Does Spider-Man Have No Pride?

"Karen, why do you call The Punisher a violent criminal? Isn't he a vigilante too? A superhero?" Peter had noticed the different terms Karen used when describing Daredevil and The Punisher.

"The Punisher, whose real name is Frank Castle, was formerly a Marine. After leaving the service, he became an FBI training instructor. A few years ago, his family was murdered by gangsters. Frank was shot in the head and pronounced dead, but he somehow survived."

"After that, Frank became The Punisher and came to Hell's Kitchen, trying to find the people who killed his family."

"Not long ago, he and the masked vigilante known as Daredevil destroyed the three major gang forces that ruled Hell's Kitchen."

"His philosophy is simple: if you're guilty, you die. He once applied to join the Avengers, but Mr. Stark rejected him."

Karen recited The Punisher's information as though she knew it by heart.

Peter did not react too strongly after hearing it.

The Punisher reminded him of someone he had known.

Shadow Spider-Man.

Shadow Spider-Man had never shown mercy to evildoers either.

Even after merging with him, that had not changed much. In that single night alone, he had directly or indirectly killed Vulture, Kraven the Hunter, and Green Goblin.

Of course, there were still some differences between them.

Shadow Spider-Man only killed those he believed deserved to die.

The Punisher, on the other hand, held the attitude that all evil should be completely eradicated.

Still, judging by how thoroughly Iron Man had The Punisher's records, it seemed that his actions had received some sort of tacit approval.

Perhaps he was a counterweight against those forces in New York's underworld?

As for some joke about feeling guilty over the deaths of his family—did politicians even have that sort of thing?

While Peter observed Daredevil and The Punisher, the two men across from him began arguing as well.

Earlier, Daredevil had learned that The Punisher was following District Attorney Samantha Reyes. After destroying several gangs in Hell's Kitchen, The Punisher seemed to have acquired evidence proving that Samantha was directly connected to the incident that had killed his family.

Although Daredevil's own methods of dealing with evil were somewhat extreme, he believed that The Punisher's indiscriminate killing was far too radical.

So, he had followed him here to stop him.

Even if he wanted revenge, shouldn't he at least get all the facts first?

Just as the two began fighting after failing to agree, Samantha ordered the officers to shoot them.

The two fell through a glass roof, and Daredevil struck his head and lost consciousness.

After that, The Punisher brought him here.

Once Daredevil woke up, he continued trying to persuade The Punisher. His general point was that kindness existed in everyone, and no one was beyond redemption.

The Punisher, however, scoffed at Daredevil's beliefs. He thought his own method was the best way to end crime, while Daredevil's approach was more like a "half-measure."

Could justice that was only half done still be called justice?

Then The Punisher dragged out a brown-haired man and said to Daredevil, "Now, you have three choices."

"First, you kill him!"

"Second, kill me before I kill him!"

"Third, do nothing, and I'll kill him!"

Looking closely, although Daredevil was bound all over, a gun had been "thoughtfully" tied to his hand, with one finger resting on the trigger.

Clearly, The Punisher had arranged this in advance.

However, Daredevil did not hesitate. He chose a fourth option.

Bang!

The gun in Daredevil's hand fired at the chain binding him.

With a loud clatter, the chain crashed to the floor.

Then another gunshot rang out. The bullet passed through the man's body, spraying blood everywhere.

The Punisher casually threw the gangster onto the ground and looked at Daredevil with mocking eyes.

The gangster on the floor coughed up blood and asked Daredevil indistinctly, "Why... didn't you save me..."

Daredevil silently lowered his gun. In the end, he had still been one step too slow.

Of course, he felt no guilt.

This man was named Grote, one of the core members of Irish Kitchen, one of Hell's Kitchen's many gangs.

When The Punisher had purged them earlier, Grote had happened to be away and escaped disaster.

But the man had not given up. He contacted Samantha Reyes, Hell's Kitchen's official administrator, trying to use official power to bolster his position and become the second ruler of Hell's Kitchen after Kingpin.

What disappointed Daredevil was that he could have gotten more intelligence from this man, then used legal means to send him to prison for a heavy sentence.

But now, The Punisher had simply killed him.

It was certainly an efficient solution, but some things had been buried forever along with him.

Daredevil shook his head slightly, genuinely troubled by The Punisher's behavior.

Peter, meanwhile, was thoroughly confused.

Was rescuing people supposed to be this careless?

The only difference between this and Russian special forces rescuing hostages was whether they bothered saving bullets, right?

At that moment, The Punisher had already walked to the side and pulled a weapon resembling a shoulder-fired RPG from a backpack nearby.

But as he pulled the trigger and it began gathering energy,

a faint glow spread across the "RPG." This was no rocket launcher—it was clearly a shoulder-fired energy cannon!

Peter abruptly stood up.

An energy weapon!

And an energy weapon disguised as an ordinary kinetic weapon!

Wasn't this exactly what he had been investigating?

"Hey, wait, Mr. Punisher!" Peter stopped observing and shot out a web, swinging over.

"Who are you?" The Punisher spun around sharply, the muzzle of the charging energy cannon aimed at Peter as well.

Bzzzz—

Peter's Spider-Sense suddenly flared in his head.

His eyelids twitched wildly. His Spider-Sense told him that the man before him could fire that energy cannon at him at any moment!

This lunatic. Peter cursed inwardly, though he could only force a smile onto his face—unfortunately, the mask hid it.

Afraid of provoking The Punisher, Peter dared not make any unnecessary movements. He cautiously said, "I'm Spider-Man, from Queens. Like you, I'm also, uh, a vigilante. That's what they call me."

"Oh, you're that kid from next door." The Punisher lowered the barrel of his energy cannon slightly, though it continued charging.

Peter relaxed a little. "No, I'm not a kid."

"No kid would ever admit he's a kid."

"I'm not!" Peter argued.

The Punisher said, "Only kids are obsessed with helping old ladies cross the street every day."

Peter: Karen, didn't you say this guy was a violent killer who never blinked at murder? Why is he so sharp-tongued? Does Spider-Man have no pride?

Karen: ^-^!