Comic Review: The War of the Realms: The Punisher #1

The War of the Realms: The Punisher #1

Marvel Comics

Writer: Gerry Duggan

Artist: Marcelo Ferreira

There are a few different types of Punisher stories.  There are those that use the character in his original capacity as a complicated antagonist to more straightforward Marvel superheroes, contrasting their heroism with Frank Castle’s violent vigilantism.  There are those gritty, grounded tales, like Garth Ennis’ character-defining run on the MAX title, that focus either on Frank’s psychological addiction to violence and or on depicting how his crusade affects the society around him.  And there are those that throw caution and subtlety to the wind, pitting Frank, with his incredible, but still human, military skills against the wildest sci-fi and fantasy characters and concepts in the Marvel Universe.  Perhaps unsurprisingly given that it is a tie-in to a massive crossover that has little to do with Frank, The War of the Realms: The Punisher, takes the third approach.  It makes the most of the adrenaline-pumping premise of The Punisher fighting monsters but it’s not anything more than that and doesn’t try to be.

The plot of this first issue is appropriately simple.  It starts off with Frank shooting down as many of Malekith’s forces as he can, and honestly, that’s all that happens for a decent part of the issue.  Writer Gerry Duggan certainly knows that for this kind of story the more crazy action you give the reader the better.  This is the kind of book where The Punisher shoots a demonic dog in the mouth and detonates grenades under a frost giant’s feet.  It’s a total blast if you know what to expect, but anyone hoping for a meaningful exploration of Frank Castle’s character is looking in the wrong place.

Eventually Frank takes an injured man to a hospital, only to discover the place is being evacuated.  One of the lead doctors ignores Frank’s warning about the Lincoln Tunnel being too close to the fighting, telling him they have no other options.  Frank then ambushes a prison transfer convoy and forcefully demands the prisoners help him protect the hospital exodus.

Two of Duggan’s story threads could prove a little controversial or problematic.  First, there’s Frank’s internal monologue, in which he blames the higher-profile superheroes for the invasion.  This is in-character for Frank, and Duggan does a nice job capturing his arrogance but he doesn’t provide enough opposition to Frank’s viewpoint.  As the story is set up now, it looks to glamorize Frank for his efforts to protect the little guy in the midst of the massive, chaotic battle, in comparison with the Avengers and company who are characterized as having their heads in the clouds.  This would be fine in a story about any other street-level character in this situation, but any tale that paints Castle as being superior to the actual heroes of the universe feels off considering his brutal methods.

There’s also the issue of the Punisher/prisoners team-up.  I understand the story potential of Frank having to work with criminals but the reasons for him doing so are lacking.  The idea that in a city-wide crisis there aren’t some cops or military personnel for Frank to work with instead feels contrived.

Marcelo Ferreira’s art is more plainly a strong point.  He brings vibrancy and clarity to the action scenes and his standard superhero style visually sets the tone that this is not a gritty Punisher crime story.

Ultimately, War of the Realms: The Punisher #1, is about all one can expect from a Punisher tie-in to a Thor-centric event.  It’s a fun story of Frank fighting a battle that’s out of his depth, but it’s not sophisticated, and breezes over some of the moral complexities that come with the character.