Garth Ennis is likely looked at as the greatest Punisher writer of all time. He’s shown the world that, while Frank Castle is an unrepentant killer of the worst people in the Marvel Universe, he’s far from a psychopath. He’s calculated, organized, and goes out of his way not to harm innocent people.
Another reason Ennis is among the best is that he has a rule that villains don’t survive two encounters with Frank Castle. William Rawlins, Barracuda, and Nicky Cavella all learned that they should have stayed away when they were lucky enough to escape with their lives. Unfortunately for them, it’s a lesson they learned too late. This rule typically applies to Punisher Max, where there are no superpowered beings on Earth. Universe 616 is a different story.
Plenty of villains like Jigsaw, Bullseye, and Bushwacker have all escaped with their lives. Recently, another Punisher antagonist is discovered to have survived his encounter. And after seeing him walk out of the hospital, we should have known better than to think Wilson Fisk wasn’t going to return.
Punisher No. 3 creative team
- Writer: Benjamin Percy
- Artist: Farid Karami
- Colors: Frank D'Armata
The beginning of Punisher No. 7 shows “The Kingpin” Wilson Fisk breathing through a tube in a medical facility. He’s still recovering from his fight with Frank in Punisher Red Band No. 5, where Fisk thought challenging Castle to a fight was a good idea. He arrogantly assumed that Frank wanted a hand-to-hand fight to prove which one of them was better. Kingpin quickly learned that wasn’t the case when Punisher filled him with enough bullets to put down a couple of bears.
The scene was as gruesome as you’d expect from a Punisher comic book. It also hit the point home that the Punisher wasn’t playing around. He wanted Fisk dead and gone, and artist Julius Ohta and colorist Yen Nitro put the moment together in such a way that you’d think that it was the last time anyone would see the Kingpin. Once again, we should have known better. At the end of Punisher No. 7, Fisk removes the tube from his mouth, walks to the window, and says one word. “Frank…”
The return of Wilson Fisk comes at a terrible time for Frank Castle. First, he’s just getting memories. Second, he had a war with a new and crazier Jigsaw (yes, it’s possible for him to be crazier). And a new villain named Ken Skilling (who goes by Collateral Damage) was killing innocent people to draw him out. On top of all of that, the next storyline is a crossover where he’ll fight the Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool.
It’s doubtful that Wilson Fisk will be a major player in the Punisher/Deadpool crossover Big Guns. However, he should make appearances in the series to show us readers how he’s planning on going after the man who tried to kill him. When that feud eventually gets out of hand, it won’t be shocking if Daredevil steps in to take down both Kingpin and Frank Castle. Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow to find out if that's the case.
Keep up with Bam Smack Pow on Bluesky, Instagram, and Twitter for more Marvel Comics news, opinions, and rumors as they come out.
Add us as a preferred source on Google