A solid start for a new Punisher series (spoilers)
This first issue of the Punisher's Dark Reign series, sees Frank Castle attempting to assassinate Norman Osborn with a Skrull sniper rifle, only to have his bullet plucked from the air by the Sentry just before it hits its mark. In a desparate scramble to evade capture, Frank plays a destructive game of cat and mouse with Sentry. After being badly injured, Castle is about to be apprehended by his pursuer, but the ever-prepared Punisher, holding a detonator, bluffs the Sentry with the threat of a bomb in a hospital. Having outwitted his super-foe, Frank stumbles to safety, reluctantly following the orders of a mysterious voice on a phone. At the end of the issue, the wounded Punisher collapses at the feet of his strange new ally.
This series will disappoint any Punisher fans looking for the same raw, uncut brutality and realism of the MAX series, but it is a great companion to the Dark Reign crossover (probably one of the most interesting stories in Dark Reign actually). While not Ennis' Frank Castle, this Punisher is still the resourceful killing machine you may remember from the 90's Punisher comic series. The Dark Reign tie-in series reads like the script for a white-knuckle prime-time television show, and, though it shares some similarities with Punisher: War Journal (2006), like battling super-heroes and -villains, it's a more fast-paced, action-packed read than War Journal.
This issue is definitely worth picking up, and the Amazing Spider-Man #129 variant cover with Osborn in Frank's crosshairs is a must have for staunch Punisher fans.
4 out of 5
