Cover Artist: Tradd Moore |
Original Price: $3.99
Title: "Engines of Vengeance", Part 4
Writer: Felipe Smith
Artist: Tradd Moore
Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Val Staples
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso
Artist: Tradd Moore
Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Val Staples
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso
SYNOPSIS
At his home, Robbie Reyes shaves his head and discovers a series of scars, which Eli tells him is a sign that the two of them are becoming one. The night before, the Ghost Rider fought the gangster Grumpy, who had ingested Dr. Zabo's strength-enhancing pills. Grumpy was far stronger than the Rider, who managed to get an upper hand against the drug dealer by using his car as a weapon. However, Grumpy mutated, growing an extra set of arms, and beat Robbie into submission before leaving.
At his home, Robbie Reyes shaves his head and discovers a series of scars, which Eli tells him is a sign that the two of them are becoming one. The night before, the Ghost Rider fought the gangster Grumpy, who had ingested Dr. Zabo's strength-enhancing pills. Grumpy was far stronger than the Rider, who managed to get an upper hand against the drug dealer by using his car as a weapon. However, Grumpy mutated, growing an extra set of arms, and beat Robbie into submission before leaving.
The next day, Dr. Zabo argues with his other self,
Mr. Hyde, about how to fix the problem with his mutagenic drug. He
realizes that the problem is in the chemical compound, and that he must
change it to make the pills work correctly, changing their color from
pink to blue. At school, Robbie and his rival, thug Guermo Valdez, are
asked by their teacher to help with a community outreach program, which
Valdez laughs about before leaving. Meanwhile, Grumpy confers with his
gang about getting more of the pink pills, his mind and body severely
changed by the drug.
Robbie takes his little brother, Gabe, out for ice
cream in his new car, while Guermo and his friends are approached by
Zabo and his men about the whereabouts of Grumpy. Zabo offers Guermo
both cash and a chance for great power by helping him, which Valdez
accepts. Robbie sees Guermo on the street talking with Zabo, and despite
Eli telling him to seek vengeance on his rival, Robbie resists the urge
and continues on his way with Gabe. While Grumpy continues to consume
the drug, Zabo comments that until he finds his pills all of Hillrock
Heights will burn.
ANNOTATIONS
The concept of there being many different Spirits of Vengeance, each with their own appropriate vehicle, was introduced by writer Jason Aaron in Ghost Rider (2006) # 27. That issue even showed a glimpse of a Ghost Rider that drove a muscle car similar to the one used by Robbie Reyes.
The concept of there being many different Spirits of Vengeance, each with their own appropriate vehicle, was introduced by writer Jason Aaron in Ghost Rider (2006) # 27. That issue even showed a glimpse of a Ghost Rider that drove a muscle car similar to the one used by Robbie Reyes.
The recap page for this issue gives the full name of the Spirit of Vengeance inhabiting Robbie as Eli Morrow. Eli's origin is revealed in All-New Ghost Rider (2014) # 8.
While traditionally a foe of Captain America and the Avengers, Mr. Hyde has had three previous encounters with a Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch) in Ghost Rider (1990) # 4, Ghost Rider (1990) # 36, and Ghost Rider (1990) # 55.
This issue was released with a cover variant by Felipe Smith that was first used as the cover of May 2014's issue of Lowrider magazine as a promotional tie-in to the new series.
Cover Artist: Felipe Smith |
REVIEW
Smith and Moore provide a quiet interlude while they set up all of the pieces for next month's showdown between all of the various characters, while Robbie fights the Ghost Rider's influence.
Smith and Moore provide a quiet interlude while they set up all of the pieces for next month's showdown between all of the various characters, while Robbie fights the Ghost Rider's influence.
Following the high-impact energy of the last two
issues, the opening arc's fourth chapter slows things down considerably.
Aside from the first few pages being used to close up the cliffhanger
ending from last issue, everything present here is either plot or
character development. That is, of course, far from a bad thing. Smith
has done a lot in the past three issues to build not only the setting
for the book's conflict but also the motivations for each of the
principle characters. Robbie, naturally, gets the lions share of the
development, and I both like and dread where the writer is taking the
character. An established aspect of all the various characters that been
Ghost Rider is the effect of vengeance on their personalities and the
world they live in. Some, like Johnny Blaze, fought against the little
voice in his ear telling him to burn the world to ashes, while others
like last volume's Alejandra embraced it and was led to ruin. Robbie is
following down an increasingly similar path as previous hosts, but it's
unclear as to which outcome he'll eventually embrace.
Smith isn't exactly subtle in his characterization
of Robbie, with him shaving his head to reveal the flame-like scars on
his scalp, but there is some nuance present. I've said before that Reyes
is a character teetering on the edge of blowing up with rage, and the
tension between his desire to be a good person and his desperate need to
gain payback for all the shit heaped on him is building nicely. You can
see it every time he interacts with Guermo Valdez, and it's getting
worse now that he has Eli speaking to him. Eli (whose last name,
according to the recap page, is apparently Morrow) is interesting,
because despite his more familiar way of speaking he seems like a very
strong echo of Zarathos. He's like a snake wriggling his way deeper into
Robbie's psyche, getting on his good side by complimenting Gabe while
at the same time driving Robbie to "annihilate!". The dueling voices are
a theme, and again not a very subtle one, when you look at the book's
main antagonist, Dr. Zabo, who argues with his other self like a
schizophrenic.
Tradd Moore doesn't get as much of an opportunity
to show off as he did in the first three issues, but he still produces
quality work. He over-exaggerates when it's appropriate, such as the
grotesque transformation of Grumpy when he grows his extra arms, but he
also does very well with the quieter scenes. The high stylization of the
artwork is still there during the school scene with Robbie and his
teacher, but it's dialed down considerably in comparison to the opening
fight sequence.
The only downside to this issue, as much as I hate
to say it, is that it doesn't feel like much happens to further the
plot. That's the double edged sword when it comes to middle chapters of
arcs, though, so it's a necessary and expected snag. This is still a
highly recommended series and I cannot wait to see how it all comes
together next issue.
Grade: A-
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