Well, here we go. It’s The Punisher’s moment. He was popular from his inception, but as comics trend ever darker, meaner and more cynical in the late 80s & into the 90s, who could be more popular than the guy who just shoots criminals? At this point, he’s got 2 monthly books with a 3rd only a couple years away. Yeah, man, you could buy Punisher comics 3 weeks out of every month, and he was also popping up in everyone else’s books, too. Only fair for his creator to get in on some of that action. We’ve jumped ahead 45 minutes, we’re told, as Spidey follows The Punisher’s battle van to a boat he’s apparently living out of for a private meeting. Among other things, the boat contains photos in cities all over the country of the same person:
Tombstone tells his goons to attack at dawn. Back on the boat, Punisher gives his usual speech about how society is at war with crime, then makes it personal, saying that in St. Lousi, Tombstone killed a DA who Punny was in the service with. He was tracking Tombstone and got tipped to go ask around at the bar Spider-Man was busting up, and that’s how we got here. When Spidey still refuses to give him the tape, Punisher says he’ll go talk to Peter Parker.
I find it hard to believe that these guys car could have pulled up close enough to hear their conversation without being noticed, but what do I know? Sounds like trouble for everybody is coming. At the hospital, Randy Robertson tells a visiting Ben Urich that there’s no permanent damage to his dad’s spine after all, and a few weeks of physical therapy will fix him up, but Robbie is nowhere near as optimistic. Ben tries to get the truth of the tape out of Robbie, but Robbie certainly isn’t going to do anything he thinks will endanger his family. Meanwhile, not at dawn at all, as it turns out…
The Punisher’s newest weapon: bacon grease! Punisher dispatches the goon whose eyes aren’t burning and then shoots 2 more. He gets the burned guy to tell him that they were just “supposed to scare him” (Tombstone obviously doesn’t know who he’s dealing with) and get him to chase them to The Cloisters. So he’s gonna go, obviously. While that’s happening, Peter is playing Joe’s tape for MJ, and then asks her what he should do with it.
Conway was the first writer to try to mold MJ into a more three dimensional character than Stan’s self-absorbed party girl. It’s interesting to see him handle the two married. As she frets over whether she should’ve been more forthcoming with her feelings, Tombstone rolls up into their apartment building. Uh-oh. In the Cloisters, Punisher gets to executing Tombstone’s goons, but soon finds himself outnumbered. Back at the apartment…
Hooboy. Punisher manages to take out the dozen or so goons harassing him, but his fortunes don’t improve.
The Persuader gets The Punisher under his control, while Peter Parker is interrupted in his attempt to get Robbie to do something with the tape by news that MJ has been brought into the hospital hurt! To Be Continued!