as
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when he's killed people. He's the guy Frank is after,
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and the book doesn't really ask us to spend much
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time thinking about him as a person. He's a target,
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a criminal, and someone Frank has decided deserves to die. Now,
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when you read Daredevil two fifty seven, suddenly Alfred becomes human.
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That doesn't mean he becomes innocent, that doesn't mean what
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he did is forgiven, but we understand him now in
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a way we didn't before we learned that this is
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a man who lost his job because he couldn't keep
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up with the computers. He was pushed out by automation.
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He felt left behind, he felt useless, He felt the
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thing that made him who he was had been taken
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from him. Losing your job is not a small thing,
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especially when that job is tied to your identity, your dignity,
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and sense of purpose. That is a very real fear.
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It was real in nineteen eighty eight, and it might
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be even more relevant now in twenty twenty six. With
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all the talk about AI and automation replacing people. You
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can look at Alfred and say, yeah, there are going
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to be a lot of people out there who feel
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like the world moved on without them. Now, obviously, most
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people do not respond by poisoning medication and killing innocent people.
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That's where Alfred is responsible. That's where I still land.
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Society may have failed him in some ways, the company
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may have discarded him, Automation may have made him feel worthless.
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But Alfred made the choice to take that pain and
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put it on innocent people. So the issue walks a
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really interesting line. It makes Alfred sympathetic without excusing him.
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It helps you understand him without reducing his guilt, and
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that's kind of a hard thing to do. I felt
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sorry for Alfred in this issue. I did not forgive him, though,
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and I think that's an important distinction. You could feel
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bad for somebody, you can understand how they got to
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a dark place and recognized that they were broken by something,
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but that doesn't mean they get a pass for what
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they did. That's really where this story starts to become
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more than just Punisher versus Daredevil, becomes a story about justice, mercy, responsibility,
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and redemption. Frank's position is simple. Alfred killed people. Alfred
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deserves to die. End of story. Matt believes Alfred deserves
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to be stopped. He deserves to be arrested, He deserves
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to face the legal system. He also believes Alfred still
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has rights, he still deserves a trial. He still deserves
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the chance, however small, to become something other than what
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he is in this moment. Matt's compassion in this issue
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did not feel foolish to me at all. It doesn't
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feel naive. It feels like Matt Murdoch. It feels like
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a lawyer superhero. He believes in the system, even knowing
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the system can fail. He believes people have rights even
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when they've done terrible things, and he believes prison can
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serve some purpose beyond punishment. And that's the part that
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I think Daredevil two fifty seven adds that Punisher number
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ten just could not give us. At the end of
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Punisher Number ten, Daredevil swings away with Alfred and Frank
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has left with a cynical worldview. It's very frank. It's
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almost like some people are creeps, or maybe even everybody's
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a creep. There's no real optimism there. Frank does not
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believe in change. Frank does not believe in redemption. Frank
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believes you did the deed, now you pay the price.
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But in Daredevil two fifty seven, we get that police
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station scene with Alfred and Matt, and that scene is huge.
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At the end, Alfred knows he's going to prison. Matt
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tells him he'll probably get life, and Alfred's response isn't
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some big dramatic denial. He doesn't start screaming and that's unfair.
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He basically asks if they can teach him computers in prison.
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That tells me Alfred is starting to understand what went
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wrong again. Not in a way that excuses him, but
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he sees this thing that he failed at, this thing
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that made him feel obsolete, and he wants to fix it.
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He wants to learn, he wants to reclaim some part
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of his dignity. He wants another chance, even if that
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chance is going to happen behind bars. And that is
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such a different ending from the one we get Punish
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Her Number ten. That's why I think these two issues
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together are stronger than either one by itself. Punisher number
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ten gives us the justice versus revenge argument from Frank's world.
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Dearedevil two fifty seven gives us the argument from Matt's world,
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but then it adds the missing third piece Alfred himself.
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Because in Punish Your Number ten, we're really focused on
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Frank and Daredevil, two sides of justice, two methods, two philosophies.
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But in Daredevil two fifty seven, Alfred is sitting there
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watching them fight over his fate. He even sees them
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almost as two bullies, and I think that's a really
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00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:08.519
interesting choice. The Punisher issue is called the Creep. The
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Daredevil issue is called The Bully, and I think the
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Creep lands better as a title personally, just the way
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the story ended, But the Bully makes you stop and think.
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Alfred feels bullied by society. He feels pushed out by
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a faceless system. Computers, automation, corporate decisions, all this stuff
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doesn't really have a face, but still took his livelihood.
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Then he responds by becoming a bully himself. He poisons
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people who had nothing to do with his job loss,
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and then on the rooftop he sees Daredevil and the
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Punisher as two powerful figures deciding what happens to him.
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Now do I think Alfred really has much of a
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say at that point? No justice is caught up with him.
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The question is just what kind of justice It's going
350
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to be Frank's justice or Matt's justice. But seeing that
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00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:01.720
fight through Alfred's eyes add something. It doesn't necessarily change
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00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:04.240
the fight for me. It's still Frank and Daredevil throwing
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down on a rooftop, but it gives to fight more weight.
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Alfred is watching these two heavyweights battle over whether he
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lives or dies, and he knows it, and that makes
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the rooftop scene that much stronger. And I really appreciate
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how the issue handles the repeated material. It could have
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00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:23.440
felt repetitive. It could have felt like, Okay, I've already
359
00:21:23.480 --> 00:21:26.559
read this, but it doesn't because the point of view
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is different, the emphasis is different, the same dialogue lands differently.
361
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Alfred's narration gives the scene a new life. That's a
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00:21:33.799 --> 00:21:36.559
really good use of the comic book medium. Now, I
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do want to say that the Typhoid Mary and Kingpin
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material in this issue did not do much for me.
365
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I understand why it's there. This is a Daredevil comic
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and it has ongoing Daredeubel business that has to be
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dealt with. But for what I came to this issue
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00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:55.480
for the Punisher Daredebil Alfred story, that stuff felt like
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a distraction. I know Daredebel has a lot of soap
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opera elements and ongoing place, and I'm sure if I
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were reading the run consistently it would matter more. But
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in this issue, with Daredevil and the Punisher giant sized
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on the cover, I'm not really here for Typhoid Mary
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and her vengeful plans. That said, the main story is
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strong enough that it doesn't ruin the issue for me.
376
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I enjoyed this just about as much as Punisher number ten.
377
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Aside from that material and one thing this Daredevil issue
378
00:22:22.680 --> 00:22:25.119
does immediately is remind you who Frank is if you're
379
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not reading his book, and punish your number ten. I
380
00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:32.119
noticed that the issue really doesn't show Frank killing anybody,
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but here in Daredevil two fifty seven, the issue opens
382
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with him mowing down a crackhouse full of dealers. So
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if you were just a Daredevil reader, this issue tells
384
00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:44.519
you real quick, this is the punisher, this is what
385
00:22:44.599 --> 00:22:47.759
he does. And in Daredevil's book, Frank feels less like
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00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:50.359
a person and more like a force of nature. He
387
00:22:50.440 --> 00:22:54.519
doesn't change, he doesn't learn, and I don't think Frank
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00:22:54.599 --> 00:22:57.480
is in the business of learning. Frank already knows what
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he believes, and he knows Alfred will go through this
390
00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:04.000
CYSM them he might get out. He knows that, and
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00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:07.079
Frank's mind though the system takes maggots in and lets
392
00:23:07.079 --> 00:23:10.880
maggots back out, Frank is not here to debate. Frank
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00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:14.000
is here to end the problem. That certainly is Frank's
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greatest strength, And you could argue his greatest flaw, because
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if Frank had thrown Alfred off that roof, there is
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no police station seen. There is no moment where Alfred
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asks if he can learn computers in prison, no chance
398
00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:33.240
for Alfred to sit with what he's done and possibly
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00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:38.279
becomes something else. Frank's solution ends the threat, but it
400
00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:42.599
also ends the possibility of redemption, and that's where Matt's
401
00:23:42.599 --> 00:23:47.720
side becomes powerful. Matt does not necessarily know Alfred will change.
402
00:23:47.720 --> 00:23:50.119
He has no idea if that will happen. I don't
403
00:23:50.160 --> 00:23:54.480
think Matt's saying the man is definitely redeemable. I think
404
00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:58.160
Matt's saying he deserves the chance. That's a big difference.
405
00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:01.640
Matt is not pretending Alfred did and kill people. He's
406
00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:05.119
not pretending Alfred should walk free here. He is saying
407
00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:11.079
the law matters, rights matter, accountability matters, and mercy matters too.
408
00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:15.640
To me, this story is about justice and redemption. Frank
409
00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:21.519
represents justice without mercy, and that can also become cruelty
410
00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:25.559
if you look at it too long. Matt represents mercy
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00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:30.160
with accountability, and that's the key. He's not saying Alfred
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00:24:30.200 --> 00:24:34.279
should avoid consequences. He is saying consequences should not be
413
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the same thing as execution, and Alfred needs both men
414
00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:42.799
for this story to work. Frank forces Alfred to confront death.
415
00:24:43.720 --> 00:24:47.119
Matt gives him a reason to live. Frank accidentally contributes
416
00:24:47.160 --> 00:24:51.200
to Alfred's redemption by pushing him to the edge, almost,
417
00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:53.920
you know, getting ready to throw him off the edge.
418
00:24:54.200 --> 00:24:56.799
Matt saves him from that edge and offers him the
419
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possibility of a future, even if that future is a
420
00:25:00.079 --> 00:25:03.880
life in prison. And that's a fascinating dynamic. And I
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think Alfred ends up being the most important character in
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00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:09.559
this crossover. I didn't expect to land there, but I do.
423
00:25:10.279 --> 00:25:12.960
Frank is Frank and Matt is Matt. They're both very
424
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set in their ways. You're not changing Frank's mind, and
425
00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:19.000
you're probably not changing Matt's mind either, But Alfred is
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00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:22.279
the one who changes. Alfred is the one who starts
427
00:25:22.279 --> 00:25:26.519
as a creep, becomes a bully, becomes a tragic figure,
428
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and ends as someone who might actually take responsibility. That
429
00:25:31.240 --> 00:25:33.880
final conversation with Matt is more hopeful than anything. And
430
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Punisher number ten and again, I want to be clear,
431
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Alfred is still guilty. He's still killed innocent people. He
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00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:45.279
still could have handled his pain a thousand different ways.
433
00:25:46.119 --> 00:25:50.079
Society may bear some responsibility for creating conditions where people
434
00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:54.400
feel discarded and worthless, but Alfred bears responsibility for what
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00:25:54.519 --> 00:25:58.119
he did with that pain. This story doesn't let anybody
436
00:25:58.160 --> 00:26:02.119
completely off the hook, and that's great. Society failed Alfred
437
00:26:02.119 --> 00:26:05.119
in some way. Alfred failed society in a much more
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direct and horrifying way. Frank is right the consequences matter.
439
00:26:09.400 --> 00:26:13.440
Matt is right that rites and rehabilitation matter. Neither man
440
00:26:13.799 --> 00:26:17.559
completely disproves the other, and I think that's mature storytelling.
441
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This is not just a superhero story where the good
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00:26:20.279 --> 00:26:22.759
guy punches the bad guy and we move on. It's
443
00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:25.559
asking bigger questions. What do we do with people who
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do terrible things? Are they only the worst thing they've
445
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ever done? Does understanding someone make us soft on them?
446
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Does refusing to understand them make us cruel? Is prison
447
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only punishment or can it be something more? Can a
448
00:26:41.079 --> 00:26:44.880
person who has done something awful still change? And the
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story doesn't give us a clean answer. If Alfred gets
450
00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:51.839
out one day and hurts someone again, Frank's argument gets stronger.
451
00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:57.640
If Alfred truly turns his life around, Matt's argument gets stronger.
452
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But would that even matter to Frank? Probably not. Frank
453
00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:04.680
is an interest in that possibility. Once you cross the line.
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Frank cares about the possibility of changes off the table.
455
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Matt lives in the gray area, Frank does not, and
456
00:27:12.680 --> 00:27:15.920
that's why reading both issues together is essential. I would
457
00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:19.799
absolutely recommend reading Punisher number ten and Daredevil two fifty
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seven as a pair. You can read either one alone,
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but together they become something more complete. Punisher number ten
460
00:27:25.880 --> 00:27:28.119
gives you the hard edged, cynical version of the story,
461
00:27:28.400 --> 00:27:31.519
and Daredevil two fifty seven gives you the human, tragic,
462
00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:35.720
more hopeful version, and together they elevate Alfred into one
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of the more memorable one off characters in this early
464
00:27:37.960 --> 00:27:41.720
Punisher run. It makes the rooftop fight better, it makes
465
00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:45.519
the moral debate better, and it makes the story feel
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00:27:45.559 --> 00:27:49.640
surprisingly relevant today. Swap out late eighties computer automation for
467
00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:53.680
modern AI anxiety, and the emotional course still works. People
468
00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:57.759
are afraid of becoming obsolete, people are afraid of being replaced,
469
00:27:58.160 --> 00:28:00.759
afraid that the world is changing faster than they can
470
00:28:00.839 --> 00:28:03.400
keep up. But the story also says fear and pain
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do not excuse cruelty. Alfred's explanation helps us understand him,
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it does not erase what he did, and that, to me,
473
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is the strength of the issue. Daredevil two fifty seven
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does not make Frank look wrong in every way. It
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does not make Matt look right in every way. It
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makes the conversation more complicated, It gives Alfred a voice.
477
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It takes a story that could have just been Punisher
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wants to kill him, Daredevil wants to stop Frank, and
479
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turns it into a story about responsibility, mercy, justice, and
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the possibility not the guarantee, but the possibility of redemption.
481
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And that's why I think these two issues together create
482
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one of the stronger stories of the first ten issues
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of The Punisher Run. By the end, I'm not just
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thinking about the crime. I'm thinking about the criminal. I'm
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thinking about Frank, I'm thinking about Matt, and I'm thinking
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about whether justice is really justice. There's no room left
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for mercy.
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All right, so we're going to get into The Punisher.
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Number ten here on sale date April fifth of nineteen
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eighty eight. Written by Mike Barron, penciled by Wilis Portassio,
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inked by Scott Williams, lettered by Ken Brusenak, and then
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colored by John Wellington's a real quick character run down here.
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This is going to only really feature about four characters
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here that make up this story. Of course, we got
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Frank Castle, the Punisher, I'm not going to go into
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depth of who he is, but we also have Matt Murdoch,
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Dared Devil, who's going to be showing up here. He's
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on the cover. It's yeah, it's pretty fantastic actually seeing
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somebody from the Marvel universe that we know in love
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show up here and the Punisher ongoing series. Matt Murdoch
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by day is a defense attorney fighting for justice within
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the legal system. By night, he patrols the streets of
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New York as Daredevil, a masked vigilante whose heightened senses
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and acrobatic fighting skills make him one of the city's
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most formidable heroes. Unlike The Punisher, Daredevil believes even the
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guilty deserve due process under the law. Our villain of
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this story is Alfred Coppersmith, a large, intimidating, and deeply
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troubled man living in Queens. Alfred harbor's intense anger and
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resentment that have isolated him from the people around him.
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Beneath his rough exterior lies a dangerous obsession that puts
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innocent lives at risk. And then, our fourth person we
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are going to bring up is Cindy, Alfred's neighbor, one
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of the few people who genuinely tries to connect with him.
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Kind Hearted and compassionate, Cindy sees a side of Alfred
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that others overlook and serves as a reminder that people
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are often more complicated than they first appear. Anopsis of
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his punisher number ten goes a little like this. The
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issue opens with a series of shocking cyanide poisonings linked
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to a popular pain reliever, prompting Frank Castle to launch
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his own investigation into the killer responsible. Following a trail
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of disgruntled former employees, Frank narrows his search to Alfred Coppersmith,
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a disturbed and isolated man living in Queens who has
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escalated his revenge campaign by poisoning additional products the skuise
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as a plumber, Frank tracks Alfred to his apartment building
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and narrowly prevents neighbor Cindy from becoming the next victim.
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A brutal confrontation erupts, spilling from the hallways onto the rooftop,
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where Frank prepares to execute Alfred for the deaths that
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he caused. Before he can do so, Daredevil intervenes, leading
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to a fierce ideological and physical clash between the two
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vigilanes over justice, due process, in the value of the
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legal system. While Daredevil ultimately captures Alfred and delivers him
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to the authorities, Frank remains convinced the courts will fail
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and that the killer will eventually free. The issue closes
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on a bitterly ironic note, as Cindy, devastated to learn
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the truth about the man she admired, turns her anger
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toward Frank and brands him a creep, forcing readers to
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reconsider who the title of the story is really referring to.
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So again, you got this fantastic cover of this issue
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where Frank and Daredevil are kind of wrestling. Frank is
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clearly the aggressor here, with a knife and a pistol
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in his hand while Daredevil was kind of trying to
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fight him off, So we don't really have a villain
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on the cover here, which is interesting now. After reading
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the issue, I came away thinking that this is one
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of the strongest issues of the series so far, because
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the issue is willing to ask some interesting questions about
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Frank Castle and how other people see him. The story
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itself is pretty straightforward. Somebody is poisoning over the counter
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medicine and killing in it's some people. That's a premise
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that immediately grabs your attention because it's rooted in reality.
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This isn't a mob war or it or an international conspiracy.
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It's a disturbed individual targeting random strangers, and that makes
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it feel scary in a different way. The villain, Alfred Coppersmith,
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isn't the most memorable villain we've had in the first
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ten issues, but he doesn't really need to be. What
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makes him effective is that he feels believable. He's angry
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and isolated, also consumed by hatred toward company he feels
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wronged him. His plan isn't about making money, it's about revenge.
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He wants to hurt the company, and he's willing to
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kill innocent people to do it. Now, what I found
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interesting is that Alfred isn't connected to organized crime at all.
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He's just one guy, and because he's just one guy,
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his actions feel unpredictable. Frank knows how to deal with mobsters,
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knows how to deal with drug dealers. But somebody poisoning
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random products on store shelves, Yeah, that's a different kind
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of threat. I also liked Frank's investigation in this issue.
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We don't see every step of it, but what we
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do see is for Clever using the Jehovah's witnesses and
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their records to essentially canvas a huge neighborhood. And I
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think that was a pretty smart idea and gave Frank
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a way to cover a lot of ground quickly. And
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it reminded me that sometimes we forget Frank just isn't
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a walking arsenal here, He's actually a pretty capable investigator. Now,
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I will admit that the case did come together pretty easily,
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but this is a single issue, and you have only
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so many pages to work with. The story moves quickly
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enough that I never felt like that's a problem. And
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then we get to Daredevil. When I first started reading.
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I was waiting for him to show up. You know,
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he's on the cover, right, so he's going to be
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showing here at some point. He's coming. The question is
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how they're going to use him, and I think Mike
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Baron uses him exactly the right way. Daredevil doesn't show
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up to help Frank. He shows up to stop Frank.
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That's the key. This isn't really a superhero team, and
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you could probably tell that by the cover as well
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as a philosophical argument. The Skies is a fight scene.
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Frank catches Alfred. Frank has him, and he's literally got
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him in the air, on the edge of a building
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and ready to drop him. Then Daredevil arrives and says no.
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Suddenly the story isn't about Alfred anymore. It's about justice.
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Daredevil believes Alfred deserves his day in court. Frank believes
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Alfred deserves a trip off the rooftop. And the thing
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I really liked here is that neither side completely wins
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the argument. Now, look, this is a Punisher comic. I'm
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naturally going to lean toward Frank's side of things here.
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When Frank asks how many killers have slipped through the
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cracks of the justice system. It's pretty hard to argue
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with him. That's the entire reason the Punisher exists as
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a character. At the same time, Daredevil isn't wrong either.
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Matt Murdock is a lawyer. He believes in due process.
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He believes the system matters even when it gets things wrong.
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So what we get isn't a debate with a winner.
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It's a debate that's still ongoing to this day. The
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comic literally tells us the discussion isn't over, and that's
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what makes it work. The fight itself is good, but
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I found the argument more interesting than the punches. Frank
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getting beaten by Daredevil made sense. Yeah, Frank takes a
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beaten here. Daredevil should actually be the better fighter here
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as well. He's got abilities Frank doesn't have. What interested
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me wasn't who won the fight, though it was why
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they were fighting in the first place. The issue also
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does something I wasn't expecting. It gives us Cindy. Cindy
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could have easily just been a background character. Instead, she
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ends up being sort of the emotional core of the story.
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She genuinely likes Alfred, even though he's rude, he's strange,
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He's definitely difficult. She sees something good in him. Then
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in one afternoon, she learns that the man she cared
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about is a murderer and she can't process it. I
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thought the reaction was pretty realistic. A lot of people
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have had that experience where someone concluding myself, they know
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turns out to have done something terrible, and the first
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reaction is an acceptance. It's disbelief. No, not him, That's
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Cindy's reaction. And then the story delivers its best moment.
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The title of the issue is the Creep. For the
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entire comic, you assume Alfred is the creep. He's the killer,
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he's the villain, he's the guy poisoning medicine. But at
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the very end, Cindy looks at Frank and calls him
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a creep, and suddenly the title takes on a completely
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different meaning because from Cindy's perspective, Frank's terrifying. Think about this.
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He lied to her. He pretended to be a plumber
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just to get into her apartment. He pulled a gun
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out of a toolbox. He beat the man up that
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she cared about, and he was fully prepared to kill him.
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We know Frank is right, but Cindy doesn't see the
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story through Frank's eyes, and for one brief moment, the
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comic forces us to see Frank through somebody else's eyes.
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It doesn't make Frank wrong, but it does make you
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think about how other people would view him, and I
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think that's why the ending hit harder for me than
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Daredevil's arrival. The final line is especially interesting. Frank thinks
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to himself, Yeah, most people are creeps at first glance.
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Sounds pretty cynical, right, But the more that I thought
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about it, the more I realized it isn't necessarily Frank
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saying everyone is evils. It's Frank saying everyone has darkness
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in them. Everyone has secrets, They have that capacity to
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disappoint you. Frank has spent so much time seeing the
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worst of humanity that he assumes that the darkness is
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there before he assumes the goodness. That's a sad worldview,
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and I think that's why this issue feels more mature
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than a lot of the stories we've read so far.
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It's not really about whether Frank can stop the bad guy.
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It's about what Frank's methods say about him, and that's
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a much more interesting question. One final thing Before we
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wrap up, there are a couple panels in this issue
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where we see the New York City skyline, including the
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twin towers of the World Trade Center. Every time that
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I see those in older comics, it hits me a
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little differently. When this comic was published in nineteen eighty eight,
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those towers were just part of the skyline. The artist
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drew them without a second thought. Nobody knew what they
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would eventually come to represent. Today, those panels feel a
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little like time capsules. You're not just looking at New York,
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You're looking at a version of New York that no
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longer exists. Those images carry a little extra emotional weight
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for me. How overall, I think Punisher number ten is
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one of the stronger issues of the series so far.
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It's grounded and thoughtful, it uses Daredevil well, and it
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gives us one of the more interesting discussions about Frank
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Castle's worldview that we've had up to this point. But
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the best part is that conversation isn't actually over, because
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it turns out this story has another side. So stay tuned.
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We're gonna take a look at Daredevil number two fifty
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and see the same conflict from Matt Murdoch's perspective. We've
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heard frank side of the argument. Now it's time to
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find out what Daredevil saw when these two very different
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versions of justice collided on a New York rooftop. So
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our creative team for issue two fifty seven of this
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was on sale April fifth of nineteen eighty eight. Written
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by Ann Nascenti, penciled by John Ramita Junior, inked by
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Al Williamson, and lettered by Joseph Rosen, colored by Christy
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Shiel And again, the title of the story is The Bully,
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on sale April fifth, nineteen eighty eight. The cover of
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this one is Daredevil and Punisher about to go at it,
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and they look like giants among the city skyline and
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the trade centers are actually kind of in between Frank
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and Matt here, so great cover and John Ramina Junior
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doing the art here just fantastic. Now, just to kind
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of give you an idea of who the characters are,
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they're pretty much going to be the same that we've
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already discussed and punish her number ten. There's a small
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side story that's going on in this issue that I
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really won't talk much about, but it's Mary slashed Hyphoid
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Mary and Kingpin coming together, and there is, you know,
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a plan already in motion to ruin Matt Murdoch's life.
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Didn't take up a lot of the issue, but it
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was probably about two or three pages. I would say
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of content there. I think Matt has taken Mary in
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and there is a relationship growing there, and she has
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a different personality by the name of Typhoid Mary that
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is in, you know, all in a relationship with the Kingpin.
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So sounds pretty interesting, but that's not why we're here.
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We're here for the Punisher. We're here for Alfred Coppersmith.
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We're here for Daredevil. So Daredevil two fifty seven The
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Bully retells the events of Punisher number ten from a
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different perspective, while expanding the motivations of both the villain
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and Daredevil himself. As Frank Castle continues his relentless war
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on crime and hunts the cyanide poisoner targeting pain reliever products,
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Daredevil independently investigates the case and quickly traces the culprit
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to Alfred Coppersmith, a former factory worker driven to bitterness
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after losing his job to technological change. While Matt Murdoch
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believes Alfred is a damaged man who deserves justice and
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rehabilitation rather than execution. Frank views him as a murderer
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who must be permanently stopped. The issue revisits their rooftop
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confrontation through Alfred's eyes, portraying Daredevil and the Punisher as
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two powerful bullies fighting over his fate while debating the
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merits of law versus vigilantism. Alongside the main story, Matt's
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personal life continues to unravel as the Kingpin manipulates the
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unstable typhoid Mary in an effort to emotionally destroy Matt Murdoch.
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After Alfred is captured, Matt meets him as a lawyer
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rather than a vigilante, offering him legal representation and a
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chance at redemption. The issue closes with Alfred accepting Matt's
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help after realizing that Daredevil's version of justice offers hope
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for a future, reinforcing the book's central argument that even
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the guilty deserve the opportunity to answer further crimes through
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the legal system rather than at the end of a gun.
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So now we've talked about Punisher number ten and going
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into Daredevil two fifty seven This is one of the
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situations where reading the companion issue really does change the
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way you look at a story. I don't even know
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if i'd call this a traditional crossover. Really. Usually when
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we say crossover, we mean the story starts in one
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book and continues in another. But that's not exactly what
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happens here. What we get instead is basically the same
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event from another angle. Punisher number ten gives us Frank's
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side of the story, and Daredevil number two fifty seven
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gives us Matt's side, But more importantly, it also gives
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us Alfred's side, and that's what makes this issue work.
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Because a Punisher number ten, Alfred is mostly just the creep.
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He's a big guy, he lists weights, he's poisoning as
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when he's killed people. He's the guy Frank is after,
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and the book doesn't really ask us to spend much
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time thinking about him as a person. He's a target,
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a criminal, and someone Frank has decided deserves to die. Now,
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when you read Daredevil two fifty seven, suddenly Alfred becomes human.
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That doesn't mean he becomes innocent, that doesn't mean what
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he did is forgiven, but we understand him now in
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a way we didn't before we learned that this is
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a man who lost his job because he couldn't keep
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up with the computers. He was pushed out by automation.
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He felt left behind, he felt useless, He felt the
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thing that made him who he was had been taken
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from him. Losing your job is not a small thing,
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especially when that job is tied to your identity, your dignity,
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and sense of purpose. That is a very real fear.
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It was real in nineteen eighty eight, and it might
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be even more relevant now in twenty twenty six. With
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all the talk about AI and automation replacing people. You
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can look at Alfred and say, yeah, there are going
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to be a lot of people out there who feel
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like the world moved on without them. Now, obviously, most
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people do not respond by poisoning medication and killing innocent people.
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That's where Alfred is responsible. That's where I still land.
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Society may have failed him in some ways, the company
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may have discarded him, Automation may have made him feel worthless.
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But Alfred made the choice to take that pain and
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put it on innocent people. So the issue walks a
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really interesting line. It makes Alfred sympathetic without excusing him.
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It helps you understand him without reducing his guilt, and
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that's kind of a hard thing to do. I felt
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sorry for Alfred in this issue. I did not forgive him, though,
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and I think that's an important distinction. You could feel
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bad for somebody, you can understand how they got to
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a dark place and recognized that they were broken by something,
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but that doesn't mean they get a pass for what
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they did. That's really where this story starts to become
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more than just Punisher versus Daredevil, becomes a story about justice, mercy, responsibility,
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and redemption. Frank's position is simple. Alfred killed people. Alfred
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deserves to die. End of story. Matt believes Alfred deserves
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to be stopped. He deserves to be arrested, He deserves
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to face the legal system. He also believes Alfred still
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has rights, he still deserves a trial. He still deserves
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the chance, however small, to become something other than what
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he is in this moment. Matt's compassion in this issue
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did not feel foolish to me at all. It doesn't
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feel naive. It feels like Matt Murdoch. It feels like
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a lawyer superhero. He believes in the system, even knowing
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the system can fail. He believes people have rights even
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when they've done terrible things, and he believes prison can
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serve some purpose beyond punishment. And that's the part that
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I think Daredevil two fifty seven adds that Punisher number
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ten just could not give us. At the end of
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Punisher Number ten, Daredevil swings away with Alfred and Frank
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has left with a cynical worldview. It's very frank. It's
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almost like some people are creeps, or maybe even everybody's
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a creep. There's no real optimism there. Frank does not
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believe in change. Frank does not believe in redemption. Frank
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believes you did the deed, now you pay the price.
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But in Daredevil two fifty seven, we get that police
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station scene with Alfred and Matt, and that scene is huge.
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At the end, Alfred knows he's going to prison. Matt
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tells him he'll probably get life, and Alfred's response isn't
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some big dramatic denial. He doesn't start screaming and that's unfair.
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He basically asks if they can teach him computers in prison.
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That tells me Alfred is starting to understand what went
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wrong again. Not in a way that excuses him, but
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he sees this thing that he failed at, this thing
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that made him feel obsolete, and he wants to fix it.
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He wants to learn, he wants to reclaim some part
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of his dignity. He wants another chance, even if that
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chance is going to happen behind bars. And that is
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such a different ending from the one we get Punish
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Her Number ten. That's why I think these two issues
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together are stronger than either one by itself. Punisher number
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ten gives us the justice versus revenge argument from Frank's world.
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Dearedevil two fifty seven gives us the argument from Matt's world,
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but then it adds the missing third piece Alfred himself.
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Because in Punish Your Number ten, we're really focused on
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Frank and Daredevil, two sides of justice, two methods, two philosophies.
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But in Daredevil two fifty seven, Alfred is sitting there
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watching them fight over his fate. He even sees them
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almost as two bullies, and I think that's a really
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interesting choice. The Punisher issue is called the Creep. The
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Daredevil issue is called The Bully, and I think the
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Creep lands better as a title personally, just the way
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the story ended, But the Bully makes you stop and think.
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Alfred feels bullied by society. He feels pushed out by
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a faceless system. Computers, automation, corporate decisions, all this stuff
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doesn't really have a face, but still took his livelihood.
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Then he responds by becoming a bully himself. He poisons
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people who had nothing to do with his job loss,
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and then on the rooftop he sees Daredevil and the
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Punisher as two powerful figures deciding what happens to him.
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Now do I think Alfred really has much of a
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say at that point? No justice is caught up with him.
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The question is just what kind of justice It's going
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to be Frank's justice or Matt's justice. But seeing that
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fight through Alfred's eyes add something. It doesn't necessarily change
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the fight for me. It's still Frank and Daredevil throwing
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down on a rooftop, but it gives to fight more weight.
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Alfred is watching these two heavyweights battle over whether he
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lives or dies, and he knows it, and that makes
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the rooftop scene that much stronger. And I really appreciate
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how the issue handles the repeated material. It could have
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felt repetitive. It could have felt like, Okay, I've already
359
00:21:23.480 --> 00:21:26.559
read this, but it doesn't because the point of view
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is different, the emphasis is different, the same dialogue lands differently.
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Alfred's narration gives the scene a new life. That's a
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really good use of the comic book medium. Now, I
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do want to say that the Typhoid Mary and Kingpin
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material in this issue did not do much for me.
365
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I understand why it's there. This is a Daredevil comic
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and it has ongoing Daredeubel business that has to be
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dealt with. But for what I came to this issue
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for the Punisher Daredebil Alfred story, that stuff felt like
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a distraction. I know Daredebel has a lot of soap
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opera elements and ongoing place, and I'm sure if I
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were reading the run consistently it would matter more. But
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in this issue, with Daredevil and the Punisher giant sized
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on the cover, I'm not really here for Typhoid Mary
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and her vengeful plans. That said, the main story is
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strong enough that it doesn't ruin the issue for me.
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I enjoyed this just about as much as Punisher number ten.
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Aside from that material and one thing this Daredevil issue
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00:22:22.680 --> 00:22:25.119
does immediately is remind you who Frank is if you're
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not reading his book, and punish your number ten. I
380
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noticed that the issue really doesn't show Frank killing anybody,
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but here in Daredevil two fifty seven, the issue opens
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with him mowing down a crackhouse full of dealers. So
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if you were just a Daredevil reader, this issue tells
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you real quick, this is the punisher, this is what
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he does. And in Daredevil's book, Frank feels less like
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a person and more like a force of nature. He
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doesn't change, he doesn't learn, and I don't think Frank
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is in the business of learning. Frank already knows what
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he believes, and he knows Alfred will go through this
390
00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:04.000
CYSM them he might get out. He knows that, and
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Frank's mind though the system takes maggots in and lets
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00:23:07.079 --> 00:23:10.880
maggots back out, Frank is not here to debate. Frank
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is here to end the problem. That certainly is Frank's
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greatest strength, And you could argue his greatest flaw, because
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if Frank had thrown Alfred off that roof, there is
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no police station seen. There is no moment where Alfred
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asks if he can learn computers in prison, no chance
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for Alfred to sit with what he's done and possibly
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becomes something else. Frank's solution ends the threat, but it
400
00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:42.599
also ends the possibility of redemption, and that's where Matt's
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00:23:42.599 --> 00:23:47.720
side becomes powerful. Matt does not necessarily know Alfred will change.
402
00:23:47.720 --> 00:23:50.119
He has no idea if that will happen. I don't
403
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think Matt's saying the man is definitely redeemable. I think
404
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Matt's saying he deserves the chance. That's a big difference.
405
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Matt is not pretending Alfred did and kill people. He's
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not pretending Alfred should walk free here. He is saying
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the law matters, rights matter, accountability matters, and mercy matters too.
408
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To me, this story is about justice and redemption. Frank
409
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represents justice without mercy, and that can also become cruelty
410
00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:25.559
if you look at it too long. Matt represents mercy
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with accountability, and that's the key. He's not saying Alfred
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should avoid consequences. He is saying consequences should not be
413
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the same thing as execution, and Alfred needs both men
414
00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:42.799
for this story to work. Frank forces Alfred to confront death.
415
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Matt gives him a reason to live. Frank accidentally contributes
416
00:24:47.160 --> 00:24:51.200
to Alfred's redemption by pushing him to the edge, almost,
417
00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:53.920
you know, getting ready to throw him off the edge.
418
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Matt saves him from that edge and offers him the
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possibility of a future, even if that future is a
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00:25:00.079 --> 00:25:03.880
life in prison. And that's a fascinating dynamic. And I
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think Alfred ends up being the most important character in
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this crossover. I didn't expect to land there, but I do.
423
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Frank is Frank and Matt is Matt. They're both very
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set in their ways. You're not changing Frank's mind, and
425
00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:19.000
you're probably not changing Matt's mind either, But Alfred is
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the one who changes. Alfred is the one who starts
427
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as a creep, becomes a bully, becomes a tragic figure,
428
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and ends as someone who might actually take responsibility. That
429
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final conversation with Matt is more hopeful than anything. And
430
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Punisher number ten and again, I want to be clear,
431
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Alfred is still guilty. He's still killed innocent people. He
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still could have handled his pain a thousand different ways.
433
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Society may bear some responsibility for creating conditions where people
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feel discarded and worthless, but Alfred bears responsibility for what
435
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he did with that pain. This story doesn't let anybody
436
00:25:58.160 --> 00:26:02.119
completely off the hook, and that's great. Society failed Alfred
437
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in some way. Alfred failed society in a much more
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direct and horrifying way. Frank is right the consequences matter.
439
00:26:09.400 --> 00:26:13.440
Matt is right that rites and rehabilitation matter. Neither man
440
00:26:13.799 --> 00:26:17.559
completely disproves the other, and I think that's mature storytelling.
441
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This is not just a superhero story where the good
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guy punches the bad guy and we move on. It's
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asking bigger questions. What do we do with people who
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do terrible things? Are they only the worst thing they've
445
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ever done? Does understanding someone make us soft on them?
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Does refusing to understand them make us cruel? Is prison
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only punishment or can it be something more? Can a
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person who has done something awful still change? And the
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story doesn't give us a clean answer. If Alfred gets
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out one day and hurts someone again, Frank's argument gets stronger.
451
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If Alfred truly turns his life around, Matt's argument gets stronger.
452
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But would that even matter to Frank? Probably not. Frank
453
00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:04.680
is an interest in that possibility. Once you cross the line.
454
00:27:04.960 --> 00:27:08.480
Frank cares about the possibility of changes off the table.
455
00:27:09.400 --> 00:27:12.640
Matt lives in the gray area, Frank does not, and
456
00:27:12.680 --> 00:27:15.920
that's why reading both issues together is essential. I would
457
00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:19.799
absolutely recommend reading Punisher number ten and Daredevil two fifty
458
00:27:19.799 --> 00:27:22.640
seven as a pair. You can read either one alone,
459
00:27:22.680 --> 00:27:25.839
but together they become something more complete. Punisher number ten
460
00:27:25.880 --> 00:27:28.119
gives you the hard edged, cynical version of the story,
461
00:27:28.400 --> 00:27:31.519
and Daredevil two fifty seven gives you the human, tragic,
462
00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:35.720
more hopeful version, and together they elevate Alfred into one
463
00:27:35.720 --> 00:27:37.920
of the more memorable one off characters in this early
464
00:27:37.960 --> 00:27:41.720
Punisher run. It makes the rooftop fight better, it makes
465
00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:45.519
the moral debate better, and it makes the story feel
466
00:27:45.559 --> 00:27:49.640
surprisingly relevant today. Swap out late eighties computer automation for
467
00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:53.680
modern AI anxiety, and the emotional course still works. People
468
00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:57.759
are afraid of becoming obsolete, people are afraid of being replaced,
469
00:27:58.160 --> 00:28:00.759
afraid that the world is changing faster than they can
470
00:28:00.839 --> 00:28:03.400
keep up. But the story also says fear and pain
471
00:28:03.480 --> 00:28:08.759
do not excuse cruelty. Alfred's explanation helps us understand him,
472
00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:11.960
it does not erase what he did, and that, to me,
473
00:28:12.039 --> 00:28:15.039
is the strength of the issue. Daredevil two fifty seven
474
00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:17.720
does not make Frank look wrong in every way. It
475
00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:19.759
does not make Matt look right in every way. It
476
00:28:19.799 --> 00:28:23.400
makes the conversation more complicated, It gives Alfred a voice.
477
00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:26.279
It takes a story that could have just been Punisher
478
00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:29.880
wants to kill him, Daredevil wants to stop Frank, and
479
00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.960
turns it into a story about responsibility, mercy, justice, and
480
00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:40.480
the possibility not the guarantee, but the possibility of redemption.
481
00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:44.200
And that's why I think these two issues together create
482
00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:46.240
one of the stronger stories of the first ten issues
483
00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:48.519
of The Punisher Run. By the end, I'm not just
484
00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:52.400
thinking about the crime. I'm thinking about the criminal. I'm
485
00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:56.400
thinking about Frank, I'm thinking about Matt, and I'm thinking
486
00:28:56.400 --> 00:29:01.640
about whether justice is really justice. There's no room left
487
00:29:01.640 --> 00:29:04.039
for mercy.
