Nick Peron

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Nomad (vol. 2) #6

Nick Peron

Dead Man’s Hand Part VIII: The Mortal Coil Shuffle

Credits

This story continues from Daredevil #309…

Daredevil, the Punisher, and Nomad have all descended on Los Vegas where members of organized crime are meeting to carve up the empire one run by the Kingpin.[1] Each vigilante has their own reasons for being there, but for Jack in parituclar, he has been roped into assassinating the Slug, a notorious drug lord who SHIELD wants put down.[2]

The trio have just learned that the mobsters have all been meeting in the Palantine Casino. Entering through the roof they arrive on one of the hallways where members of the Secret Empire have been staying. This is just as one of their minions raises the alarm that the heroes are onto them. This leads to a brawl between the trio and the terrorists. As they fight, Nomad can’t help but notice the stark contrasts between the Punisher and Daredevil. While Frank Castle has no compunctions about taking lives, he mows down the attackers without a care. On the other hand, the so-called Man Without Fear fights them with a grace and skill that takes them down hard but doesn’t maim or kill his opponents. With the immediate battle over, Castle shuts down the elevator so they can work their way up the floors and deal with each of the groups.

This leads to another argument between Daredevil and the Punisher over their methods. While the two bicker, Jack tells them that he has a personal stake in all of this and tells them that he’s going back up to the roof to call in a marker. Going down to another floor, Monroe bursts into the Slug’s hotel room in the hopes of wiping him out. However, the place appears deserted until he is attacked by someone from behind. Whirling around, Nomad is surprised to see that his attacker is Giscard Epurer, the so-called favor broker. Jack is unhappy to see him and even less happy to hear that Giscard tipped the Slug off that he was coming. Epurer explains that he did so because while killing the Slug would wipe out his record, it wouldn’t eliminate to taint on Jack’s soul afterwards. This is something that Giscard refuses to allow Jack to do. This is because the favor broker can relate to Jack’s situation as he was in a very similar one many years ago. Soon enough he discovered that doing one favor leads to another, and another, figuring that you will eventually even things out, but that never happens. Giscard made the wrong choice and hopes that Jack won’t make the same one. Monroe thanks Giscard for his advice but is going to do things his own way.

Meanwhile, Daredevil and the Punisher have advanced to another part of the hotel where they ambush the Voice, the woman who organized this meeting of organized crime on behalf of the Red Skull. She chats them up hoping that they won’t notice she is raising her wine glass to drink from it. However, Daredevil’s enhanced senses detect that the wine has been poisoned and kicks the glass away. He then uses his billy club to prevent her from licking the wine spilled on her fingers. However, before they can get answers out of her, Daredevil’s radar senses pick up something incoming. He then shoves the Punisher out of harms way, but the Voice is riddled by arrows fired from an army of Hand ninjas that are now swarming into the room. Since the Hand are not technically alive, Daredevil has less of a problem with the Punisher mowing them down. The ninjas are also joined by their leader, the Jonin as well.

Nomad catches up with his two allies just as they finish off the ninjas who then dissolve into nothingness in acts of suicide. It’s here that Jack decides to come clean with the Punisher and Daredevil and tell them how he was hired to eliminate the Slug. While the Punisher has no problem with this and wants to help, Daredevil has a problem with taking a life, regardless of who it is. However, since the order to kill the Slug is coming from the government themselves, he has no counter argument to give and reluctantly joins the others.

Meanwhile, the Slug is being ferried out of town in the cargo trailer of a semi-truck, the only thing big enough to securely transport him out of town. The truck is soon stopped and the three vigilantes burst in through the cargo trailer’s doors. There, Nomad confronts that Slug and threatens to kill him. Ever the coward, the Slug begs to have his life spared and offers to double whatever Jack is being paid. What’s even more shocking is that the Slug doesn’t even remember encountering Jack in the past.[3] Jack suddenly feels disgusted and can’t bring himself to kill the Slug. As Jack walks away, the Punisher decides to finish the job but unfortunately for him, he’s out of bullets. As he and Daredevil mop up what’s left, Jack walks away trying to figure out where to go with a life that is this thoroughly screwed up.

… This story concludes in Punisher War Journal #47.

Recurring Characters

Nomad, Daredevil, Punisher, Giscard Epurer, The Hand, Secret Empire, Slug, Bucky

Continuity Notes

  1. The various members of organized crime have been in Las Vegas to discuss dividing up the Kingpin’s former criminal empire since Daredevil #307. This story takes place shortly after Daredevil took down the Kingpin in Daredevil #297-300. He’ll be back in charge in New York City in Spider-Man/Kingpin: To the Death #1.

  2. The government has been pursuing Jack since he screwed up their attempt to build a cybernetic gun in Nomad #1-4. They convinced him to go after the Slug in Nomad (vol. 2) #3.

  3. Nomad went after the Slug in Captain America #324-325. Jack had to be stopped by Captain America before he could kill the Slug.

Dead Man’s Hand Reading Order