Punisher 2099 #1: 4 Panel Punishment

So here’s the thing, as a standalone comic this story isn’t terrible, not great by any stretch and as I noted earlier it’s literally the Entire History of You episode condensed into a weird social commentary on corrupt cops and shootings. A+ for effort but this book is one huge swing and a miss. I mean as a black man in 2019 America…I’m definitely the target audience here and as a matter of fact I grew up loving the 2099 line of books, Miguel O’Hara is literally my favorite Spider-Man and one of my all time favorite Marvel characters, this book couldn’t be more targeted to nerds like me if it specifically had my full name, birth date and SSN slapped across the cover.

Yet despite all that just getting through this book was a chore. For one I’m not sure who thought it was a great idea to revamp the original Punisher 2099 Jake Gallows as a corrupt cop that delights in murdering Thorites (basically violent hobos that worship Thor in this incarnation) and basically anyone who isn’t a cop in general. That alone was a huge red flag but one that I could have lived with if the rest of the book had been up to snuff: it wasn’t.

The decline from functional member of society to “I’m totally gonna copy Frank Castle” makes zero sense here. Even if this Cop Bot program is screwing with his head why Hector lands on dressing up as a skull faced cyborg and killing cops is just goofy. The whole undercurrent that’s shoehorned in here of “Social Scores” (another concept swiped from Black Mirror and then done poorly) is paper thin as a motivator at best. If anything it makes Hector come off like some kinda incel raging against the Chads and Veronicas of society. You know all that whining about The Joker being a movie about a privileged white guy lashing out at society and all that nonsense? That’s literally what this book is but because Hector isn’t white he gets a pass or whatever.

I mean…I do appreciate what they were trying to do and I’m definitely not mad I had an excuse to rewatch some Black Mirror, but man alive I was not expecting to be so underwhelmed by a 2099 comic. I honestly wasn’t even sure that it was possible, the original line had plenty of cheese Ravage 2099 being a perfect example but it was still all kinds of fun to read even if it aged like milk by 2019.

I will say this, shout out to Rachelle Rosenberg for a dynamic and entertaining coloring job from start to finish. The art otherwise isn’t too shabby but when you have a heat cover from Patch Zircher and then meh art from start to finish, it’s a bit jarring to the reader and kind of a letdown if we’re keeping it real.