Marvel Comics released Predator Vs. Punisher #1 yesterday, the first issue of a 4-part miniseries that pits Frank Castle against a Yautja hunter for the first time. Frank Tieri writes the series and Jesús Saiz handles pencils, inks and colors. Tieri celebrated the launch with 2 more of his books arriving the same day. Check out the official post down below:
Marvel's synopsis for the story goes: "For the first time ever! The Punisher takes on the Predator! New York City becomes a hunting ground when a Predator arrives looking for worthy prey and finds Frank Castle! As crime bosses fall, the body count rises and the streets run red." The solicitation bills the series as a showdown "decades in the making."
The Villains Caught In The Middle
Marvel promises "a murderer's row of underworld villains," naming Kingpin, Jigsaw, Silvermane and The Owl. Tieri has described the setup as dropping the Predator into Frank's world, where a hunter picking off crime bosses sets the city's families against each other.
Silvermane plays the biggest role of the 4. Tieri has said the veteran crime boss "has a better idea what they're facing" than the others because he and the Predator share a past, and that Frank Castle has a history with the hunter as well. The issue opens with a flashback to Silvermane's first encounter with the Predator, then moves to a sit-down between the Owl and Jigsaw that Silvermane brokers. Frank plans to hit that meeting, and the Predator arrives with the same idea.
Each of the 4 has a long Marvel history. Silvermane, Silvio Manfredi, is an Italian-American boss in the Maggia crime syndicate who later became a cyborg to extend his life. The Owl, Leland Owlsley, debuted in Daredevil #3 in 1964 from Stan Lee and Joe Orlando. Wilson Fisk first appeared as the Kingpin in The Amazing Spider-Man #50 in 1967 before becoming Daredevil's main enemy under Frank Miller. Jigsaw, Billy Russo, made his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #162 in 1976, created by Len Wein and Ross Andru.
Jigsaw is the Punisher's archenemy, and organized crime has been Frank's target since his first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129, cover dated February 1974, where Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru introduced him as a Spider-Man antagonist. Frank Castle is a Marine Corps veteran whose wife and 2 children were killed by the mob after they witnessed a murder in Central Park, and his war on New York's crime families started there.
Issue Details
- Writer: Frank Tieri
- Pencils, inks and colors: Jesús Saiz
- Letterer: VC's Travis Lanham
- Editor: Mark Paniccia
- Main cover: Dustin Weaver
- Page count: 31
- Price: $5.99, with variant covers at $8.99
- Rating: Parental Advisory
Frank and the Predator do not meet face to face until issue #2, which goes on sale December 16.
Tieri On The Tale Of The Tape
Tieri has written the Punisher before, and he has been blunt about the matchup. "If you look strictly at the tale of the tape, the Punisher would have no chance," he said ahead of launch. "The Predator is 7 feet tall, has superhuman strength, has better weaponry and is invisible half the time." He then pointed to Dutch, Mike Harrigan, Naru and the cast of Predator: Killer of Killers as humans who have taken Predators down before.
Tieri had 3 books out on the same Wednesday. Alongside Predator Vs. Punisher #1, he wrote Godzilla Vs. NYC #1, set in 1930s Manhattan, and Savage Sword of Conan #17.
Marvel's Predator Crossovers So Far
Predator Vs. Punisher is the newest entry in Marvel's run of Predator crossovers. Benjamin Percy wrote the first 4: Predator Vs. Wolverine, which followed a single Yautja hunting Logan across a century, then Predator Vs. Black Panther in 2024, and Predator Vs. Spider-Man and Predator Kills the Marvel Universe in 2025. Predator Vs. Punisher is the first of the line from Tieri and Saiz.
Which of Frank's enemies do you want to see the Predator claim as a trophy first, Kingpin, Jigsaw, Silvermane or the Owl?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.