PUNISHER versus KINGPIN

Face Off (Marvel)
Where: Punisher #18 When: April 1989
Why: Mike Baron How: Whilce Portacio & Scott Williams

The Story So Far...
Investigating gun & drug running gangs at Malcolm Shabazz High School draws The Punisher into a web of crime that leads from the schoolyard all the way to the very top of the illegal empire overseen by The Kingpin of Crime - Wilson Fisk!

The Punisher's intervention begins a game of cat & mouse as his allies come under fire from The Kingpin's hired muscle and assassins. When one of his closest allies is killed -- The Punisher vows to follow through on her final wish to bring Wilson Fisk to justice. So begins the plot to disrupt The Kingpin's operations and infiltrate his skyscraper fortress for a final showdown!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Kingpin 4 (Enhanced)
Intelligence: Draw 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Punisher 2 (Average)
Stamina: Draw 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Punisher 2 (Average)
Fighting: Kingpin 5 (Martial Arts)
Energy: Punisher 4 (Arsenal)
Total: Draw 22 (Champion)

It's an interesting proposition. As The Punisher: Frank Castle is a one-man army against the sprawling criminal underbelly that took the lives of his wife and children. His methods are uncompromising and lethal, making use of a seemingly endless armory of munitions in his efforts to extinguish any & all crime.

Wilson Fisk lords over much of the criminal activity in New York as its Kingpin -- making him a natural target. His death won't end organized crime in New York City, but at least deals a hefty blow through a vast portfolio of illegal operations.

Of course, killing The Kingpin is no mean feat. Many men on both sides of justice have likely tried, but in addition to a vast network of henchmen and assassins, including Bullseye and Typhoid Mary, he is also himself a proficient hand-to-hand combatant, marshalling incredible skill and muscle, beneath a rotund facade that might lead some to mistakenly assume he's merely overweight, or out of shape.

Although defeated in both instances, we've seen The Kingpin handily hold his own against the super-powered Spider-Man, and the ninja horde of The Hand.

Off the page -- we know the biggest problem for this match-up is The Punisher's intent to kill an enduring icon of Marvel Comics.

War Journal diehards might feel otherwise, but eliminating The Kingpin just isn't a good outcome for the publishing giant, or fans of his villainy. So, the question becomes - does that prevent The Punisher earning a non-lethal victory?

I'm inclined to think there are any number of ways Punisher might execute the win without executing Wilson Fisk. The Kingpin can survive quite a lot, and one way this might play out is a spray of gunfire that appears lethal, but is ultimately survived through Fisk's iron will, and immediate access to top medical attention.

As much as the gloves are on - this is still a more grounded depiction of Punisher. He won't be wielding supernatural weapons like he did against Rhino, or stolen sci-fi tech as he did against The Hood's Syndicate. Which actually means Kingpin might be looking like a good prospect here.

Frank Castle's military training and personal dedication mean he's a very effective hand-to-hand combatant, but against Kingpin's arch-rival Daredevil, he was simply outclassed. DD had the advantage in Daredevil #257, and took care of him soundly in Daredevil (Vol.2) #65. Kingpin might just do the same.

The Tape: Draw Ranking: Punisher (#81)

What Went Down...

Awaiting a helicopter from Atlantic City to assist with his crisis-stricken money laundering operation; The Kingpin is alerted to the helo's arrival -- only to be met with the face of The Punisher on his rooftop security system. The last image he'll see, as the closed circuit monitoring is rendered inoperable.

The Kingpin is surprised by his opponent's moxie, but grateful for the convenience of The Punisher coming directly to him. He knows there is no other course but to dispatch of the militant vigilante personally.

Punisher and Microchip breach the 53rd floor of the building, shooting their way through a small group of opposition with machine gun fire. A successful tactical entry that allows them to plant a controlled explosive charge on the floor -- blasting an opening to The Kingpin's counting room & personal quarters below!

Microchip deploys gas into the suite, but Kingpin's inner sanctum has been fortified and outfitted with contingencies for any number of infiltration outcomes. 

A gas mask is conveniently stowed in a desk drawer at arm's length, protecting Kingpin from the fog that claims his unprotected collaborators.

Punisher & Microchip can't see through the cloud of gas, but have expertly timed each step of their incursion. They're expecting everyone to be knocked out cold, but Frank's a little keen. Microchip adds another five seconds for success, counting for an additional ten before the gas is inert. Their calculations are moot.

A massive hand smashes through the floor beneath them and grabs Microchip by the ankle -- swinging him down to the 52nd level and into a nearby wall!

The Kingpin hits a button to activate a ventilation fan -- clearing the literal fog of war to invite The Punisher to a man-on-man confrontation. He keeps his right foot planted on Microchip's back, threatening to end the hacker's life. He could do it too.

Punisher drops through the hole and lands in The Kingpin's private quarters.

The hulking Kingpin clutches Microchip's skull in his massive, meaty hands, manipulating the hostage onto one knee. He orders Punisher to drop his gun, and presumes rumors of the vigilante losing his edge must be true when he complies.

Punisher rightly presumes Fisk will need to keep Microchip alive to undo the virus wrecking havoc with his financing systems. Kingpin tosses the hacker aside and readies to meet his opponent's advance, toying with his affection for allies lost.

Punisher draws a knife from the back of his belt, but the massive Kingpin is more agile than he seems! He narrowly avoids the swing of the blade, grabbing hold of Punisher's left wrist within his massive hand -- taking control of the weapon!

He chides the vigilante for his reliance upon hardware -- tightening his grip and shaking the knife loose from The Punisher's hand!

Punisher desperately throws his head back -- headbutting Kingpin in face!

He slips his wrist loose and stomps on Kingpin's left foot, using the leeway to draw another knife from his holster!

He throws his left elbow back into The Kingpin's face, twisting his body around to swing the knife towards its massive fleshy target -- but again The Kingpin moves faster than the attack! He grabs the wrist and delivers a brutal right hand!

The Punisher sails through the air -- launched by the incredible punch!

Kingpin follows his grounded prey -- delivering a swift kick to his mid-section!

"You're like a terrier chasing a lion. But what will you do when you catch the lion? I will tell you. You will die."

The Kingpin manhandles his winded foe, grabbing him by the leg and throat with the promise of death.

The Punisher is as good as finished, but a sudden burst of gunfire fills the room and distracts the Kingpin from his foul business.

Vernon Brooks -- a school teacher and collaborator in the break-in -- has gone against orders to linger in case of a situation like this. He knew The Punisher wouldn't negotiate. He knows killing The Kingpin will only lead the streets to run red with blood as new powers vie for the vacuum of power.

Kingpin warns that if he's shot he'll snap The Punisher's neck. Frank tells his compadre to do it anyway, but Vernon Brooks has seen enough bloodshed. He wants to prevent any more. They agree to a 24 hour truce. It's over.

The Hammer...

School teacher with a gun, Vernon Brooks, successfully extracts The Punisher and Microchip, but it's a non-lethal end to a foregone conclusion: Kingpin had the vigilante dead to rights. We'll call Brooks an assist and be on our way.

There's probably an unfortunate observation to be made here about the state of gun control in the United States, and enthusiast's deranged fantasy for addressing the prolific phenomenon of school shootings. Ugly stuff I'd just as soon move away from. I'd rather reminisce about my own relatively carefree childhood.

I don't remember if I was looking up at this issue when I went wide-eyed at the wall of weekly comics cascading down racks at the local newsagency. 1989 was one of the first years I was regularly engaging with comics, and while I think I might've absorbed Kingpin's existence through 60s Spider-Man and pop culture osmosis -- I'm not so sure the combination with Punisher would've been appealing at that young age. The skull logo was cool, but he was still just a guy with guns.

Sure, I liked The Phantom, but a guy with an ammo box just didn't seem exciting to a pup getting to grips with a world of amazing super-powers, and colourful costumes. It took Erik Larsen and palling around with Spidey to get me at all intrigued by the sense of danger that surrounded the character.

Here in 2024 things are a little different. The Punisher is actually one of the titles I'm most anticipating for the exciting release of the Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection!

It's out now on digital platforms for PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, but I'm holding out for a disc copy in November. Then I'll be gratefully diving in to all those wonderful fighting games I haven't played in about twenty or so years! A collection I've been hoping would happen for a long time now, given the secondary market is a little pricier than I'm willing to invest in, and I never had the pleasure of actually owning those games. Just arcades and rentals.

Of course, in the case of the 1993 Punisher scrolling beat 'em up -- it's a chance to get my hands on a game I never got the opportunity to play!

Their work was always to a very high standard and that made these some of the best Marvel games ever released. I'd only ever read about The Punisher, and although a tad drier than their X-Men and Marvel Super Heroes titles -- Capcom were fantastic for drawing their inspirations directly from comic books -- and it was clear they were sourcing directly from this period that I'm so fond of.

The licensing habits of Japan in the late eighties and early nineties are really quite intriguing, and perhaps as an outsider to the United States myself, I share in their enthusiasm for that era's urban decay, and grimy action movie aesthetic.

1989 felt like another age by the time 1993 rolled around, so it's intriguing they sourced most of their inspirations for the brawler from that era's issues. I wonder if Marvel had any hand in guiding them towards the more fantastical characters who crossed Frank Castle's path during the period, or if somebody was just a fan. Perhaps the existence of the 1990 NES game elevated the period in their minds.

The '93 game delivers Bushwacker, Bonebreaker, Jigsaw, and even a non-descript robot that was actually Doctor Doom's handiwork when it appeared during the Acts of Vengeance crossover. Good stuff for a video game. A bit more interesting than your run of the mill gun-toting guy in jeans.

If you've been around the site over the years, you know my affection for that villain-swapping storyline, and I rather like the idea of finally getting a chance to [re]visit some of those interesting issues. Of course, I couldn't help but skip right to the game's final boss -- the big bad behind the brawling action!

Punisher and his allies are on the hunt for The Kingpin for a handful of scattered issues before they get to the showdown in Punisher #18. As noted in The Tape: it presents the difficult scenario of a villain Frank Castle can't blow to bits by the end. So how do you handle it? The outcome isn't illogical, but a little unsatisfying.

It's cool that Kingpin got the better of Frank in the fight. I enjoy The Kingpin as a proficient martial arts enthusiast, and I also like to think of Punisher as a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, but a step behind the masters.

What bothers me is his belated arrival at the mutual conclusion that Kingpin is the lesser of evils. A criminal overlord whose demise would open up a vacuum of even greater evil that would impact the kinds of ordinary citizens that perished after joining his crusade, to say nothing of his wife and children.

It's not that it's a bad argument. It's just that my mind always goes straight to that very thought when it comes to a Kingpin endgame, and Punisher has already been presented with the notion throughout the issue, including the earliest planning stages of the assault on Kingpin's tower. That he comes to agree with it only after losing the fight just doesn't ring true. Especially given his motivation to follow through on the wishes of one of his fallen comrades from the prior issue - Conchita Ortiz. A name wielded by Kingpin in spite.

I suppose it speaks to a softening of the character, who had failed to fully consider the consequences of his vigilantism during Frank Miller's Daredevil, and the brilliant Ann Nocenti/John Romita Jr follow-up, which this series crossed over with. Punisher was now a star of his own successful series. A lead character in a mainline Marvel Comics title long before he was segregated into imprints like MAX and allowed to indulge in the most single-mindedly deranged interpretations.

I ultimately prefer this version of the character. The restraints of occasionally going up against iconic villains may risk leaving him feeling a tad toothless, but it's worth propping him up with big names every so often, indulging in the superhero excess of it all. There are certainly worse things for the character than adhering to a moral code - or finding he can't solve all his problems with a gun.

It sure doesn't hurt anything that Whilce Portacio is on pencils with frequent-Jim Lee inker Scott Williams. Like the characterization of Castle, this is a softer style for Portacio, not quite as deep in its shadows and quirks. I like that more abrasive Portacio of his later nineties work, but he's still a great hand throughout these early Punisher issues. It makes me reevaluate my childhood disinterest!

Should we come back to check out more of this now-classic Punisher? If you think so, perhaps you would like to consider becoming a supporter on Patreon. Your patronage will go a long way to helping me out and keeping these updates a little bit more regular than they have been lately. I'd sure appreciate it!

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 700 fights and ranked more than 1,000 characters! You can find them all for free by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of battles in order of publisher, series, and issue -- or by hitting links to your favourite topics found throughout each entry.

Get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to Twitter! Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on Twitter & Discord! The lively Discord chat is one of the bonuses of becoming a Patreon subscriber.

Winner: The Kingpin
#455 (+617) Kingpin
#88 (-7) Punisher
#1043 (-124) Microchip
#666 (new) Vernon Brooks [+1 assist]

CASSANDRA NOVA versus PROFESSOR X

Silence: Psychic Rescue In Progress (Marvel)
Where: New X-Men #121 When: February 2002
Why: Grant Morrison How: Frank Quitely

The Story So Far...
The X-Men face challenges from within and without as they discover the comatose body of their newest arch-enemy, Cassandra Nova, actually contains the brilliant mind of their visionary leader - Professor Charles Xavier!

With Xavier's hijacked body already in space on sabbatical with the Shi'ar Empire -- Jean Grey and Emma Frost scramble to perform a psychic search & rescue to coax the mind of their mentor from its mental prison. In doing so, they learn the shocking secrets of Cassandra Nova and Professor X's first startling battle!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Professor X 2 (Average)
Intelligence: Professor X 5 (Professor)
Speed: Cassandra Nova 2 (Average)
Stamina: Cassandra Nova 6 (Generator)
Agility: Cassandra Nova 2 (Average)
Fighting: Professor X 2 (Average)
Energy: Draw 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Draw 21 (Champion)

Throughout formative years of the X-Men you could've said Professor X's shadow counterpart was Magneto, the hate-filled creator of Sentinels, or perhaps even evil telepath Mentallo, but at the turn of the millennium Grant Morrison had the radical idea to apply the evil twin trope to Charles Xavier with outrageous results.

Cassandra Nova is literally the secret twin-sister of Charles Xavier. A stillborn mutant who apparently manifested a penchant for evil pre-birth, becoming the very first nemesis to the once and future X-Men founder.

The exact details and implications of the sibling opposition are what we're here to explore today, but suffice it to say Cassandra Nova has endured to sew chaos and disruption for the X-Men in the years since her introduction.

As the dark shadow to Professor Xavier, she possesses telepathic and telekinetic abilities that rival her brother. She's been able to evade detection and death by masking her movements, controlling others, and literally commandeering bodies -- including Professor X's. That spells a whole lot of bad news for everyone!

Traditionally Charles Xavier isn't thought of as a combatant, forming the X-Men to effectively be his soldiers, but despite iconic wheelchair-bound status, he's actually found ways to be a very capable conventional operator in the field.

Using simulated zero gravity, he was able to effectively hold his own sparring with Quicksilver. This prepared him for a dramatic confrontation with Magneto, which he fought while wearing a Shi'ar exo-skeleton that temporarily restored his ability to walk. In the end, it was of course his mind that was his greatest weapon - used to mentally castrate Magneto. A slightly less aggressive assault was used to put an end to the Magneto-impersonating Xorn in a later issue of New X-Men.

In addition to his telepathic abilities, Charles Xavier is also possessed of a keen intellect and rational demeanor. He kept his nerve under threat from the Sub-Mariner, relying on communication to stay the mutant monarch's fury. He also wields tremendous capacity for compassion to extraordinary ends, but we visit him in his absolute earliest moments, when these skills may not be a factor!

The Tape: Draw Ranking: Professor X (#438)

What Went Down...

A traveler in the unconscious mind possessed by Charles Xavier -- Jean Grey is given witness to the terrible secret origin of the villainess who has locked him in her own mortally wounded, frail body.

Jean's mental projection swims amongst the spermatozoa at the moment of conception. She watches as ovum is fertilized - becoming zygote - and then as cells rapidly divide as weeks of embryonic development occur in an instant.

It is the formation of life, but not a single human foetus -- twins!

The tiny creatures float peacefully side by side in the womb, but then one opens their eyes -- and turns to glance to their other to the left.

These are not normal human embryos. In a future yet to occur they will be known as "homo-superior" -- mutations from the natural development of humanity.

One of these beings will work to foster brotherhood amongst the mutants, and peaceful coexistence with conventional humanity, but the other has turned to face their sibling and found nothing but contempt for what they see.

A tiny fist strikes a sleeping brother in the face and then escalates to turn the life-giving umbilical cord into an instrument of strangulation!

The tightening of the fleshy cord around its throat awakens the foetus.

It has seen its sister for the first time and in doing so stared death in the eye. If it is to ever see another face again and live to become Charles Xavier it must defend itself. So - it does.

In an act of miraculous biology -- foetal Charles manifests the mutation of telepathy and unleashes a psionic assault that will seemingly end the lifeline of his twin sister before it has truly begun.

The attack takes a terrible toll on their mother. She tumbles down a staircase -- suffering a miscarriage that will lead doctors to declare her daughter stillborn, but will deliver baby Charles into a world that will one day learn to fear & hate him.

The Hammer...

I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. New X-Men is one of my favourite comics. That's really only a secret because sometimes I'm bad at talking about my top favourites, and the series isn't necessarily best defined by its fights. (That's the thing we predominantly build our articles around here, you might have noticed).

Personal favourites aren't a short list. There's a lot of comics I love - but New X-Men was a little different. Maybe a lot different. I mean, look at the fight we just described. It's going to be tough to top this for weirdest battle of all-time.

New X-Men helped re-energize my love of comics in 2001 after a couple of quiet years pursuing other interests, and almostlosing touch with the lifelong habit. There were notorious diehards who resisted its dramatic new package, but for me it was an instant sensation arriving at a time of need for X-Men, the industry, my life, and eventually the world.

The timing of New X-Men #121 will be significant to many of us who were reading at that time. 

Although there are notable exceptions throughout this issue -- it was one of the best entries into Marvel's "'Nuff Said" month of wordless "silent" comics.

The silent stories, with tiny red, white & blue ribbon on the cover, commemorated the September 11th terrorist attacks that toppled the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. An event we were all still getting to grips with roughly four months after it happened, but undoubtedly hit uniquely close to home for the traditionally Manhattan based comics publishers.

I'm not American, and wasn't in America at that time, but will probably never forget the stunned stupor I felt as we were bombarded with then-unprecedented blanket 24/7 news coverage of the attack, and its fallout, for roughly two solid weeks. Some of this was directly sourced from live American broadcasts.

Even outside, away from television sets and computer screens, escape from the harsh reality was difficult. Newspaper headlines dotted the streets, and a general sense of compassion, and bewildered unease, permeated the air of society. We tried to go about our technically unaffected lives, but were aware that things had changed. The event had aroused regional concerns of similar hostile attacks, which manifested October 2002, but in 2001 I was just getting by, in search of release and distraction, as security procedures became common conversation.

The role of entertainment came into strange focus. I remain hyper-aware that one of the local channels has still never made good on the pre-empted second Rudy Coby special that was scheduled to air in re-runs that week. I remember the relief when one station broke the unending television coverage with an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond. I remember reading Wizard Magazine and surfing Marvel.com to get the latest information on comics like New X-Men. I remember the gradual drop-off of joy & style as the Twin Towers were edited out of movies like Spider-Man, and aesthetics & tone took a dark turn in the following years.

I was very enthusiastic for the 'Nuff Said concept.

Amazing Spider-Man (Vol.2) #36 had already jumped on directly addressing the horror of "9/11" a couple of months earlier. It most infamously showed Doctor Doom shedding a tear, as heroes and villains converged on "Ground Zero" to observe the human tragedy within the Manhattan-centric Marvel Universe, and aid in rescue & recovery. With Doom's record of bombastic villainy and terrorism it raises an eyebrow or two, but living in that moment -- it felt real.

'Nuff Said was more like a constructive catharsis. It wasn't necessarily addressing the moment directly, but leading us out of it with a big, interesting idea: A challenge for the writers & artists working on each book in the vein of Larry Hama's GI Joe #21. For fans of the medium it was a massively intriguing prospect to behold, and a powerful gesture for moving forward.

Morrison and Quitely were already doing amazing things with New X-Men.

Like so many of Grant Morrison's wonderful works: The revamp tapped into intuitive advancements of the X-Men concept, with a marriage of honoring classic material while chasing exciting new dimensions.

It was a mutation of sorts. An evolution demanded by the very premise. Another no-brainer from the man who gave us the "Big Seven" JLA, and a career of superhero instant-classics such as All-Star Superman.

It was a holistic rethink of the entire thing, but not without attention to detail and honoring what came before. The series grabbed the livewire of a burgeoning blockbuster film series, adapting their black leather outfits with Frank Quitely designs that instantly made it more palatable and stylish than anything Hollywood has ever imagined. Like everything else - the New X-Men leather look brought it in keeping with the comic book tradition. I've always thought it would be nice to catch Cyclops, or somebody else, wearing one of those jackets over their suit.

Admittedly, some ideas were more challenging than others. Secondary-mutations stretched the concept of naturally occurring "homo-superior" towards a precarious future, while today's featured fight went in the other direction, introducing the prospect of Charles Xavier and Cassandra Nova bombastically manifesting fully formed mutant cognisance in the womb.

Of course, even these ideas weren't without their precedents. The origins of Nightcrawler always told of his demonic appearance at birth, while the similarly blue-furred Beast triggered his further mutation beyond enlarged features through self-experimentation. Foetal and secondary manifestations, by any other name.

As for the delivery of the latter revelation -- we get a wonderfully surreal plunge into the mind of Charles Xavier as conceived by Morrison & Quitely. A silent mission to coax his consciousness from its prison in Cassandra Nova's discarded comatose body, while his form is hijacked by his evil twin. An amusing episode that sees Jean Grey take centre stage, while Emma Frost plays frustrated assist.

This is a great episode in a fantastic, imaginative run, and I broadly consider this one of the last great periods of the X-Men. I recently spent some time reading another revolutionary period that reminded me of this run, and rekindled my enthusiasm for recent X-Men comics. Perhaps we'll be able to talk about it soon.

If you'd like to keep the X-Men X-File expanding, and find out what caught my attention, I would invite you to consider becoming a supporter on Patreon. Even at the absolute lowest tier, your patronage will go a long way to making it possible to produce more updates, and support this and related projects.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 700 fights and ranked more than 1,000 characters! You can find them all for free by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of battles in order of publisher, series, and issue -- or by hitting links to your favourite topics found throughout each entry.

Get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to Twitter! Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on Twitter & Discord! The lively Discord chat is one of the bonuses of becoming a Patreon subscriber.

Winner: Foetal Charles Xavier
#141 (+297) Professor X
#1030 (new) Cassandra Nova