WEBVTT
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All right, we are about to get into the Punisher
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numbers twelve and thirteen. Just due to creative team here
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real quick on Punisher number twelve looks like an on
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sale date was June twenty first, nineteen eighty eight. Title
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of this story or that story is Gonna be Castle
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Technique written by Mike Baron, penciled by Wilis Potassio, Scott
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Williams On Incs. And a letter by Kenneth Bruzenak, also
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colored by John Wellington. And as we get into issue thirteen,
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that was on sale July nineteenth, nineteen eighty eight. So
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as we are recording this almost thirty eight years ago,
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title of that story is Sacrifice Play. Same creative team
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except for the colorist. Colorist changes to a guy by
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the name of Mark Chirello. And just to kind of
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take a quick look at his story credits, I mean
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this is actually his third According to Mike's Amazing World
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of Comics, this is his third coloring gig. He The
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first one was January of nineteen eighty eight. He colored
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the Marvel graphic novel The Shadow, and then he colored
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Nam number twenty three, a story called Blue Christmas. And
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then he did Punisher number thirteen. So before we get
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into issue twelve, let's talk about the main players. A
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lot of these main players want to consist through this
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issue and into next issue. Of course, we've got the
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Punisher here, so no need to get into that.
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Just be aware.
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In this issue, he sets his sights on a convicted
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serial killer, but his mission is a little more complicated
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than simply putting a bullet in him. We have Gary Saunder.
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There's a convicted serial killer who has been found guilty
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of murdering twelve young women and is suspected of killing
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many more. Saunders is currently sitting on death row in Utah,
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where years of appeals have delayed his execution. He's also
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an avid chess player, something that becomes a recurring theme
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throughout this and the next issue. Then we have Lydia Spodo,
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a member of the notorious Samson family and a figure
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connected to a radical group known as the Underground Liberation
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Front ULF. Lydia has a very distinctive look, with bright
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red hair and a tattoo around one.
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Eye, maybe both of them, and it.
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Quickly becomes clear that she's surrounded herself with some pretty
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dangerous people. Bishop not the Bishop you're thinking of one
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of Lydia's associates in the Underground Liberation Front. Bishop is
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one of the men involved with the group's activities surrounding Saunders,
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and he and Saunders don't exactly seem destined to become
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best friends. Orties, a contact of Frank's who has been
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helping him gather information about the prison and Saunders, or Tease,
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operates mostly behind the scenes, providing Frank with assistance as
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he puts his plan together. And then Microchip, Frank's longtime
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partner and technical support. Micro's got a small role here.
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He helps supply Frank with equipment and information, including some
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of the specialized gear Frank plans to use during this
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particular mission. There's your major names for issue twelve. Keep
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those names in mind as Frank heads to Utah with
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a pretty ambitious plan, and as we're going to find out,
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not everything is going to go according to that plan.
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So in the Punisher number twelve Castle Technique, Frank Castle
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sets his sights on convicted serial killer Gary Saunders, a
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murderer sitting on death row while years of appeals have
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kept him alive. Learning that the radical Underground Liberation Front
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may be Planning a prison break, Frank decides to beat
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them to it, intending to extract Saunders himself and force
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him to reveal what happened to his still unaccounted for
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victims before delivering his own punishment. Pauling a small helicopter
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and his equipment toward Utah, Frank discovers that members of
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the ULF are already on his trail, but continues with
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his elaborate plan, using the helicopter to swoop into the
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prison and carry Saunders over the walls in a maneuver
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inspired by the chest move known as castling. Unfortunately, Frank
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overlooks one crucial detail. Saunders realizes Frank never gave the password,
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identifying him as one of Lydia's people. Saunders brutally beats
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Frank unconscious, just as Lydia and her armed followers arrive,
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having tracked Frank to the scene. The rescue turns out
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to be pure coincidence. Lydia never actually intended to free Saunders,
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and when Saunders attacks one of her men, Lydia guns
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him down and steals his watch before the group makes
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off with Frank's truck, weapons, and helicopter. Left battered and
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nearly helpless. Frank awakens furious that Saunders died before he
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could answer for his crimes, only to be rescued at
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the last moment by his inside contact or Tease, setting
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the stage for Frank to recover his stolen arsenal and
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settle the score with Lydia and her crew. As far
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as my thoughts on the Punisher Number twelve go, I
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think this is a pretty solid issue. I wouldn't necessarily
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call it one of the most memorable issues and run
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so far, but there are definitely some things here that
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I liked. The whole setup with Frank breaking Gary Saunders
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out of prison is interesting because on the surface that
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sounds almost backwards. Frank is usually trying to put criminals down,
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not bust them out, But there is a reason behind it.
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Frank had met the mother of one of Saunders's victims,
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and there are still questions about what happened to some
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of these women. Frank wants answers, and he wants to
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give this woman some kind of closure. So even though
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his plan is incredibly elaborate, it makes sense from Frank's perspective,
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He's willing to go to some pretty extreme lengths when
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he decides something needs to be done. Saunders himself is
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not really much of a character. We know what kind
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of person he is because Frank tells us what he
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has done, and that is more than enough to make
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you want to see the guy get what is coming
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to him.
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He murdered at least twelve women.
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And may have killed many more, so there's no question
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about whether Frank has picked somebody deserving of his attention.
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But Saunders is basically just a scumbag for Frank to
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go after. There isn't a whole lot of depth there.
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What is a little different is Frank's plan for him.
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Frank doesn't just want to kill Saunders. He wants to
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keep him alive long enough to get information out of him,
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and it sounds like he fully intends to torture this
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guy until he talks.
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That's pretty dark.
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Twelve issues into this series, I don't really remember Frank
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doing a lot of that. Usually, once he has a target,
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it's just about finishing the mission and putting the criminal down. Here,
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he's prepared to draw it out, and that adds a
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slightly nasty edge to what he's doing. I did enjoy
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the actual prison break, Frank coming in with his little
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personal helicopter flying over the prison walls, landing, grabbing Saunders,
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and taking off again is just fun punisher all over.
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It is also another example of Frank using some new equipment,
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which I always enjoy seeing. It's ridiculous, but it's the
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right kind of ridiculous for this book. And then, of
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course there is the chess theme. Mike Baron really lays
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that on thick in this issue. Saunders plays chess by mail,
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Frank uses the CB handle rubber rook, there's a guy
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named Bishop, somebody is talking about going to get King.
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Frank explains castling when he is making his move on
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the prison, and then the story itself is called castle technique.
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At some point you just kind of have to laugh
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and say, Okay, Mike, we get it.
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Word on chess.
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I don't necessarily dislike it, but it does feel very
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convenient that all of these chess references happen to exist
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naturally inside the story. It almost feels like Baron started
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with the idea of using chess terminology and then figured
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out how many references he could squeeze into the script.
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One of my favorite little moments, though, is when Frank's
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plan goes wrong Saunders realizes that Frank is not really
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working with Lydia here because Frank doesn't know the password.
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And I want to make that distinction.
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Because Frank did not forget the password. He never knew
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there was one. There was just a piece of information
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that he did not have. And right before Saunders gets
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to drop on him, Frank is narrating about how he
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is only human, that he makes mistakes, and then almost
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immediately he gets cracked in the head with.
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A piece of wood.
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That's pretty funny timing, but what follows is not pretty
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funny at all. Anders absolutely beats the hell out of Frank.
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This is probably the thing that stood out to me
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the most in the entire issue. Frank gets brutally beaten.
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Saunders hits him again and again, and by the time
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it's over, Frank is bloody, barely conscious, and in really
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bad shape. We've seen Frank get heart before in this series.
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We've seen him get overwhelmed, we have seen other people
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have to save him, So the idea that Frank is
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vulnerable is not something new, but this might be one
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of the more brutal beatings we have seen him take
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so far. Then Lydia and the Underground Liberation Front show up,
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and that gives us another nice twist because they were
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not even coming to rescue Saunders. Frank thought he was
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beating them to the punch, but instead completely by accident,
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he basically delivered Saunders.
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Right to them. Pretty good twist.
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I still don't know exactly what to think about Lydia,
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yet she definitely has a memorable look, and we know
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she's connected to this Samson family, which is very clearly
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meant to make you think of the Manson family, so
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that already tells you that we are probably dealing with
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somebody who's a little unhinged. And then she shoots Saunders
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in the back several times without much hesitation. So even
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though I don't know much about her personality yet, she's
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dangerous and we know she has no problem killing somebody
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when she decides they're.
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No longer useful. There's some also good.
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Dark humor in here, especially the truck stop scene where
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Frank tells the waitress that he does not do drugs
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anymore because he found the Lord.
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And then he tries to.
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Talk to her about letting the Lord into her heart,
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and she basically says she will if he has fifty bucks.
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That's pretty funny.
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Mike Baron has sprinkled that kind of dark humour throughout
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this series before, and I think it fits. Frank gets
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such a serious character, and having those strange little moments
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around him helps keep the book from becoming too grim
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all the time. The Gary Gilmore references and the whole
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death penalty atmosphere in Utah we're interesting too.
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I don't know enough about.
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Gary Gilmour to say exactly what Baron was trying to
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do there, but I did not really read it as
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some major statement about capital punishment. To me, it felt
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more like he was using real world history to get
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of the setting some texture and make Utah feel like
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a deliberate choice for this story rather than just some
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random location. But the ending is really where the issue works.
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Frank's plan completely falls apart. Saunders is dead, so Frank
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cannot get the answers he wanted for the families of
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those missing women. He's been beaten nearly unconscious Lyddy and
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her people have stolen his truck, his weapons, the helicopter,
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and basically Frank has just supplied the Underground Liberation Front
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with a whole bunch of equipment they didn't have before.
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Not good, and then Ortiz arrives, drags Frank into the
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jeep and gets him out of there.
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That makes for a.
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Pretty effective cliffhanger, because Franken's the issue about as badly
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off as he possibly could. His mission failed, he lost
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his target and his gear, and now he's got to
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figure out how to recover from all this. And I
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think that's more interesting than if Frank's plan had worked perfectly,
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had he simply broken Saunders out, tortured him for information,
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killed him, and gone home. I don't know how much
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there really would have been to this story. Having everything
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go wrong gives us a much better reason to come
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back for the next issue, So overall, I'd call The
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Punisher Number twelve a good, solid Punisher story. I don't
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think Mike barn is doing anything wildly experimental here. We've
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seen Frank get hurt and overwhelm before, we've seen missions
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go sideways. But the severity of the beating, the chess motif,
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the helicopter prison break, and especially Frank accidentally handing a
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radical group a truckload of weapons give this issue enough
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personality to kind of stand out. It's not necessarily one
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of my favorite issues of the series so far. But
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it does exactly what the first part of a multi
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issue story he needs to do. It puts Frank in
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a terrible situation and leaves me wanting to see how
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he gets himself out of it. Now we get into
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issue thirteen, a story called Sacrifice Play again.
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Let's take a look at the main characters.
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We have Frank Castle, We've already talked about him, We've
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got Ortiz mentioned him already. Then we have Conchita or Tease. Yeah,
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you want to find out a little bit about her.
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This is Ortiz's wife, Lydia's back, of course, and then
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we get to meet Charlie Samson, the imprisoned leader of
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a violent cult known as the Samson Family. He's a manipulative,
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ruthless killer whose followers remain completely devoted to him, even
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after years behind bars. So we pick up immediately in
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issue thirteen, right after we left aub in the previous issue,
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Frank Castle's waking up badly injured inside a remote cabin.
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Ortees is there with him and explains that he followed
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Frank because he wanted to see Gary Saunders get what
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was coming to him. Orties also reveals that he knows
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Frank is the punisher and remembers him from Vietnam, where
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Frank once saved his life.
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Feeling that he owes Frank.
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Adebt, Ortees offers to help and track down Lydia'spodo and
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recover the truck, weapons, and helicopter stolen by the Samson family.
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Frank believes Lydia plans to use his equipment to free
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Charlie Samson, the imprisoned leader.
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Of the violent Samson cult.
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Ortiz agrees to help, but only in one condition that
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he brings his wife, Conchitah. Frank is skeptical, but Conchitah
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quickly proves that she is no ordinary bystander. She's physically imposing,
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educated in psychology and criminology, and convinced that her purpose
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in life is to act as an avenging angel.
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By killing people who deserve it.
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Frank recognizes that both Ortiz and Conchita may be a
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little too eager to follow in his footsteps, but he
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needs their transportation and assistance, so the three head into
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the mountains. Their search leads them to the Connor Movie Ranch,
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an old hideout associated with the Samson family. Frank explains
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that Charlie Samson led his followers in the brutal murder
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of a pregnant woman and several others in nineteen seventy
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two as part of a supposed war against wealthy capitalists. Frank,
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Ortiz and Concita conduct reconnaissance around the ranch and confirm
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that Lydia's gre group is there, along with frank stolen
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truck and helicopter. While they wait, Councheedah makes an advance
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toward Frank, but he immediately shuts her down and tells
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her that she and Ortiz should consider professional counseling. The
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following morning, Ortiz learns that Samson is being transferred to
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another federal prison, and Frank notices that the stolen truck
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and helicopter have left the ranch. He realizes Lydia's people
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are already moving to intercept the transport. Frank warns Conchetah
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that he placed explosives behind the truck's license plate, which
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can be detonated by shooting it, but he makes it
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clear that they cannot use that option if the police
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officers are nearby. Meanwhile, Charlie Samson is being moved under
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heavy guard. Even while restrained, Samson taunts the officer's and
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posts that his followers will free him. His prediction quickly
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comes true when Lydia's men ambush the prison convoys, shooting
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the motorcycle officers and opening fire on the transport vehicle.
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Samson attacks the guard inside, while his followers finish off
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the surviving officers. Once he's free, however, Samson immediately demonstrates
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just how ruthless he is. Worried that two of his
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own men know too many of his secrets, he grabs
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a shotgun and kills.
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Them both before Lydia arrives.
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Frank and Ortiz catch up with the stolen truck and
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overpower one of the men unloading a motorcycle. Frank takes
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the bike and races after Samson, while Ortez and Kantita
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remain behind to deal with the rest of the group.
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Lydia arrives in Frank's helicopter and lowers it close enough
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for Samson to climb aboard. As Frank approaches on the motorcycle,
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the helicopter takes off with Lydia, Samson, and the pilot
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Ernie inside. The added weight makes the helicopter slow enough
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for Frank to pursue it through the rocky terrain. Samson
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soon asks Lydia whether she knows how to fly. Once
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she admits that Ernie is the only pilot, Samson abruptly
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kicks Lydia out of the helicopter, apparently sending her falling
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to her death. He then threatens Ernie and four him
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to continue flying. Frank races his motorcycle up a steep
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rock formation and opens fire on the helicopter. Samson shoots back,
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but one of Frank's bullets strikes Ernie in the head.
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With the pilot dead, the helicopter begins to fall. Samson
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tries to steer the crashing aircraft directly toward Frank, forcing
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him to race for his life as it came down
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behind him. Frank barely escapes before the helicopter crashes and explodes.
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As Frank gets back to his feet, he hears someone
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calling for help. Samson has somehow survived the crash, but
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he cannot feel his legs and realizes that he may
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be permanently paralyzed. Rather than return to prison crippled, Samson
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begs Frank to kill him. Frank draws his knife and
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grants the request without hesitation. Frank then begins heading back
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toward Ortiz and Conchita, but their situation is also falling apart.
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Police are closing in and the remaining members of Lydia's
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group are still nearby. Ortez shoots one of the gunmen
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hiding beneath the truck, then decides that he will not
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allow himself to be taken alive, saying that riding with
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the punisher was enough for him. Ortez points his weapon
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of the truck's booby trapped the license plate and fires.
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The resulting explosion destroys the truck and kills Ortez along
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with it. Conchita screams as she sees her husband die,
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but she is forced to flee in the jeep. From
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a distance, Frank sees the smoke rising from the explosion
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and realizes what has happened. With the police closing in,
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his equipment destroyed, Samson dead, Lydia apparently gone, and Ortez sacrificed,
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Frank has no choice but to disappear on foot into
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the empty rocky landscape, and that is where we end
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the issue. Okay, so my thoughts on sacrifice play. I
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thought this was a pretty good conclusion to the two
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part story that began in the previous issue, Issue number twelve,
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was really about watching Frank's plan completely fall apart. He
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was beaten, nearly unconscious, Gary Saunders killed before Frank could
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question him. Lydia and or group make off with Frank's truck, weapons,
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and helicopter.
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This issue gives us the payoff.
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To all of that and allows Frank to finally regain
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some control of the situation. Now, Frank does not exactly
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walk away from this with much. By the end, his
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00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:27.480
truck is destroyed, most of his equipment's gone or teases dead.
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Frank does not even have a vehicle to get himself
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out of there. He's literally walking off alone into the landscape.
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The one real victory he gets is that he finally
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gets his hands on Charlie Samson and delivers the Punisher's
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version of justice. And for a story like this, I
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think that's enough. Ortiz becomes a much bigger part of
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this issue, and we learned that he knew Frank back
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in Vietnam. Frank once saved his life in a bar
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and Saigon, and Ortez has apparently figured out that Frank
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Castle is the Punisher. I do think that connection is
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fairly convenient, but it gives Ortiz a legitimate reason to
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recognize Frank.
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Respect him, and feel like he owes him something.
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Ortiz does not just want to help Frank out of gratitude,
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though he seems genuinely excited about getting involved in Frank's war.
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He talks like this is something he has been waiting
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to do since leaving the military. That immediately makes Frank
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uncomfortable because Frank understands exactly what Ortiz is stepping into,
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and Frank makes it very clear that once you cross
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into this world, there is no casually stepping back out
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of it. You are entering a war and there are consequences.
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And then Ortiz tells Frank that his wife is coming
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with him. At first, Frank reacts about the way anybody
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probably would. It's almost like your buddy insisting on bringing
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his wife along on a guy's night out, except this
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particular night out involves chasing an armed colt through the mountains.
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00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:03.480
But then we meet Conchita and she is definitely not
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the dainty, helpless spouse Frank may have been expecting. She's muscular,
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physically capable, very educated, and possibly even more intense than Nortiz.
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Ka Chetah was probably the most interesting new character in
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this issue for Me. She describes herself as an avenging
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angel and says that her purpose is to kill people
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who need killing. In a lot of ways, she sees
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herself as someone similar to Frank. She believes there are
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evil people in the world who deserve to die, and
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she is ready to be the person who kills them.
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But what makes it more interesting is Frank's reaction. Frank's
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not exactly in a position to criticize somebody for believing
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criminals deserve death, but he's still suspicious of her. He
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has rules, and he's very concerned about innocent people being
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caught in the crossfire, and he's not really convinced that
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Kuncheetah has those same limits. It's funny watching Frank Castle
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00:21:58.200 --> 00:22:01.400
look at somebody else and think this person may be
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a psycho. Ortez and Concheta both add a nice layer
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of tension because you are really never completely sure whether
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they're going to help Frank or screw up the mission.
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00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:16.000
You also wonder whether Frank might eventually decide that they
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00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:20.720
are too unstable to keep around. Then Conchitah makes a
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00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:23.880
move on Frank when they're staking out the ranch.
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I do think that moment right, there was a little unnecessary.
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We have seen several women become attracted to Frank during
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this series, and here Conchita goes from identifying with his
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mission to essentially suggesting that they get together while her
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husband is nearby.
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That escalated quickly, and at the same.
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Time it does add to the sense that Conchetah is
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a little unpredictable. She is her own woman, she does
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whatever she feels like doing, and she appears to be
400
00:22:51.319 --> 00:22:55.079
attracted to both Frank's beliefs and the danger surrounding him.
401
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Frank shuts it down immediately, though, and suggests that she
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and Ortiz might want to speak to a counselor probably
403
00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:06.599
not bad advice. The main villain here is Charlie Samson,
404
00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:09.880
who is an extremely obvious stand in for Charles Manson.
405
00:23:10.720 --> 00:23:12.839
Mike Barron has done this kind of thing before, where
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00:23:12.839 --> 00:23:15.759
he takes inspiration from a real world criminal and creates
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a version of that person for Frank to punish. Baron
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lets the real world history also do a lot of
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the work. You hear that Samson let a cult, that
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his followers murdered a pregnant woman and several others, and
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that he carved a swastika between his eyes. You immediately
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know exactly who this character is supposed to remind you of.
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Because of that, Samson does not need a tremendous amount
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of development here. The reader already understands the type of
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evil that he represents, and once Samson is freed, Baron
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00:23:51.480 --> 00:23:54.039
piles on several moments to make sure we hate him.
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He kills two of.
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His own followers almost immediately after they rescue him, because
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they know too many of his secrets. Later, he kicks
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Lydia out of the helicopter just to reduce the weight
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and make his escape easier. That genuinely surprised me. I
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00:24:12.839 --> 00:24:14.880
expected all three of them to stay in the helicopter
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and for Frank to somehow bring it down. I didn't
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00:24:17.880 --> 00:24:20.720
expect Samson to throw Lydia out and apparently send her
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falling to her death. It is another fairly typical villain
426
00:24:24.519 --> 00:24:27.400
moment designed to show that Samson has no loyalty to
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anyone but himself, but it does work. If he is
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willing to kill his own followers, then there is no
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00:24:33.240 --> 00:24:36.359
question that this guy deserves whatever Frank has.
430
00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:37.519
Waiting for him.
431
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I'm not completely convinced that Lydia is dead, though we
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00:24:41.640 --> 00:24:43.640
see her fall, but we do not see a body.
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00:24:44.359 --> 00:24:47.960
Comic books have trained me not to believe somebody is
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00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:52.200
dead until we see proof, and even then sometimes that
435
00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:55.319
is not enough. There have already been several characters in
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00:24:55.319 --> 00:24:58.000
this run who could potentially return later, and Lydia maybe
437
00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:01.720
one of them. The action sequence with Frank chasing the
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00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:05.960
helicopter on the motorcycle that worked well. The story establishes
439
00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:08.599
that the helicopter is overloaded and cannot gain much speed
440
00:25:08.640 --> 00:25:11.359
or altitude, and gives Frank the opportunity to race up
441
00:25:11.400 --> 00:25:14.480
a rocky terrain, get close enough, and open fire. It
442
00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:16.519
is certainly over the top, but it is the kind
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00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:18.880
of over the top action that fits upon Asher comic.
444
00:25:19.880 --> 00:25:21.640
Frank shoots the pilot.
445
00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:24.440
The helicopter begins to go down, and Samson tries to
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steer the crashing aircraft directly into him. Frank barely gets
447
00:25:28.240 --> 00:25:30.559
away before it explodes behind him.
448
00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:33.279
And somehow Samson survives.
449
00:25:34.200 --> 00:25:37.599
Obviously, that is convenient because the story wants Frank to
450
00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:39.000
personally confront him.
451
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I'm fine with that.
452
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Frank has spent two issues dealing with the fallout from
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this cult, so it makes sense this story gives him
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a final moment with the man responsible. Samson can't feel
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his legs and realizes that he may be paralyzed. He
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00:25:55.839 --> 00:25:58.200
tells Frank that he does not want to return to
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prison crippled and asks Frank to kill him. Frank has
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00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:07.920
absolutely no problem granting that request. But I do not
459
00:26:08.039 --> 00:26:12.440
think Frank gives Samson an easy death. Frank does not
460
00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:14.839
simply pull out a gun and put a quick bullet
461
00:26:14.920 --> 00:26:15.319
in him.
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He draws a knife.
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We do not see exactly what Frank does, but I
464
00:26:21.160 --> 00:26:25.200
think the implication's pretty clear. Samson may have asked to die,
465
00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:27.400
but Frank is still going to make sure that it
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00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:33.839
feels like punishment that was satisfying. Samson does not last
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00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:37.519
very long once he directly crosses paths with Frank, but
468
00:26:37.599 --> 00:26:41.240
that is fairly typical for this series. The villain is introduced,
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00:26:41.319 --> 00:26:44.279
we learn enough to understand why he deserves punishment, and
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Frank delivers it. The other major moment is Ortiz's death.
471
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After Frank goes after Samson, Ortes and Conchita remain behind
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near the truck. The police are closing in and Ortiz
473
00:26:55.839 --> 00:26:58.119
decides that he will not allow himself.
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To be captured.
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He shoots the ex blows of hidden behind the truck's
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license plate while standing right beside it, destroying the truck
477
00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:09.759
and killing himself. I would call a moment tragic, but
478
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I'm not sure I would call it heroic. By that point,
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most of Samson's people are already dead or defeated. Ortees
480
00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:21.599
is not necessarily sacrificing himself to save Frank Concto or
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a group of Innison people. It feels more like he
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knows he's going to be arrested and refuses to go
483
00:27:27.920 --> 00:27:32.079
to prison. That's an interesting parallel with Samson there. Samson
484
00:27:32.119 --> 00:27:34.319
asked Frank to kill him because he doesn't want to
485
00:27:34.359 --> 00:27:37.599
return to prison, and Ortiz kills himself because he does
486
00:27:37.640 --> 00:27:40.200
not want to go to prison either. They are obviously
487
00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:44.640
very different men, but they both chose death rather than confinement.
488
00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:48.559
Ortiz's death made sense for a tease. He told Frank
489
00:27:48.599 --> 00:27:50.599
that this was something he had always.
490
00:27:50.200 --> 00:27:50.720
Wanted to do.
491
00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:55.200
He wanted a ride with the punisher. He understood there
492
00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:58.799
were risks, and by the end he decides that his
493
00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:03.240
time is up. Emotionally, I wasn't devastated by his death
494
00:28:03.319 --> 00:28:06.200
because we only knew him for a short time. But
495
00:28:06.279 --> 00:28:09.680
I understood the choice from his perspective. I do not
496
00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:14.279
blame Frank for what happened to Ortiz. Frank told Ortiz
497
00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:17.559
about the explosive because it was part of the plan.
498
00:28:18.359 --> 00:28:20.759
He did not expect Ortiz to stand next to the
499
00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:23.000
truck and use it to kill himself.
500
00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:25.000
That was Ortz's.
501
00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:28.160
Decision, and I do not think Frank would blame himself either.
502
00:28:28.240 --> 00:28:31.319
Frank would see it as another casualty of war. Ortiz
503
00:28:31.400 --> 00:28:33.839
understood what he was getting involved in, made his choice,
504
00:28:34.599 --> 00:28:39.160
and he paid the price. Guncheedah sees the explosion, screams
505
00:28:39.160 --> 00:28:43.039
for her husband, and drives away. I don't know whether
506
00:28:43.079 --> 00:28:45.839
we will see her again. The close up of her
507
00:28:45.880 --> 00:28:48.799
crying could potentially set up a return where she blames Frank.
508
00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:52.640
But most of the people Frank crosses paths with disappear
509
00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:56.160
once their particular adventure is over. My guess is that
510
00:28:56.200 --> 00:29:00.599
she's probably gone. The ending of the issue's bleak, but
511
00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:04.519
is also very appropriate for the punisher. Frank begins the
512
00:29:04.559 --> 00:29:06.640
issue with two people who want to join his war.
513
00:29:07.319 --> 00:29:09.880
They believe they understand him, they believe they can do
514
00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:12.000
what he does, and by the end, or Tease is dead,
515
00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:16.440
Conchita is gone and Frank is walking away alone. That
516
00:29:16.480 --> 00:29:21.279
reinforces the idea that nobody can safely share Frank's mission.
517
00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:25.680
Microchip may be the exception because he usually supports Frank
518
00:29:25.720 --> 00:29:29.599
from behind the scenes, although we do know that he
519
00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:33.960
has felt a casualty of Frank's war as well. That
520
00:29:34.119 --> 00:29:38.000
final image of Frank walking alone works because even when
521
00:29:38.039 --> 00:29:40.759
other people admire him or try to follow his example,
522
00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:45.759
this is ultimately his burden. As for the chess theme,
523
00:29:45.880 --> 00:29:49.640
it continues here obviously with the title Sacrifice Play, Samson
524
00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:53.000
referring to himself as a trapped king in several characters
525
00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:57.640
being treated like disposable pieces, I was not necessarily searching
526
00:29:57.680 --> 00:30:00.680
for some deeper meaning while I was reading it. Mike
527
00:30:00.720 --> 00:30:04.200
Baron clearly likes building themes around his story titles and
528
00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:09.240
peppering references throughout the script. Here, the chess references are
529
00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:12.839
extremely obvious, but I will say that Sacrifice Play gains
530
00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:16.920
a little more meaning by the end. Samson sacrifices his followers,
531
00:30:17.440 --> 00:30:22.160
He sacrifices lydia Ernie his sacrifice during the escape, I
532
00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:26.720
guess or Tea sacrifices himself. Nearly everyone in the story
533
00:30:26.759 --> 00:30:27.759
becomes a piece.
534
00:30:27.640 --> 00:30:28.920
Removed from the board.
535
00:30:30.119 --> 00:30:34.119
Whether that is especially deep that's another question, but the
536
00:30:34.119 --> 00:30:38.279
title does fit overall. I liked issue thirteen more than
537
00:30:38.279 --> 00:30:41.720
Issue twelve. Issue twelve is mostly about watching Frank's plan
538
00:30:41.839 --> 00:30:44.319
fall apart. Issue thirteen gives.
539
00:30:44.200 --> 00:30:44.880
Us the payoff.
540
00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:47.759
Frank gets back into action, We get a good motorcycle
541
00:30:47.799 --> 00:30:52.240
on helicopter Chase or Teas and Concia add some unpredictable tension,
542
00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:57.359
and Frank finally gets the chance to punish Charlie Sampson.
543
00:30:58.279 --> 00:31:00.839
It's not a very clean victory, Frankank loses most of
544
00:31:00.880 --> 00:31:03.519
his equipment, or Tease dies, and Frank ends the issue
545
00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:07.039
stranded and alone. But Frank accomplished the most important part
546
00:31:07.079 --> 00:31:10.720
of the mission. Charlie Sampson is dead, and for a
547
00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:15.680
punisher story that makes us feel like a satisfying, appropriately
548
00:31:16.279 --> 00:31:18.160
bleak conclusion
1
00:00:12.160 --> 00:00:17.440
All right, we are about to get into the Punisher
2
00:00:17.559 --> 00:00:22.239
numbers twelve and thirteen. Just due to creative team here
3
00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:25.960
real quick on Punisher number twelve looks like an on
4
00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:29.640
sale date was June twenty first, nineteen eighty eight. Title
5
00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:31.920
of this story or that story is Gonna be Castle
6
00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:36.679
Technique written by Mike Baron, penciled by Wilis Potassio, Scott
7
00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:40.640
Williams On Incs. And a letter by Kenneth Bruzenak, also
8
00:00:40.759 --> 00:00:45.240
colored by John Wellington. And as we get into issue thirteen,
9
00:00:46.119 --> 00:00:49.679
that was on sale July nineteenth, nineteen eighty eight. So
10
00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:55.759
as we are recording this almost thirty eight years ago,
11
00:00:56.679 --> 00:01:00.920
title of that story is Sacrifice Play. Same creative team
12
00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:04.359
except for the colorist. Colorist changes to a guy by
13
00:01:04.359 --> 00:01:08.239
the name of Mark Chirello. And just to kind of
14
00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:11.480
take a quick look at his story credits, I mean
15
00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:15.359
this is actually his third According to Mike's Amazing World
16
00:01:15.400 --> 00:01:19.319
of Comics, this is his third coloring gig. He The
17
00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:22.239
first one was January of nineteen eighty eight. He colored
18
00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:27.200
the Marvel graphic novel The Shadow, and then he colored
19
00:01:27.400 --> 00:01:32.079
Nam number twenty three, a story called Blue Christmas. And
20
00:01:32.120 --> 00:01:35.719
then he did Punisher number thirteen. So before we get
21
00:01:35.719 --> 00:01:39.519
into issue twelve, let's talk about the main players. A
22
00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:43.079
lot of these main players want to consist through this
23
00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:45.680
issue and into next issue. Of course, we've got the
24
00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:48.959
Punisher here, so no need to get into that.
25
00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:50.280
Just be aware.
26
00:01:50.359 --> 00:01:52.920
In this issue, he sets his sights on a convicted
27
00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:56.560
serial killer, but his mission is a little more complicated
28
00:01:56.599 --> 00:01:59.959
than simply putting a bullet in him. We have Gary Saunder.
29
00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:02.959
There's a convicted serial killer who has been found guilty
30
00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:05.959
of murdering twelve young women and is suspected of killing
31
00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:09.800
many more. Saunders is currently sitting on death row in Utah,
32
00:02:10.039 --> 00:02:13.639
where years of appeals have delayed his execution. He's also
33
00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:16.639
an avid chess player, something that becomes a recurring theme
34
00:02:16.680 --> 00:02:22.919
throughout this and the next issue. Then we have Lydia Spodo,
35
00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:27.840
a member of the notorious Samson family and a figure
36
00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:31.479
connected to a radical group known as the Underground Liberation
37
00:02:31.719 --> 00:02:37.479
Front ULF. Lydia has a very distinctive look, with bright
38
00:02:37.479 --> 00:02:39.199
red hair and a tattoo around one.
39
00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:40.919
Eye, maybe both of them, and it.
40
00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:43.680
Quickly becomes clear that she's surrounded herself with some pretty
41
00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:48.199
dangerous people. Bishop not the Bishop you're thinking of one
42
00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:51.639
of Lydia's associates in the Underground Liberation Front. Bishop is
43
00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:54.800
one of the men involved with the group's activities surrounding Saunders,
44
00:02:55.120 --> 00:02:57.960
and he and Saunders don't exactly seem destined to become
45
00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:02.280
best friends. Orties, a contact of Frank's who has been
46
00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:06.400
helping him gather information about the prison and Saunders, or Tease,
47
00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:10.319
operates mostly behind the scenes, providing Frank with assistance as
48
00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:14.680
he puts his plan together. And then Microchip, Frank's longtime
49
00:03:14.719 --> 00:03:18.120
partner and technical support. Micro's got a small role here.
50
00:03:18.199 --> 00:03:21.000
He helps supply Frank with equipment and information, including some
51
00:03:21.039 --> 00:03:23.479
of the specialized gear Frank plans to use during this
52
00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:28.280
particular mission. There's your major names for issue twelve. Keep
53
00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:30.439
those names in mind as Frank heads to Utah with
54
00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:33.960
a pretty ambitious plan, and as we're going to find out,
55
00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:38.400
not everything is going to go according to that plan.
56
00:03:39.960 --> 00:03:43.120
So in the Punisher number twelve Castle Technique, Frank Castle
57
00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:47.400
sets his sights on convicted serial killer Gary Saunders, a
58
00:03:47.479 --> 00:03:50.360
murderer sitting on death row while years of appeals have
59
00:03:50.439 --> 00:03:54.800
kept him alive. Learning that the radical Underground Liberation Front
60
00:03:54.840 --> 00:03:57.520
may be Planning a prison break, Frank decides to beat
61
00:03:57.560 --> 00:04:01.520
them to it, intending to extract Saunders himself and force
62
00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:05.039
him to reveal what happened to his still unaccounted for
63
00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:09.919
victims before delivering his own punishment. Pauling a small helicopter
64
00:04:10.039 --> 00:04:12.840
and his equipment toward Utah, Frank discovers that members of
65
00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:16.600
the ULF are already on his trail, but continues with
66
00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:19.759
his elaborate plan, using the helicopter to swoop into the
67
00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:23.040
prison and carry Saunders over the walls in a maneuver
68
00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:29.040
inspired by the chest move known as castling. Unfortunately, Frank
69
00:04:29.160 --> 00:04:34.319
overlooks one crucial detail. Saunders realizes Frank never gave the password,
70
00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:39.759
identifying him as one of Lydia's people. Saunders brutally beats
71
00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:43.199
Frank unconscious, just as Lydia and her armed followers arrive,
72
00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:46.639
having tracked Frank to the scene. The rescue turns out
73
00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:50.560
to be pure coincidence. Lydia never actually intended to free Saunders,
74
00:04:51.399 --> 00:04:54.480
and when Saunders attacks one of her men, Lydia guns
75
00:04:54.519 --> 00:04:57.680
him down and steals his watch before the group makes
76
00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:03.000
off with Frank's truck, weapons, and helicopter. Left battered and
77
00:05:03.079 --> 00:05:07.000
nearly helpless. Frank awakens furious that Saunders died before he
78
00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:10.040
could answer for his crimes, only to be rescued at
79
00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:14.639
the last moment by his inside contact or Tease, setting
80
00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:17.839
the stage for Frank to recover his stolen arsenal and
81
00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:24.040
settle the score with Lydia and her crew. As far
82
00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:26.680
as my thoughts on the Punisher Number twelve go, I
83
00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:29.639
think this is a pretty solid issue. I wouldn't necessarily
84
00:05:29.959 --> 00:05:32.160
call it one of the most memorable issues and run
85
00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:34.120
so far, but there are definitely some things here that
86
00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:38.040
I liked. The whole setup with Frank breaking Gary Saunders
87
00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:41.120
out of prison is interesting because on the surface that
88
00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:45.839
sounds almost backwards. Frank is usually trying to put criminals down,
89
00:05:46.839 --> 00:05:49.879
not bust them out, But there is a reason behind it.
90
00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:53.480
Frank had met the mother of one of Saunders's victims,
91
00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:56.319
and there are still questions about what happened to some
92
00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:59.639
of these women. Frank wants answers, and he wants to
93
00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:02.920
give this woman some kind of closure. So even though
94
00:06:02.959 --> 00:06:07.279
his plan is incredibly elaborate, it makes sense from Frank's perspective,
95
00:06:07.959 --> 00:06:10.000
He's willing to go to some pretty extreme lengths when
96
00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:14.199
he decides something needs to be done. Saunders himself is
97
00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:16.560
not really much of a character. We know what kind
98
00:06:16.600 --> 00:06:18.959
of person he is because Frank tells us what he
99
00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:21.319
has done, and that is more than enough to make
100
00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:22.879
you want to see the guy get what is coming
101
00:06:22.920 --> 00:06:23.199
to him.
102
00:06:23.959 --> 00:06:25.560
He murdered at least twelve women.
103
00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:28.560
And may have killed many more, so there's no question
104
00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:32.040
about whether Frank has picked somebody deserving of his attention.
105
00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:35.759
But Saunders is basically just a scumbag for Frank to
106
00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:38.639
go after. There isn't a whole lot of depth there.
107
00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:42.360
What is a little different is Frank's plan for him.
108
00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:46.000
Frank doesn't just want to kill Saunders. He wants to
109
00:06:46.040 --> 00:06:48.720
keep him alive long enough to get information out of him,
110
00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:51.360
and it sounds like he fully intends to torture this
111
00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:52.399
guy until he talks.
112
00:06:53.319 --> 00:06:54.120
That's pretty dark.
113
00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:57.519
Twelve issues into this series, I don't really remember Frank
114
00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:00.560
doing a lot of that. Usually, once he has a target,
115
00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:04.439
it's just about finishing the mission and putting the criminal down. Here,
116
00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:06.959
he's prepared to draw it out, and that adds a
117
00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:10.480
slightly nasty edge to what he's doing. I did enjoy
118
00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:13.439
the actual prison break, Frank coming in with his little
119
00:07:13.480 --> 00:07:18.040
personal helicopter flying over the prison walls, landing, grabbing Saunders,
120
00:07:18.040 --> 00:07:22.040
and taking off again is just fun punisher all over.
121
00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:25.519
It is also another example of Frank using some new equipment,
122
00:07:25.720 --> 00:07:29.000
which I always enjoy seeing. It's ridiculous, but it's the
123
00:07:29.079 --> 00:07:31.920
right kind of ridiculous for this book. And then, of
124
00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:35.240
course there is the chess theme. Mike Baron really lays
125
00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:38.600
that on thick in this issue. Saunders plays chess by mail,
126
00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:42.839
Frank uses the CB handle rubber rook, there's a guy
127
00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:46.360
named Bishop, somebody is talking about going to get King.
128
00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:50.120
Frank explains castling when he is making his move on
129
00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:53.600
the prison, and then the story itself is called castle technique.
130
00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:56.240
At some point you just kind of have to laugh
131
00:07:56.279 --> 00:07:57.639
and say, Okay, Mike, we get it.
132
00:07:58.439 --> 00:07:59.240
Word on chess.
133
00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:03.079
I don't necessarily dislike it, but it does feel very
134
00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:06.000
convenient that all of these chess references happen to exist
135
00:08:06.079 --> 00:08:09.560
naturally inside the story. It almost feels like Baron started
136
00:08:09.560 --> 00:08:12.000
with the idea of using chess terminology and then figured
137
00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:14.839
out how many references he could squeeze into the script.
138
00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:18.399
One of my favorite little moments, though, is when Frank's
139
00:08:18.439 --> 00:08:22.759
plan goes wrong Saunders realizes that Frank is not really
140
00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:26.560
working with Lydia here because Frank doesn't know the password.
141
00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:28.399
And I want to make that distinction.
142
00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:31.360
Because Frank did not forget the password. He never knew
143
00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:34.159
there was one. There was just a piece of information
144
00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:36.919
that he did not have. And right before Saunders gets
145
00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:39.519
to drop on him, Frank is narrating about how he
146
00:08:39.639 --> 00:08:43.240
is only human, that he makes mistakes, and then almost
147
00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:45.039
immediately he gets cracked in the head with.
148
00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:46.039
A piece of wood.
149
00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:48.799
That's pretty funny timing, but what follows is not pretty
150
00:08:48.840 --> 00:08:52.159
funny at all. Anders absolutely beats the hell out of Frank.
151
00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:54.399
This is probably the thing that stood out to me
152
00:08:54.519 --> 00:08:58.080
the most in the entire issue. Frank gets brutally beaten.
153
00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:01.080
Saunders hits him again and again, and by the time
154
00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:04.679
it's over, Frank is bloody, barely conscious, and in really
155
00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:07.799
bad shape. We've seen Frank get heart before in this series.
156
00:09:07.799 --> 00:09:11.159
We've seen him get overwhelmed, we have seen other people
157
00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:14.200
have to save him, So the idea that Frank is
158
00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:16.720
vulnerable is not something new, but this might be one
159
00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:18.600
of the more brutal beatings we have seen him take
160
00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:22.399
so far. Then Lydia and the Underground Liberation Front show up,
161
00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:24.519
and that gives us another nice twist because they were
162
00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:28.240
not even coming to rescue Saunders. Frank thought he was
163
00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:32.200
beating them to the punch, but instead completely by accident,
164
00:09:32.759 --> 00:09:34.879
he basically delivered Saunders.
165
00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:36.519
Right to them. Pretty good twist.
166
00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:39.200
I still don't know exactly what to think about Lydia,
167
00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:42.360
yet she definitely has a memorable look, and we know
168
00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:46.320
she's connected to this Samson family, which is very clearly
169
00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:48.960
meant to make you think of the Manson family, so
170
00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:51.120
that already tells you that we are probably dealing with
171
00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:54.600
somebody who's a little unhinged. And then she shoots Saunders
172
00:09:54.639 --> 00:09:57.639
in the back several times without much hesitation. So even
173
00:09:57.639 --> 00:10:00.480
though I don't know much about her personality yet, she's
174
00:10:00.559 --> 00:10:03.559
dangerous and we know she has no problem killing somebody
175
00:10:03.639 --> 00:10:05.320
when she decides they're.
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No longer useful. There's some also good.
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Dark humor in here, especially the truck stop scene where
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Frank tells the waitress that he does not do drugs
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anymore because he found the Lord.
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And then he tries to.
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Talk to her about letting the Lord into her heart,
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and she basically says she will if he has fifty bucks.
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That's pretty funny.
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Mike Baron has sprinkled that kind of dark humour throughout
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this series before, and I think it fits. Frank gets
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such a serious character, and having those strange little moments
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around him helps keep the book from becoming too grim
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all the time. The Gary Gilmore references and the whole
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death penalty atmosphere in Utah we're interesting too.
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I don't know enough about.
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Gary Gilmour to say exactly what Baron was trying to
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do there, but I did not really read it as
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some major statement about capital punishment. To me, it felt
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more like he was using real world history to get
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of the setting some texture and make Utah feel like
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a deliberate choice for this story rather than just some
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random location. But the ending is really where the issue works.
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Frank's plan completely falls apart. Saunders is dead, so Frank
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cannot get the answers he wanted for the families of
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those missing women. He's been beaten nearly unconscious Lyddy and
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her people have stolen his truck, his weapons, the helicopter,
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and basically Frank has just supplied the Underground Liberation Front
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with a whole bunch of equipment they didn't have before.
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Not good, and then Ortiz arrives, drags Frank into the
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jeep and gets him out of there.
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That makes for a.
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Pretty effective cliffhanger, because Franken's the issue about as badly
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off as he possibly could. His mission failed, he lost
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his target and his gear, and now he's got to
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figure out how to recover from all this. And I
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think that's more interesting than if Frank's plan had worked perfectly,
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had he simply broken Saunders out, tortured him for information,
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killed him, and gone home. I don't know how much
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there really would have been to this story. Having everything
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go wrong gives us a much better reason to come
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back for the next issue, So overall, I'd call The
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Punisher Number twelve a good, solid Punisher story. I don't
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think Mike barn is doing anything wildly experimental here. We've
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seen Frank get hurt and overwhelm before, we've seen missions
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go sideways. But the severity of the beating, the chess motif,
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the helicopter prison break, and especially Frank accidentally handing a
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radical group a truckload of weapons give this issue enough
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personality to kind of stand out. It's not necessarily one
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of my favorite issues of the series so far. But
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it does exactly what the first part of a multi
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issue story he needs to do. It puts Frank in
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a terrible situation and leaves me wanting to see how
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he gets himself out of it. Now we get into
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issue thirteen, a story called Sacrifice Play again.
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Let's take a look at the main characters.
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We have Frank Castle, We've already talked about him, We've
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got Ortiz mentioned him already. Then we have Conchita or Tease. Yeah,
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you want to find out a little bit about her.
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This is Ortiz's wife, Lydia's back, of course, and then
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we get to meet Charlie Samson, the imprisoned leader of
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a violent cult known as the Samson Family. He's a manipulative,
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ruthless killer whose followers remain completely devoted to him, even
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after years behind bars. So we pick up immediately in
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issue thirteen, right after we left aub in the previous issue,
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Frank Castle's waking up badly injured inside a remote cabin.
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Ortees is there with him and explains that he followed
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Frank because he wanted to see Gary Saunders get what
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was coming to him. Orties also reveals that he knows
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Frank is the punisher and remembers him from Vietnam, where
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Frank once saved his life.
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Feeling that he owes Frank.
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Adebt, Ortees offers to help and track down Lydia'spodo and
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recover the truck, weapons, and helicopter stolen by the Samson family.
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Frank believes Lydia plans to use his equipment to free
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Charlie Samson, the imprisoned leader.
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Of the violent Samson cult.
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Ortiz agrees to help, but only in one condition that
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he brings his wife, Conchitah. Frank is skeptical, but Conchitah
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quickly proves that she is no ordinary bystander. She's physically imposing,
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educated in psychology and criminology, and convinced that her purpose
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in life is to act as an avenging angel.
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By killing people who deserve it.
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Frank recognizes that both Ortiz and Conchita may be a
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little too eager to follow in his footsteps, but he
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needs their transportation and assistance, so the three head into
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the mountains. Their search leads them to the Connor Movie Ranch,
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an old hideout associated with the Samson family. Frank explains
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that Charlie Samson led his followers in the brutal murder
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of a pregnant woman and several others in nineteen seventy
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two as part of a supposed war against wealthy capitalists. Frank,
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Ortiz and Concita conduct reconnaissance around the ranch and confirm
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that Lydia's gre group is there, along with frank stolen
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truck and helicopter. While they wait, Councheedah makes an advance
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toward Frank, but he immediately shuts her down and tells
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her that she and Ortiz should consider professional counseling. The
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following morning, Ortiz learns that Samson is being transferred to
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another federal prison, and Frank notices that the stolen truck
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and helicopter have left the ranch. He realizes Lydia's people
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are already moving to intercept the transport. Frank warns Conchetah
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that he placed explosives behind the truck's license plate, which
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can be detonated by shooting it, but he makes it
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clear that they cannot use that option if the police
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officers are nearby. Meanwhile, Charlie Samson is being moved under
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heavy guard. Even while restrained, Samson taunts the officer's and
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posts that his followers will free him. His prediction quickly
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comes true when Lydia's men ambush the prison convoys, shooting
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the motorcycle officers and opening fire on the transport vehicle.
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Samson attacks the guard inside, while his followers finish off
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the surviving officers. Once he's free, however, Samson immediately demonstrates
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just how ruthless he is. Worried that two of his
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own men know too many of his secrets, he grabs
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a shotgun and kills.
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Them both before Lydia arrives.
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Frank and Ortiz catch up with the stolen truck and
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overpower one of the men unloading a motorcycle. Frank takes
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the bike and races after Samson, while Ortez and Kantita
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remain behind to deal with the rest of the group.
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Lydia arrives in Frank's helicopter and lowers it close enough
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for Samson to climb aboard. As Frank approaches on the motorcycle,
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the helicopter takes off with Lydia, Samson, and the pilot
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Ernie inside. The added weight makes the helicopter slow enough
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for Frank to pursue it through the rocky terrain. Samson
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soon asks Lydia whether she knows how to fly. Once
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she admits that Ernie is the only pilot, Samson abruptly
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kicks Lydia out of the helicopter, apparently sending her falling
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to her death. He then threatens Ernie and four him
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to continue flying. Frank races his motorcycle up a steep
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rock formation and opens fire on the helicopter. Samson shoots back,
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but one of Frank's bullets strikes Ernie in the head.
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With the pilot dead, the helicopter begins to fall. Samson
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tries to steer the crashing aircraft directly toward Frank, forcing
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him to race for his life as it came down
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behind him. Frank barely escapes before the helicopter crashes and explodes.
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As Frank gets back to his feet, he hears someone
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calling for help. Samson has somehow survived the crash, but
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he cannot feel his legs and realizes that he may
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be permanently paralyzed. Rather than return to prison crippled, Samson
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begs Frank to kill him. Frank draws his knife and
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grants the request without hesitation. Frank then begins heading back
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toward Ortiz and Conchita, but their situation is also falling apart.
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Police are closing in and the remaining members of Lydia's
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group are still nearby. Ortez shoots one of the gunmen
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hiding beneath the truck, then decides that he will not
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allow himself to be taken alive, saying that riding with
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the punisher was enough for him. Ortez points his weapon
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of the truck's booby trapped the license plate and fires.
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The resulting explosion destroys the truck and kills Ortez along
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with it. Conchita screams as she sees her husband die,
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but she is forced to flee in the jeep. From
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a distance, Frank sees the smoke rising from the explosion
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and realizes what has happened. With the police closing in,
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his equipment destroyed, Samson dead, Lydia apparently gone, and Ortez sacrificed,
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Frank has no choice but to disappear on foot into
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the empty rocky landscape, and that is where we end
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the issue. Okay, so my thoughts on sacrifice play. I
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thought this was a pretty good conclusion to the two
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part story that began in the previous issue, Issue number twelve,
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was really about watching Frank's plan completely fall apart. He
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was beaten, nearly unconscious, Gary Saunders killed before Frank could
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question him. Lydia and or group make off with Frank's truck, weapons,
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and helicopter.
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This issue gives us the payoff.
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To all of that and allows Frank to finally regain
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some control of the situation. Now, Frank does not exactly
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walk away from this with much. By the end, his
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truck is destroyed, most of his equipment's gone or teases dead.
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Frank does not even have a vehicle to get himself
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out of there. He's literally walking off alone into the landscape.
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The one real victory he gets is that he finally
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gets his hands on Charlie Samson and delivers the Punisher's
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version of justice. And for a story like this, I
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think that's enough. Ortiz becomes a much bigger part of
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this issue, and we learned that he knew Frank back
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in Vietnam. Frank once saved his life in a bar
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and Saigon, and Ortez has apparently figured out that Frank
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Castle is the Punisher. I do think that connection is
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fairly convenient, but it gives Ortiz a legitimate reason to
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recognize Frank.
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Respect him, and feel like he owes him something.
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Ortiz does not just want to help Frank out of gratitude,
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though he seems genuinely excited about getting involved in Frank's war.
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He talks like this is something he has been waiting
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to do since leaving the military. That immediately makes Frank
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uncomfortable because Frank understands exactly what Ortiz is stepping into,
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and Frank makes it very clear that once you cross
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into this world, there is no casually stepping back out
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of it. You are entering a war and there are consequences.
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And then Ortiz tells Frank that his wife is coming
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with him. At first, Frank reacts about the way anybody
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probably would. It's almost like your buddy insisting on bringing
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his wife along on a guy's night out, except this
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particular night out involves chasing an armed colt through the mountains.
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But then we meet Conchita and she is definitely not
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the dainty, helpless spouse Frank may have been expecting. She's muscular,
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physically capable, very educated, and possibly even more intense than Nortiz.
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Ka Chetah was probably the most interesting new character in
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this issue for Me. She describes herself as an avenging
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angel and says that her purpose is to kill people
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who need killing. In a lot of ways, she sees
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herself as someone similar to Frank. She believes there are
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evil people in the world who deserve to die, and
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she is ready to be the person who kills them.
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But what makes it more interesting is Frank's reaction. Frank's
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not exactly in a position to criticize somebody for believing
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criminals deserve death, but he's still suspicious of her. He
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has rules, and he's very concerned about innocent people being
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caught in the crossfire, and he's not really convinced that
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Kuncheetah has those same limits. It's funny watching Frank Castle
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look at somebody else and think this person may be
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a psycho. Ortez and Concheta both add a nice layer
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of tension because you are really never completely sure whether
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they're going to help Frank or screw up the mission.
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You also wonder whether Frank might eventually decide that they
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are too unstable to keep around. Then Conchitah makes a
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move on Frank when they're staking out the ranch.
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I do think that moment right, there was a little unnecessary.
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We have seen several women become attracted to Frank during
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this series, and here Conchita goes from identifying with his
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mission to essentially suggesting that they get together while her
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husband is nearby.
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That escalated quickly, and at the same.
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Time it does add to the sense that Conchetah is
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a little unpredictable. She is her own woman, she does
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whatever she feels like doing, and she appears to be
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attracted to both Frank's beliefs and the danger surrounding him.
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Frank shuts it down immediately, though, and suggests that she
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and Ortiz might want to speak to a counselor probably
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not bad advice. The main villain here is Charlie Samson,
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who is an extremely obvious stand in for Charles Manson.
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Mike Barron has done this kind of thing before, where
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he takes inspiration from a real world criminal and creates
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a version of that person for Frank to punish. Baron
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lets the real world history also do a lot of
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the work. You hear that Samson let a cult, that
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his followers murdered a pregnant woman and several others, and
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that he carved a swastika between his eyes. You immediately
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know exactly who this character is supposed to remind you of.
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Because of that, Samson does not need a tremendous amount
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of development here. The reader already understands the type of
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evil that he represents, and once Samson is freed, Baron
416
00:23:51.480 --> 00:23:54.039
piles on several moments to make sure we hate him.
417
00:23:54.640 --> 00:23:55.440
He kills two of.
418
00:23:55.400 --> 00:23:58.640
His own followers almost immediately after they rescue him, because
419
00:23:58.680 --> 00:24:03.119
they know too many of his secrets. Later, he kicks
420
00:24:03.279 --> 00:24:07.000
Lydia out of the helicopter just to reduce the weight
421
00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:12.799
and make his escape easier. That genuinely surprised me. I
422
00:24:12.839 --> 00:24:14.880
expected all three of them to stay in the helicopter
423
00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:17.839
and for Frank to somehow bring it down. I didn't
424
00:24:17.880 --> 00:24:20.720
expect Samson to throw Lydia out and apparently send her
425
00:24:20.759 --> 00:24:24.519
falling to her death. It is another fairly typical villain
426
00:24:24.519 --> 00:24:27.400
moment designed to show that Samson has no loyalty to
427
00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:30.680
anyone but himself, but it does work. If he is
428
00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:33.079
willing to kill his own followers, then there is no
429
00:24:33.240 --> 00:24:36.359
question that this guy deserves whatever Frank has.
430
00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:37.519
Waiting for him.
431
00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:41.599
I'm not completely convinced that Lydia is dead, though we
432
00:24:41.640 --> 00:24:43.640
see her fall, but we do not see a body.
433
00:24:44.359 --> 00:24:47.960
Comic books have trained me not to believe somebody is
434
00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:52.200
dead until we see proof, and even then sometimes that
435
00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:55.319
is not enough. There have already been several characters in
436
00:24:55.319 --> 00:24:58.000
this run who could potentially return later, and Lydia maybe
437
00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:01.720
one of them. The action sequence with Frank chasing the
438
00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:05.960
helicopter on the motorcycle that worked well. The story establishes
439
00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:08.599
that the helicopter is overloaded and cannot gain much speed
440
00:25:08.640 --> 00:25:11.359
or altitude, and gives Frank the opportunity to race up
441
00:25:11.400 --> 00:25:14.480
a rocky terrain, get close enough, and open fire. It
442
00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:16.519
is certainly over the top, but it is the kind
443
00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:18.880
of over the top action that fits upon Asher comic.
444
00:25:19.880 --> 00:25:21.640
Frank shoots the pilot.
445
00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:24.440
The helicopter begins to go down, and Samson tries to
446
00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:28.240
steer the crashing aircraft directly into him. Frank barely gets
447
00:25:28.240 --> 00:25:30.559
away before it explodes behind him.
448
00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:33.279
And somehow Samson survives.
449
00:25:34.200 --> 00:25:37.599
Obviously, that is convenient because the story wants Frank to
450
00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:39.000
personally confront him.
451
00:25:39.880 --> 00:25:40.640
I'm fine with that.
452
00:25:42.359 --> 00:25:44.720
Frank has spent two issues dealing with the fallout from
453
00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:48.160
this cult, so it makes sense this story gives him
454
00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:52.799
a final moment with the man responsible. Samson can't feel
455
00:25:52.839 --> 00:25:55.799
his legs and realizes that he may be paralyzed. He
456
00:25:55.839 --> 00:25:58.200
tells Frank that he does not want to return to
457
00:25:58.279 --> 00:26:03.519
prison crippled and asks Frank to kill him. Frank has
458
00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:07.920
absolutely no problem granting that request. But I do not
459
00:26:08.039 --> 00:26:12.440
think Frank gives Samson an easy death. Frank does not
460
00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:14.839
simply pull out a gun and put a quick bullet
461
00:26:14.920 --> 00:26:15.319
in him.
462
00:26:15.720 --> 00:26:17.720
He draws a knife.
463
00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:21.160
We do not see exactly what Frank does, but I
464
00:26:21.160 --> 00:26:25.200
think the implication's pretty clear. Samson may have asked to die,
465
00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:27.400
but Frank is still going to make sure that it
466
00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:33.839
feels like punishment that was satisfying. Samson does not last
467
00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:37.519
very long once he directly crosses paths with Frank, but
468
00:26:37.599 --> 00:26:41.240
that is fairly typical for this series. The villain is introduced,
469
00:26:41.319 --> 00:26:44.279
we learn enough to understand why he deserves punishment, and
470
00:26:44.359 --> 00:26:48.680
Frank delivers it. The other major moment is Ortiz's death.
471
00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:52.640
After Frank goes after Samson, Ortes and Conchita remain behind
472
00:26:52.640 --> 00:26:55.759
near the truck. The police are closing in and Ortiz
473
00:26:55.839 --> 00:26:58.119
decides that he will not allow himself.
474
00:26:57.799 --> 00:26:58.480
To be captured.
475
00:26:59.160 --> 00:27:01.519
He shoots the ex blows of hidden behind the truck's
476
00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:05.200
license plate while standing right beside it, destroying the truck
477
00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:09.759
and killing himself. I would call a moment tragic, but
478
00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:13.119
I'm not sure I would call it heroic. By that point,
479
00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:17.759
most of Samson's people are already dead or defeated. Ortees
480
00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:21.599
is not necessarily sacrificing himself to save Frank Concto or
481
00:27:21.640 --> 00:27:24.599
a group of Innison people. It feels more like he
482
00:27:24.640 --> 00:27:27.880
knows he's going to be arrested and refuses to go
483
00:27:27.920 --> 00:27:32.079
to prison. That's an interesting parallel with Samson there. Samson
484
00:27:32.119 --> 00:27:34.319
asked Frank to kill him because he doesn't want to
485
00:27:34.359 --> 00:27:37.599
return to prison, and Ortiz kills himself because he does
486
00:27:37.640 --> 00:27:40.200
not want to go to prison either. They are obviously
487
00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:44.640
very different men, but they both chose death rather than confinement.
488
00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:48.559
Ortiz's death made sense for a tease. He told Frank
489
00:27:48.599 --> 00:27:50.599
that this was something he had always.
490
00:27:50.200 --> 00:27:50.720
Wanted to do.
491
00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:55.200
He wanted a ride with the punisher. He understood there
492
00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:58.799
were risks, and by the end he decides that his
493
00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:03.240
time is up. Emotionally, I wasn't devastated by his death
494
00:28:03.319 --> 00:28:06.200
because we only knew him for a short time. But
495
00:28:06.279 --> 00:28:09.680
I understood the choice from his perspective. I do not
496
00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:14.279
blame Frank for what happened to Ortiz. Frank told Ortiz
497
00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:17.559
about the explosive because it was part of the plan.
498
00:28:18.359 --> 00:28:20.759
He did not expect Ortiz to stand next to the
499
00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:23.000
truck and use it to kill himself.
500
00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:25.000
That was Ortz's.
501
00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:28.160
Decision, and I do not think Frank would blame himself either.
502
00:28:28.240 --> 00:28:31.319
Frank would see it as another casualty of war. Ortiz
503
00:28:31.400 --> 00:28:33.839
understood what he was getting involved in, made his choice,
504
00:28:34.599 --> 00:28:39.160
and he paid the price. Guncheedah sees the explosion, screams
505
00:28:39.160 --> 00:28:43.039
for her husband, and drives away. I don't know whether
506
00:28:43.079 --> 00:28:45.839
we will see her again. The close up of her
507
00:28:45.880 --> 00:28:48.799
crying could potentially set up a return where she blames Frank.
508
00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:52.640
But most of the people Frank crosses paths with disappear
509
00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:56.160
once their particular adventure is over. My guess is that
510
00:28:56.200 --> 00:29:00.599
she's probably gone. The ending of the issue's bleak, but
511
00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:04.519
is also very appropriate for the punisher. Frank begins the
512
00:29:04.559 --> 00:29:06.640
issue with two people who want to join his war.
513
00:29:07.319 --> 00:29:09.880
They believe they understand him, they believe they can do
514
00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:12.000
what he does, and by the end, or Tease is dead,
515
00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:16.440
Conchita is gone and Frank is walking away alone. That
516
00:29:16.480 --> 00:29:21.279
reinforces the idea that nobody can safely share Frank's mission.
517
00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:25.680
Microchip may be the exception because he usually supports Frank
518
00:29:25.720 --> 00:29:29.599
from behind the scenes, although we do know that he
519
00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:33.960
has felt a casualty of Frank's war as well. That
520
00:29:34.119 --> 00:29:38.000
final image of Frank walking alone works because even when
521
00:29:38.039 --> 00:29:40.759
other people admire him or try to follow his example,
522
00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:45.759
this is ultimately his burden. As for the chess theme,
523
00:29:45.880 --> 00:29:49.640
it continues here obviously with the title Sacrifice Play, Samson
524
00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:53.000
referring to himself as a trapped king in several characters
525
00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:57.640
being treated like disposable pieces, I was not necessarily searching
526
00:29:57.680 --> 00:30:00.680
for some deeper meaning while I was reading it. Mike
527
00:30:00.720 --> 00:30:04.200
Baron clearly likes building themes around his story titles and
528
00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:09.240
peppering references throughout the script. Here, the chess references are
529
00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:12.839
extremely obvious, but I will say that Sacrifice Play gains
530
00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:16.920
a little more meaning by the end. Samson sacrifices his followers,
531
00:30:17.440 --> 00:30:22.160
He sacrifices lydia Ernie his sacrifice during the escape, I
532
00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:26.720
guess or Tea sacrifices himself. Nearly everyone in the story
533
00:30:26.759 --> 00:30:27.759
becomes a piece.
534
00:30:27.640 --> 00:30:28.920
Removed from the board.
535
00:30:30.119 --> 00:30:34.119
Whether that is especially deep that's another question, but the
536
00:30:34.119 --> 00:30:38.279
title does fit overall. I liked issue thirteen more than
537
00:30:38.279 --> 00:30:41.720
Issue twelve. Issue twelve is mostly about watching Frank's plan
538
00:30:41.839 --> 00:30:44.319
fall apart. Issue thirteen gives.
539
00:30:44.200 --> 00:30:44.880
Us the payoff.
540
00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:47.759
Frank gets back into action, We get a good motorcycle
541
00:30:47.799 --> 00:30:52.240
on helicopter Chase or Teas and Concia add some unpredictable tension,
542
00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:57.359
and Frank finally gets the chance to punish Charlie Sampson.
543
00:30:58.279 --> 00:31:00.839
It's not a very clean victory, Frankank loses most of
544
00:31:00.880 --> 00:31:03.519
his equipment, or Tease dies, and Frank ends the issue
545
00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:07.039
stranded and alone. But Frank accomplished the most important part
546
00:31:07.079 --> 00:31:10.720
of the mission. Charlie Sampson is dead, and for a
547
00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:15.680
punisher story that makes us feel like a satisfying, appropriately
548
00:31:16.279 --> 00:31:18.160
bleak conclusion
