The question is, of course, what do you do with a ‘Problem Named Castle?’” asks Rucka. “Without giving too much away, let’s just say that events in PUNISHER #15 and PUNISHER #16 go big enough that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes can no longer hope the ‘Castle problem’ will take care of itself. At a certain point, they have to take responsibility for allowing Frank to have run as he has for so long.
Though Rucka won’t spill any beans about who Frank will be fighting he does offer some hints: Spider-Man and Frank have a long history, obviously, and a recent meeting in the Omega Effect [crossover] to call back to,” he says. “The meeting between Wolverine and Frank is one I’ve had in my mind ever since I began work on PUNISHER, honestly, and it’s not going to be the face-off people expect. I’m leery of saying more because I really don’t want to give anything away, but I will add that there is one Avenger that can neutralize Frank with three words alone.
He also spoke about how this series will differ from other hero vs. hero stories (IE: Avengers vs. X-Men): Honestly, everyone and their cousin has seen the traditional ‘two heroes beat each other to pulp,’ and that just won’t work with Frank,” Rucka says. “Against almost any Avenger, head-to-head, he’s going to be going down. One of the things I’m most excited about for this is showing the different takes on Frank and what he does, and the different approaches and arguments about how to effectively solve the ‘Castle problem.’ I don’t want to presume it as arrogance, but the Avengers, when they decide to act, they think they’re getting into one thing, and they discover it’s something very different.
Pick up Punisher: War Zone this October.
