Frank Castle's Punisher is a tortured killer whose humanity was stripped away by the death of his family. Now, Marvel is putting him through a torture that's almost as bad, as Punisher is mangled beyond recognition by one of his deadliest foes. Like most superheroes, Punisher has experienced terrible injuries and even died and been resurrected, but he's never suffered like this before...

In Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell #1 - from Charles Soule, Steve McNiven and Clayton Cowles - fans witness a dark future where America has been torn apart by war, with various heroes losing their powers and their lives. However, no-one has it worse than Punisher, who has been imprisoned by a horrific gang lord - his arms and legs removed, his symbol carved into his chest, and his body pitted with endless scars after being used for target practice.

The villain who has imprisoned Punisher is strongly implied to be Daredevil's old enemy Bullseye, who is now running a crew of killers that just set off a bomb in NYC. Thankfully, the bomb returned the aging Daredevil's long-lost powers, providing some hope that Punisher can be rescued.

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Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell is set in an alternate world where a disastrous conflict has ravaged New York. Matt Murdock does his best to help by running a soup kitchen in his father's name, but it's a long time since his enhanced powers worked. However, when a bombing reawakens Daredevil's powers, he's entrusted with a young girl by Captain America - one who is the key to a sprawling mystery the series will tackle. After Captain America falls in battle, the terrorists who triggered the bomb take his shield back to their leader - a pale killer with extreme tremors who is keeping the Punisher as his prisoner.

While Bullseye is generally seen as Daredevil's villain, he and Punisher haVE clashed many times - indeed, it was even Bullseye who killed Punisher in the canon of the acclaimed Punisher MAX, and 2005 gave the two their own series in Punisher vs. Bullseye. It therefore makes sense that in a world where superheroes are gone or severely depowered, Bullseye would take his revenge on the deadly vigilante. Frank tortured look is reminiscent of Punisher's time as Franken-Castle, when he was brought back as a zombie. But while that design was comical, there's nothing funny about the emaciated hero's new look here.

Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell has immediately established that it takes place in one of Marvel's darkest potential futures of all time, with the Punisher's horrific injuries making it clear that this series is as dark and gritty as it gets. Hopefully, Daredevil can find a way to free Punisher from his captor, because whatever you think about Frank Castle, this isn't how he deserves to go out.