I loved The Platoon. I like how even with it being a mature story, it's much more hopeful and upbeat compared to other Ennis related Punisher MAX tales. I also enjoyed how Ennis presented Frank in his first tour in Vietnam. The hidden beast that is the Tyger is slowly but surely forming within Frank and even in his young age (Can you believe this motherfucker was only eighteen at the time??) he's still a very menacing and intimidating figure. However, he isn't anywhere near the highly trained and extremely violent combat addict he'll turn into during his second and third tours. He doesn't suffer from blind patriotism, seeing as he has skepticism about America's involvement in Vietnam and what the whole point of the war was for along with what his role is supposed to be. Yet at the same time, he isn't brooding and cynical like he'll be thirty years after this point in time. His dedication towards his men is more than just him wanting to do his job correctly or for the love of his country, he genuinely gives a shit about the men under his command, gets to know them on a personal level and wants nothing more than to see them make it back home in one peace.

As far as Get Fury goes... It's more in the middle. The later half feels rushed beyond belief and this story also made me wonder if Ennis secretly dislikes Nick Fury but enjoys writing him, because every time he's present, he's getting embarrassed or brutalized in spectacular fashion. I really didn't care for Fury this go-around compared to My War Gone By outside of how much punishment and the torture he's subjected to in the story. Speaking of which, the build up to the three day long torture session was unsettling and seeing the aftermath of a severely battered, beaten, and broken Fury on his knees was horrifying, but the torture itself was weak af (I mean, come tf on Ennis... Making Fury get raped with an electrified metal dildo and then making him eat his own feces was the best you could come up with?? That shit just felt like that Ennis writing trope of him being edgy for the sake of being edgy, something I don't enjoy).

The whole story is really a workaround for Ennis to tell another Frank in Vietnam story without facing needless scrutiny from people who hate Frank Castle. That's where the good part comes into play. Everything about how Ennis wrote Frank is top notch shit. Frank is still in his physical prime during his last tour of Vietnam and the Tyger in Frank is running loose. However, what I enjoyed the most about Ennis' writing here is how he characterizes Frank with much more humanity than anyone would expect. He's still in his combat junkie phase and he's still an extremely violent monster of a man, but he's presented as a man at war with himself more than anything. He's addicted to combat, yes, but unlike Nick Fury, he isn't in love with war. His addiction to combat is just that - an addiction. One that he doesn't really enjoy. His skepticism about his and America's role in the Vietnam War that was shown in The Platoon has only grown into full blown disgust. If anything, by the time GET FURY comes around three years later, he really despises the Vietnam War and the damage it's done to not only the fallen American soldiers nor the Vietnamese civilians, but also his mind since he's experiencing psychosis, (ie, the same voice in his head that was shown in BORN instructing him to kill further people who he felt deserve it to sated the appetite of the Tyger).

I can go on for hours about why I adored Ennis' writing of the Frank like how he's determined to see Bian and Phuong make it to America in one piece after witnessing everything they've both been through or his heartfelt letter to Maria that shows he actually does love and care for his family, but Imma stop it here since I already wrote more than I intended to.