Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
- ⏴ Punisher (Frank Castle) ⏵ (Main story and flashback)
Supporting Characters:
- Daily Bugle (Main story and flashback)
- Norah Winters (Main story and flashback)
- Ben Urich
- Rachel Alves (Only in flashback)
- NYPD (Main story and flashback)
Other Characters:
- USMC (Only in flashback)
- Frank Castle, Jr. (Death in recap)
- Lisa Castle (Death in recap)
- Maria Castle (Death in recap)
- Mother Mary (Invoked) (Only in flashback)
- Vulture (James Natale) (Corpse, skeleton or other remains)
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (Poster)
- Sherlock Holmes (Mentioned)
- Dr. Daniel Alves (Referenced)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
- Virginia (Only in recap)
- Quantico (Only in recap)
- Marine Corps Base Quantico (Only in recap)
- Quantico (Only in recap)
- New York (Main story and flashback)
- New York City (Main story and flashback)
- Manhattan (Main story and flashback)
- Central Park (Only in recap)
- Greenwich Village (Main story and flashback)
- Lion's Head Pub (First appearance)
- Saint Vincent's Hospital (Only in flashback)
- Lenox Hill Hospital (Referenced)
- Bronx (Main story and flashback)
- South Bronx (Main story and flashback)
- Queens (Main story and flashback)
- Manhattan (Main story and flashback)
- New York City (Main story and flashback)
- Virginia (Only in recap)
- Kuwait (Only in flashback)
- Afghanistan (Only in flashback)
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
- Hell (Invoked)
Items:
- Punisher's Suit (Only in recap)
- Punisher's Arsenal (Only in flashback)
- Vulture's Wings
- Spider-Man's Suit (Poster)
Events:
- Gulf War (Only in flashback)
- War in Afghanistan (Only in flashback)
- World War II (Referenced)
Synopsis for 1st story
Forty minutes after attempting to write an article on the Punisher's recent string of killings, Norah Winters meets with Ben Urich in the Lion's Head Pub hoping to get some advice.
Three hours earlier, Norah drives the Punisher to his safehouse in Queens, despite her insistence that he go to a hospital. After bringing him there, he orders her to leave.
When she recounts her story, she does not tell Urich who it was about, but says that there is a big story in it. He says her that not every story needs to be told and tells her about a similar instance when he learned a secret about a superhero. Had he written about it he would have been famous. Instead, he kept it a secret, thinking it would only help himself.
At his safehouse, Punisher builds a splint out of wood for his leg and leaves; meanwhile, Bolt is on the rooftop in South Bronx where the Vulture's body landed along with Carlie Cooper and other forensic specialists. Carlie observes that Clemons isn't present, so Bolt goes looking for him. He finds him in the alley where the Punisher landed and questions him on why he's gathering information on the Punisher. In response, he tells him that the Punisher isn't a hero for killing bad people.
Inside an animal hospital in Queens, Punisher is stitching up his injuries when he hears yelling outside. In the alley, he finds two thugs beating up a snitch. He comes to his rescue and kills the two thugs, after which he tells the snitch to hold a mirror for him.
Norah recalls her visit with Rachel in the hospital to ask her a few questions and the two instantly hit it off. Later, Clemons goes to the Lion's Head Pub and asks Norah for the Punisher's whereabouts, having eyewitness proof that she helped the vigilante; however, she refuses to give him any information. When, he leaves, she continues to write her article on Rachel Cole as across town the Punisher leaves the animal hospital, having fully stitched up his injuries.