PART 1 The Punisher always knew he'd die on the job. But he didn't know he'd have an expiration date. After busting up a slave ring in downtown Philadelphia, Frank Castle has been tricked, trapped, gassed, strapped to a table and injected with a serum that will turn him into a 220-pound corpse by dawn -- six hours from now. The people who grabbed him want him to do a simple little job and then they'll give him the antidote -- simple, right? Guess again. The Punisher is nobody's errand boy. There's only one thing he wants to do before he dies: Take as many bastards as he can with him.