Marvel Reveals Winter Soldier, Luke Cage, Iron Fist & Hawkeye Work for Nick Fury

Nick Fury has started to put another eclectic team of heroes together, but not necessarily the one you’re thinking of.

Spoilers for this week’s The Punisher #5 below!

The issue saw Frank’s war against basically everyone hit its peak, which led to him fighting against the new Mandarin. This sent Frank on a sort of one-man hunt to kill Baron Zemo’s underlings, which ultimately led him to a suspicious Hydra office.

The man inside the office was none other than Fury, who Frank thought was once again trying to stop him on his crusade. But as Fury revealed, he wasn’t — but Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Winter Soldier, and Hawkeye were.

The quartet then began to fight Frank, with the one-man army going up against them in an array of ways. When Frank attempted to escape, Winter Soldier shot him with a round of non-lethal bullets, which sent him collapsing onto the ground. Fury then declared that it was over, passing Frank over to what ended up being Zemo’s agents.

While this sort of superhero group probably won’t be a constant within Marvel Comics, the fact that they all teamed up is sure to be a thrill in one way or another to Punisher readers. The fact that, as Frank points out, the group didn’t necessarily know what Fury’s real motives were makes things more interesting and complicated.

“The last year has changed Frank in some ways,” Punisher writer Matthew Rosenberg said in an interview shortly after the relaunch was announced. “He doesn’t feel guilty for following Captain America to Hydra. I’m not sure guilt is something he really feels ever beyond not saving his family. But he does want to set things right. And that means he has big plans and big targets. And this time he’s going after some of the biggest. His list has two names on it that folks might be excited about: Baron Zemo and the Mandarin. Legitimate Super Villains with whole armies behind them. And Frank isn’t stopping until they are in the ground or he is.

“Frank’s coming war with Zemo and Mandarin is going to be unlike anything Punisher fans have seen before. And it’s going to get ugly real fast,” Rosenberg added.

“When I was a kid I remember being told once that when a bear kills a human that bear develops a taste for eating people and won’t stop,” Rosenberg explained. “As an adult I’m pretty positive that that isn’t true at all, but it’s a cool as hell idea. And it’s true for the Punisher. Frank has his eyes on bigger prey. He took down a fascist army. He overthrew a government. And now he can’t get that taste out of his mouth. He’s not above killing his local crime boss or drug dealer, but he is on the hunt for the people behind the people. And that’s where the Mandarin and Baron Zemo come in. They aren’t just bad guys, they are the guys who control bad guys. And that is why Frank wants them.”

The Punisher #5 is in stores now.