A smuggling operation in Tampa Bay results in the deaths of Bobby Saint, the son of boss (crime) Howard Saint, and Otto Krieg, the arms dealer. Krieg is revealed to be undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and Delta Force veteran Frank Castle on his final mission before retirement. Enraged over the death of his son, Howard Saint acquires confidential information regarding Krieg and learns of his true identity. He orders Castle killed at a family reunion, while his wife Livia requests that his family be killed as well. At the reunion, Saint's men, among them Quentin Glass and Bobby's identical twin, John, kill Castle's entire family and shoot Castle, leaving him for dead. Castle survives and is nursed back to health by a local fisherman.
Frank Castle known as Punisher ruthlessly demolishes organized crime, but it starts an even bigger war.
In a run-down neighborhood, Frank Castle wakes up and exits his van to get his laundry done. On his way to the coin-op laundromat, he witnesses a street gang stop and confront three prostitutes before Goldtooth, the gang leader, takes one of them to a back alley where he beats and rapes her. Despite hearing her screams from a distance, Frank minds his business and places his laundry in a washing machine.<ref name="McEniry, Matthew J. 2016 237"></ref>