Problem is, that down there? That ain't Frank. That's the Punisher. Ain't no talking to the Punisher. 
- —Olaf
Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Olaf (First appearance)
- DEA
- Agent Ortiz (First appearance)
- Agent Henderson (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Condor (First appearance)
- Face (First appearance)
- Lloyd Luckett (First appearance; dies)
- Luther Luckett (First appearance; dies)
- Condor's boss (Voice only)
Other Characters:
- NYPD SWAT Tactical (Mentioned)
- Abraham Lincoln (Mentioned) (Deceased)
- USMC (Mentioned)
- God (Yahweh) (Invoked)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth
- United States of America
- New York
- New York City
- Brooklyn
- Warehouse District
- Joltin Joe's Coffee (Named only)
- D.E.A. Brooklyn Office (First appearance)
- Brooklyn
- New York City
- Connecticut
- Exeter Asylum (First appearance) (Unnamed)
- New York
- United States of America
- Hell (Invoked)
Items:
- EMC (First appearance)
- Punisher's Suit
- Punisher's Arsenal
Synopsis for 1st story
Inside the Brooklyn Warehouse district, a grizzled mercenary named Olaf meets with a gangster named Face. Their organization is trafficking an experimental performance enhancing drug called EMC, and they want Olaf to oversee the security of their next shipment. Face gives Olaf a file containing supply and route information. Olaf is to burn the file after reading it, as their operation has attracted the attention of the DEA. He leaves behind two twin thugs, Lloyd and Luther Luckett, to provide Olaf with some backup. At a neighboring warehouse, DEA Agents Henderson and Ortiz take photosurveillance of Face leaving Olaf’s safehouse and driving off. Henderson tells his partner they should be busting the perps instead of taking photosurveillance, but Ortiz compares their sting operation to fishing, they have to have the right lures, and the right amount of patience.
Inside the Brooklyn DEA Field Office, Ortiz and Henderson brief their task force. Their target is Condor, a private military contractor that has recently ventured into drug trafficking. Face is believed to be Condor’s second in command, Olaf has been with Condor since he left the Marines. Nothing less than a preemptive strike will work, they do not want the conflict spilling into the streets.
The DEA is not the only one interested in Condor. The Punisher has eavesdropped on their surveillance, and he works through the night, assembling the weapons he will need to raid the warehouse himself.
As Olaf cleans his M9 service pistol, the Lucketts inquire as to why he still carries such an antiquated firearm, as they are constantly swapping out their weapons for the latest high tech upgrades. Olaf tells them that his gun has proven reliable countless times, and failing to show respect to any weapon will get them on the wrong end of it. Their argument is interrupted by an explosion. Olaf immediately realizes the explosion to be the work of the Punisher, who he served with in the Marines. While Lloyd leaves to find Face, Olaf executes Luther and walks away without securing Face’s file.
The Punisher, armed with a Desert Eagle and an M16, begins shooting up their production center. One of the workers bites open an EMC packet and swallows its contents, giving him glowing red eyes and superhuman strength. He charges at Castle, shrugging off a normally fatal gunshot wound, and overpowers him, eager to be the man who takes out the Punisher. Castle gouges out his assailants eyes with his thumbs, then impales him with rebar. He then hits the thug with a cinderblock, knocking him into a fuse box, fatally electrocuting him. Castle proceeds to use the cinderblock on the only surviving worker, but Olaf dispatches the thug before Castle can deal the killing blow. Olaf reveals that he has little love for Condor’s drug trafficking operation, everything he needs to take it down is in his office. He warns Castle not to follow him, as he always has an extraction plan. Castle grudgingly allows Olaf to leave, and takes the file.
The next morning, the DEA task force raid the warehouse to find nothing but dead bodies. The Punisher has singlehandedly destroyed their case against Condor.
Face kills Lloyd as a punishment for his failure, then phones Condor, informing him that the Punisher killed all of their assets in the warehouse. Condor insists that the Punisher must be eliminated before he can do any further damage to their operation, as some very powerful clients will be angry at them if EMC fails to meet its distribution date. Face assures him that he will handle it personally, as he adds Lloyd to his collection of trophies.
Solicit Synopsis
FRANK CASTLE LOSES CONTROL!
A by-the-numbers drug bust is about to take Frank Castle by surprise…and he HATES surprises. The horrible fallout threatens to send The Punisher into the heart of darkness, but Castle won't make that journey alone: A DEA agent is on his trail and attempting to get into his head... but what horrors will she find there, and will she survive the experience? First-time Punisher writer Becky Cloonan and quintessential Punisher artist Steve Dillon are forcing Frank Castle out of his comfort zone and taking him to the edge of the world he thought he knew!