Punisher #16

Part of the "Total X-Tinction" crossover, this February 1997 issue puts Frank Castle front and center in a storm of criss-crossing laser beams, battered but unyielding, every muscle braced for the "Last Stand!" the cover promises. Looming large behind him is a cold-eyed, scarred figure, while a cybernetically enhanced combatant crackles with energy at his side, making the cover — penciled by Tom Lyle and inked by Robert Jones — feel genuinely tense and kinetic. John Ostrander scripts "Dead to Rights" with art by Lyle and inks by Robert Jones, a solid creative team delivering the Punisher at his most cornered and defiant.