ROCKHOUSE OPERATION

Membership: Damasco, Fernando, The General (leader), Hector Gomez, Chris Hoyle, Wilfrid "Wilfrie" Sobel (leader of New York branch), others unnamed

Purpose: The Rockhouse operation, was a drug ring, runned by General Buktir Van Tranh. They transported drugs from Bolivia to the USA.

Affiliations: None

Enemies: the Punisher, Valencia

Base of Operations: Hideout in Bolivian jungle; a "Rockhouse" in Lasalle St., New York City

First Appearance: Punisher II#1 (July, 1987)

History: (Punisher II#1)- During his war against crime, the Punisher managed to get information on the "Rockhouse" from a gang. He attacked the gang, killing five of the members, and questioned the last one. He told the Punisher that the "Rockhouse" was owned by Wilfrie Sobel, and he asked Punisher whether or not he'd kill him. Punisher told him he didn't know, and would have to think about it. He turned his back on the man who then tried to grab his gun. Punisher threw his knife at him, killing the last member. Punisher decided to go for the entire organization, starting with Wilfrid Sobel, and after having taken him down went for the next one "The General". He called "The General" claiming to be Bill Messina, and set up a meeting for the next day. Chris Hoyle arrived at the meeting and recognized him as Frank Castle.

(Punisher II#2)- Chris Hoyle and Frank Castle flew to Bolivia in South America. There they met with The General the mastermind of the Rockhouse Operation. Castle recognized The General as Buktir Van Tranh of the South Vietnamese Army. In order to test Castle's loyalty Tranh ordered him to kill a Bolivian drug enforcement agents Valencia. But instead of killing the DEA, Castle shot down Tranh's man Fernando, blowing his cover. As the Punisher began to take down Tranh and his men, Hoyle tried to shoot Castle from a helicopter. But Castle managed to get onboard the helicopter, overpower Hoyle and drop him from a great height. Using the helicopter he returned to Tranh's base, and began to destroy it. He saw Tranh kill Valencia by blowing off his head, and after having taken down the rest of Tranh's men, he was about to find Tranh, but Tranh surprised him by coming up on him from behind. Tranh was about to shoot Castle, but Castle managed to overpower Tranh and shot him in the head.

Comments: Created by Mike Baron and Klaus Janson

As with all Punisher stories, references to the Vietnam War should be considered topical.

by The Beetle

CLARIFICATIONS:
The "Rockhouse Operation" should not be confused with:

Fernando was one of General Tranh's men at the base in Bolivia. He guarded the Bolivian drug enforcement agent Valencia. Fernando was killed when the Punisher shot him in the head. -Punisher II#2









Hector Gomez used to be a boxer, but was busted for drugs possession. He joined the New York branch of the "Rockhouse Operation" as Wilfrid Sobel's enforcer. He and Damasco were sent by Sobel to interrogate the Punisher, but were instead killed by him. -Punisher II#1















Damasco was one of The General's men working at Wilfrid Sobel's organization in New York City. He and Hector Gomez were sent by Sobel to interrogate the Punisher, but were instead killed by him. -Punisher II#1












The Lasalle St. Rockhouse was one of the "Rockhouses" in the USA placed in New York City, where the drugs from Bolivia were taken to. It was taken down by the Punisher and all 6 men there were killed by him. -Punisher II#1












The Bolivian men served in The General's private army at his base in the Bolivian jungle. When the Punisher asked Hoyle how many men they had, Hoyle answered "around 75 men". All of them were killed by the Punisher and Valencia. -Punisher II#2






Appearances:
Punisher II#1-2 (July-August, 1987) - Mike Baron (writer), Klaus Janson (artist), Carl Potts (editor)

First Posted: 08/25/2003
Last updated: 08/25/2003

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters