Writer: Benjamin Percy
Artist: José Luis Soares
Inker: Jonas Trindade
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: Cory Petit
Punisher #9 finally ends the explosive crossover “Big Guns”. This issue is good. I like most of it. A lot of things happened in this crossover, but Frank, in his own book, hasn’t done much to move the story along. I think this would have worked better as a Deadpool-only book. It seems like Frank has been playing catch-up this entire time. Deadpool has hijacked his books and their narration. I expected as much, but I also wanted a satisfying ending to this crossover.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The Odd Man Out
To recap: all of this started when Frank interrogated one of Wade’s Badpools for many crimes, including assault, robbery, public urination, and murder. At the time, all he knew was that something that looked like Deadpool was causing problems, so he must be responsible. Then, after he tracks down Wade, he is subdued and interrogated by Blind Al. She tells him about the time gun, thinking he is in on the same mission. He learns about and fights for the time gun, telling his late wife and children, “You don’t have to die,” and gives readers the only crumb of personality he’s had in several issues. Finally, Wade beats him and steals the time gun before he can do anything with his shot.
Now you’re caught up.
This issue sees Frank meet Black Hole (who, btw, has Wade, Blind Al, and Bullseye all in him…or his black hole). Black Hole gives a speech about not wanting anything to do with Frank, but really wanting the War Machine armor. Then, he brings out a very large Badpool “with a super-charged pituitary system” (whatever that means?). Frank loses to this big monster. Finally, Black Hole is momentarily stopped by Wade opening a black hole within Black Hole. Then, as the group (Frank, Wade, Blind Al, and Bullseye) all look to face off against him, Black Hole’s head is unexpectedly blown off. How does that happen, one might ask? Because Bullseye killed him 5 minutes before that!
Okay…Frank seemed to be on the sidelines for the most important part of the finale, but they still have to figure out what to do with the time gun.
Blind Al Sees All
After Black Hole’s death, Frank goes after the time gun. Blind Al senses this and gives Frank some hard truth. I do like what she tells him. She says, “One tragedy won’t erase another. A trigger’s not the tool to fix the broken parts of you. Wade’s going to carry his punishment, and so are you”. It is a lesson Frank needs to hear. I just wish we saw how it was received. To finish the mission, they hand over the time gun to S.H.I.E.L.D. to put in their vault. I would like to know how Frank, our titular character, and Bullseye, a well-known psychopath, simply wiped their hands and agreed to do this, but I’m happy with the message of this crossover.
The Art
This run on Punisher has always had good art. This crossover in particular had exciting pages with high-quality art. A specific scene I really enjoy is Wade and Blind Al in, as Wade calls it, a “bribery suite”. This is when Black Hole tells Wade that he’d like to keep working “with” him and his Badpools. The suite is essentially a man cave filled with a flat screen, a fireplace, a bar, foosball and pool tables, and even a bear-skinned rug. It also has a Bullseye in a bubble bath, but I don’t think that really entices Wade. I like this scene for its contrast in scale and its colors. It looks like a normal room, but it’s in an endless black hole. There is no real floor. This is shown well by Soares, Trindade, and Rosenberg. Soares makes the room look nice. It looks like a cool man cave. Then, Trindade comes in with great inks, making the black hole feel truly bottomless. His lines varying in length make the black hole seem like it’s moving, almost like waves. Finally, Rosenberg finishes it with a generic coloring of the objects in the room, but makes the essence of the black hole look ethereal and otherworldly.
Final Thoughts
Punisher #9 is a good issue. However, it loses a few points because Frank, in his own book, doesn’t move the story along. Lots of cool things happen around him that he only reacts to and/or has to catch up with. Plus, he does not say a word in this issue. It seems like characters come into his book and do more for the story than he does. The art is still really good. Soares keeps Frank looking like Romita Jr’s design, and it’s really nice. He also draws the other characters well. The action is energetic and makes for very cool panels. Trindade’s dynamic inks make the art much more expressive. Rosenberg’s colors are wonderfully bold. She always knows how to highlight the characters and make them pop off the page!