Perhaps out of all of the runs under the MAX label, none demonstrate this more clearly than writer Jason Aaron's stab at the title Ennis so profoundly made his mark on. And while his other three arcs on the 21 issue volume of Punishermax are almost equally as compelling, with the arc simply titled "Frank" perhaps being one of the best ever told featuring the character, it's the Bullseye storyline that really demonstrates the level of absolute anarchy that inhabits The Punisher's world.
Typically associated as Daredevil's archnemesis - along with The Kingpin, ironically enough, who's made the predominant villain of Aaron's run - MAX's Bullseye is placed under a new lense of madness that is traditionally attributed to the master assassin. Here, he's envisioned as someone who not only loves to kill, but gets so far into his work that he feels compelled to literally become his target in order to understand how to kill them in the most effective way imaginable. So much so that he does everything in his power to become Frank Castle whenever The Punisher proves to be too difficult to assassinate. He immediately begins sleeping in one of Castle's old safehouses, tortures those who have supplied medical aid or weapons to Castle's crusade while interrogating them about the man himself, and even manages to kidnap an innocent family just to re-enact the day that Castle violently lost his wife and children in Central Park.
It's a brilliant take that doesn't shy away from plenty of disturbing connotations. From the scene where Bullseye murders an entire mafia fleet while talking to pictures of Castle pinned to the wall, to the image of him sleeping soundly next to the grave of the slain Castle family, it's all there to send a very clear message - of all the villains that The Punisher has ever encountered, perhaps it's The Man Without Fear's greatest enemy that poses the greatest threat of truly getting under Castle's skin. Bullseye doesn't just want to get into Castle's head, he absolutely relishes the opportunity. He sees Frank as a work of art ready to be deconstructed. And the ending fight between the two, coupled with a startling revelation about Frank's past that might actually challenge everything you know about The Punisher, is equally just as disturbed and brutal as something you'd come to expect from MAX.
And yet for all of it's brutality and gruesome imagery, it's a definite masterwork, brilliantly captured by one of comic's greatest writers working today as a snapshot into the life of comics' premier anti-hero. Under the right writer, there is no mistake that Frank Castle is not a hero, and definitely not a man you want to be. He may be able to blow away scores of criminals effortlessly, but he suffers on an almost constant basis to be able to do it. Sometimes, he suffers even worse than any man has to. And if you need any assurance of that, all you have to do is think of one simple word:
Bullseye.
Rating
5 out of 5
Reviewed by Alex Koch
