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Okay, let's go ahead and we'll get into the next issue.
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We want to talk about issue number four and issue
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number five of Punisher. Now, before we get into issues
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four and five, we need to introduce the main players
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in this two part story. Frank Castle still our lead,
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but this story is important because it brings in Microchip,
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the tech support figure who starts giving Frank's war on
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crime more resources and structure. We also meet micro Chip Junior,
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which gives micro a little more humanity right out of
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the gate. The main threat here is Reverend Sammy Smith,
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also known as the Rev, a cult leader who hides manipulation, paranoia,
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and violence behind religion. Around him are figures like Sadie Smith,
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Byron Gresham and Kena, who helped make his operation feel
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larger and more dangerous. Then we have civilians like Ray
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Vicki and Melissa White, who shows the human side of
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this story, the people who can get pulled into this
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kind of madness. So this is not just Frank going
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after another criminal. This is Frank walking into a cult
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story with innocent people trapped in the middle and a
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villain who thinks he has divine permission to control life
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and death. So let's start with our discussion about issue
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number four here. So this kicks off with Frank Castle
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reconnecting with his longtime ally Microchip or micro as I'll
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probably be referring to him Tier. He's a former weapons
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designer who supplies him with gear, including a replacement for
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his destroyed Battleman, or at least he's looking into it anyway,
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and introduces him to his rebellious tech savvy son, Junior.
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When an informat named Martin is gunned down after tipping
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Frank off about a mysterious group called the Church of
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the Saved, Frank follows the trail to Reverend Samuel Smith,
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a charismatic and unsettling cult leader. Going under cover, Frank
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infiltrates the church, earning the group's trust and eventually an
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audience with the reverend, whose strange, almost hypnotic touch leaves
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a lingering effect on him. Tasked with retrieving and criminating
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documentary footage, Franks drawn deeper into the cult's orbit, surviving
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a violent ambush and even experiencing what seems like miraculous
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healing at the Reverend's hands. Once he recovers the hidden tapes,
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Frank uncovers the truth Smith is a manipulative zealot willing
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to execute his own followers, and is now plotting something
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catastrophic involving plutonium. With proof in hand and the stakes
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raised to a potentially apocalyptic level, Frank prepares to bring
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the full weight of his war to the Reverend's deadly ministry.
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In the Punisher number five Ministry of Death, then of
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the story, Frank Castle infiltrates Reverend Sam Smith's jungle compound
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in Guiana, where the preacher has built an armed cult
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like community preparing for a violent confrontation with the United States.
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Torn between his instinct to eliminate the reverend in a
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lingering fascination with the man's mysterious healing touch, Frank plays
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along training followers and weapon use while uncovering the full
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extent of the Reverend's paranoia, manipulation, and plan for mass
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revolutionary suicide using cyanide as. Tensions boil over, marked by
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executions of dissenters and growing fanaticism, Frank finally acts, shooting Byron,
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his contact that kind of brought him into the church,
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and turning the compound against itself, before confronting the reverend
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in his home. As Frank is confronting the Reverend. The
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reverend's sister, Sadie intervenes, and the reverend is accidentally shot
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after going for Frank's weapon. Frank sees his control long
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enough to halt the blood shed by falsely framing the
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Reverend's death as a call for peace. Refusing to save
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the wounded preacher, Frank leaves Reverend Sam Smith to die,
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rescuing Ray White's wife, Vicki, and their child, and then
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returns them to the United States, walking away conflicted but
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resolute as he prepares to move on to his next mission. Okay,
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let's talk about issue four first. In my thoughts on
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issue four, I got to say right off the bat
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and this one felt like a step up from issue three.
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Not a huge leap or anything, but definitely more going
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on here and more for me to grab on to
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as a reader. The biggest thing, and honestly probably the
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most important thing in this issue long term, is the
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introduction of Microchip. Yeah, we've heard his name before, but
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this is where we actually get to see him, see
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how he operates, and understand his relationship with Frank, and
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I like it. It doesn't feel like he's some guy
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that shows up to hand Frank weapons and disappear. There's
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history here, ten years of history according to what we're told,
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and he's helped design the bat dal Van. He's been
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part of Frank's operation behind the scenes, and now we're
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finally pulling back the curtain a little bit. And then
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you've got his son Junior, who I mean, he's your
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typical hacker kid, anti society doesn't really care about the rules,
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kind of idolizes what Frank is doing in his own way.
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I didn't think he was too over the top, but
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he definitely fits him old. But what makes him interesting, though,
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is knowing, or at least suspecting that there's something more
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coming with that character down the line. So I'm kind
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of paying attention here. Now. The main story here revolves
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around this Church of the Saved and Reverend Samuel Smith
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or the Rev. And I'll say this, the Rev works
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not necessarily because of what he does in this issue,
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but because of how he feels. There's a vibe to
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this guy. Mike Baron does a really good job of
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making him unsettling without having to go over the top.
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It's the way he talks, the way he interacts with people,
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the way he puts his hands on Frank, there's just
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something off about him and that touch thing. I thought
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this was a really nice layer to add. Its not
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full on mind control or anything like that that I
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can see, but it sticks with Frank. He keeps thinking
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about it. It nags at him, and I like that
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it's not spelled out. It could be psychological, it could
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be something more, but either way it adds this little
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bit of tension or you're wondering, Okay, is Frank actually
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being affected here? Now? I never really felt like Frank
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was out of control in this book. I mean, there
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may be a couple moments where you kind of question it,
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but for the most part, he's still very much in charge.
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So it's more of a lingering unease than an actual threat,
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at least for now. The cult angle itself is probably
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one of the more interesting parts of the issue because
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this doesn't feel like your typical street level crime story.
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This feels like it's pulling from real world stuff, televangelists,
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cult leaders, the Holy eighties kind of cultural fear, and
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that grounds the story in a way that I think
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works pretty well. You can buy into this. You can
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see how something like this could exist at the same time, though,
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the way the story plays out it does feel familiar.
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We've got Frank going undercover, We've got the staged fight
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to earn trust, We've got him infiltrating the organization from
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the inside. It's all done well, but it's also very
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much the Punisher formula that we've already seen in just
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the first few issues of this series. There's a great
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ambush scene at the filmmaker's house that I thought worked
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really well. It's chaotic, the guy in the house is
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completely unhinged. It just reinforces how dangerous this whole situation is,
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not just the REV but anyone connected to him. It's messy,
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but it's messy in a good way. And then you
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get to the bigger reveal with the tapes, execution, plutonium,
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all that, and yet the stakes definitely go up, no question.
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This isn't just a small time operation anymore. Whatever the
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Rev is planning, it's big, potentially catastrophic. But here's the thing,
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and this is kind of where I land on the
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issue as a whole. It's this issue for it raises
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the stakes, but it doesn't necessarily make the story feel
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more unique. It still feels like a standard Punisher story
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just with bigger consequences, and I think that's kind of
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the theme with this issue, and there's a lot of
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good pieces here. Microchip is a great addition, The Rev
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is a strong presence, The cult angle adds something different.
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The tension is there and the action is solid, but
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it's all still playing within the lines. It's not breaking
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out and doing something that makes me go, oh man,
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this is going to be one of those Punisher stories
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I remember. It feels more like a solid, serviceable arc
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that's doing its job. Now. With that said, the cliffhanger works.
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I do want to know what the Rev's planning with
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the plutonium. I want to see how Frank handle's it,
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and I'm interested enough to come back for the next issue.
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So overall, yeah, stronger than issue three. Definitely some really
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important developments, especially with Microchip, a villain that has great
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presence even if he hasn't fully distinguished himself yet, and
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a story that's engaging, even if it's not quite stepping
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outside to formulate just yet. We'll see if issue five
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can take all these pieces and push it into something
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more memorable. And as we get into issue five, ministry
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of death and kind of wrap up this whole Reverend
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storyline that we've been building. This is probably one of
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the stronger issues in the run so far. It's darker,
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it's got a memorable hook, and it leans pretty heavily
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into that whole jonestown type influence which he can't miss it.
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A cult down in Guiana, a charismatic leader talking about
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sacrifice and revolution, stockpiling weapons, talking about mass suicide. It's
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all there, and I think that real world parallel does
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a lot of heavy lifting for the story. It gives
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it weight, it gives it tension, and it makes everything
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feel just a little more grounded than your typical comic
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book plot. So structurally, what you've got here is Frank
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finally reaching the point where he has to act. He's
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embedded with this group, he's been watching what's going on,
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and the deeper he gets, the worse it looks. You've
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got Byron, his friend here, the guy that kind of
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welcomed him into the compound. Byron's executing people who try
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to escape, and you've got the Reverend talking about revolutionary suicide.
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You've got this sense that things are about to go very,
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very bad for a whole lot of people. And when
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Frank finally makes his move, shooting Byron. That's the turning point,
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that's the moment where he snaps back into being the Punisher.
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From there, it's what you'd expect. Chaos breaks out, Frank
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takes control of the situation and ultimately shuts the whole
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thing down, and that part works once the action kicks in.
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This feels like a very classic Punisher story infiltrate, assess, strike,
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and control the narrative afterward, even the lie he tells
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Congressman Fryar, this is a guy who shows up at
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the compound. At the very end, he tells Congressman Fryar
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that all of this was just factions within the group
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turning on each other. That's very in line with how
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Frank operates. He's not there for recognition. He's there to
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end the threat and move on. But where this issue
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really stands out and also kind of stumbles a little bit,
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is everything going on with Frank before that moment, because
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this fight might be one of the first times in
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this series where we really see Frank kind of shaken,
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for a lack of a better word. There, he's conflicted
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that the entire issue, questioning why he hasn't taken the
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Reverend out already. He's wondering what hold this guy has
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on him. And a big part of that is this
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whole idea of Reverend's quote unquote touch the supposed healing
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ability that Frank believes saved his life. Now, whether that's
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real or not, it's kind of left up in the air.
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The book doesn't show you anything overly supernatural. There's no
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visual cue, no big moment where you're like, Okay, this
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guy definitely has powers. It all kind of lives in
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Frank's head. He gets shot, blacks out, wakes up alive,
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and now he's convinced that the Reverend did something to him.
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And that's interesting. That's kind of a real interesting idea
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because it puts Frank in a position we don't usually
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see him in. He's not just hunting someone down, he's hesitating,
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he's questioning himself almost like loyal in a weird way
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to the Reverend because of that moment, and I think
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that's where the issue almost becomes something more. It feels
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like it's setting up a deeper psychological story, like we're
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going to explore what happens when Frank Castle this guy
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who's usually so certain about what he does, starts to
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doubt that certainty, starts to wonder if there's something else
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going on, something he doesn't fully understand. Once the shooting starts,
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that thread kind of drops off. Frank flips the switch,
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goes back in the Punisher mode, and the story becomes
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about stopping the Reverend and ending the threat. Now, I
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don't think that hurts the issue. I don't think the
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action undercuts what came before. If anything, it just kind
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of defines what kind of book this is. At the
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end of the day, this is still a Punisher comic.
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It's going to prioritize the mission, the resolution, and the action.
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But it does feel like there was just a little
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more there that could have been explored. And it's not
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even that I needed a full explanation of the touch. Honestly,
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trying to explain that too much might have hurt the story,
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especially in a more grounded, street level book like this.
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I don't know if I want this to suddenly turn
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into something supernatural. That's for later on down the line,
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but I did want a little more time with how
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it affected Frank, let him wrestle with it a bit more,
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or let that hesitation carry a little further into the climax,
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because as it stands, it feels like, here's this really
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interesting internal conflict and now we're moving on. The Reverend himself, though,
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I think works again really well as a villain. He's
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not just another crime boss or a military guy. He's manipulative,
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he's charismatic, he's dangerous in a completely different way. He's
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got these people completely under his control to the point
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where they are willing to die for him, and the
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book does a good job showing just how ugly that
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can get. But I don't know if he fully works
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as a foil to Frank. They're different. Frank's war is
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against crime. The Reverence Crusade is more about control, ideology
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and whatever warped view he has of the United States.
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There's not really a sense that they're mirrors of each other.
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It's more like Frank has to break free from this
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guy's influence rather than confront some version of himself. And
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then you have the supporting cast. Byron works well enough,
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especially as the guy who kind of trusts Frank, which
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makes that turning point hit a little harder. Sadie, the
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sister of the Reverend, feels more like a setup for
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something else. We don't really get a full picture of
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what her deal is, especially with her own version of
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the Touch and Vicky. She's more of a plot objective
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than a fully fleshed out character. But the emotional beat
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at the end where Frank brings her and her child
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back home, that still lands. So where does that leave
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Issue five? Overall? For me, this is a strong, memorable
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chapter in the run. We've only got five issues, but
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the setting works, the tone is darker, the villain is
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unique in the story. It hits its major beat pretty effectively,
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but it also feels like one of those issues where
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you can see the potential for something deeper, especially with
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Frank's internal struggle, and it just doesn't fully commit to it.
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And I don't necessarily think that's a failure. It feels
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just like this book knows what it is at this point.
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It's a punisher story first. The mission comes first, the
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action comes first. I said that earlier. The deeper character
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stuff is there, it's just not the main f right now.
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So Yeah, a solid issue, one of the better of
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one so far, and definitely one that sticks with you
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a little bit more than the others. Just leaves you
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thinking that maybe with a little more time spent in
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Frank's head, this could have been something even bigger. And
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what about that plutonium, you know, what was the big
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deal there? I thought we were going to get some
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kind of like terrorist plot here or something like that,
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but that's just left out there. Maybe that again is
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something that could come back when Sadie returns, if she returns.
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And then we have also the fact that I was
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having a hard time keeping track who Vicky was. It
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took me one night to forget who ray White was.
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The reader wasn't reminded of the fact that ray White
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had a wife and a daughter that was in this
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cult and Punisher was looking to try and possibly rescue them.
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It almost seems like it's a situation where Frank accident
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ran into Vicky Vicki White, ray White's wife, and was like, oh, well,
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I can rescue her whenever I do what I came
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to do. Our creative team has stayed the same, by
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the way, it's still Mike Baron writing, Klaus Jansen doing
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Heart and coloring and letter by Ken Bruzennek. So yeah,
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this will actually be the last time we see Klaus
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Jansen doing the Punisher for quite a while, at least
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the Punisher series. He does hop back on to Punish
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Your War Journal number eleven, doing inks in that book,
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and then he'll be there in about four and a
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half years later for Punisher war Zone, first six issues
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of Punisher war Zone as the anchor there, So all right,
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there we go.
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Okay, let's go ahead and we'll get into the next issue.
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We want to talk about issue number four and issue
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number five of Punisher. Now, before we get into issues
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four and five, we need to introduce the main players
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in this two part story. Frank Castle still our lead,
6
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but this story is important because it brings in Microchip,
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the tech support figure who starts giving Frank's war on
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crime more resources and structure. We also meet micro Chip Junior,
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which gives micro a little more humanity right out of
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the gate. The main threat here is Reverend Sammy Smith,
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also known as the Rev, a cult leader who hides manipulation, paranoia,
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and violence behind religion. Around him are figures like Sadie Smith,
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Byron Gresham and Kena, who helped make his operation feel
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larger and more dangerous. Then we have civilians like Ray
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Vicki and Melissa White, who shows the human side of
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this story, the people who can get pulled into this
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kind of madness. So this is not just Frank going
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after another criminal. This is Frank walking into a cult
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story with innocent people trapped in the middle and a
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villain who thinks he has divine permission to control life
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and death. So let's start with our discussion about issue
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number four here. So this kicks off with Frank Castle
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reconnecting with his longtime ally Microchip or micro as I'll
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probably be referring to him Tier. He's a former weapons
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designer who supplies him with gear, including a replacement for
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his destroyed Battleman, or at least he's looking into it anyway,
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and introduces him to his rebellious tech savvy son, Junior.
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When an informat named Martin is gunned down after tipping
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Frank off about a mysterious group called the Church of
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the Saved, Frank follows the trail to Reverend Samuel Smith,
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a charismatic and unsettling cult leader. Going under cover, Frank
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infiltrates the church, earning the group's trust and eventually an
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audience with the reverend, whose strange, almost hypnotic touch leaves
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a lingering effect on him. Tasked with retrieving and criminating
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documentary footage, Franks drawn deeper into the cult's orbit, surviving
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a violent ambush and even experiencing what seems like miraculous
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healing at the Reverend's hands. Once he recovers the hidden tapes,
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Frank uncovers the truth Smith is a manipulative zealot willing
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to execute his own followers, and is now plotting something
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catastrophic involving plutonium. With proof in hand and the stakes
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raised to a potentially apocalyptic level, Frank prepares to bring
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the full weight of his war to the Reverend's deadly ministry.
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In the Punisher number five Ministry of Death, then of
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the story, Frank Castle infiltrates Reverend Sam Smith's jungle compound
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in Guiana, where the preacher has built an armed cult
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like community preparing for a violent confrontation with the United States.
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Torn between his instinct to eliminate the reverend in a
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lingering fascination with the man's mysterious healing touch, Frank plays
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along training followers and weapon use while uncovering the full
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extent of the Reverend's paranoia, manipulation, and plan for mass
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revolutionary suicide using cyanide as. Tensions boil over, marked by
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executions of dissenters and growing fanaticism, Frank finally acts, shooting Byron,
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his contact that kind of brought him into the church,
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and turning the compound against itself, before confronting the reverend
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in his home. As Frank is confronting the Reverend. The
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reverend's sister, Sadie intervenes, and the reverend is accidentally shot
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after going for Frank's weapon. Frank sees his control long
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enough to halt the blood shed by falsely framing the
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Reverend's death as a call for peace. Refusing to save
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the wounded preacher, Frank leaves Reverend Sam Smith to die,
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rescuing Ray White's wife, Vicki, and their child, and then
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returns them to the United States, walking away conflicted but
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resolute as he prepares to move on to his next mission. Okay,
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let's talk about issue four first. In my thoughts on
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issue four, I got to say right off the bat
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and this one felt like a step up from issue three.
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Not a huge leap or anything, but definitely more going
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on here and more for me to grab on to
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as a reader. The biggest thing, and honestly probably the
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most important thing in this issue long term, is the
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introduction of Microchip. Yeah, we've heard his name before, but
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this is where we actually get to see him, see
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how he operates, and understand his relationship with Frank, and
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I like it. It doesn't feel like he's some guy
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that shows up to hand Frank weapons and disappear. There's
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history here, ten years of history according to what we're told,
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and he's helped design the bat dal Van. He's been
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part of Frank's operation behind the scenes, and now we're
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finally pulling back the curtain a little bit. And then
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you've got his son Junior, who I mean, he's your
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typical hacker kid, anti society doesn't really care about the rules,
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kind of idolizes what Frank is doing in his own way.
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I didn't think he was too over the top, but
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he definitely fits him old. But what makes him interesting, though,
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is knowing, or at least suspecting that there's something more
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coming with that character down the line. So I'm kind
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of paying attention here. Now. The main story here revolves
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around this Church of the Saved and Reverend Samuel Smith
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or the Rev. And I'll say this, the Rev works
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not necessarily because of what he does in this issue,
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but because of how he feels. There's a vibe to
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this guy. Mike Baron does a really good job of
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making him unsettling without having to go over the top.
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It's the way he talks, the way he interacts with people,
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the way he puts his hands on Frank, there's just
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something off about him and that touch thing. I thought
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this was a really nice layer to add. Its not
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full on mind control or anything like that that I
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can see, but it sticks with Frank. He keeps thinking
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about it. It nags at him, and I like that
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it's not spelled out. It could be psychological, it could
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be something more, but either way it adds this little
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bit of tension or you're wondering, Okay, is Frank actually
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being affected here? Now? I never really felt like Frank
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was out of control in this book. I mean, there
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may be a couple moments where you kind of question it,
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but for the most part, he's still very much in charge.
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So it's more of a lingering unease than an actual threat,
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at least for now. The cult angle itself is probably
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one of the more interesting parts of the issue because
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this doesn't feel like your typical street level crime story.
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This feels like it's pulling from real world stuff, televangelists,
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cult leaders, the Holy eighties kind of cultural fear, and
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that grounds the story in a way that I think
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works pretty well. You can buy into this. You can
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see how something like this could exist at the same time, though,
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the way the story plays out it does feel familiar.
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We've got Frank going undercover, We've got the staged fight
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to earn trust, We've got him infiltrating the organization from
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the inside. It's all done well, but it's also very
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much the Punisher formula that we've already seen in just
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the first few issues of this series. There's a great
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ambush scene at the filmmaker's house that I thought worked
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really well. It's chaotic, the guy in the house is
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completely unhinged. It just reinforces how dangerous this whole situation is,
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not just the REV but anyone connected to him. It's messy,
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but it's messy in a good way. And then you
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get to the bigger reveal with the tapes, execution, plutonium,
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all that, and yet the stakes definitely go up, no question.
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This isn't just a small time operation anymore. Whatever the
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Rev is planning, it's big, potentially catastrophic. But here's the thing,
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and this is kind of where I land on the
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issue as a whole. It's this issue for it raises
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the stakes, but it doesn't necessarily make the story feel
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more unique. It still feels like a standard Punisher story
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just with bigger consequences, and I think that's kind of
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the theme with this issue, and there's a lot of
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good pieces here. Microchip is a great addition, The Rev
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is a strong presence, The cult angle adds something different.
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The tension is there and the action is solid, but
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it's all still playing within the lines. It's not breaking
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out and doing something that makes me go, oh man,
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this is going to be one of those Punisher stories
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I remember. It feels more like a solid, serviceable arc
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that's doing its job. Now. With that said, the cliffhanger works.
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I do want to know what the Rev's planning with
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the plutonium. I want to see how Frank handle's it,
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and I'm interested enough to come back for the next issue.
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So overall, yeah, stronger than issue three. Definitely some really
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important developments, especially with Microchip, a villain that has great
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presence even if he hasn't fully distinguished himself yet, and
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a story that's engaging, even if it's not quite stepping
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outside to formulate just yet. We'll see if issue five
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can take all these pieces and push it into something
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more memorable. And as we get into issue five, ministry
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of death and kind of wrap up this whole Reverend
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storyline that we've been building. This is probably one of
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the stronger issues in the run so far. It's darker,
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it's got a memorable hook, and it leans pretty heavily
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into that whole jonestown type influence which he can't miss it.
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A cult down in Guiana, a charismatic leader talking about
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sacrifice and revolution, stockpiling weapons, talking about mass suicide. It's
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all there, and I think that real world parallel does
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a lot of heavy lifting for the story. It gives
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it weight, it gives it tension, and it makes everything
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feel just a little more grounded than your typical comic
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book plot. So structurally, what you've got here is Frank
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finally reaching the point where he has to act. He's
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embedded with this group, he's been watching what's going on,
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and the deeper he gets, the worse it looks. You've
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got Byron, his friend here, the guy that kind of
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welcomed him into the compound. Byron's executing people who try
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to escape, and you've got the Reverend talking about revolutionary suicide.
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You've got this sense that things are about to go very,
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very bad for a whole lot of people. And when
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Frank finally makes his move, shooting Byron. That's the turning point,
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that's the moment where he snaps back into being the Punisher.
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From there, it's what you'd expect. Chaos breaks out, Frank
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takes control of the situation and ultimately shuts the whole
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thing down, and that part works once the action kicks in.
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This feels like a very classic Punisher story infiltrate, assess, strike,
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and control the narrative afterward, even the lie he tells
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Congressman Fryar, this is a guy who shows up at
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the compound. At the very end, he tells Congressman Fryar
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that all of this was just factions within the group
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turning on each other. That's very in line with how
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Frank operates. He's not there for recognition. He's there to
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end the threat and move on. But where this issue
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really stands out and also kind of stumbles a little bit,
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is everything going on with Frank before that moment, because
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this fight might be one of the first times in
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this series where we really see Frank kind of shaken,
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for a lack of a better word. There, he's conflicted
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that the entire issue, questioning why he hasn't taken the
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Reverend out already. He's wondering what hold this guy has
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on him. And a big part of that is this
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whole idea of Reverend's quote unquote touch the supposed healing
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ability that Frank believes saved his life. Now, whether that's
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real or not, it's kind of left up in the air.
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The book doesn't show you anything overly supernatural. There's no
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visual cue, no big moment where you're like, Okay, this
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guy definitely has powers. It all kind of lives in
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Frank's head. He gets shot, blacks out, wakes up alive,
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and now he's convinced that the Reverend did something to him.
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And that's interesting. That's kind of a real interesting idea
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because it puts Frank in a position we don't usually
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see him in. He's not just hunting someone down, he's hesitating,
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he's questioning himself almost like loyal in a weird way
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to the Reverend because of that moment, and I think
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that's where the issue almost becomes something more. It feels
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like it's setting up a deeper psychological story, like we're
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going to explore what happens when Frank Castle this guy
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who's usually so certain about what he does, starts to
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doubt that certainty, starts to wonder if there's something else
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going on, something he doesn't fully understand. Once the shooting starts,
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that thread kind of drops off. Frank flips the switch,
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goes back in the Punisher mode, and the story becomes
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about stopping the Reverend and ending the threat. Now, I
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don't think that hurts the issue. I don't think the
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action undercuts what came before. If anything, it just kind
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of defines what kind of book this is. At the
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end of the day, this is still a Punisher comic.
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It's going to prioritize the mission, the resolution, and the action.
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But it does feel like there was just a little
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more there that could have been explored. And it's not
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even that I needed a full explanation of the touch. Honestly,
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trying to explain that too much might have hurt the story,
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especially in a more grounded, street level book like this.
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I don't know if I want this to suddenly turn
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into something supernatural. That's for later on down the line,
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but I did want a little more time with how
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it affected Frank, let him wrestle with it a bit more,
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or let that hesitation carry a little further into the climax,
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because as it stands, it feels like, here's this really
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interesting internal conflict and now we're moving on. The Reverend himself, though,
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I think works again really well as a villain. He's
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not just another crime boss or a military guy. He's manipulative,
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he's charismatic, he's dangerous in a completely different way. He's
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got these people completely under his control to the point
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where they are willing to die for him, and the
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book does a good job showing just how ugly that
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can get. But I don't know if he fully works
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as a foil to Frank. They're different. Frank's war is
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against crime. The Reverence Crusade is more about control, ideology
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and whatever warped view he has of the United States.
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There's not really a sense that they're mirrors of each other.
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It's more like Frank has to break free from this
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guy's influence rather than confront some version of himself. And
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then you have the supporting cast. Byron works well enough,
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especially as the guy who kind of trusts Frank, which
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makes that turning point hit a little harder. Sadie, the
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sister of the Reverend, feels more like a setup for
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something else. We don't really get a full picture of
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what her deal is, especially with her own version of
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the Touch and Vicky. She's more of a plot objective
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than a fully fleshed out character. But the emotional beat
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at the end where Frank brings her and her child
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back home, that still lands. So where does that leave
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Issue five? Overall? For me, this is a strong, memorable
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chapter in the run. We've only got five issues, but
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the setting works, the tone is darker, the villain is
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unique in the story. It hits its major beat pretty effectively,
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but it also feels like one of those issues where
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you can see the potential for something deeper, especially with
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Frank's internal struggle, and it just doesn't fully commit to it.
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And I don't necessarily think that's a failure. It feels
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just like this book knows what it is at this point.
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It's a punisher story first. The mission comes first, the
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action comes first. I said that earlier. The deeper character
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stuff is there, it's just not the main f right now.
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So Yeah, a solid issue, one of the better of
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one so far, and definitely one that sticks with you
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a little bit more than the others. Just leaves you
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thinking that maybe with a little more time spent in
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Frank's head, this could have been something even bigger. And
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what about that plutonium, you know, what was the big
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deal there? I thought we were going to get some
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kind of like terrorist plot here or something like that,
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but that's just left out there. Maybe that again is
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something that could come back when Sadie returns, if she returns.
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And then we have also the fact that I was
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having a hard time keeping track who Vicky was. It
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took me one night to forget who ray White was.
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The reader wasn't reminded of the fact that ray White
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had a wife and a daughter that was in this
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cult and Punisher was looking to try and possibly rescue them.
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It almost seems like it's a situation where Frank accident
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ran into Vicky Vicki White, ray White's wife, and was like, oh, well,
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I can rescue her whenever I do what I came
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to do. Our creative team has stayed the same, by
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the way, it's still Mike Baron writing, Klaus Jansen doing
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Heart and coloring and letter by Ken Bruzennek. So yeah,
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this will actually be the last time we see Klaus
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Jansen doing the Punisher for quite a while, at least
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the Punisher series. He does hop back on to Punish
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Your War Journal number eleven, doing inks in that book,
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and then he'll be there in about four and a
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half years later for Punisher war Zone, first six issues
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of Punisher war Zone as the anchor there, So all right,
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there we go.
