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The Punisher (2016) (Collected Editions)
The Punisher: War Machine, Vol. 1
Collects Punisher (2016) #218-223.
Frank Castle: War Machine! For years, Frank has been fighting his one-man war as the Punisher, targeting criminals who endanger the innocent and dispatching them with lethal force. He's used all the tools at his disposal, and he's gotten extremely good at his self-appointed job. But he's always been limited by the fact that he's just one man, fighting an endless war. So when a certain one-eyed operative offers Frank the tools to take his fight global, how could he say no? That's right: Frank Castle dons the high-tech armor of War Machine! Find out how, why — and what his next move is! And when Frank flies deep into enemy territory, can the "War Machine" navigate both the soldiers and the citizens in this unfamiliar, war-torn land before his ruthless adversary unleashes the nuclear option?
Frank Castle: War Machine! For years, Frank has been fighting his one-man war as the Punisher, targeting criminals who endanger the innocent and dispatching them with lethal force. He's used all the tools at his disposal, and he's gotten extremely good at his self-appointed job. But he's always been limited by the fact that he's just one man, fighting an endless war. So when a certain one-eyed operative offers Frank the tools to take his fight global, how could he say no? That's right: Frank Castle dons the high-tech armor of War Machine! Find out how, why — and what his next move is! And when Frank flies deep into enemy territory, can the "War Machine" navigate both the soldiers and the citizens in this unfamiliar, war-torn land before his ruthless adversary unleashes the nuclear option?
136 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2017
15 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Rosenberg
790 books166 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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
March 20, 2019
It’s not Frank Castle’s birthday, but it might as well have been, due to the comic book way in which he comes by the War Machine suit. There’s trouble in some Eastern European country/runaway ex-Soviet Republic – ruthless military dictator and such – and Nick Fury, Jr. can’t send in S.H.I.E.L.D because they’re having problems of their own – and the agents there have all gone rogue. So why Frank Castle?
Fair enough.
Obviously (OBVIOUSLY!!) Nicky can’t just air-drop the Punisher into a war zone against a whole army with just a couple of guns (and a very sharp knife) and attitude and anger issues to spare, so he’s gifted (first, he has to steal it) the War Machine suit.
Castle takes a little while to get the hang of the suit.
Way to nail the landing, Frank.
The Punisher wins the hearts and minds of the locals.
Yet he’s still up against an army AND rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
Heh. Sure you did.
Let’s face it, readers of Punisher comics go in expecting a little blood-letting…
…a smattering of ‘splosions...
… and a big knife and stabby stuff.
The art. I dig how the creators want to pay a little tribute to Jon Bernthal’s excellent portrayal of The Punisher on the Netflix show but it still seems a little disconcerting anyway.
Bottom Line : If you like The Punisher and want to see him play with his new toy, then this one comes highly recommended. This isn’t a comic book rendering of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, its The Punisher, so set your comic book reading bar low. There’s some humor and you don’t need a Cliffs notes summary to follow the plot.
Parental warning: Although this isn't a MAX title, it's still violent; however, the eye-gouging scene was tastefully done.
Fair enough.
Obviously (OBVIOUSLY!!) Nicky can’t just air-drop the Punisher into a war zone against a whole army with just a couple of guns (and a very sharp knife) and attitude and anger issues to spare, so he’s gifted (first, he has to steal it) the War Machine suit.
Castle takes a little while to get the hang of the suit.
Way to nail the landing, Frank.
The Punisher wins the hearts and minds of the locals.
Yet he’s still up against an army AND rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
Heh. Sure you did.
Let’s face it, readers of Punisher comics go in expecting a little blood-letting…
…a smattering of ‘splosions...
… and a big knife and stabby stuff.
The art. I dig how the creators want to pay a little tribute to Jon Bernthal’s excellent portrayal of The Punisher on the Netflix show but it still seems a little disconcerting anyway.
Bottom Line : If you like The Punisher and want to see him play with his new toy, then this one comes highly recommended. This isn’t a comic book rendering of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, its The Punisher, so set your comic book reading bar low. There’s some humor and you don’t need a Cliffs notes summary to follow the plot.
Parental warning: Although this isn't a MAX title, it's still violent; however, the eye-gouging scene was tastefully done.
February 22, 2021
Nick Fury gives The Punisher a War Machine suit and sicks him on the despot of a Baltic state. Lots of bloody violence ensues as Frank tries to flush the dictator out. Exactly what you'd expect if you gave The Punisher Iron Man's armor.
October 13, 2018
I really enjoyed the first five parts of this story but then, alas, it jumped the proverbial shark in the sixth.
I mean, if it was that easy to . Just... ridiculous.
I mean, if it was that easy to . Just... ridiculous.
April 28, 2026
2026 - Still fun. It's not going to win any awards but watching Frank kill a bunch of low life scum with a big ass suit of armor is a blast.
2018 Review - I don't know the complete history of Frank but is this really the only time he thought to steal the Warmachine suit? I mean, the dude loves guns. War machine is the ultimate gun weapon. How can this be?
Anyway, Punisher starts off here killing some criminals. Then Fury does a little stop by and asking big old frank for some help taking down some bad guys across seas. Where he can't go, legally. Frank passes but then Nick Fury tells him where he can obtain the War machine suit, or one of them, and bam! We have a Punisher War Machine comic! When Frank has all the resources in the world to take down camps filled with bad guys who can stop him?
Good: I actually liked the way Frank acted here. Kind of cold as usual but occasionally had some funny one liners mostly playing off other characters. The brutal kills are still there, and while not AS brutal as say the Max series, it still stings when see people's heads get crushed. I also think the theme and idea of this story is great. Punisher as war machine fits like Peanut butter and jelly.
Bad: The plotting drags a bit too much. Some generic beats such as a good guy helps frank and guess what happens when the bad guys attack? And the only thing to stop Frank is another, you guessed it, war machine. The art was decent, but sometimes a little too blurry.
Overall this was fun, over the top, Punisher story. I'm eager to see where it goes based on the ending, that was one of my favorite parts! A 3 out of 5.
2018 Review - I don't know the complete history of Frank but is this really the only time he thought to steal the Warmachine suit? I mean, the dude loves guns. War machine is the ultimate gun weapon. How can this be?
Anyway, Punisher starts off here killing some criminals. Then Fury does a little stop by and asking big old frank for some help taking down some bad guys across seas. Where he can't go, legally. Frank passes but then Nick Fury tells him where he can obtain the War machine suit, or one of them, and bam! We have a Punisher War Machine comic! When Frank has all the resources in the world to take down camps filled with bad guys who can stop him?
Good: I actually liked the way Frank acted here. Kind of cold as usual but occasionally had some funny one liners mostly playing off other characters. The brutal kills are still there, and while not AS brutal as say the Max series, it still stings when see people's heads get crushed. I also think the theme and idea of this story is great. Punisher as war machine fits like Peanut butter and jelly.
Bad: The plotting drags a bit too much. Some generic beats such as a good guy helps frank and guess what happens when the bad guys attack? And the only thing to stop Frank is another, you guessed it, war machine. The art was decent, but sometimes a little too blurry.
Overall this was fun, over the top, Punisher story. I'm eager to see where it goes based on the ending, that was one of my favorite parts! A 3 out of 5.
March 10, 2022
This one was so fun!
I loved this one! Fury asks Frank to help him sort out his mess in Chernaya and there he goes and well its just killing season as Frank takes down the criminals one by one in search of their leader Petrov but in between there is this great chapter with an old man Vakha and how Frank helps him and I loved that one and well Frank on the way fighting evil SHIELD agents working under Petrov and its ccrazy seeing how he takes them down and with the suit at compromise, even then he takes them down like wow and then the big part when he has to fight Petrov but without suit this time and what he does next.. just brutal but also brilliant in a way!
Its really well written and you get all you expect from a Punisher book.. brutal, vicious and lots of bloodshed and less talking. I like the inclusion of Fury here and it really makes it a black ops mission but also in an Iron man suit in the hands of Punisher and that idea is crazy and Matt writes it really well here. The art here compliments the writing as it pretty much just shows you some cool visuals and also delivers on an epic fight with the villain in the end. Next up: Frank returns home!
I loved this one! Fury asks Frank to help him sort out his mess in Chernaya and there he goes and well its just killing season as Frank takes down the criminals one by one in search of their leader Petrov but in between there is this great chapter with an old man Vakha and how Frank helps him and I loved that one and well Frank on the way fighting evil SHIELD agents working under Petrov and its ccrazy seeing how he takes them down and with the suit at compromise, even then he takes them down like wow and then the big part when he has to fight Petrov but without suit this time and what he does next.. just brutal but also brilliant in a way!
Its really well written and you get all you expect from a Punisher book.. brutal, vicious and lots of bloodshed and less talking. I like the inclusion of Fury here and it really makes it a black ops mission but also in an Iron man suit in the hands of Punisher and that idea is crazy and Matt writes it really well here. The art here compliments the writing as it pretty much just shows you some cool visuals and also delivers on an epic fight with the villain in the end. Next up: Frank returns home!
December 31, 2018
Punisher gets the War Machine suit from Nick Fury, SHEILD betrayals are involved, East European post-Soviet nationalist movements that are thinly-veiled proxies for real countries are involved, brutal killings are involved. Rosenberg amps up the violence and does have Frank Castle act like slightly naunced killing machine, but the tropes keep on the coming and are extremely predictable. There are clear movements towards both the aesthetics and design of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Netflix show, which feel a little gratuitous. Enjoyable but not particularly deep yet.
June 25, 2019
I liked this. It was bloody good fun.
August 25, 2018
Opinions seem to vary on this one, but I myself really liked it. It was a little different from the usual Punisher story, but to me different is good. Frank Castle ends up with the War Machine armor when Nick Fury needs him to deal with a crazy general in Europe as well as some rogue SHIELD agents. The Punisher in the War Machine armor? That's just scary.
Overall I liked the story and the art, although it's pretty obvious the whole War Machine thing is temporary. One of the better Punisher volumes of the past few years.
Overall I liked the story and the art, although it's pretty obvious the whole War Machine thing is temporary. One of the better Punisher volumes of the past few years.
April 23, 2020
This was just pure fun and action packed. Fury comes to Frank with a job offer. Of course Frank declines. Fury bates him in with giving him the location of a War Machine armor that he would have to steal. Now Frank’s on board. The Punisher with the War Machine armor?!?! Yes it’s as awesome as you thought it would be! But now that Frank has completed his task, Fury can’t find him and doesn’t have a way to stop him. It’s about to go down in the next volume I’m sure.
August 31, 2018
Really liked this one. I didn't even expect to like it. I was expecting it to be meh. Punisher in the War Machine armour? meh... give him guns and let him kill bad guys in the streets and shit.. but nope. This was written SO good. You're having fun reading it and that's all you need. Also, the artwork is SO fucking good too.
Pick this up for sure!
Pick this up for sure!
June 10, 2019
The Punisher in a War-Machine armor? Oh yeah! What could go wrong? A novel concept and it looks like Marvel ran with this idea for a couple of months or so. Put the ultimate solider in an Iron Man type armor and just let me go and you expect to control him? Lots of luck with that buddy.
November 13, 2018
Surprisingly good. Frank Castle is recruited by Nick Fury to take out an Eastern European dictator and given James Rhodes' old War Machine armor to do it. Great combination of violent story and pretty decent artwork (though the faces and facial expressions sometimes get away from Vilanova). It'll be interesting to see where this goes next.
August 20, 2018
The story is absolutely mediocre, and the art is way below any acceptable standard.
It seems that Garth Ennis and Jason Aaron are the only two authors capable of writing a good Punsiher story.
It seems that Garth Ennis and Jason Aaron are the only two authors capable of writing a good Punsiher story.
November 7, 2025
This story doesn't really feel like it fits the Punisher. It's more like Iron Man with no ethics, because Frank shoots first and asks questions later. Then kills again. There are some challenges along the way that showcase Frank's skills with just about any tool that can kill. Still, a knife against Stark's armor might be a bit much.
Nick Fury approches Frank with a mission. General Petrov has taken control of Chernaya using resources and a team gathered in secret by Fury for SHIELD. Fury directs Frank to use the War Machine armor for his mission.
Nick Fury approches Frank with a mission. General Petrov has taken control of Chernaya using resources and a team gathered in secret by Fury for SHIELD. Fury directs Frank to use the War Machine armor for his mission.
Read
March 13, 2019Nick Fury Jr points Frank Castle at the War Machine armour, enabling him to take down bigger bastards than ever. The repressive regime he's up against is a Marvel Earth stand-in for Chechnya, which means we get the guilt-free spectacle of the Punisher freeing local queers from concentration camps, then using his new toy to find all sorts of inventive and horrible things to do to the people who put them there. You know the cliché superhero landing? It gets exciting again when you do it on top of someone who deserves it. And there's plenty more where that came from. Yeah, it has its flaws - nobody makes the obvious joke about putting the war into social justice warrior, and the (otherwise pretty good) art is obliged by time and synergy to make Frank look a bit like that Netflix plum. But an afterword confirms that Rosenberg gets the key things about the character - that he never changes, that he's "a simple solution to a complex problem" - in ways which make me optimistic for this run.
January 30, 2019
If you're looking for a deep book, full of insight on the meaning of life, clear away, you're on the wrong rack.
But if you like the Punisher, even better if you like him in OTT mode, here's a king-size treat, just for you.
It's all in the title: War machine. Frank is a war machine in civilian dress and now he's got a real war machine armor to play with! Is that great or what?
It is.
It's so absurdly violent, gore even, it's just funny. Frank shows a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor-excellent interaction with the armor AI-we're not accustomed with perfectly in tone with the outrageous blood bath he revels in. It's OTT from beginning to end but with high entertainment value.
I didn't expect much from this book and the idea will get old quickly but honestly I had a great time reading it.
But if you like the Punisher, even better if you like him in OTT mode, here's a king-size treat, just for you.
It's all in the title: War machine. Frank is a war machine in civilian dress and now he's got a real war machine armor to play with! Is that great or what?
It is.
It's so absurdly violent, gore even, it's just funny. Frank shows a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor-excellent interaction with the armor AI-we're not accustomed with perfectly in tone with the outrageous blood bath he revels in. It's OTT from beginning to end but with high entertainment value.
I didn't expect much from this book and the idea will get old quickly but honestly I had a great time reading it.
November 30, 2018
Too much gratuitous violence, from my point of view, it seems like the Punisher is only this remorseless killer machine, well, he is, but not in a such a free mood!
Amazing art, but the plot, too much American versus the Russians, again!
Ain’t that over yet?
It seems not!
Amazing art, but the plot, too much American versus the Russians, again!
Ain’t that over yet?
It seems not!
February 6, 2019
This just reminded me about why Samuel L. Jackson Nick Fury is the only Nick Fury I will ever accept. And why is it the only people the Punisher ever seems to get along with is like 80 year old grandparents?
February 7, 2019
Yes, this was a different Frank Castle - but still, it was the Punisher. Actually I loved it - no shame there.
December 16, 2018
Quando eu vi a primeira imagem desta "nova série" achei que era mais uma coisa "massaveista" como da vez em que o Juju vestiu a roupa do Capitão América. Aí li a sinopse e dizia que ele iria ajudar o povo necessitado de uma ditadura militar. Bom, aí fiquei curioso. Com a manutenção do mesmo escritor depois de dois arcos e em uma nova série, bem, parecia um chamado para ler a HQ. Afinal, eu sou curiosão quando acontecem essa mudanças drásticas nos personagens - podem me crucificar com suas pedras de tetos de vidro. Então peguei a HQ na banca com expectativa baixa. E gostei, o roteiro é bem feito, apresentando o novo Justiceiro Máquina de Combate através do ponto de vista de cada um dos cidadãos da republiqueta que ele vai defender a mando de Nick Fury Juninho. Os desenhos de Guiu Vilanova são bem diferentosos, até a armadura fica estranha, mas você se acostuma. As cores do veterano Lee Loughridge dão o clima necessário de uma república nos Balcãs abandonada por todos, menos seu povo e os militares que querem extrair tudo deles. O Juju cumpre sua missão pro Niquinho e resolve usar a armadura para combater o crime em Nova York e o bicho vai pegar no próximo volume. Então, pra uma história do Justiceiro, que vêm sendo uma bomba atrás da outra desde Greg Rucka, até que foi uma boa experiência. E eu sobrevivi a ela.
February 26, 2019
How do you make Frank Castle even more dangerous? Give him free reign against "terrorists" in the War Machine armor! Nick Fury needs Frank to handle a dictator who has not only recruited former SHIELD agents, but also abuses kids. That's all the fuel The Punisher needs.
Everything you think you could see him do the enemy is in here: Decapitation, flying into the atmosphere and dropping them, flying so fast their skin gets ripped off, drop a tank on a crowd of people... even using the strength of the suit to rip someone in half! And much more... definitely not a comic for the faint of heart.
Only one gripe: the artwork. It's by no means even close to the worst I've seen. But, I wish it could have been a bit more sharp and clean. Other than that, amazing read....
High recommend. This one is fun for the sake of it.
Everything you think you could see him do the enemy is in here: Decapitation, flying into the atmosphere and dropping them, flying so fast their skin gets ripped off, drop a tank on a crowd of people... even using the strength of the suit to rip someone in half! And much more... definitely not a comic for the faint of heart.
Only one gripe: the artwork. It's by no means even close to the worst I've seen. But, I wish it could have been a bit more sharp and clean. Other than that, amazing read....
High recommend. This one is fun for the sake of it.
January 8, 2019
This was pure dumb, entertainment. The violence is pure 'Itchy and Scratchy' and the violence is over the top. I wasn't a fan of the art that much, but there were moments where I was chuckling with glee from the sheer absurdity of the story. Besides these complaints I think Rosenberg wrote a decent Punisher story. The characterization of Punisher reminds me a bit of Garth Ennis's run which is good. and the story premise was very good too. However I felt like Rosenberg had the same problem other authors have with Punisher after Garth's run. They try to find a balance between silly and grim storytelling that only Garth was able to pull off. Still this is a fun read, and I'm looking forward on where the next volume goes.
January 26, 2019
Pure junk food.
Delicious, greasy, fattening junk food that lacks any and all nutritional value but tastes so goddam good that I can’t stop having more helpings.
Nicky Fury Jr sends Castle to some made up country run by Nazi like badguys... and he sends him with a Stark suit. Killing ensues.
This rules. It’s creative, fun, well drawn and exciting. I’d love to see this turned into a movie some day. There were a lot of parts that made me say “fuck yea” out loud.
There’s really not much more to say. Do you wanna read a cool, action packed comic book full of ass kicking and explosions, without having to think to hard? Here it is!
Delicious, greasy, fattening junk food that lacks any and all nutritional value but tastes so goddam good that I can’t stop having more helpings.
Nicky Fury Jr sends Castle to some made up country run by Nazi like badguys... and he sends him with a Stark suit. Killing ensues.
This rules. It’s creative, fun, well drawn and exciting. I’d love to see this turned into a movie some day. There were a lot of parts that made me say “fuck yea” out loud.
There’s really not much more to say. Do you wanna read a cool, action packed comic book full of ass kicking and explosions, without having to think to hard? Here it is!
March 21, 2019
Amazing. Fucking epic. Who thought it was a good idea to give Frank the War Machine suit?
January 8, 2021
What if the Punisher got ahold of the War Machine armor and got to have some fun with that for 11 issues? And just to be upfront this is a review of the entire storyline which begins at issue 618 and ends at issue 628, or in trade paperback form it's just The Punisher: War Machine Volumes 1 and 2.
Anyway, the first thing to note about this run is that it's not that serious.
Frank Castle's off doing his own thing and stops a big time weapons deal among some shady people when he encounters none other than Nick Fury. The guy wants Frank to take care of some really quite villainous leader of a fascist coup in a foreign nation and probably get rid of a couple of S.H.I.E.L.D. guys who defected and joined the guy's cause at the same time. Said fascists are an obvious allegory for Nazis and obviously this isn't the kind of mission Frank can pull off on his own so Fury gives him a tip for a secret weapon that'll help him out.
A stealth mission later and Frank Castle, the Punisher, gets ahold of the War Machine armor. With orders to bring it back to Fury when he's accomplished his mission. And if you know anything about the Punisher you know the likelihood of him following through on that request is pretty slim. It has all the makings of a classic Punisher storyline where he uses his new toys to great effects to tear through the worst examples of humanity until he saves the day. That's pretty much what you can expect here.
But, you know. It's got a wicked sense of humor about things.
The violence is where all the goofiness of this storyline lies and I honestly really, really like it. It can probably feel slightly out of character considering Frank is more of a butcher in his normal line of work where he kills cleanly and efficiently with little care once a person is on his list. But even that I feel is okay since Frank is considerably more durable and powerful in the armor. He doesn't have to snipe someone from far away when he can take bullets at point blank range without even flinching inside of the armor. So he just has fun with it! He'll often take unnecessary extra steps to take out someone in his path or goes completely over the top with things like dropping a tank into the middle of an entire crowd of fascists.
The second storyline is a bit less consistent but still very fun, where after finishing his job in the first few issues he heads back to New York to resume his normal work of stomping out crime. And again, with the bonus of having the armor he's significantly more efficient at his job. To the point where a bunch of heroes (Lead by Captain Marvel, who's upset that Frank is using her dead boyfriend's equipment) come after him. It results in a wild goose chase before transitioning into Frank wanting to take revenge on Hydra for tricking him into joining them during Secret Empire.
The art is okay. It's serviceable and the armor is drawn a little bit awkwardly throughout the entire run. It's especially not great early on but a few issues in the look of the armor improves considerably. Which might seem like a nitpick but I assure you like 80% of why this storyline happened in the first place had to be "What if we put a Punisher skull on the War Machine armor?" Thankfully the covers look absolutely incredible the entire time and you owe it to yourself to check those out.
In fact, here's one right now.
Anyway, if you want a dark, gritty storyline then uh, don't read this. Read Punisher MAX by Garth Ennis. If you want the more traditional, grounded Punisher then just about any other run would suffice here. But if you're in the mood for some wacky, over the top violence that still manages to star an impossibly serious protagonist despite it all well Matthew Rosenberg has knocked it out of the park and I'd 100% recommend Punisher: War Machine.
Again, if you'd like to read this in single Issue form, then you'll want Issues #218-228. Otherwise the two Punisher: War Machine trades have the entire storyline and it's super fun and I love it thanks for reading.
Anyway, the first thing to note about this run is that it's not that serious.
Frank Castle's off doing his own thing and stops a big time weapons deal among some shady people when he encounters none other than Nick Fury. The guy wants Frank to take care of some really quite villainous leader of a fascist coup in a foreign nation and probably get rid of a couple of S.H.I.E.L.D. guys who defected and joined the guy's cause at the same time. Said fascists are an obvious allegory for Nazis and obviously this isn't the kind of mission Frank can pull off on his own so Fury gives him a tip for a secret weapon that'll help him out.
A stealth mission later and Frank Castle, the Punisher, gets ahold of the War Machine armor. With orders to bring it back to Fury when he's accomplished his mission. And if you know anything about the Punisher you know the likelihood of him following through on that request is pretty slim. It has all the makings of a classic Punisher storyline where he uses his new toys to great effects to tear through the worst examples of humanity until he saves the day. That's pretty much what you can expect here.
But, you know. It's got a wicked sense of humor about things.
The violence is where all the goofiness of this storyline lies and I honestly really, really like it. It can probably feel slightly out of character considering Frank is more of a butcher in his normal line of work where he kills cleanly and efficiently with little care once a person is on his list. But even that I feel is okay since Frank is considerably more durable and powerful in the armor. He doesn't have to snipe someone from far away when he can take bullets at point blank range without even flinching inside of the armor. So he just has fun with it! He'll often take unnecessary extra steps to take out someone in his path or goes completely over the top with things like dropping a tank into the middle of an entire crowd of fascists.
The second storyline is a bit less consistent but still very fun, where after finishing his job in the first few issues he heads back to New York to resume his normal work of stomping out crime. And again, with the bonus of having the armor he's significantly more efficient at his job. To the point where a bunch of heroes (Lead by Captain Marvel, who's upset that Frank is using her dead boyfriend's equipment) come after him. It results in a wild goose chase before transitioning into Frank wanting to take revenge on Hydra for tricking him into joining them during Secret Empire.
The art is okay. It's serviceable and the armor is drawn a little bit awkwardly throughout the entire run. It's especially not great early on but a few issues in the look of the armor improves considerably. Which might seem like a nitpick but I assure you like 80% of why this storyline happened in the first place had to be "What if we put a Punisher skull on the War Machine armor?" Thankfully the covers look absolutely incredible the entire time and you owe it to yourself to check those out.
In fact, here's one right now.
Anyway, if you want a dark, gritty storyline then uh, don't read this. Read Punisher MAX by Garth Ennis. If you want the more traditional, grounded Punisher then just about any other run would suffice here. But if you're in the mood for some wacky, over the top violence that still manages to star an impossibly serious protagonist despite it all well Matthew Rosenberg has knocked it out of the park and I'd 100% recommend Punisher: War Machine.
Again, if you'd like to read this in single Issue form, then you'll want Issues #218-228. Otherwise the two Punisher: War Machine trades have the entire storyline and it's super fun and I love it thanks for reading.
July 7, 2025
Matthew Rosenberg oftentimes falls into the “rule of cool” territory of writing comics. By that, I mean that Rosenberg oftentimes does things because they sound cool. For example, a suicide squad led by Red Hood and full of undead zombies. Or there are two Jokers running around and they’re in a constant bout to kill one another (I didn’t like how this one ended because of the Gotham War…). I always thought that Rosenberg was a DC guy, but when I picked this up from the Library, I learned that, once again, his rule of cool applied, and so we got the Punisher in a fully-painted, skull-wearing War Machine outfit.
Tumbling out of the aftermath of “Civil War 2,” Rhodey is dead and S.H.I.E.L.D. Has fully collapsed, and Nick Fury Jr. is trying to clean up any messes that he has inadvertently caused before it comes back on him. So, he recruits Frank Castle to help eff up a country controlled by Fascists. It’s dope. It’s oftentimes occupied by panels that are full of explosions and effects.
Castle has a sort of philosophy to him; I know that the “Max” universe is separate from 616, but so much of his pathos is really shaped by that incarnation of the character. In that book (by Ennis), Castle is unwilling to go kill Osama Bin Laden. Meanwhile, here, he’s down to kill the leader of this country because kids had been murdered. It’s a bit odd. I don’t know how to feel about it because both of those things (not being willing to clean up America’s messes but also being willing to kill because Castle has a soft spot for children) can be true for the character, but it acting as the inciting incident for this whole story doesn’t 100% work for me.
The art here is alright. The whole time I was reading it I was going “holy crap, that’s Jon Bernthal.” I looked into the releasing of both this and the show (there’s also a variant cover in the back to promote Daredevil season 2) and it was kind of clear that Marvel was trying to do some brand synergy by making Castle look like Bernthal. The issue here is that people keep calling him “old,” when Castle has the stone-face of Bernthal and also just looks pretty young, all things considered.
Frank doesn’t spend a lot of time contemplating his actions, which is something you’d likely see in a story written by Jason Aaron or Ennis or Greg Rucka. He’s doing this because he’s a WarMachine. So it’s apt that he’s put into, well, a War Machine suit.
In general, it’s a fun arc, not much to it. But I enjoyed my time with it.
Tumbling out of the aftermath of “Civil War 2,” Rhodey is dead and S.H.I.E.L.D. Has fully collapsed, and Nick Fury Jr. is trying to clean up any messes that he has inadvertently caused before it comes back on him. So, he recruits Frank Castle to help eff up a country controlled by Fascists. It’s dope. It’s oftentimes occupied by panels that are full of explosions and effects.
Castle has a sort of philosophy to him; I know that the “Max” universe is separate from 616, but so much of his pathos is really shaped by that incarnation of the character. In that book (by Ennis), Castle is unwilling to go kill Osama Bin Laden. Meanwhile, here, he’s down to kill the leader of this country because kids had been murdered. It’s a bit odd. I don’t know how to feel about it because both of those things (not being willing to clean up America’s messes but also being willing to kill because Castle has a soft spot for children) can be true for the character, but it acting as the inciting incident for this whole story doesn’t 100% work for me.
The art here is alright. The whole time I was reading it I was going “holy crap, that’s Jon Bernthal.” I looked into the releasing of both this and the show (there’s also a variant cover in the back to promote Daredevil season 2) and it was kind of clear that Marvel was trying to do some brand synergy by making Castle look like Bernthal. The issue here is that people keep calling him “old,” when Castle has the stone-face of Bernthal and also just looks pretty young, all things considered.
Frank doesn’t spend a lot of time contemplating his actions, which is something you’d likely see in a story written by Jason Aaron or Ennis or Greg Rucka. He’s doing this because he’s a WarMachine. So it’s apt that he’s put into, well, a War Machine suit.
In general, it’s a fun arc, not much to it. But I enjoyed my time with it.
October 6, 2023
Do you like reading about the Punisher kicking the SH!T out of criminals?
Do you want him to kill bigger fish?
Do you want to see him be more of a soldier on the battlefield?
Do you want to see him actually make an impact/difference?
Do you wish he had the means to do something like that?
Say a suite of power armor strapped with guns, missiles, and flamethrowers with the ability to fly and lift tanks?
Damn!t this is the book for you.
Most of the detractors are like The Punisher is still The Punisher and there isn't any change or growth for the characters. Well as explained by the letter in the back, what make The Punisher, The Punisher is that he doesn't change, he doesn't grow, he doesn't evolve, he doesn't become a better person or get over his trauma.
He goes on RAMPAGES.
He KILLS anyone he feels DESERVES it.
He does feel for common people and feel bad for the COLLATERAL DAMAGE that he causes, but he sees it as necessary and will do it again.
Like the Gunslinger in the Dark Tower series he will do anything and pay any price to reach his destination.
So if he needs to break into a government facility, steal the War Machine suit, kill anyone that gets in between him and a dictator, and nearly start Nuclear War then by Gary Conway that is what he is going to do.
Plus he is going to do it in super cool ways, with style and be SAVAGE AF!!!
Strap on your Repulsor Boots and enjoy the ride.
Do you want him to kill bigger fish?
Do you want to see him be more of a soldier on the battlefield?
Do you want to see him actually make an impact/difference?
Do you wish he had the means to do something like that?
Say a suite of power armor strapped with guns, missiles, and flamethrowers with the ability to fly and lift tanks?
Damn!t this is the book for you.
Most of the detractors are like The Punisher is still The Punisher and there isn't any change or growth for the characters. Well as explained by the letter in the back, what make The Punisher, The Punisher is that he doesn't change, he doesn't grow, he doesn't evolve, he doesn't become a better person or get over his trauma.
He goes on RAMPAGES.
He KILLS anyone he feels DESERVES it.
He does feel for common people and feel bad for the COLLATERAL DAMAGE that he causes, but he sees it as necessary and will do it again.
Like the Gunslinger in the Dark Tower series he will do anything and pay any price to reach his destination.
So if he needs to break into a government facility, steal the War Machine suit, kill anyone that gets in between him and a dictator, and nearly start Nuclear War then by Gary Conway that is what he is going to do.
Plus he is going to do it in super cool ways, with style and be SAVAGE AF!!!
Strap on your Repulsor Boots and enjoy the ride.
February 7, 2024
After having taken care of a weapons' deal, the Punisher is contacted by Nick Fury who has a mission for him: get rid of rogue SHIELD agents located in an old Soviet republic and recover the technology. To help him in his endeavor, Frank will have access to Stark's technology, a weaponized ultra modern suit that will make him essentially invincible and deadlier than he's ever been. With more firepower than a whole army, the Punisher will make rain, fire, and hell on his enemies and bring a whole country to its knees.
This is such a great idea: give the deadliest man on earth the most deadly weapon and let him do what he does best. This is an amazing pitch, and seeing the Punisher get rid of dictatorial goons while saving the innocent population is bliss. Without the presence of any superhero in the story, we focus more on Frank, and this makes the scenario a bit more credible (as credible as a Punisher story may be). In addition, having the enemy not being Hydra is a great plus. We just know that eventually, Frank will lose his suit and revert to the old ways. He'll certainly miss the suit, and so will we!
This is such a great idea: give the deadliest man on earth the most deadly weapon and let him do what he does best. This is an amazing pitch, and seeing the Punisher get rid of dictatorial goons while saving the innocent population is bliss. Without the presence of any superhero in the story, we focus more on Frank, and this makes the scenario a bit more credible (as credible as a Punisher story may be). In addition, having the enemy not being Hydra is a great plus. We just know that eventually, Frank will lose his suit and revert to the old ways. He'll certainly miss the suit, and so will we!
July 23, 2025
I don't know whose idea it was to give the freakin Punisher a War Machine suit, but man, it's kind of an awesome idea.
I'm assuming Matthew Rosenberg is behind this brilliant premise. Just the idea of it makes you take notice and approvingly mutter "hm". Because giving a maniac like Frank Castle a freaking war armor and letting him loose on bad guys - I mean, its a pairing that is almost too good to be true. At the same time, you can easily see how bad of an idea this is. If you're a fan of Punisher, you know Frank is the type of guy who isn't done until he says he's done. So when Nick Fury, who gave him the armor in the first place, gives him the order to stand down - he shouldn't be so shocked that Punisher completely ignores him and almost starts a nuclear war.
Rosenberg starts his run with a hell of a band, and I am definitely picking up volume 2 based on this volume alone. Recommended for fans of the Punisher (especially ones who want to see him go ultra violent with a armored suit!).
I'm assuming Matthew Rosenberg is behind this brilliant premise. Just the idea of it makes you take notice and approvingly mutter "hm". Because giving a maniac like Frank Castle a freaking war armor and letting him loose on bad guys - I mean, its a pairing that is almost too good to be true. At the same time, you can easily see how bad of an idea this is. If you're a fan of Punisher, you know Frank is the type of guy who isn't done until he says he's done. So when Nick Fury, who gave him the armor in the first place, gives him the order to stand down - he shouldn't be so shocked that Punisher completely ignores him and almost starts a nuclear war.
Rosenberg starts his run with a hell of a band, and I am definitely picking up volume 2 based on this volume alone. Recommended for fans of the Punisher (especially ones who want to see him go ultra violent with a armored suit!).
December 24, 2021
3.5 out of 5
Huge downgrade from Punisher Max, but still stupid fun. It has the violence you expect in a punisher comic and its a cool idea, but there isn't much else to praise. Like I said the war machine thing is a cool idea, but there really isn't a challenge for Punisher. Sure towards the end all the marvel characters try and stop him. One good thing out of that is he roughs up and blasts Captain Marvel(hate the comics and movie) Honestly this story could have been the same without the War Machine suit, there is a lot of bad execution with this idea. The art is horrendous, this is proabbly the worse Capt Marvel has ever looked. Punisher kinda The covers by Clayton Crain are amazing, the interior art is horrible. These companies need to try and get similar artists to do the interior art. Alex Ross did an iron mam cover, but the art in the book looked terrible.
If you have time to kill you will love this.
Huge downgrade from Punisher Max, but still stupid fun. It has the violence you expect in a punisher comic and its a cool idea, but there isn't much else to praise. Like I said the war machine thing is a cool idea, but there really isn't a challenge for Punisher. Sure towards the end all the marvel characters try and stop him. One good thing out of that is he roughs up and blasts Captain Marvel(hate the comics and movie) Honestly this story could have been the same without the War Machine suit, there is a lot of bad execution with this idea. The art is horrendous, this is proabbly the worse Capt Marvel has ever looked. Punisher kinda The covers by Clayton Crain are amazing, the interior art is horrible. These companies need to try and get similar artists to do the interior art. Alex Ross did an iron mam cover, but the art in the book looked terrible.
If you have time to kill you will love this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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