The idea behind Marvel Knights was to have a gritty book about street level characters. It opened up on Punisher.
He comes upon a bunch of dead Russian criminals and realizes he needs help to figure out who killed them, presumably so he can kill the killers for not letting Punisher kills the Russians first.
So he goes to Daredevil for help.
Meanwhile, we see Natasha in church.
And it’s a good thing she’s there, because the church is stormed by thugs and she beats them all up. And y’know who else is there?
Dagger.
Now it all ties together: Dagger needs help finding a drug-addicted child. Natasha is looking for whoever killed the Russians–who were ex-KGB. Daredevil wants to help both of the ladies. So Punisher has his team…
…Two females and a blind guy. Nice.
Oh, and there’s Shang Chi.
He’ll run into the rest of the group next issue. So will Cloak.
The “big bad” is revealed to be Ulik. How does he tie into all this? Well, the killers “burrowed” through the subways system, and that’s where Ulik is hiding.
Demon/troll fights. Vengeance against drug dealers. Chuck Dixon style tough talk.
Ulik is sent home to whatever Realm he’s from in the end–rather easily, as a matter of fact–and the group now have a history together.
The premise is fine–good even. A mix of characters with ongoing stories (Punisher, Daredevil) and those who don’t see very often (Cloak, Dagger, Shang Chi, Widow). The execution is workmanlike. It’s fairly typical Chuck Dixon.