Ghost Rider (2006) # 7

"Hell to Pay, Part 2"

Cover Date: March 2007

On Sale Date: January 2007

Writer: Daniel Way

Artist: Richard Corben
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Jose Villarrubia
Editor: Axel Alonso
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada

Cover Artist: Richard Corben

Following his defeat moments ago, the Ghost Rider crawls away from Lucifer, who is brandishing the Rider's severed leg as a weapon. The Ghost Rider stands and reforms his leg while the Devil taunts him, but gives no effort to reply. Lucifer notices this and comments "Ooooh, I get it. Johnny's not here, is he?" Blaze's personality has submerged, and the Spirit of Vengeance has taken over.

We flash back to several months ago, where Lynchburg, Tennessee District Attorney James Strahorn has a meeting with Sheriff Arvis. Arvis tells him that Blaze and Clay were bailed out this morning by Bedelstraum. Strahorn says that the people who put him here - the people he answers to - expect results, and he's counting on him to help deliver. He tells Arvis that Johnny Blaze is a loser and an idiot, and all he has to do is apply enough pressure and Blaze will do something stupid.

Meanwhile, in Clay's garage, Blaze spends his time fixing up some of the many bikes laying around the building. Clay is confident that Bedelstraum will clear everything up for them, despite Johnny not quite trusting him. Clay suggests they take a ride, then tells Johnny to take a bike for himself - they're friends, and what's his is Johnny's. Later, while out on their ride, the two bikers are chased down by Arvis in his squad car. Clay brings out a pistol, but doesn't have time to use it before he and Blaze are run off the road by Arvis. Blaze awakens on the side of the road with Clay's pistol laying beside him, just as Arvis walks up to arrest him.

Back in the present day, the Ghost Rider and Lucifer continue their stand-off. The Satan-possessed host continues his verbal taunts, with still no reply from the Rider - until the large wooden cross behind them bursts into flames at the Ghost Rider's control. Satan laughs, saying that "Johnny is fun to play with and all, but you -- you rock!" Lucifer's sarcasm is cut off, however, when the Rider causes the burning cross to levitate into the air. At the Ghost Rider's command, the cross flies through the air, impaling Lucifer into a truck parked several yards away. Lucifer admits that this was a good trick, to which the Rider replies, "It gets better." The hellfire hits the truck's gas tank, causing it to explode - destroying Lucifer's host body. Afterward, the Ghost Rider transforms back into Johnny Blaze, who has no memory of what happened after the Spirit of Vengeance took control. He decides that he doesn't really want to know...whatever has to be done, he needs to just step back and let the Ghost Rider handle it, because Johnny Blaze is no match for the Devil.

Flashback again to Lynchburg, where the imprisoned Johnny is bailed out once again by Bedelstraum, who rushes him out of the building. Blaze has been arrested for possession of a licensed firearm, and standard protocol requires the firearm be researched and tested - they need to be gone before those test results come back. Johnny asks why, but Bedelstraum and Clay climb into the limousine and invite Blaze inside as well. In the police station, Strahorn is furious at Arvis, who was unable to get Blaze on anything but the firearm charge. Arvis tells him that Blaze didn't take a swing at him, or even try to defend himself, despite giving him every reason to do so. He just doesn't know what to do to push Johnny's buttons. Strahorn closes his eyes and prays, hoping that they don't know how to "push Johnny's buttons" either.

Outside in the limo, Bedelstraum tells Johnny that the gun was used to kill a bartender a few nights ago, while Clay admits that Bedelstraum gave the gun to him to give to Blaze. Johnny's eyes widen as he starts to put the pieces together, and his fears are confirmed when Clay announces that they set him up. Bedelstraum goads Johnny into releasing the Ghost Rider, but Blaze fights the transformation, angry and confused at what's happening. Johnny asks why they did this to him, that they had a deal...and Bedelstraum replies, "you're right, we did have a deal." Just as the transformation into the Ghost Rider begins, Blaze turns to find Clay's pistol pointed at his face - and then the back window of the car is shattered by a gunshot. Blaze falls into darkness, and when he awakens the Ghost Rider is in Hell, greeted by Lucifer, who tells him it's "time to pay up". Back in the limousine, Clay sticks the pistol in his mouth and pulls the trigger, moving on to his final reward. Bedelstraum receives a call on his cell phone and, later, attends a meeting with Strahorn. The two discuss a proposition, while their casting shadows reveal Bedelstraum as a demon and Strahorn as an angel.

Front row at a Stryper concert.

THE ROADMAP

The flashback sequences take place between Ghost Rider (2001) # 1/2 and Ghost Rider (2005) # 1.

Blaze last let the Spirit of Vengeance (Zarathos) take control of the Ghost Rider during his fight with Doctor Strange in Ghost Rider (2006) # 3.

CHAIN REACTION

The true story of Johnny Blaze's death and banishment to Hell is revealed, while the true Spirit of Vengeance steps in to show Lucifer a thing or two about ass-kicking. Long story short, Daniel Way's Ghost Rider continues it's upward trend, despite some plot mechanics that fall apart after a little thought.

If I have one nit-pick about this issue, it's that there's not a clear segue from the present day to the flashback scenes. Even with the advance knowledge of the flashback sequence following the previous issue, I had to flip back a few times through the reading of this issue to make sure I hadn't missed a transition - particularly in the first flashback scene with the District Attorney and the Sheriff, since there's not a single caption to show a shift in time or location. But that's a small thing compared to some of the more head-scratching moments that come as the story moves alone.

So Lucifer's plan was to kill Johnny and finally claim his soul after many years of Blaze riding carefree - that much I get, and it makes a lot of sense. It's Satan's actual plan to achieve this goal that leaves me a bit confused. If all it took to accomplish this was to shoot Johnny in the head, then what was the purpose of setting him up via Clay and Bedelstraum? One of the early plots in the 70's series was that Johnny had to die while committing an evil act that would damn his soul, but he did no such act here other than in the eyes of the law (and something tells me that the judgment of souls in the hereafter doesn't really follow the same guidelines as the American justice system). Johnny was framed and set-up from the get-go, and his involvement was unwilling and duplicitous, so that obviously can't be it. Blaze's transformation into the Ghost Rider seems to be the key here, especially considering that Johnny didn't have control over the demon at this time following the "Hammer Lane" story - so was the frame job done just to get Blaze angry enough to let the Ghost Rider out again? It's not clear at all based on what information we're given here, and unless Way plans to explain this in a later story it looks to me like sloppy plotting.

Another mystery/point of confusion comes in the presence of the angel and demon making a deal at the end of the issue. Was Bedelstraum just a generic demon, or actually Satan himself as his shadow hints at? If it was Satan, then what was he doing on Earth when Way went to great lengths to explain that the Devil couldn't set foot on the earthly plane until Johnny broke free of Hell? Why was the angel posing as a District Attorney for a small Tennessee town - was he just waiting for the day that Johnny would happen to ride through? Seems like a pretty menial task to assign to an Angel of the Lord, but I can't imagine there being enough time for an angel to rise through the ranks and become a District Attorney in the time after Blaze was initially arrested. Again, maybe Way has an explanation, or maybe not.

The most spectacular part of the story comes during the present day struggle between the Ghost Rider and yet another Lucifer host - a host that handed Johnny his ass in the previous issue. The real Ghost Rider comes out to play here, and it's reminiscent of one of the better aspects of "The Hammer Lane" when Way gives the Rider very little to say. When he does finally speak, it's a great little moment. I am truly enjoying the mystery of Blaze's possession, and just which entity this "Spirit of Vengeance" is, and I'm eagerly awaiting the answers.

Now, about the artwork. Most fans, I noticed, weren't too thrilled with Richard Corben's work last month, and I'm fairly sure the same opinion will be held with this issue as well. Personally, I thought it was fantastic, but I honestly can't blame most people for disliking it so vehemently. Corben's art is highly stylized, and is a throwback to the old EC horror comics of the 50's and 60's - it's a very acquired taste, and I honestly have never counted myself as a Corben fan. But man, he knocked my socks off with this issue. I loved the sequence with the burning cross, and his rendition of the Ghost Rider on page 9 with the cross bursting into flames behind him just absolutely floored me. Another great scene was the final sequence with Johnny's death, with Blaze struggling to control the transformation right before the bullet takes his life. 

Words cannot express how happy I am with the positive turn the Ghost Rider series has taken over the last three issues. Here's to Dan Way keeping up the good work...

Sure, just pretend Johnny isn't there!