Punisher's Rules on Killing Are Turning His New Army Against Him
Warning: spoilers ahead for the Punisher #4!
In the Marvel Universe, the Punisher is currently leading the assassin group known as the Hand, but their different approaches to killing means their new partnership was doomed from the very start.
Ever since a bunch of ninja assassins broke into his apartment and tried to kill him, Frank Castle's world has been turned upside down. In truth though, it was only a test to see if he was worthy of becoming the next leader of the Hand. Dubbed the King of Killers, the Punisher took over leadership of the Hand and has been using them as his own personal army to go after all of the criminals who the Punisher would have to tackle alone.
Related: Punisher Brings Back The One Kill Fans Never Thought They'd See Again
In The Punisher #4 by Jason Aaron, Jesus Saiz, and Paul Azaceta, several of the Hand's ninjas return from a failed assault on the God of War Ares' compound. The High Priestess of the Hand demands that the ninjas be killed because Ares made them pray to him, betraying the Hand's dark deity, the Beast. But the Punisher disagrees, stating that simply losing a fight does not make them criminals worthy of death in his eyes. Punisher is only willing to kill as retribution for harm brought to others — a principle which flies in the face of the Hand's cult-like veneration of death.
Although the Priestess relents, submitting to the Punisher's will, she disagrees with him the vehemently. And it is this disagreement that will eventually lead to a fracturing between the Punisher and the Hand. The reason for this is that the Hand essentially operates out of religious zealotry. And religion does not compromise, especially when their god is able to reach out and make its displeasure known.
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