Frank Castle is Going to Kill Thanos
I know Marvel has been getting smashed by comic book fans of late; it's understandable, considering the stuff going on over at DC with Snyder/Johns and company. Dark Knights Metal? Unbelievable story with so many things going on, like Batman punching the nose of a Joker Dragon brought in from a failed world. If you haven't read that one, definitely check it out. Yet Marvel has some real creative, fun potential with a new series that just hit the presses...
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I did manage to pick up issue 1 of the Cates/Brunett/Fabela issue of the new series Cosmic Ghost Rider this past weekend while getting last week's new releases, and enjoyed the story very much. I was a huge Punisher fan when I was teenager but lost my way as time went on. This release has me very excited for this version of Frank Castle. That said, let's take a look at what is going on with this set up.
Warning Spoilers Most Certainly Ahead
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The story takes place in some other timeline/universe of the Marvel mythos. The Frank Castle we all know and love is still around on Netflix, but this Castle lived quite a different life. This Frank Castle was :
- A United States Marine Corps soldier
- An ex-soldier who lost his family in a mob hit
- An ex-solider who became the vigilante known as the Punisher
- Upon death, he went to Hell, trained with the Devil, and became the Ghost Rider
- He then became the herald of the Devourer, Galactus
- Then the Black Right Hand of Thanos
- And then an ultimate death thanks to the hammer of Thor
Already, there is so much going on, so many questions, so many future story arcs that could be fascinating...I love it.
After a brush up with a minor Nordic god, Koldaxe the Grave, wherein Castles annihilates the Koldaxe's nose for Koldaxe's braggart ways regarding the slaughter of the orphan hordes of Nieffleheim, Odin himself pays Castle a visit. We then learn that Odin, the Highfather of Valhalla, has ripped apart the fabric of space and time to bring Castle to Valhalla. Why would Odin do such a thing? He states that he feels that Castle's last death was unfair; yet I think Odin intentionally brought him to this place to recruit him to a new agent of vengeance. The name of this new manifestation of vengeance? The Cosmic Ghost Rider...
In a fascinating sequence of images, we see Castle become consumed by the fire that is this entity. He initially balks at Odin's offer; Odin states he has no choice. Castle then attempts to fight the fire's manifestation within him, screams in agony that he can not take the pain, and then finally embraces his new form of existence. He is now Odin's new creation, the Cosmic Ghost Rider.
Odin has the magic to send Castle in this new form to any place or time in all of Creation. Castle's wish is to go back to the beginning; go back to Titan where Thanos was a baby and murder the child. Castle asks a great question in the world of Marvel; with all the superheroes and assassins given the ability to travel through time, why has no one ever eliminated the scourge of Creation known as Thanos? Why has no one ever killed Thanos when he was in infant? Castle quickly learns why; after landing on Titan, he proceeds to sneak into the room of Thanos, and attempts to execute the "little bastard" in cold blood. Or course, things don't go to plan.
After being assaulted by the infant, and then attempting to give baby Thanos "penance" with his newly acquired cosmic fire lit eyes, Castle realizes that Thanos is still innocent. This Thanos isn't the monster we all have come to know; this Thanos is yet embrace Death. With that said, Castle decides that he can't kill him, and he can't leave him on Titan, so like any good Cosmic Ghost Rider, he punches the infant out cold and decides to chain him to his chest and blow out of Titan.
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And with that, issue number one is finished. What a story...the art is gorgeous, the pacing is perfect, and story is unbelievably open to go anywhere. I feel like this is what Marvel comics needs right now. Something that keeps its fans engaged. I haven't bought a Marvel comic book for a very long time, but I am most certainly going to buy this series going forward. Highly recommended for everyone with an interest in wonderful story telling. Go Frank Castle, and go Cosmic Ghost Rider!