review by justin anderson

the plot: Jakland, CA, a gang is killing an ex-member, followed by an evening of running over pedestrians. Trying to hit a small child, they injure an older man, chasing him through an abandoned building. One member hangs back, leading the small child to safety.

The boy, with nowhere else to go, heads to the underground city, passing on a note to Venom. It turns out the gang member is an undercover reporter, out to investigate HYDRA's old facility, which was inhabited by gang members. With no other choice, he joins for free exploration of the facility. Now, if he doesn't kill someone that night, he will be killed himself.

The Punisher is also passing through, and decides to off some gang members himself. The confusion leads to a city- wide gang war, with Venom's plan in trouble. Punisher, deciding Venom to be insane, incarcerated him with sonic weaponry, leaving the reporter faced with either shooting or being shot.

the review: Okay... the Punisher is a hard character to like. He seems to be on a constant warpath, and is fairly hypocritical. He sees Venom's justifications for murder as insane, but his are just fine. While I liked Frank Miller's Batman/Punisher title, here, I wouldn't mind seeing Punisher wailed on by our hero. The Punisher is a HARD character to like.

We're sitting on a powder keg by the end of part 1, made worse by the Punisher's involvement.

***** of *****

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