Cover Date: October 1975
On Sale Date: July 1975
Writer: Tony Isabella
Artist: George Tuska
Inker: Vince Colletta
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colorist: Phil Rache
Editor: Marv Wolfman
On the Hollywood soundstage for the Stuntmaster television show, Johnny Blaze prepares for his first on-the-job stunt, dressed in a copy of the Stuntmaster's costume. Johnny starts his motorcycle and begins the stunt, but is interrupted when a man rushes in front of him and commands him to stop. Johnny wrecks the bike while avoiding the man, and recovers in time to see the director, Coot Collier, arguing with the newcomer. The man, whose name is Cosgrove, is there for the studio and tells Collier that he can't continue with the stunt because Blaze isn't a member of the stuntmen's union. Johnny tries to attack the accountant, but is stopped by the Stuntmaster. The two bikers walk away just as a tour group passes by...but no one notices the ghostly image of the deceased Orb floating above the tour guide. The guide and the group then attack Johnny, who undergoes his transformation into the Ghost Rider due to the amount of danger. He rings himself and the injured Stuntmaster in a ring of hellfire to keep the crowd back, but he then sees the giant ghostly Orb hovering over the people. The Orb tells Blaze that he's come back from the grave to exact his revenge on the Ghost Rider, and he then orders the people under his mental command to walk through the wall of fire. Before they reach it, however, a blast of water drenches the crowd and awakens them from their spell. The Orb fades away and Johnny returns to normal, while Karen page and her stand-in, Katy Milner, approach with two firehoses. Karen rushes to Johnny's side and acts concerned about him, but then gives him the cold shoulder and walks away. Confused, Johnny talks with Katy, who tells him that in return for running an errand for her she will tell him about Karen's past.
A little while later, Katy and Blaze meet and she asks him to pick up a package from her brother at the UCLA Medical Center. Johnny agrees, and the two go on a motorcycle tour of the studio. Katy tells Johnny that Karen's had her heart broken by a string of men - including the lawyer Matt Murdock - and that she's afraid to let anyone else get that close again. Johnny then mentions that he'll need to find a new place to stay, since he had been crashing in Karen's guest-room. Katy tells him that two of her friends who work for the studio have a beach house with a spare room that Johnny could possibly rent. Katy takes Johnny to meet her friends, Richard and Wendy Pini, on a back lot of the studio, but their meeting is interrupted by another thrall of the Orb, who attacks them with a forklift. While the other three people scatter, Johnny transforms into the Ghost Rider and returns to his cycle, riding circles around the forklift. He's surprised by a laser attack from the Orb's ghost, which puzzles Blaze. The Ghost Rider jumps over the forklift and blasts it with his hellfire, destroying the vehicle and knocking the driver unconscious. The Orb fades away while Johnny returns to human form, just as Wendy, Richard, and Katy make their way back to him. Johnny then asks for directions to UCLA so he can run Katy's errand before they start shooting their next scene.
When he arrives at UCLA, Johnny first encounters the rest of the superheroes that will join together with him as the Champions. After their first adventure, Johnny has returned to Delazny Studios, in despair over the Champions' failure in the mission. During one of his stunts, Johnny catches the falling Katy, but then feels himself transforming into the Ghost Rider. While riding through the air, he looks to his side and sees the Orb appearing above Karen page, who is being ordered by the villain to shoot Blaze with the gun in her hand.
The Orb first appeared and seemingly died in his battle with Ghost Rider and Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up (1973) # 15.
Blaze took a job as a stuntman for the Stuntmaster television show in Ghost Rider (1973) # 13. In the same issue, Johnny discovered that his transformations into the Ghost Rider are now triggered by danger instead of nightfall.
Katy Milner asks Johnny to retrieve a package from her brother at UCLA, but this is impossible since she is actually Roxanne Simpson under a spell and as such has no siblings (other than Johnny, her foster brother). Katy's identity as Roxanne is revealed in Ghost Rider (1973) # 19.
Writer: Tony Isabella
Artist: George Tuska
Inker: Vince Colletta
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colorist: Phil Rache
Editor: Marv Wolfman
Cover Artist: Ron Wilson
On the Hollywood soundstage for the Stuntmaster television show, Johnny Blaze prepares for his first on-the-job stunt, dressed in a copy of the Stuntmaster's costume. Johnny starts his motorcycle and begins the stunt, but is interrupted when a man rushes in front of him and commands him to stop. Johnny wrecks the bike while avoiding the man, and recovers in time to see the director, Coot Collier, arguing with the newcomer. The man, whose name is Cosgrove, is there for the studio and tells Collier that he can't continue with the stunt because Blaze isn't a member of the stuntmen's union. Johnny tries to attack the accountant, but is stopped by the Stuntmaster. The two bikers walk away just as a tour group passes by...but no one notices the ghostly image of the deceased Orb floating above the tour guide. The guide and the group then attack Johnny, who undergoes his transformation into the Ghost Rider due to the amount of danger. He rings himself and the injured Stuntmaster in a ring of hellfire to keep the crowd back, but he then sees the giant ghostly Orb hovering over the people. The Orb tells Blaze that he's come back from the grave to exact his revenge on the Ghost Rider, and he then orders the people under his mental command to walk through the wall of fire. Before they reach it, however, a blast of water drenches the crowd and awakens them from their spell. The Orb fades away and Johnny returns to normal, while Karen page and her stand-in, Katy Milner, approach with two firehoses. Karen rushes to Johnny's side and acts concerned about him, but then gives him the cold shoulder and walks away. Confused, Johnny talks with Katy, who tells him that in return for running an errand for her she will tell him about Karen's past.
A little while later, Katy and Blaze meet and she asks him to pick up a package from her brother at the UCLA Medical Center. Johnny agrees, and the two go on a motorcycle tour of the studio. Katy tells Johnny that Karen's had her heart broken by a string of men - including the lawyer Matt Murdock - and that she's afraid to let anyone else get that close again. Johnny then mentions that he'll need to find a new place to stay, since he had been crashing in Karen's guest-room. Katy tells him that two of her friends who work for the studio have a beach house with a spare room that Johnny could possibly rent. Katy takes Johnny to meet her friends, Richard and Wendy Pini, on a back lot of the studio, but their meeting is interrupted by another thrall of the Orb, who attacks them with a forklift. While the other three people scatter, Johnny transforms into the Ghost Rider and returns to his cycle, riding circles around the forklift. He's surprised by a laser attack from the Orb's ghost, which puzzles Blaze. The Ghost Rider jumps over the forklift and blasts it with his hellfire, destroying the vehicle and knocking the driver unconscious. The Orb fades away while Johnny returns to human form, just as Wendy, Richard, and Katy make their way back to him. Johnny then asks for directions to UCLA so he can run Katy's errand before they start shooting their next scene.
When he arrives at UCLA, Johnny first encounters the rest of the superheroes that will join together with him as the Champions. After their first adventure, Johnny has returned to Delazny Studios, in despair over the Champions' failure in the mission. During one of his stunts, Johnny catches the falling Katy, but then feels himself transforming into the Ghost Rider. While riding through the air, he looks to his side and sees the Orb appearing above Karen page, who is being ordered by the villain to shoot Blaze with the gun in her hand.
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| The Orb has such a great character design. |
THE ROADMAP
Johnny's trip to UCLA takes place in The Champions (1975) # 1. The last two pages of this issue take place after The Champions (1975) # 2.
The Orb first appeared and seemingly died in his battle with Ghost Rider and Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up (1973) # 15.
Blaze took a job as a stuntman for the Stuntmaster television show in Ghost Rider (1973) # 13. In the same issue, Johnny discovered that his transformations into the Ghost Rider are now triggered by danger instead of nightfall.
Katy Milner asks Johnny to retrieve a package from her brother at UCLA, but this is impossible since she is actually Roxanne Simpson under a spell and as such has no siblings (other than Johnny, her foster brother). Katy's identity as Roxanne is revealed in Ghost Rider (1973) # 19.
CHAIN REACTION
To read my review of Ghost Rider (1973) # 14 see my book Wheels On Fire: An Unofficial Guide to Marvel Comics' Ghost Rider: 1972-1983!
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| You know, Johnny and Katy make a cute couple... |
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