Punisher: War Zone # 1 2012 NM

Punisher: War Zone #1 (2012) is the action-packed opening issue of a five-part Marvel mini-series that serves as the grand finale to writer Greg Rucka’s critically acclaimed run on The Punisher. Published on October 24, 2012, with dynamic artwork by Carmine Di Giandomenico, the issue drops Frank Castle squarely into the wider Marvel Universe for an ultimate showdown: The Punisher vs. The Avengers. 

The Premise & Plot

The story picks up directly after the events of Rucka's main Punisher series. Frank Castle and his Marine-vetted protegee, Rachel Cole-Alves, had been waging a bloody war against a powerful criminal syndicate known as The Exchange. The mission ended in disaster—innocent civilians and multiple police officers were killed. Though Frank and Rachel were framed for most of the police deaths, Cole-Alves did accidentally shoot a cop during the chaos. 

As Issue #1 begins, Rachel Cole-Alves has been captured and faces the death penalty, while Frank Castle is lying low across the river in Hoboken, New Jersey. However, Spider-Man tracks him down. After a brief, intense skirmish where Peter Parker reclaims some stolen web-fluid tech Frank was using, Frank manages to slip away into the night. 

Furious and entirely done tolerating Frank's lethal brand of vigilantism, Spider-Man returns to Avengers Mansion. He successfully convinces Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Black Widow that Frank Castle is a wild dog that has been loose for far too long—and Earth's Mightiest Heroes officially agree to hunt him down.