Born (comics)
| Born | |
|---|---|
 Born #1 (2003) Cover art by Wieslaw Walkuski | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | MAX (Marvel Comics) |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Limited series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | 2003 |
| Number of issues | 4 |
| Main character(s) |
Frank Castle PFC Stevie Goodwin |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Garth Ennis |
| Artist(s) | Darick Robertson |
| Creator(s) |
Garth Ennis Darick Robertson |
Born is a four-issue comic book limited series featuring the Marvel Comics character Frank Castle a.k.a. the Punisher. The series was released in 2003 written by Garth Ennis and penciled by Darick Robertson.
Synopsis
Born documents Frank Castle's time in Vietnam as a Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps during his final tour in Vietnam in 1971. The story is told primarily through the eyes of Stevie Goodwin, a marine counting down the days of his service and Frank Castle, a tough Captain with a finely honed killer instinct and survival skills. The story chronicles a crucial 4-day period of the platoon stationed at Firebase Valley Forge, a remote strategic outpost on the South Vietnamese-Cambodian border.
Valley Forge is an outpost on its last legs; half of its marines are addicted to heroin and the commanding officer is an alcoholic. Goodwin simply wishes to return home safely, and realizes that sticking close to Castle is his best option. Castle, despite being home in the jungle, maintains an internal dialogue with a voice that continually goads Castle into justifying his endless thirst for combat. Castle receives news that Valley Forge will be abandoned, amidst increasing opposition to the War on the home front. Castle is displayed as exceptionally ruthless; first he tricks a visiting general into wandering into sniper fire for threatening to close down the base, then he drowns a member of his platoon who raped a female Viet Cong sniper. Castle himself killed the sniper while she was being raped. Another character grimly reflects that his action was the only way she could have been "helped", as she would have never survived captivity.
Despite the news, Castle continues leading a squad on routine patrols, though his men are thinned by sporadic ambushes by the Vietcong. By the fourth day, the attrition has left the outpost severely undermanned and outgunned. When night falls, bringing a hellish downpour, the Viet Cong and elements of the North Vietnamese Army attack the fortification, using the rain to shield themselves from air cover.
One by one, Castle's unit drops, and he finds himself surrounded and running out of ammunition. The voice in his head becomes louder and louder until it can be heard over the scream of the storm and roar of the gunshots. It offers Castle the strength and stamina needed to survive, to maintain an eternal state of vigilance, and to wage the permanent war - at a price. Castle finally gives in.
By the next morning, the air support has returned with an EVAC helicopter to the destroyed encampment, but are horrified to find Castle standing in a field of mutilated and broken VC bodies. He suffered severe physical trauma and is bleeding from several gunshot wounds, but remains unaffected.
In the next scene, Frank Castle returns home, a decorated officer on a crutch, to his waiting wife, Maria and children. In the midst of the smiling return, the internal voice speaks again of the price of Castle's choice. We find now exactly what Castle's eternal war will cost him, as a picture details Castle's family in a targeting reticule reminiscent of the Punisher's skull icon. The voice goes on to say that it and Castle are in the same business though it has been at if for much longer and that Castle will keep it busy which implies that the voice could be the Devil or Death itself. Horrified, Castle embraces his smiling wife and eager children.
Issues
- Issue #1 "The First Day"
- Issue #2 "The Second Day"
- Issue #3 "The Third Day"
- Issue #4 "The Last Day"
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