Although Secret Empire technically concluded last month with its tenth issue, a few threads were left dangling. Luckily for us though, an epilogue of sorts has arrived in the form of Secret Empire: Omega #1. And aside from exploring whatever’s going on with the two Steve Rogers, it’s only understandable that Marvel examine the fallout of its latest major crossover event.
So, in addition to hinting that Black Widow may very well be still alive, writer Nick Spencer continued laying the groundwork for the next year or so of Marvel storytelling by teasing what lies ahead for the Punisher. In case you haven’t heard, he’s going to be donning the War Machine armor before long, considering that James Rhodes can no longer make use of it for obvious reasons.
In case you weren’t aware, Frank Castle aligned himself with Hydra during the events of Secret Empire, thinking Captain America must have a plan, and whatever he was doing was right and just. Obviously, he was doing the bidding of the evil Steve Rogers and hasn’t taken kindly to the idea of being used.
Consequently, Frank’s jettisoned his Hydra gear in favor of his familiar threads and has decided to take the fight to any stragglers he can find. After burning down one of their facilities in Omega, he was heard to say, “Now it’s time to set things right.” Normally, that’d sound virtuous, but when words such as those leave Castle’s lips, you’d better believe the bodies are about to hit the floor.
Watching from a distance, though, was Nick Fury Jr., who ominously muttered “He’s ready.” From this, we can infer that the Punisher won’t be absconding with the War Machine armor, but will instead more likely be bestowed with it thanks to Fury. This just keeps getting more interesting, now doesn’t it?
Secret Empire: Omega #1 is now available in comic shops.