Cover Date: December 1973
On Sale Date: September 1973
Writer: Gary Friedrich
Artist: Jim Mooney
Inker: John Tartag
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: George Roussos
Editor: Roy Thomas
Artist: Jim Mooney
Inker: John Tartag
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: George Roussos
Editor: Roy Thomas
Cover Artist: John Romita
Following their rescue from Satan, the Ghost Rider and the
unconscious Witch Woman are dropped off in the desert by Daimon
Hellstrom, the Son of Satan. Johnny protests that Hellstrom is leaving
them to die a hundred miles from civilization, but the Son of Satan
leaves them stranded regardless. Linda Littletrees awakens, her soul now
free from Satan's influence, and Blaze tells her that they're stranded
in the desert. Linda attempts to use her powers to save them, but finds
them gone now that her soul has been freed. Johnny tells her that he'll
die once the sun comes up, due to the injuries he endured in his human
form. Linda tells him that he still has his powers, and with her help he
can learn to harness them. Under Linda's guidance, Johnny concentrates
and creates a flaming motorcycle from a stream of hellfire. Linda tells
him that he must hurry, for the cycle will only exist until he reverts
back to Blaze's form, and that she can't ride the bike because she no
longer has her Satanic powers - to her, the bike wouldn't exist. So
Blaze rides off into the desert, promising to make it to a town and find
help for her.
Johnny rides for hours through the desert,
desperately looking for signs of civilization. Finally he sees a
freeway, with a city just beyond, and he increases his speed to reach it
in time. As Blaze rides onto the freeway, however, dawn rises behind
him - triggering his transformation back into his injured normal body.
As he transforms, the hellfire cycle disappears beneath him, causing him
to tumble viciously onto the highway, causing a massive wreck of cars
in his wake. As police approach the scene of the accident, Johnny lays
unconscious on the concrete. A few miles distant, Roxanne Simpson runs
for her life after she, too, had been abandoned in the desert. She sees a
light coming down the road, and her heart jumps with hope that she's
been rescued - but instead she finds Big Daddy Dawson, her pursuer,
bearing down on her. Roxanne attempts to run again, but her legs are
caught by Dawson's chain. He captures her again and takes her back to
his hideout.
The next evening, Johnny awakens from a nightmare
and finds himself in a hospital, watched over by doctors and the police.
Dawson reads about Johnny's hospitalization in the newspaper and
decides to ransom off the kidnapped Roxanne to him. As night falls,
Johnny finds himself transforming once again into the Ghost Rider, and
he easily escapes the hospital. He leaves the entrance to the building
just as Dawson pulls up with Roxanne, catching the biker by surprise.
When Dawson realizes that his bullets are ineffectual against the
demonic Ghost Rider, he leaves Roxanne behind and flees on his
motorcycle. Blaze again creates his flaming cycle and takes chase,
following Dawson onto a crowded highway. Johnny blasts Dawson with
hellfire, but accidentally sends his enemy crashing into a truck,
killing Dawson and causing another massive wreck that injures countless
innocent drivers. In shock, Johnny hears the approaching police sirens
and decides to run - to where, he doesn't know.
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| Vehicular fatality! |
THE ROADMAP
This story is continued from Marvel Spotlight (1973) # 12.
After Linda Littletrees shows Blaze how to form his
flaming motorcycle, he realizes that he can create any object out of
hellfire, just as she did when she possessed satanic powers in Marvel Spotlight (1973) # 11. Curiously, Johnny never follows up on this observation, and opts only to make a cycle with his powers for the rest of his time as the Ghost
Rider.
CHAIN REACTION
To read my review of Ghost Rider (1973) # 3 see my book Wheels On Fire: An Unofficial Guide to Marvel Comics' Ghost Rider: 1972-1983!
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| For Roxanne Simpson, this is just a regular Tuesday. |
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