Issue(s): Punisher annual #5
Cover Date: 1992
Title: "Byte by byte / The vengeance routine / Icecapade"
Credits:
Peter David / Rob Tokar / Roger Salick - Writer
Steven Butler / Vince Evans / Val Mayerik - Penciler
Dan Panosian / Al Williamson / Val Mayerik - Inker
Tim Tuohy - Assistant Editor
Don Daley - Editor

Review/plot:
Hey, Peter David is writing a Punisher annual!

There's nothing super-special here. This is the first part of yet another annual crossover event, and in a sense it's similar to last year's Lifeform event, which started off a threat that the Punisher could handle and then it evolved so that it could be powerful enough to fight each subsequent hero. Except in this case the threat is just a computer virus, so from the Punisher's perspective it barely registers as a threat at all. He just blows up a computer at the end while he's busy doing his usual thing.

The Punisher is trying to get shipping info from a company called Raycom Industries that he knows to be a front for drug smugglers, but Micro is unable to access their computers because they are infected with a virus. So Punisher and Micro go to visit the company in person. Peter David gets in a little humor that also goes highlights the fact that Punisher is not a "good guy".

The head of Raycom, a Mr. Ray Fortuna, hears about two unscheduled computer repair people showing up, and assumes that they are working for his rival, a Mr. Mazzilli, whose front company is called Ampersand. The Punisher does get the shipping info he wanted, but he has to shoot his (and Micro's) way out.

Meanwhile, we see Mazzilli firing the software engineer that created the virus.

The engineer, Max E. Mumm, turns out to be an associate of Micro's.

Punisher goes to shoot lots of people where Raycom is shipping the drugs. Micro and Max stay behind to try to stop the virus. But it's actually the Punisher who stops the virus, by blowing up Raycom.

Well, stops it for now, anyway. Obviously it will be back for the next part of this crossover.

Also in this issue is a nice back-up by Rob Tokar, Vince Evans, and Al Williamson focusing on Micro. A guy that the Punisher was chasing but failed to kill winds up in a hospital, and Micro uses a variety of disguises as well as his ability to hack into the hospital's network to trick the guy into giving up his boss, who turns out to be a doctor in the hospital.

The story is also good for if you ever wanted to see the Punisher play Nintendo.

The final story by Roger Salick and Val Mayerik is just a very generic story where the Punisher shoots people near ice sculptures.

The main story is helped along by Peter David's witty writing, but overall there's not much here.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This is part one of The System Bytes. Part two is in Daredevil annual #8.

References: N/A

Crossover: System Bytes

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Fnord: "Hey, Peter Davis is writing a Punisher annual!"

Who? :P

Typo alerts in the forum only, please.

How old is Max supposed to be? Micro talks about him like an old college friend but he looks younger than Micro's son.