X-amining "Onslaught" Tie-Ins Part 1

"Siege" / "Even the Brave Can Fall" / "...the World's Gone Mad!" / "Manhattan Onslaught"

September 1996

Amazing Spider-Man #415 by Tom DeFalco & Mark Bagley 

Green Goblin #12 by Tom DeFalco & Josh Hood

Spider-Man #72 by Howard Mackie, John Romita Jr. & Al Williamson

Punisher #11 by John Ostrander & Tom Lyle

(Please visit the GCD for full credits from each issue)

Plot

Amazing Spider-Man #415: Peter Parker and his wife Mary Jane return to New York to find the Sentinels controlling access to the city. With the nearest Sentinel detecting enhanced abilities in Peter despite his recent retirement as Spider-Man, he & Mary Jane are forced to use his waning spider powers to flee into the city. Meanwhile, one of the Sentinels cuts the power to the Daily Bugle, after which the Sentinel is attacked by the new Green Goblin while elsewhere, Ben Reilly dons his Spider-Man costume and heads out into the city to help. When the Sentinels stop chasing Peter after his powers briefly give out, he & Mary Jane proceed to the Daily Bugle, where J. Jonah Jameson is determined to put out a paper no matter what, and offer to help, while Spider-Man helps prevent looting, then manages to destroy one of the Sentinels before heading off to find more to smash. 

X-amining Ghost Rider/Wolverine/Punisher: Hearts of Darkness

"Hearts of Darkness"
1991

In a Nutshell
Ghost Rider, Wolverine & Punisher are tempted by Blackheart to destroy Mephisto.

Writer: Howard Mackie
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Klaus Janson
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colorist: John Wellington
Asst. Editor: Chris Cooper
Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Plot
After a Satantic cult raises Blackheart, son of Mephisto, the demon slays the cult, then declares he will kill his father. Later, Dan Ketch arrives in the small town of Christ's Crown, and ends up staying at a boarding house with fellow new arrivals Mr. Logan and Mr. Frank. All three heroes — Ghost Rider, Wolverine, and Punisher - have been lured to the town by Blackheart, who promises information important to each of them in exchange for their help killing Mephisto. All three refuse, prompting Blackheart to take control of the town and capture Lucy, the daughter of the boarding house keeper, to force the heroes into helping him. They fight their way to the demonic realm where Blackheart is holding Lucy. Blackheart once again offers to trade information for their help killing his father, but they refuse, and manage to severely injury the demon. Just then, Mephisto appears and swallows his son, declaring it's time to teach him a lesson, after which he returns the heroes and Lucy to Earth, where Ghost Rider declares that while they may come close to, or occasionally cross the edge of being heroes, so long as the innocent are protected, their cause is just.

To Better Know A Hero: The Punisher

Real Name
Frank Castle

First Appearance
Amazing Spider-Man #129 (February 1974)

Powers and Abilities
Possessing no superhuman abilities, Frank is a skilled soldier and hand-to-hand combatant. He’s accomplished in special forces operations, guerrilla warfare, and stealth tactics, and proficient in countless firearms, explosives, and melee weapons.

Gadgets and Accessories
Punisher uses a wide variety of weapons and gear to wage his war on crime, so much so that Marvel at one point published a series detailing his various weaponry (Punisher Armory). Punisher often travels in a van (his “battle van”) carrying assorted weaponry and surveillance supplies.

Friends and Allies
Microchip (David Liebermen, who provides tech support), Lynn Michaels (a police officer-turned-Punisher copycat), Lt. Martin Soap (the head of the NYPD’s anti-Punisher task force, secretly allied with Punisher), the Marvel Knights (a loose assortment of NY-based street level heroes with whom Punisher occasionally worked), Captain America’s Secret Avengers (the anti-Registration forces during the superhero Civil War).

Click here to read the rest of the post on Pop Optiq! 

X-amining The Punisher War Journal #6-7

"On the Track of Unknown Animals / "Endangered Species"
June-July1989

In a Nutshell 
Wolverine & the Punisher clash for the first time. 

Story/Layouts: Carl Potts
Layouts/Finished Art: Jim Lee
Letterer: Jim Novak
Colorist: Gregory Wright
Editor: Don Daley
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Plot
Issue #6: Worried that the Punisher has been pushing himself too hard lately, his associate Microchip insists he take a vacation, and sets him up with an African expedition to the Congo in search of rumored dinosaurs, being headed up by an old friend of Microchip's. Meanwhile, in Madripoor, Wolverine encounters a transporter for a ring of poachers specializing in endangered species. After taking care of the transporter, Wolverine sets out for Africa to shut down the ring. In the Congo, Punisher acts as security for the expedition, unaware that the leader's wife, Nora, and one of the African guides are secretly poachers. When they kill a local boy who discovered their secrets and blame it on a gorilla attack, Punisher investigates and is attacked himself by a gorilla who escaped the poachers. Forced to defend himself, Wolverine oversees him attacking the animal and assumes he's one of the poachers. The two come to blows, with Wolverine seemingly slaying the Punisher and leaving him for dead.

X-aminations in October

Next month, we wrap up the "Atlantis Attacks" annuals, check out an early Jim Lee-drawn Wolverine appearance, and look at a couple of Havok-centric tales, in addition to regular series coverage.

Also, this Saturday (the 4th) is Fallcon, the MCBA's annual one-day comic convention in the Education Building on the State Fair grounds. If you're planning on coming by, let me know!

Finally, I'm still taking suggestions for a category name under which to put various observations (good and bad) about Liefeld's art, so drop 'em in the comments if you have any ideas.

October 1st: Marvel Comics Presents #24-31 (Havok story)
October 2nd: New Mutants Annual #5
October 3rd: Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown #1-4

On Sale March 1989
October 8th: Uncanny X-Men #246
October 9th: New Mutants #77
October 10th: X-Factor #42

October 15th: Punisher War Journal #6-7
October 16th: Excalibur #10
October 17th: Wolverine #9

October 22nd: Excalibur: Mojo Mayhem
October 23rd: X-Factor Annual #4

On Sale April 1989
October 29th: Uncanny X-Men #247
October 30th: New Mutants #78
October 31st: X-Factor #43