Still another "The End" Week! Starting early this year, because...

It's once again about the last week of the year, where we traditionally get a big ol' pile of last issues for "The End" Week, but we're getting an early start, since this issue is actually set on Christmas Eve! From 2009, Punisher War Journal #29, written by Matt Fraction, art by Andy MacDonald. Cover by Ariel Olivetti.

What was this, the second volume of War Journal? We saw the conclusion of the original, with the other 80's Punisher titles, a few years back with "Countdown." This one is less high-stakes, as it's the night before Christmas, and Frank's outside a bar...the same bar he blew up in PWJ #4, now rebuilt. Frank knew some hardware had been stolen from the Tinkerer, and was waiting to see who had it. A collection of minor-league thugs are gathered in the bar, which one figures the Punisher would think nobody would be dumb enough to go back to. He had stolen a Stilt-Man suit, and thought they could form a new gang with it; except all of them want to be Stilt-Man. One, a cop-killer, pulls a gun on the others and nearly takes the suit; but is then outgunned by the bartender and kicked out of the bar, where he's immediately shot by Frank. No one notices.

While the gang decides on their new Stilt-Man, and Frank bides his time to kill them all, he is then interrupted by the Rhino, there to feed the Vulture's pigeons. Rhino had helped Frank in a previous issue, and was very much the idiot with a heart of gold; but more importantly was too big of a name for Frank to straight-up kill, so...Rhino thinks this is a Christmas miracle, that maybe Frank doesn't have to murder those guys: "You punish the guilty, Frank. Not the stupid." As the new-ish Stilt-Man lurches down the street (and he and the gang still don't notice the body outside the bar!) Frank grudgingly has to admit Rhino was right. (Would it have been hacky, if the new Stilt-Man then immediately, accidentally and repeatedly stepped on a busload of kids? Frank scowling at Rhino like "see?") 

Frank would get a relaunch, with a new Punisher series, tying into Dark Reign, as he tried to get past the Sentry, to murder Norman Osborn. C'mon, Frank, they wouldn't even let you kill the Rhino...