The MOST controversial Punisher story EVER? | The Punisher: The Final Days

The Punisher has been through the wringer! Coerced into working for Kingpin, Frank Castle ends up in jail, coming face to face with Jigsaw! After exacting revenge on Frank's face, The Punisher must escape and build a bold new identity for himself... Never miss an episode by subscribing today! bit.ly/2WYvgkt #comicpop
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[@loganshirley9058]

You know a Back Issues is going to be extra good when it starts with a flash forward to Ethan and Ben’s eventual bafflement

[@Sasu123456789x1]

So true lmao 🤣

[@creed8712]

But how did we get here? Well let’s go back, let’s go back…

[@ryanhensley4836]

I just think we should start our stories when they get interesting

[@Ducaso]

I did not see that reveal coming.

[@will_da_man_]

Frank Castle might have the most insane status quo changes in comic book history. He's been an angel, a demon, a Frankenstein monster, War Machine, Ghost Rider and... a black man. Truly peak fiction.

[@TevyaSmolka]

Indeed

[@cidergus04]

And cosmic ghost rider my man has been through a lot of insane changes

[@TevyaSmolka]

@@cidergus04 that too

[@will_da_man_]

@cidergus04 fuck, I knew I was forgetting one! It's been bugging me for days lol.

[@lukeduckworth7227]

Ethan hearing the word “Melanin Shots” and his jaw just slowly starts to drop, is one of the top 10 moments in comic pop history.

[@arduit]

Starting the episode with a "Let's go back" is always a good sign

[@bensneb360]

Daredevil: hey Frank, how come every time you run into Luke Cage, he gives you a dirty look? Punisher: you don’t wanna know Red. Lol

[@paulakroy2635]

Tbf I’m not sure what anyone is suppose to do in a bizarre situation

[@SharinganVizard07]

i started this episode going "where have i heard this title before?" then you got to Jigsaw and i remembered and went "OH NOOOOO"

[@tylersaez4095]

Once Jigsaw started talking about messing up Frank's face the lightbulb went off I realized what story this actually was.

[@tysiudamasceno]

Yep. Same here

[@flerken4233]

It took me until Sal talking about Punisher wanting to change how he looked for it to click for me lol

[@cladladd]

“I’m gunna send you to hell, consider this your vigil-antie” -the pun-isher

[@udonsei5216]

Infernal puns from a virgil-antie

[@TheMonghy]

Episode starts with Ethan exclaiming in disbelief. This is gonna be a good one lol.

[@screamingsheik2264]

As a massive Frank Castle fan it makes me sooooo happy to hear Max Punisher is eventually gonna be covered 💀

[@JayTheRed602]

I sent in a copy of Born years ago. Maybe now it's finally time ☠️

[@etherd]

Going to be hard to monetize those videos lol.

[@AnarchicArachnid]

Barracuda : hehe

[@valiantshadowproductions]

I just want to see them do The Slavers, because I want to see the unanimous reaction on the couch of “Get ‘em, Frank.” That’s like the one story arc where even the most fervent Punisher haters are like ”…you can have this one.”

[@mathewblaine1109]

If doing max id rather see fury or squadron supreme

[@accidentalmadness1708]

This is the best birthday present I could ask for 😭. Jesus Christ frank! He went full tropic thunder.

[@ecosmith7852]

Frank Castle: For 400 years!

[@RonCorleone]

You never go full Tropic Thunder.

[@Just_Some_Guy_with_a_Mustache]

"Yeah, so the plan is to blackmail Punisher?" Hehehe. Ah, I love homophones. Also, this only goes to further prove Ethan is a god. He's A god, not The God. I don't think.

[@TevyaSmolka]

lol indeed

[@gbone302]

Sal sneaking “demure” into a Punisher episode is hilarious, when I read this back in 8 years I won’t know why that stood out but TODAY, i applaud you

[@jacquesturner1196]

As a black man I have to say this is hilarious! It sounds like someone saw Soulman and they were like that's a great idea...Also I love Ethan's comic book title.

[@akiraeatsguitarpicks491]

Holy shit this IS almost the exact same idea as Soulman

[@mttylerdurden9]

Have you ever heard of the brown bomber? Back in the 70s DC was going to create a superhero that was a racist white man that turned into a super powered black man when he said black power.

[@VanCantian01]

Oh HELL YEAH! Keep the bit in the beginning as a nice "trailer" for the episode. Whoever had this idea, THAT'S GENIUS!!!!!! "He works for the Triads, because they're JAPANESE you see" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Please Sal NEVER change!

[@magusreaver]

but.. the Triads aren't....

[@VanCantian01]

@@magusreaver EXACTLY🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Whether intentional or not PURE COMEDY🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@MugenNiFukuzatsuna]

I'm glad someone else caught that. I didn't want to be the "Uhm, actually" guy.

[@Grievousish]

Punisher's a dude, killing a dude disguised as another dude!

[@lukespicer9363]

Good one😂

[@Sasu123456789x1]

Ha! 😂

[@TheCaptainKuhn]

Dude

[@bearerofbadnews1375]

What?

[@Grievousish]

@@bearerofbadnews1375 look up Tropic Thunder

[@chrisdaily2077]

*Sees the intro* Surely it can't be that bad. "Frank needs melanin shots." Oh no it's Lois Lane all over again.

[@flywheelshyster]

In the way Winston yells I LOVE this town at the end of Ghostbusters..*I LOVE this show!*

[@brianadkins3880]

Was not a regular Punisher reader back then but about 30 seconds before Sal says it, I was like, "OMG, I remember this!" LOL

[@architeuthis3476]

I had this comic when I was a little kid. My reaction to the last page was "WTF?" Then the child psychologist my parents took mee to, who had presumably been influenced by _Seduction of the Innocent,_ blamed my ADHD on the comics I was reading, causing my parents to throw-out all of my comics, so I never learned what happened next - although, through cultural osmosis I knew that Punisher went back to being white at some point - and assumed that, because the surgeon was also a junky, she drugged him. 5ish years ago, the used comic store by my house had a bunch of early 90s comics that had been collected in clam shell plastic (all 5 versions of _X-Men_ #1 for example) for $5 each - including 2 packages containing the issues that followed this story. I bought both of them: one to open and read, thus bringing closure to the decades-old cliffhanger (it was extremely disappointing); and one to keep as a trophy to remind myself that the shrink was a putz. Big thanks to ComicPop!

[@TheGreatDevlin]

Me halfway through the episode: Man, I almost though this was THAT Punisher storyline. Me after the reveal: Damn it!

[@naplockblubba5369]

Same lol

[@anthonyleecollins9319]

"Me giving you the pinkie back is like me signing a contract." So, this is Punisher's version of a pinkie swear. 🙂

[@threex0xthree]

BOOOOO🍅🍅🍅!!!!

[@BronzeBoy520]

Oh my god is this the one where Punisher gets surgery to become a black man so he can do a crossover with Luke Cage? Yes, Frank Castle becomes black… and the artist draws Frank exactly like Luke, so you can’t tell them apart if you don’t look at their clothes!

[@AnarchicArachnid]

The eyes , frank got baby blues, Luke got chocolate brown eyes

[@BronzeBoy520]

@@AnarchicArachnid when the colorist remembers to draw them

[@ecosmith7852]

There’s a Rdj Tropic thunder joke/ MCU joke in here.

[@nal101]

@@ecosmith7852Frank: “For 400 years…”

[@bearerofbadnews1375]

What the heck Marvel or the writer of that comic were thinking with this?

[@KOFNY]

INTRO HAS ME HOOKED!

[@antgto]

I honestly didn't think this story would get featured, so I'm absolutely down for this ridiculousness.

[@bradleyd.9801]

Uncle Ben in Valhalla fucking killed me 😂

[@voidaspects9173]

I didn't recognize the title, but then as soon as I heard the intro and remembered the thumbnail, it immediately clicked what story this was. Oh my god

[@takeruneverborn4740]

These intros never get old keep it up Sal and Co. Via Comic Pop Inc.

[@fcm3d]

Punisher always reminded me of my Dad if any of his kid's were taken. Crazy military guy that looks like Frank with the height of Wolverine and the military experience and top gun awards with a tank.

[@raistlinmajere5550]

I love Punisher so much but i really wish they did a Luke Cage "what do you mean, you people" moment" I really cant wait to see the reactions to Bullseye from Punisher MAX

[@Samael_Morningstar666]

4:06 my personal favorite Punisher in prison story is the MAX The Cell one shot

[@chandlerburse]

Thats the one where for some reason the artist made Frank look like Clint Eastwood

[@youngjohngoodman12]

As a punisher fan I'd love to see some of the older runs covered like OG war journal and Mike Baron era. The old comics are always so out of their mind it's a blast seeing you guys experience them!

[@priceyyeti4058]

Well that's a strong hook.

[@codystork3008]

Marvel has so many kind of regular guys that Hawkeye, the Swordsman and Frank for sure who btw all debuted as bad guys are non powered guys. Maybe Shang Chi, and Star Lord as well. But the kind of powered guys like Blade, DD, Fury and and anyone else who takes the infinity formula, Cap and Danny Rand, Luke Cage all have enough power to be hard to kill. The normal super line is a little blurry because so many heroes have minimal powers.

[@Henderson10666]

Shang Chi, sure. Peter Quill's dad was a space emperor

[@The_Great_Crane]

I have been waiting for this storylines

[@swashkiv7509]

It came out like 30 years ago lol. What do you mean you’re “waiting ?”

[@popcronartist5488]

I loved the episode but silver surfer parable please

[@bryceharriet9209]

How have I never heard of this before watching this episode?!

[@umabomber]

Knowing what was coming on this episode and watching them get there made this one of the best episodes ever.

[@comicpop]

Nor followed up in subsequent tweets, either. Weird.

[@badboi6247]

Sal just did a "lets go back" on us

[@threex0xthree]

Ethan: *sigh* oh my god.

[@KiramidHead]

I read through all the major Punisher books over several years, and I feel like Mike Baron was just out of steam by this point, because he had written the better part of 60 issues, as well as a decent amount of War Journal. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning took over after this story and they really gave the book a shot in the arm, including actual status quo shifts that felt meaningful.

[@Hiiroarana79]

I like Frank Castle and the concept of the Punisher. However, the longer he lives, is born and reborn, the more he loses his edge. Sometimes I think people want him to be Batman-like but that's not The Punisher. The Punisher should have one mission take out as many crimelords as possible and due in the process but accomplishing the mission. After that the Punisher becomes a mantle that other characters take on to accomplish their revenge missions. Maybe in death Castle low key helps the new bearers of his mantle and curses them they go over the line. That out me my take.

[@paulakroy2635]

That’s just not it. Frank will never take down crime that’s a laughable goal

[@chandlerburse]

No comic character can stay dead forever

[@KingArthur39]

Me watching the first 10 seconds "What happened? What are they reacting to? Lets go back, lets go back..."

[@ozzyalbor8292]

these are my fav types of episodes! The OG crew!!

[@c.l.6957]

My favorite part of these videos is always: "yeah, great question! Anyways..."

[@ecosmith7852]

58:52 Yes! 🤣

[@f1naltyrant]

I always heard Frank was turned black but never knew the story, so my jaw hit the floor once I realized this was it

[@lennylaserdiscs]

This is easily in the Top 5 episodes of Back Issues ever.

[@Sqoobthedude]

I always wondered what happened to max the dog and im so disappointed to hear of how they treated him.

[@SpiralSine6]

This might actually be one of the most shocking plot twists discussed on the couch. Not necessarily the biggest or most important - certainly not the best - but most shocking? Yeah it’s up there.

[@Sicod79]

I had the issue of Luke Cage where he interacts with Castle and references him being black for a bit. So nuts.

[@bensneb360]

It’s funny, you didn’t even have to say the name of the story, all I saw was “most controversial” and I’m like “oh, we’re doing THIS ONE!!!” lol

[@adrianberk]

Totally forgot that this was the storyline with that ending. Thanks for the genuine surprise.

[@bearerofbadnews1375]

This whole plot near the end with Franks skin color being changed is such a WTF moment? How and why did this happen?

[@eqs1782]

It's be cool if you could interview Tom Brevort and at the tail end of the interview and just ask "So frank turning black? What?" 😂

[@OkMakuTree]

This isn’t even the first time Frank’s had his face sliced up by Jigsaw and repaired with bizarre means. The last time it happened, the Punisher forced a devil worshipping cult leader in Venezuela to heal his face with magic. I’m impressed that Marvel came up with an even more ridiculous plot line the second time around 😅

[@KiramidHead]

@OkMakuTree if I remember right, the demon also fixed Jigsaw, only for Frank to shove his face into a cactus and mess it up again.

[@OkMakuTree]

@@KiramidHead Yep, that's right! One of the many times when I've wondered why Frank doesn't just kill Jigsaw, seeing as he (unsurprisingly) swears vengeance against the Punisher immediately afterwards.

[@KiramidHead]

@@OkMakuTree Jigsaw definitely gained his archnemesis status through sheer dumb luck. He's almost always written as a joke character in the old stuff. Hell in his first appearance Frank basically tells Spider-Man "I have no idea who this asshole is" lol

[@CrazyWildChris]

Always love when you have a pitch meeting reference!

[@catswithlasers]

Wait, since Jigsaw is in the same prison as Frank in this comic, is this the basis for the storyline in the 2005 Punisher video game? Because that has Frank getting arrested and sent to Ryker's Island where he goes after Jigsaw, who is also in the prison.

[@ThePandaSupreme]

Wtf that twist at the end is insane… I can’t believe they approved that lol

[@DarkMayhem666]

I consider Punisher a ‘superhero’ in the same way I consider Batman or Iron Man ‘superheroes.’ Just because a character doesn’t have superpowers doesn’t mean they can’t be a superhero. And let’s be real, even the ‘human’ characters are still in peak condition and can do things a real human cannot do. Punisher has fought literal supernatural threats and won.

[@LoneGh0ste]

I thought they were objecting to the idea of him being a superhero not because of his powers but because of his ethics. You can argue he’s a super, but is he really a hero? Personally, I don’t think so, but I do know there are people who’d disagree 🥶

[@chandlerburse]

Franks an anti hero technically

[@bradystutorials]

Absolutely devastated we never got a Saturday morning cartoon about Frank Rook, Luke Cage, and Blade going on adventures together called Punisher and His Pigmented Pals.

[@grkpektis]

I completely forgot about this story and didn't know what was controversial until the black guy showed up and thought "oh god this story"

[@Chalk0073]

1:20:00 #60- #62 were the first Punisher books I ever read, they came in a bundle with Cage #1, the Punisher books set up the Cage in Chicago status quo and 2 issues later in Cage there's another 2 issue crossover where they team up again to fight Tombstone and Nitro (yes, that Nitro)

[@brandonf6169]

I remember I got this entire run in singles of Punisher all bagged together at my local Toys R Us😂 It was the first punisher story I had ever read as a child. Can you even imagine my confusion!?

[@The_Great_Crane]

I have been waiting for this story to pop-up

[@TheVegeta67]

I looked up what this story is and I instantly remembered what this was. This is going to be a fun.

[@OzBeller]

Oh my God! It's Wednesday! I forgot!

[@mttylerdurden9]

They gave Frank Re-vitiligo.😂😂😂😂

[@samkirkby7010]

God it’s just dawned on me, the guy who played Microchip in the TV show will be playing Ben Grimm

[@orngcreator6115]

Ya know, the moment that the really horrible Regan joke popped up, I kinda saw the ending coming. Absolutely insane. Imagine if any of these events had happened in a punisher comic today.

[@raycasual]

lol at 5:53 every comic book collector cringed with how ethan(?) held those comics 😂 mass casualty spines all at once!

[@BoyNamedSue4]

Oh. You’re doing THAT one! I’ll make popcorn

[@CharleyIV]

That Luke Cage series was one of the first series I made an effort to follow as a child.

[@FreddieLane9001]

58:53 lmaoooo I get that reference!

[@TevyaSmolka]

Punisher final days is such a weird story in my opinion

[@DCReviews4]

I saw the title and couldn't click fast enough!!

[@Animalfriend777]

Oh my god I called it!

[@RDG22]

Cosmic ghost rider next 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@ChrisContinues]

You could have given me all day to guess what would be "the most controversial Punisher story," and I would have never guessed THIS, haha. Unbelievable.

[@mrmegagamenerd]

This show is the one thing I always look forward to every Wednesday

[@Three_Tiny_Robots]

I was imagining Max rescuing Frank by flying a Helicopter that looks like a van.

[@ShudderingSeagull]

I knew some day this was gonna get covered I just...I still wasn't expecting it.

[@Sicod79]

I see Sal solicits lines from Writer Guy.

[@JasonEvans-j4c]

I used to have that hedgehogs tshirt. It's so good.

[@BHayes-cp3wm]

The Doctortute tho,LOL

[@ryanmiller6103]

Seeing the title of the video I had no idea what story this was. Seeing the thumbnail though, I knew exactly what story this was

[@onifrancis1566]

Man got 3 live action movies and a show. Madness.

[@Jake_E57]

If you're Asgardian and you die a normal death then you go to Hel and your soul belongs to Hela.

[@Princessdorkness]

God damn i didn’t see that coming at all 😂

[@mrbm3928]

He said the thing

[@KassTheLass]

And it was at @1:05:44 that I knew exactly where this story was going to go.

[@catlawyerwilldefendfortrea6038]

Not once in this story I had any idea where this was going. At a point I thought maybe the Punisher we have today is not the same face and that's why he isn't old. I thought maybe he'll get bulletproof skin lol. Not this!

[@nerdpocalypse5004]

Remember when Betsy Braddock became asian

[@TheRiverintheRoad]

I hope you guys do the Heaven and Hell storyline before Garth Ennis took over

[@LegoMonster21774]

Every time I hear a character named George, I think it’s “Move the Car” George. I’m disappointed every time whenever it isn’t him #BringBackMoveTheCarGeorge

[@VanCantian01]

Also you die a "normal" death in norse myth and you go to Helheim 🤣👍🏾

[@jjh01harmon38]

Love the opening lol

[@RonCorleone]

this is the best Punisher story that Sal has ever covered on Black Issues...

00:06 Oh we know 👀👀

[@shiningnight12]

I hate how the writers came up with this and that they were essentially thinking about rebooting frank with intense black face that makes that Dwayne McDuffie parody look less offensive is wild. However if they made it a multiverse frank I would've accepted it.

[@MotoG-ug3ei]

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