The Punisher: Shadowmasters #2 (November 1989)

Last year, on this exact same month, I took a look at the first issue of a spin-off miniseries from Frank Castle, the original Punisher's comic book: Shadowmasters. This miniseries told the tale of a group of ninjas that had an adventure with Frank in the comics at the time. In the first issue, we got to see the birth and growing pains of a friendship between two men that crossed cultures and nationalities in the shadow of World War II and the American occupation of Japan. And we also got to see the beginnings of an obsession with revenge that would have an effect on both men that would last a couple generations. Where did it go from here? Let's find out in Shadowmasters #2!

The cover is a Mark Texiera piece. It's a wraparound cover that looks utterly gorgeous. It depicts a swordsman ready to strike, a ghostly geisha behind him, as well as a big ol' Buddha. The other side also had a Japanese-style pagoda castle. It is a cool cover (I would love to hang it as a poster), but I do wish the cover was more of a preview of the story. Still, I like it.

"The Invisible Enemy"
Writer: Carl Potts
Penciler: Dan Lawlis
Inker: Tod Smith
Colorist: Steve Oliff
Letterer: Jim Novak
Editors: Al Milgrom, Marc McLaurin
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins a recap of the previous issue. While Japan was occupied by the USA after the events of World War II, Shigeru Ezaki (secretly a ninja protector of his home village) had met and befriended an American Army man named Captain James Richards. The two end up joining forces to take on Kantaro (I mistakenly spelled his name Kentaro in the last issue 😖) Umezu, the commander of a group of Imperial Japanese Army holdouts, wanting to continue the war. Kantaro had a new plan: instead of outright fighting, the holdout soldiers would take a tactic from their ninja foe: blend in. Work their way up to influential positions in the society of post-war Japan and then use said influence to subtly take over the country and push it back to war. 

Years had passed since then. It's now 1962. Richards returned to America for a while and had married. Thing was, his time in Japan made him fall in love with the country. He would return to the country to help coach in Japan's growing pro baseball league. Yeah, baseball is huge in Japan. James is likely a coach for a team in the Nippon Professional Baseball league. It was around back then, and it's the biggest baseball league in the country. 

This time of peace also meant the growth of families. In 1957, the Richards family welcomed their first child and future Shadowmaster Phillip. Ezaki was a widower, but even he found his own family growing. He would remarry and welcome another child in 1960: his daughter Yuriko. His elder son Sojin is also growing up. The two families were close friends, the children growing up together. It seems almost idyllic. But a dark shadow lulls over this group.

Kantaro's group has worked hard over the past decade and a half. They have achieved their goals of infiltrating Japanese post-war society. They've become powerful men...and some of them have started questioning Kantaro's goal. After all, time and their new positions have gotten some of them thinking that perhaps they are better off letting it go and continuing to prosper. Kantaro...disagrees with them.

"And you all will like the pineapple on pizza, too!"

Years pass. It is now 1972. Ezaki has been training his children and James's son Phillip in ninjitsu, wanting to pass the secrets of the Shadowmasters to a new generation. James is aware of the training, but he doesn't participate. He and Ezaki may see each other as brothers, but their experiences and cultures still show a wide gap they can never truly reconcile. The kids, though? They grew up in a blend of their parents' worlds. They'll be the ones to be the bridge. They're the future.

Ezaki continues his training. The kids are progressing, but they still have a ways to go. After all, one does not become awesome ninjas overnight, ha ha. We get a nice little laugh from Yuriko as she fell asleep while practicing keeping herself concealed. 

The next morning, Phillip is talking about what he learned from Ezaki to his parents. His mother is understandably concerned about her son being taught to be a ninja. James isn't too worried about it. Ezaki's a friend, and at least Phillip isn't spending his nights running around and causing trouble. Not to mention he sees it as good character building. 

That night, a ninja sneaks their way towards Ezaki's home...then leaves. Maybe he thought they got the wrong place. This is a really bad start to a ninja pizza delivery service.

The next day, the two families head out to watch a baseball game. Ezaki's eldest son Sojin isn't with them as he's on a field trip as part of his marine biology studies in college. The team James is coaching is playing for the league championship. Ezaki was able to notice the ninja visiting his house last night...was Phillip.

Ezaki noticed that the crickets that were chirping this time of year were silent, indicating they were disturbed. Also, Ezaki saw him. His face may have been concealed, but his body and moves gave him away like an ID card. Phillip only did it to prove how good he was getting at stealth. And he noticed Ezaki had spotted him because he heard mosquitoes buzzing. Mosquitoes tend to settle on bed netting around midnight, and their buzzing indicated something disturbed them. Phillip's mother grounds him for a month.

The game goes well for James's team, winning the championship. James and Ezaki get a picture. Sojin also returns home, with a couple new pets.

"I also found a Kraken, but I couldn't fit it here."

Not exactly a new kitten, but hey, at least they'll be good ice-breakers and conversation-starters. Ezaki's little photo ends up causing a big problem, as Kantaro has seen it in the sports section of a newspaper. That night, as the man sleeps, he is haunted by memories of his childhood. One, in particular. His father was an alcoholic and like to play a trust exercise with him. The old man put the young Kantaro on a wall, and told him to jump, saying he'll catch him. But when he does, the father moves away, causing Kantaro to fall on his face.

It's meant to teach the boy to not trust anyone outside of his own instincts. Kantaro's mother objects to this, but his dad smacks her around. The enraged boy picks up a sword and stabs his father with it, killing the old drunk. It was the first time he killed a man, and for Kantaro, it was an eye-opening experience. He felt a thrill and great satisfaction from it, implying that he enjoys killing. 

In a secure office in Tokyo, Kantaro meets with his fellow renegades. Now they know the identity of the ninja and his American ally, they can finally strike and get both their heads. However, the other ex-soldiers are...not fond of the idea. And it's not because they've grown to enjoy their new positions in life. It's more that they fear Kantaro's grudge will jeopardize the plan to take over Japan, the plan Kantaro himself conceived. After all, they have been building up the tech and soldiers they need. They're about ready to go. 

Kantaro doesn't care about any of it right now, as his thirst for Richards and Ezaki's blood is too great. That night, Ezaki discusses being Shadowmasters with Phillip and Yuriko. He taught them everything he knows, and he hopes they use this knowledge well, and grow as best as they can. Afterwards, he meditates, visualizing a small waterfall. Normally, this visual is of the waterfall endlessly flowing, but now...it's dried up. Foreshadowing...

A week has passed, and Mrs. Ezaki notices her hubby moves like he's in a fog. The vision has shaken him, like he fears something bad will happen. However, he still has to go to a mayoral conference in Iga. Everything should be fine. Totally fine.

Over the next few days, Richards and Ezaki live their lives. Richard's baseball team gets ready to tour the USA, and Ezaki works at the conference. The mayor returns home and finds his place unusually quiet. There should be noise from his family at this time. He heads into his home via a secret passageway from a fake well. The other opening is at the garden. It should allow him to see the stars at night...but it's completely dark. Something is blocking it. And the blockage was something that he hoped he'd never have to see.

"We also ate all your ham. Sorry about that."

His dear friend Richards, now a corpse. The killers left a note. They have his and Richards's families. Ezaki quickly gets to work, doffing his mayoral suit. It's time for the Shadowmaster. But even his knowledge and skills can't compete with some aspects of modern technology. Thanks to heat sensors surrounding his home, Kantaro and his subordinates can track the ninja. 

Kantaro is enjoying himself right now, as he gets to be the hunter. He sends some men in to get Ezaki, then reveals that the hostages are tied to a pillar in Ezaki's home. But getting them out will not be easy. There is an explosive at the base of the pillar. The hostages are also standing on dead man's switches. If they are moved, it goes off. The bomb also has a timer on it, so they'll get blown up anyway. It's overkill, but it fits Kantaro's madness and obsession with revenge.

Ezaki makes his way inside his home. He fights off Kantaro's men. Even their using infra-red goggles to negate the darkness doesn't help them. 

"AW GOD, IT TASTES SPIKY!"

Remember those sea urchins that Sojin brought home? They turn out to be very handy weapons, especially when tossed into a man's face.

The broken fish tank leaks water into the motor of its filter, causing a short...which leads to a fire.

The fire makes it impossible to track Ezaki with the heat sensors, much to Kantaro's fury. But Ezaki is still on the clock. He finds his and Richards's families.

"Uh...okay?"

He has 90 seconds to free them. And the clock is ticking.

Ezaki tries to use a corpse of one of Kentaro's men to keep the dead man's switches from triggering the bomb early. 40 seconds left. The corpse can't cover all four switches, though. Ezaki tells the others to get out. 20 seconds left. He sticks a piece of glass into the pillar. And the house goes up with a BANG.

The story ends with the families being alright...but Ezaki himself is seemingly dead, much to the sadness of little Yuriko.  

I enjoyed this comic. Yes, it's not as action-packed as the first issue, but it was nice to see the family lives of Richards and Ezaki. I enjoyed seeing the I also give kudos to the creative team for not killing off Philip, Sojin, and Yuriko's mothers. I do wish we got names for them, though. I doubt it would have been that hard to do. I also liked seeing the family life of Richards and Ezaki. It helps show that the two, despite their disparate cultures, do have a lot in common, mainly being loving family men. It was also neat seeing Ezaki train Yuriko and Phillip in the art of ninjitsu, passing his knowledge to the next generation. It also helped the theme of bridging the East and West. Seeing so much of the two families' idyllic lives also made Kantaro and his men's attack hit much harder. Not to mention I got a good chuckle out of Yuriko's falling asleep during training and Ezaki giving one of Kantaro's men a sea urchin to the face. 

I know that some will criticize the brief scene in which we saw a bit of Kantaro's childhood. And I can see why. After all, he's not a good dude. And then there's the cliche of "abused children becoming villainous". But I look at it like this. You see, there is a difference between having a sympathetic backstory, and being a sympathetic character. Yes, Kantaro didn't have a good childhood, if that flashback was any indication. But that does not mean he's a good person. He's a monster. All we saw is just how he became one. 

I've said it before, and I will say it again about the art. It's very well done. Dan Lawlis is an artist I never hear talked about much, and that's a shame. I think he's very good. His art is detailed, expressive, and has a good bit of storytelling ability. The inking also helps the pencils instead of hurting them, like say Rey Garcia with Tom Tenney. 

I believe I've said this in my review of the first issue, and I will say it again here. I think Shadowmasters is a hidden gem in Marvel publishing history, and I highly recommend seeking it out. In fact, I recommend tracking down the 2018 trade paperback The Punisher: Shadowmasters. You won't regret it. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!