Spider-Man/Punisher: Family Plot #1
The Fall
Spider-Man comes across an attempted assassination of a mob boss, Don Geraci, which infuriates one of his Geraci’s men because the distraction allows the two hitmen to get away and his own father was shot instead. He vows revenge on both them and Spider-Man.
The next morning, Ben reports working at the Daily Grind café. Steve Marlowe, the ex-husband of a waitress there, enters to drop off their son and sets off Ben’s spider-sense. Ben realizes he’s carrying a gun and points this out, upsetting his ex-wife. Angry at Ben, the man takes a swipe at him but then leaves.
At a meeting of the Geraci family, they vote that the Punisher be sent to find and kill Spider-Man for his interference.[1] Frank reluctantly agrees and warns the Don’s son Joey that he’s still in charge. He suits up and goes out to find Spider-Man. Elsewhere, Tombstone chides his two hitmen, one of which is Steve Marlowe, who failed to kill Don Geraci. Tombstone kills the other one and orders Marlowe to complete a second job, or be killed as well. Later, Marlowe disguises himself as a cop and prepares for another hit, not knowing Spider-Man is watching him.
On the streets, the Punisher learns that a hit has been issued for Vince Williams, Chief of Police, and stakes out Willaims’s apartment. Punisher confronts a boy ordered by the family to follow him. The shots draw Spider-Man to the Punisher's location. Face-to-face with Frank Castle, Spider-Man is surprised to see the vigilante is still alive.[2] Then he fires on Spider-Man who has followed Marlow to Williams's apartment. They have a tense exchange when shots are fired from within the building. Upset that he caused him to delay, Spider-Man tranquilizes Punisher and confronts Marlowe, who confesses his crime. Punisher recovers and starts shooting at both of them, giving Marlowe the chance to flee.[3]
Marlowe reports back to Tombstone, who intends to install his own as police chief now, but when Tombstone discovers a spider-tracer on Marlowe’s back he is enraged. He beats on Marlowe until Spider-Man arrives and they fight; the Punisher soon crashes through a window to join the fray. Punisher tells Spider-Man to stay out of his way. Marlowe suddenly produces a bomb and uses it to get himself and Tombstone out of the building while Spider-Man and Punisher are caught in the explosion.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Punisher
Continuity Notes
At the time of this story, the Punisher has joined up the Geraci family in order to deal with organized crime from the inside. He started doing so in Punisher Vol 3 #1.
The Punisher was arrested for the apparent murder of Nick Fury in Double Edge Omega #1. Castle was then put through a mock execution in Punisher Vol 3 #1 that led the world to believe he had died.
The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are depicted as part of the New York City skyline here. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. The original towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, and have since been replaced by the Freedom Tower.
