It had been 12 years since the last Marvel/DC crossover when two of the darkest characters in either universe finally collided. The Punisher (Frank Castle) of Earth-7642 brings his war on crime brings him to Gotham City. His hunt for Jigsaw will attract the attention of Batman (John-Paul Valley, formerly known as Azrael). He returns to Gotham sometime later and clashed with the original Batman (Bruce Wayne) and the infamous Joker.
This return to Earth-7642 (the numerical designation for Marvel’s crossover universe – where continuity is essentially the same, but the crossover stories don’t effect the mainstream universe) heralded a slew of Marvel/DC crossovers set outside of regular continuity (for Marvel, at least) until both mainstream universes literally clashed in DC VERSUS MARVEL a year later.
There are some truly odd story-telling choices in this one. The Punisher of Earth-7642 is much the same as his Earth-616 counterpart, but embarrassingly easy to lure into obvious traps.
SCROLL DOWN to the bottom for the KEY COLLECTED EDITIONS for this event!
Crossover: The two one-shots were released within months of each other and, while they can be read separately, there’s a direct connection between the two.
Must Reads: Story arcs marked with a ✔are must-read stories from this time period, along with any key related stories and often-forgotten tales that are worth a read.
Want to keep it simple? Here’s the chronological reading order without story descriptions, or spoilers:
- ✔ Batman/Punisher #1
- ✔ Punisher/Batman #1
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| Must Reads | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | Batman/Punisher #1 The new Batman (Jean-Paul Valley) hunts down the criminals who stole a formula for rocket fuel from the FBI. The Punisher is trailing Jigsaw, who’s in on the scam, and plans to burn away Gotham City‘s reservoirs and cash in on the inevitable rebuild. Batman saves Jigsaw when the Punisher throws him off a roof. The Joker arrives and frees Jigsaw while the Punisher and Batman save Gotham after the obligatory tussle. Batman loses when Frank gasses him with his own grenade and makes his escape… |
| Must Reads | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | Punisher/Batman #1 The Punisher returns to Gotham City to kill Jigsaw and the Joker who plan to become the city’s crime lords. While Microchip engages in an unrealistic hacking war with Robin, the Punisher and Batman (with Bruce Wayne back beneath the cowl) converge on gangster Jimmy Navarone‘s club. The Joker and Jigsaw do the same. The Punisher chases down the Joker until Batman shows up to save Joker’s life. Batman easily takes the Punisher down and orders him to leave Gotham City. Which he does, gladly… |
| Must Reads | Issue & Fallout | Event/Crossover |
| Batman #509 (1992) Still in his role as Batman, Azrael references his clash with the Punisher, implying ‘Deadly Knights’ takes place within regular DC Universe continuity. | KNIGHTSEND | |
| Punisher Meets Archie #1 (1994) The Punisher of Earth-7642 appears between his run-ins with the Batmen. | ||
| Robin #8 (1994) Bruce Wayne becomes Batman again, taking the mantle back from Azrael. | KNIGHTSEND | |
| Spider-Man and Batman #1 (1995) We visit Earth-7462 again, but this time it’s Spider-Man who meets Batman. | ||
| Punisher/Painkiller Jane #1 (2001) The Punisher of Earth-7642 next appears. | ||
| JLA/Avengers #1 (2003) With the battle taking place off-panel, Batman of New Earth spends 20 minutes beating the Punisher of Earth-616 over his methods when the Justice League jump to that reality; this implies ‘Deadly Knights’ doesn’t take place in mainstream DC continuity. | JLA/AVENGERS |
| Collected Edition Title | Include… |
| DC/Marvel Crossover Classics vol.2 DC Versus Marvel Omnibus | Batman/Punisher #1 Punisher/Batman #1 |
Reading Order ©OmniverseComicsGuide 2023
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