Punisher #3 Review

Written by: David Pepose
Art by: Dave Wachter
Colors by: Dan Brown
Letters by: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover art by: Rod Reis
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: January 24, 2024

Punisher #3 experiences a new level of fear when he comes up against the dreaded Fearmaster during his investigation to track down his family’s killer.

Is Punisher #3 Good?

David Pepose continues the “different but same” reboot for Marvel’s deadliest anti-hero in Punisher #3 when Joe Garrison’s hunt for his family’s killer crosses paths with the daughter of longtime Daredevil villain Mr. Fear. Long on action and creepiness but short on setup, Pepose delivers a vanilla Punisher actioner.

When last we left the Punisher, he climbed the levels of a non-descript office high rise to capture the Offer, a criminal underworld business negotiator with intel on Joe Garrison’s enemies. The Offer came away from the experience with bumps and bruises, but Punisher left with intel on his next lead and the shocking revelation that his wife was the real target because she uncovered funny money shenanigans at her work.

Now, we catch up with Punisher after he was dosed with the fear toxin from a disturbingly deformed snake lady called Fearmaster, the daughter of Daredevil villain Mr. Fear. After overcoming hallucinations and potentially lethal fear responses, Punisher kills Fearmaster in time to save a detective responding to the commotion. Meanwhile, Triple-A is kidnapped by the criminal group responsible for the death of Garrison’s family, and that group’s name is… Jigsaw?

Watch our Punisher #3 Video Review

Huh? What? Is the criminal group named Jigsaw the same as longtime Punisher villain Jigsaw? Unknown and TBD. You get a look at the group’s masked leader, but it’s unclear if the leader is the original Jigsaw wearing a fancy mask or somebody playing Jigsaw copycat. Either way, this development continues Marvel’s weird strategy of creating a new Punisher that’s effectively the same as the original Punisher with slight variations.

What’s great about Punisher #3? Ahh, Fearmaster. We hardly knew ye. To David Wachter’s credit, Fearmaster is a horrific-looking villain, which suits the nature of her shtick (fear) perfectly. You get plenty of fierce action during the multiple fights, and Punisher lives up to his predecessor’s reputation by the end.

What’s not great about Punisher #3? We learn very little about Fearmaster, so introducing a villain with this potential, only to throw her away immediately, seems a waste. Plus, there’s almost no setup in this issue, so you feel rushed by being dropped into the middle of a mission with no parameters or goals. Punisher #3 is a fast-paced, action-packed time waster, but it’s still a time waster.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Punisher #3 introduces two cool villains for the price of one, but the fast-paced, action-packed issue lacks setup, so it feels like a lot of throwaway action just to get to the next thing. The action is well done, and Fearmaster’s design looks great, but this issue acts as an incidental side quest, which shouldn’t be happening in issue #3 for a new character.