I was gifted the Punisher holiday special #1 by a friend at a recent gathering, and it is another grand example of the insanity that is 90's Punisher comics.
The tale begins in the ritzy dining room of 'Little' Tony Caruso, who is demanding his henchmen bring him the head of Frank Castle, The Punisher, because the Punisher killed his father 'Big' Tony Caruso, and Little Tony doesn't get what he wants for Christmas anymore.
Little Tony explains this while holding a Bust of the Punisher. Little Tony had a bust of the Punisher made (or perhaps he is a sculptor in his spare time?) and proceeds to destroy it while getting worked up about not getting presents at Christmas.
So Little Tony's people spread a rumor that they are going to hit a mall on Christmas Eve, bait that the Punisher is all but guaranteed to take...and their plan works! The Punisher is fed the rumor by a hippie drug dealer who is being thrown off a roof by some ne'er do-wells.
The Punisher goes to the mall and hides under a car until the mall closes, then realizes it was all a trap! He punctures the gas tank he is laying directly under for no reason (he later blows the car up) and proceeds to go up against the mall cops, who are also gangsters and have real guns?
As it turns out, Frank isn't alone in the mall. A young girl is hiding there, because of something her dad did...
but then she turns around and says her dad "bought it" in Vietnam, which pretty much means her dad died in Vietnam, unless my understanding of slang is grossly outdated or misinformed. I suppose her step dad is the threat to her returning home, but things like this ain't important or the reason anyone reads a Punisher comic. Also the Punisher lets her know that her current lifestyle would probably lead her to further crimes, and he would hate to have to have to kill her. Classic Frank.
The bad guys have The Punisher's weapons, so Frank uses the only items at his disposal, mall Christmas ornaments! He showers one enemy with Christmas balls, and impales another with a model of Santa and his sleigh (slay?) complete with spear-like reindeer antlers. He also pole vaults off of the top of a Christmas tree!
The Punisher ends up killing the bad guys and saving the girl, who ends up going home for Christmas, and for some reason that Dad she was worried about gets arrested ( I can only assume it was for child abuse, but it would have been nice if this story angle was a little more clear) and the Punisher lets us know that he is so focused on his mission that he forgot who jesus is...
There is a backup story in this volume as well, but I really wanted to just comment on the main story in this special.
-Eamon
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