What do you think?
Rate this book
The Punisher (2016) (Collected Editions)
The Punisher: War Machine, Vol. 2
Back in the U.S. of A! Frank Castle brings the War Machine armor home to renew his one-man war on crime. And, better armed than ever before, nothing can stand in the way of the Punisher and his mission! Well, that is, unless Captain Marvel and other heroes of the Marvel Universe have something to say about it...
Collecting: The Punisher 224-228
Collecting: The Punisher 224-228
112 pages, Paperback
First published November 14, 2018
8 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Rosenberg
786 books159 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
"I haven’t always been a writer. My parents are writers and my brother is a writer, and I resisted that as long as I could. When I was 17, I hopped in a band’s van and I went on tour for a summer, and that was it, that was what I wanted to do. I ran a record label for 10 years, a small indie punk label. I did everything in music that you can do that doesn’t involve having musical ability. Eventually the music business, probably in a similar way to comics, will just start to break your heart, and I realized one day that I kind of hated music. I was resigned to thinking, if I’m going to be involved in music forever, I’m going to hate it for the rest of my life. I just stopped. I stopped having any sort of business with music, any involvement.
I read comics my whole life, so I just naturally fell back into another medium that is marginalized and hard to make a living in."
Source: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles...
Writer of comics WE CAN NEVER GO HOME, SECRET WARS JOURNAL, OUR WORK FILLS THE PEWS, 12 REASONS TO DIE, & MENU.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
"I haven’t always been a writer. My parents are writers and my brother is a writer, and I resisted that as long as I could. When I was 17, I hopped in a band’s van and I went on tour for a summer, and that was it, that was what I wanted to do. I ran a record label for 10 years, a small indie punk label. I did everything in music that you can do that doesn’t involve having musical ability. Eventually the music business, probably in a similar way to comics, will just start to break your heart, and I realized one day that I kind of hated music. I was resigned to thinking, if I’m going to be involved in music forever, I’m going to hate it for the rest of my life. I just stopped. I stopped having any sort of business with music, any involvement.
I read comics my whole life, so I just naturally fell back into another medium that is marginalized and hard to make a living in."
Source: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles...
Writer of comics WE CAN NEVER GO HOME, SECRET WARS JOURNAL, OUR WORK FILLS THE PEWS, 12 REASONS TO DIE, & MENU.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
May 22, 2019
In the previous volume, Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, “borrowed” the War Machine suit in order to put down a military coup in some breakaway European country not named Latveria, Sokovia or the one where the vampires live.
Like that neighbor next door that borrows hedge trimmers, Castle probably forgot to return it. At least the neighbor didn’t use the hedge trimmers to slice up street punks and meth dealers. Right?
This would obviously put Mr. Castle into conflict with the super hero community, cuz -> “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” Natch.
And because Marvel study groups have shown that the kids dig it, predictable super hero on super hero fisticuffs ensue.
There! I think Tigra scratched the paint job… MEOW!
Absent in the last volume, because Castle is now longer char broiling European despots, was any mention of the The Punisher’s being in league with HYDRA in that crappy crossover event, Secret Empire.
Not that there’s anything with that.
Also, his former pals at HYDRA are less than thrilled with The Punisher.
Which leads to a rescue from the nefarious clutches of HYDRA by still other friends with benefits.
Bottom line : This volume went pretty much where fans of The Punisher would have envisioned – that doesn’t mean that it was any good. Also, I claim bullsh*t on the way Frank finally does relinquish the War Machine suit. And his new pals. And why they rescue him?
And why is Captain Marvel always the last word on every beat down rendered in this book. Just stop already!
For The Punisher buffet of mayhem fans who really should have stopped after one plate of truck stop sushi (i.e. the previous volume).
Like that neighbor next door that borrows hedge trimmers, Castle probably forgot to return it. At least the neighbor didn’t use the hedge trimmers to slice up street punks and meth dealers. Right?
This would obviously put Mr. Castle into conflict with the super hero community, cuz -> “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” Natch.
And because Marvel study groups have shown that the kids dig it, predictable super hero on super hero fisticuffs ensue.
There! I think Tigra scratched the paint job… MEOW!
Absent in the last volume, because Castle is now longer char broiling European despots, was any mention of the The Punisher’s being in league with HYDRA in that crappy crossover event, Secret Empire.
Not that there’s anything with that.
Also, his former pals at HYDRA are less than thrilled with The Punisher.
Which leads to a rescue from the nefarious clutches of HYDRA by still other friends with benefits.
Bottom line : This volume went pretty much where fans of The Punisher would have envisioned – that doesn’t mean that it was any good. Also, I claim bullsh*t on the way Frank finally does relinquish the War Machine suit. And his new pals. And why they rescue him?
And why is Captain Marvel always the last word on every beat down rendered in this book. Just stop already!
For The Punisher buffet of mayhem fans who really should have stopped after one plate of truck stop sushi (i.e. the previous volume).
February 21, 2021
The Punisher returns to New York after killing the dictator of a foreign country with the War Machine armor. Needless to say, the heroes of NYC are pissed and after Frank. There's also the little matter that Frank joined Hydra during Secret Empire. He's trying to use the armor to make amends and take out Baron Zemo, Stevil Rogers and the rest of those evil bastards that ran Hydra. The series takes an interesting turn. I'm curious to see where Rosenberg takes the Punisher in the next series.
June 21, 2019
The end of The War Machine Punisher, but damn was it fun.
Last volume was mostly just watching Frank kill a bunch of bad people. It's kind of what we always see but this time he had one of the best weapons ever, War Machine! This volume starts off with the heroes trying to stop him. Not just one, or two, but a whole shit load. Luke Cage, Captain Marvel, Spider-man, The Thing, and more try to stop Frank from using the armor. Frank obviously wants to kill more people, and with ease, so he says "nah fuck that" and so the fight begins. Frank joined Hydra during Secret Empire, and he wants Zemo dead for tricking him, and he is now hunting his ass.
This was super fun. Watching Frank face off against a huge cast of heroes and stop them all was awesome. I also really enjoyed the funnier moments here, as Rosenberg nails the humor from Hawkeye and even some great moments from Winter Soldier. The kills are brutal too, the pacing is frantic and fun, and the art is solid. The only negative is the reason he gives back the armor.
Overall, super damn fun, and hoping Rosenberg stays on Punisher for least another 3-4 arcs. A 4 out of 5.
Last volume was mostly just watching Frank kill a bunch of bad people. It's kind of what we always see but this time he had one of the best weapons ever, War Machine! This volume starts off with the heroes trying to stop him. Not just one, or two, but a whole shit load. Luke Cage, Captain Marvel, Spider-man, The Thing, and more try to stop Frank from using the armor. Frank obviously wants to kill more people, and with ease, so he says "nah fuck that" and so the fight begins. Frank joined Hydra during Secret Empire, and he wants Zemo dead for tricking him, and he is now hunting his ass.
This was super fun. Watching Frank face off against a huge cast of heroes and stop them all was awesome. I also really enjoyed the funnier moments here, as Rosenberg nails the humor from Hawkeye and even some great moments from Winter Soldier. The kills are brutal too, the pacing is frantic and fun, and the art is solid. The only negative is the reason he gives back the armor.
Overall, super damn fun, and hoping Rosenberg stays on Punisher for least another 3-4 arcs. A 4 out of 5.
August 7, 2019
The Punisher/War Machine concept is not that weird. It actually fits. Two volumes worth. I could have gone for a 3rd volume. Most of the regular superheroes seemed quite put-off by this. Guest they didn't mind a regular soldier type Punisher but they would pretty MAD about dealing with a super powered Punisher. What's next? The Punisher gets a super soldier serum or something? (does he already have that?).
February 22, 2021
Sputtered a bit from the great fun of the first volume. Could've been a great series.
April 23, 2020
3.75 stars. Not quite as good as vol 1 but still damn entertaining. Punisher has gone too far and Fury enlists Captain Marvel, Luke Cage, The Thing and more to go after Frank and stop him. However, Frank is not done with tracking down Zemo to kill him for what they did to him in Secret Empire. Is was awesome watching him try to fend off the heroes and try to stay a step ahead of them on his mission. Being as I’ve already read Rosenbergs run after this, it was cool to see how it all started.
March 10, 2022
This was quite fun!
Frank returns to NYC but well he is attacked by the heroes, mostly Avengers as they want him to take the suit off as its desecrating Rhodes Memories and well he fights them and I love how he escapes them or when captured by lower level heroes he takes them down easily and asking engineers here nd there to fix it up and white on the hunt for Zemo it gets fun when Winter Soldier and Black Widow are there and he teams up with the and well the final battle is here but this time its IRON MAN! Tony wants his best friends armor back and its gonna be interesting to see what Frank does as it changes everything and the conclusion is remarkable!
Its got everything, mayor mayhem and action and Frank being a badass and blood and gore and a great message and cool to see Iron man back and we see his twisted philosophy but some might agree with it. And you see he is an anti-hero and that leads to some interesting storylines and well as for the art its cool and it leads to a good conclusion of this volume and spring-board into the next really well!
Frank returns to NYC but well he is attacked by the heroes, mostly Avengers as they want him to take the suit off as its desecrating Rhodes Memories and well he fights them and I love how he escapes them or when captured by lower level heroes he takes them down easily and asking engineers here nd there to fix it up and white on the hunt for Zemo it gets fun when Winter Soldier and Black Widow are there and he teams up with the and well the final battle is here but this time its IRON MAN! Tony wants his best friends armor back and its gonna be interesting to see what Frank does as it changes everything and the conclusion is remarkable!
Its got everything, mayor mayhem and action and Frank being a badass and blood and gore and a great message and cool to see Iron man back and we see his twisted philosophy but some might agree with it. And you see he is an anti-hero and that leads to some interesting storylines and well as for the art its cool and it leads to a good conclusion of this volume and spring-board into the next really well!
January 27, 2019
Even more awesome than the first volume.
Frank puts the worlds most powerful heroes and villains through the ringer.
It’s always exciting to see Castle throttle people more powerful than him. He’s such a perfect underdog badass.
I love this whole Iron Punisher series. The pacing was spot on, it never overstayed it’s welcome... it was just a crisp, awesome action epic. I’ll be reading it again soon, and it may be one of my favorite Punisher outings.
Frank puts the worlds most powerful heroes and villains through the ringer.
It’s always exciting to see Castle throttle people more powerful than him. He’s such a perfect underdog badass.
I love this whole Iron Punisher series. The pacing was spot on, it never overstayed it’s welcome... it was just a crisp, awesome action epic. I’ll be reading it again soon, and it may be one of my favorite Punisher outings.
September 1, 2018
"Yeah.. I'm definitely going to pick up Rosenberg's new Punisher series." - What I said when I finished reading that.
I already got #1 and can't wait to read it. You should do too! Also, yeah read both Punisher War Machine volumes. Great stories, great artwork!
I already got #1 and can't wait to read it. You should do too! Also, yeah read both Punisher War Machine volumes. Great stories, great artwork!
May 18, 2024
3.6/5.0
This volume definitely takes an interesting turn in the newfound image that Frank Castle finds himself in, and although that can definitely come off as exciting, it lacked that element for myself in particular.
This volume definitely takes an interesting turn in the newfound image that Frank Castle finds himself in, and although that can definitely come off as exciting, it lacked that element for myself in particular.
February 15, 2019
This one plays the same tune than vol.1 so I liked it for basically the same reasons.
It is still dementially violent-for a Marvel comice book- and gore and Frank again delivers icy punchlines, as fun as they are frightening considering the threat he is.
So it's non stop action and cool lines and good entertainment value. Frank trying to make amends for the side he chose during CWII-the punishing way- is quite a good idea. The presence of the Black Widow and Winter Soldier is rather unclear but it seems it will be adressed in future issues.
Frank's field day as War Machine is over. Good. To his credit Rosenberg used the trick just the time needed before it grew old. But I'll be damned if it wasn't good while it lasted.
It is still dementially violent-for a Marvel comice book- and gore and Frank again delivers icy punchlines, as fun as they are frightening considering the threat he is.
So it's non stop action and cool lines and good entertainment value. Frank trying to make amends for the side he chose during CWII-the punishing way- is quite a good idea. The presence of the Black Widow and Winter Soldier is rather unclear but it seems it will be adressed in future issues.
Frank's field day as War Machine is over. Good. To his credit Rosenberg used the trick just the time needed before it grew old. But I'll be damned if it wasn't good while it lasted.
August 25, 2018
4.5 Stars
I always like to see Punisher interacting with the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe, and there's plenty of that here. Nick Fury makes an interesting observation. When Punisher was just a crazy guy with a gun, the heroes mostly ignored him. However, when the put on the War Machine armor, everything changed and he suddenly was on the radar. Of course, even in this situation that are certain heroes who see things more the Punisher's way.
Overall this was about what you'd expect as far as how things end up, but I saw that coming from the minute he put on the armor. I think now we'll be getting more into traditional Punisher action for a while.
I always like to see Punisher interacting with the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe, and there's plenty of that here. Nick Fury makes an interesting observation. When Punisher was just a crazy guy with a gun, the heroes mostly ignored him. However, when the put on the War Machine armor, everything changed and he suddenly was on the radar. Of course, even in this situation that are certain heroes who see things more the Punisher's way.
Overall this was about what you'd expect as far as how things end up, but I saw that coming from the minute he put on the armor. I think now we'll be getting more into traditional Punisher action for a while.
January 2, 2019
Matthew Rosenberg has Frank Castle return to the USA after ignoring Fury's orders. Avengers pursue and gratuitous violence happens to non-heroic characters. There is more action in this story and Avengers showing up matters. Nick Fury's observation that heroes only care about The Punisher when he has the power of the War Machine. Yet, even with War Machine, Frank Castle should not be able to handle Captain Marvel or the assembled Avengers. The action here is interesting but very much underdeveloped and too quickly paced. The resolution feels weak.
December 20, 2018
Even more action packed than the last volume and featuring a more star-studded cast. This is a lot of fun, but does well to bring an end to Castle's tenure as War Machine before it becomes too ridiculous or stale.
March 8, 2019
Dicona de migue: quando uma história de super-heróis for uma perseguição implicável de um montão de supers atrás de um único personagem, pode acreditar que 8/10 dessas histórias são bomba. E essa não é diferente. Os super-heróis da Casa das ideias vão atrás do Justiceiro que roubou, a mando de Nick Fury, nas sombras, a armadura do falecido James Rhodes, o Máquina de Combate. Isso desperta a fúria de pessoas superpoderosas como Carol Danvers, a Capitã Marvel e Tony Stark, o Homem de Ferro. Por outro lado, outros como Gavião Arqueiro, Harpia, Viúva Negra e Soldado Invernal querem impedir o Justiceiro de matar StEvil, o Steve Rogers líder da Hidra e Capitão América malvadão. História pra lá de previsível. Se a arte fosse boa, pelo menos poderia compensar a história nhé, mas não. A arte de Stefano Landini parece tão desleixada quanto o roteiro de Matthew Rosenberg, que dão a impressão de terem criado essas histórias à toque de caixa para a Marvel. As cores de Lee Loughridge, que costumam ser boas, não deram o tom (capisce?!) para esse encadernado. Então, amigues, a não ser que vocês sejam ultrafãs do Frankie, desrecomendo a compra.
January 17, 2019
Pretty fun.
February 1, 2019
This was an okay volume to finish off the "War Machine" Punisher arc. Rosenberg is mostly just telling a fairly generic Punisher story but pitting him against Marvel heroes and giving him a suit that lets him blow shit up more easily. It's fine...there's a lot of action, it moves well, and it's a solid characterization of Frank Castle. Most of the plot is dedicated to cleaning up consequences from Castle's actions during Secret Empire and sweeping it all under the rug so he can get back to telling normal Punisher stories. To be fair, this is exactly how all things relating to Secret Empire should be treated. The set up for the next volume is intriguing and I think should give a better framework for some fun Punisher stuff.
The art from Vilanova and Landini on pencils and Loughridge on art is pretty solid. Although, I really dislike the fact that these books that ship so frequently have to use multiple artists for the same arc. I'm a fan of having one artist tell a contained story...I think it makes it feel more consistent.
This was solid, but nothing great. I'll continue reading Rosenberg's Punisher in the volumes that follow and see if getting back to basics helps it really take off.
The art from Vilanova and Landini on pencils and Loughridge on art is pretty solid. Although, I really dislike the fact that these books that ship so frequently have to use multiple artists for the same arc. I'm a fan of having one artist tell a contained story...I think it makes it feel more consistent.
This was solid, but nothing great. I'll continue reading Rosenberg's Punisher in the volumes that follow and see if getting back to basics helps it really take off.
March 22, 2019
It was good while it lasted.
October 22, 2025
Punisher in a Iron Man suit .....what could go wrong
February 8, 2024
Frank is back in the US after having destroyed a whole country's army by himself and nearly triggering a nuclear catastrophe. This time, he aims to get rid of Hydra's leader, but unfortunately for him, he has a bunch of superheroes against him who want to take his suit off. Will the suit be enough for the Punisher to hold his own against everyone?
Seeing Frank use the super-powered suit and get rid of so many criminals or fight against various superheroes was a lot of fun, and he certainly held his own against whatever was thrown at him. We have the usual ethical debate concerning the way Frank does what he does and what others think of it except that, as usual, it never goes deeply and thus the same big statements are made but we don't get to explore fully the whole morality behind Frank's actions. One argument that has been made time and again is the one concerning the risk of having collateral damage caused by Frank. I have yet to see this in a Punisher story, and that would make a really interesting narrative.
Regardless, the story brings its usual dose of satisfaction when we see bad guys taking a beating. The only downside is that, although the first volume was really good with some grounding in reality, this second one chooses to go the complete opposite way by involving superheroes and Hydra, which includes Hydra's soldiers and their ridiculous outfits. Too bad the writers did not keep going in the same direction they had taken in the first volume.
Seeing Frank use the super-powered suit and get rid of so many criminals or fight against various superheroes was a lot of fun, and he certainly held his own against whatever was thrown at him. We have the usual ethical debate concerning the way Frank does what he does and what others think of it except that, as usual, it never goes deeply and thus the same big statements are made but we don't get to explore fully the whole morality behind Frank's actions. One argument that has been made time and again is the one concerning the risk of having collateral damage caused by Frank. I have yet to see this in a Punisher story, and that would make a really interesting narrative.
Regardless, the story brings its usual dose of satisfaction when we see bad guys taking a beating. The only downside is that, although the first volume was really good with some grounding in reality, this second one chooses to go the complete opposite way by involving superheroes and Hydra, which includes Hydra's soldiers and their ridiculous outfits. Too bad the writers did not keep going in the same direction they had taken in the first volume.
May 9, 2019
I'm sure I'm not alone in wondering how Nat and Rhodey are alive again. Also, this makes the 13-odd heroes and half dozen villains all ganging up on Frank look pathetically underpowered. How is ONE killer in an unfamiliar flying armor somehow more than a match for Iron Man, Captain Marvel, and the Thing, let alone 10 other heroes including a couple of Spider-People? Luke Cage and Hercules and US Agent, for Stan's sake! They should have peeled him out of that suit like a banana 5 times over. You think nobody but Frank is DETERMINED? They supposedly think he's a HYDRA terrorist. If you pull crap like this you've GOTTA tell me everyone but Frank has a bad stomach flu or something.
Read
August 22, 2021Frank returns to NYC with no intention of giving up the War Machine armor. A bunch of superheroes take issue with that, as well as Frank’s recent association with Hydra, so they go after him. I didn’t enjoy this as much as the first volume for a few reasons. First, the art is uglier. Second, Rosenberg’s writing is less smooth, with lots of stilted dialogue. And third, the Punisher going up against superheroes is always going to be silly to me after reading and loving Punisher MAX (where there are no superheroes at all). The ending was good, but getting there elicited little emotion from me.
November 30, 2024
This book has ups and downs in my opinion.
Ups:
When the Punisher is allowed to hunt and kill Hydra.
The Punisher interacting with the suit's computer.
The banter at the dinner.
Downs:
The Heroes attacking him.
The Heroes attacking him again.
Captain Marvel (who I generally like) is a giant stick in the mud and kind of dumb in everything she does in this book.
Read Punisher War Machine 1 before you read this and then you still may not want to. The heroes in this book really derail what could have been a cool and exciting premise.
Ups:
When the Punisher is allowed to hunt and kill Hydra.
The Punisher interacting with the suit's computer.
The banter at the dinner.
Downs:
The Heroes attacking him.
The Heroes attacking him again.
Captain Marvel (who I generally like) is a giant stick in the mud and kind of dumb in everything she does in this book.
Read Punisher War Machine 1 before you read this and then you still may not want to. The heroes in this book really derail what could have been a cool and exciting premise.
July 27, 2023
10 lbs of crap in a 5 lb bag
Imagine having all the ability to research a character before writing them, ignoring all that stuff and just ruining a character.
By far one of Barr worst Punisher series I’ve had the displeasure of reading. Just skip it, also the art for the most part looks horrible, like work looks like middle school art students and the colorist picked the most mundane set of the same shades of grey and brown for everything jeez..
Imagine having all the ability to research a character before writing them, ignoring all that stuff and just ruining a character.
By far one of Barr worst Punisher series I’ve had the displeasure of reading. Just skip it, also the art for the most part looks horrible, like work looks like middle school art students and the colorist picked the most mundane set of the same shades of grey and brown for everything jeez..
September 25, 2018
"Oh look at me with my big wavey flag, I can fly and all".
This is not my Punisher, this was some other superhero fighting guy. Thank you Marvel for getting him rid of that suit. Hopefully next one will be again the Punisher I know.
This is not my Punisher, this was some other superhero fighting guy. Thank you Marvel for getting him rid of that suit. Hopefully next one will be again the Punisher I know.
January 3, 2019
Dang, missed the volume before so started in a weird place for me.
I actually found it interesting as the Marvel universe deals with Frank and his measures to an extreme and Frank deals with the impact of his actions from Secret Empire.
I actually found it interesting as the Marvel universe deals with Frank and his measures to an extreme and Frank deals with the impact of his actions from Secret Empire.
March 7, 2021
Adding the conflict with heroes added an interesting dimension to this for me. I did feel like it risked getting monotonous as Frank murders his way around the place with very little personality on display, but I’m feeling generous, so 3.5 stars it is.
January 4, 2019
I liked it.
January 31, 2019
A good look at how punisher is seen in the Marvel Universe. Though I do not agree with his methods - the fact that they keep turning to him is interesting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews