Appearing in "Mother Russia, Part Two"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Delta Force
- Captain Martin Vanheim (First appearance)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- United States Air Force
- Evgeny Stenkov (Photo)
- Galina Stenkov (Mentioned)
- United States Army
- Allah (Invoked)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth-200111
- Russia
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
- Anchorage, Alaska (Mentioned)
- Rhode Island (Main story and flashback)
- Air Force Base (Main story and flashback)
- New York (Mentioned)
- Newark (Mentioned)
- Arctic Circle
- Saudi Arabia
Items:
- Punisher's Suit
- Barbarossa (First appearance)
Vehicles:
- USS Silverfish (Mentioned)
Synopsis for "Mother Russia, Part Two"
Frank Castle heads to Suhdek to capture an elusive biological weapon. In a passenger jet five miles over Siberia that was flying from Anchorage to Moscow, Frank Castle and Martin Vanheim were inside of the cargo hold, unbeknownst to most of the crew and passengers, ready to jump out. In a flashback, Nick Fury was watching a film with Frank, as he assigned him on a mission to Russia. Back in the present, Castle and Vanheim jumped thirty-thousand feet in the air, out of the plane. In the flashback, Frank and Fury saw footage of Chechen rebels being executed by having their skin dissolved within five minutes and the latter wanted the former to go to Russia to learn how it happened. Frank and Vanheim had landed in the Gory Birranga mountains in Northern Siberia, seven hundred miles inside the Arctic Circle. In the flashback, Fury explained that a super-virus called Barbarossa had dissolved their skin, but they did not know how it worked. Next, Fury pulled out a picture of Evgeny Stenkov, who grew the virus in a lab for the Russian Military, then gave it and the tape they just watched to a U.S. Air Force general before attempting to flee the country with his daughter, Galina. A Delta Force Blackhawk was supposed to pick them up from Severnaya Zemlya, but Russian MiGs were already flying, so the Blackhawk, along with the Delta Force members, were left at the bottom of the Kara Sea, where they could remain deniable. Fury pulled out a picture of Galina, who he said Evgeny injected her with Barbarossa before he died. Galina did not die from the virus because Evgeny injected her with the antidote and took the formula with him when he died. Fury explained that he wanted somebody to rescue Galina from Russia, so that they could use her blood to make the new antidote. Next, Fury introduced Frank to Captain Martin Vanheim of Delta Force, who the ex-Marine was reluctant to work with and worked with him only because the Generals would not allow the mission unless Vanheim was a part of it.
Back in Russia, Frank and Vanheim came upon the village of Suhdek. Meanwhile, Fury was meeting with the Generals. Bobby van Abst, one of the Generals questioned Fury telling Frank the details of Barbarossa as a "critical security breach." Fury responded that Castle deserved to know about it. When Frank and Vanheim were in Suhdek, they cached their weapons and equipment and went to a bar and ordered drinks as cover, while they waited for their target. In order to lure their target out, Frank and Vanheim started a fight and fought until they encountered to Russian soldiers and defeated them, taking their uniforms and I.D. cards afterwards. When Frank and Vanheim arrived at a Russian nuclear missile base, they entered without the guard checking their I.D.s. Later on, they arrived at the inner perimeter where a guard asked for I.D. As Frank gave the guard I.D., Vanheim snuck out behind the guard and Frank quickly slit the guard's throat, killing him, alerting another guard, who Frank shot dead. Next, Frank and Vanheim entered an elevator.
In Riyadh, William Rawlins changed out of his keffiyeh and thawb and into a suit and tie before boarding a flight to Newark.
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in comics and books, see references for more info.