Cover Date: March 2015; On Sale Date: January 2015
Writer: Felipe Smith; Artist: Felipe Smith; Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna; Colorist: Val Staples; Editor: Mark Paniccia; Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso; Cover Artist: Fiona Staples
10 months after meeting Johnny Blaze, Robbie Reyes is using his power as the Ghost Rider to break up a child trafficking ring in Los Angeles. During the battle, the spirit of Eli Morrow talks to Robbie in his head, reminding him that if he gets too angry and loses himself to rage Eli will take over. Despite Eli's presence, Robbie is able to hold back from killing the slavers and calls the cops before he drives away.
Robbie takes his disabled brother Gabe (now on crutches instead of a wheelchair) to the doctor, who tells Robbie that Gabe's physical and mental improvements over the last few months have been remarkable. During their session, Gabe tells the doctor that he is able to think more clearly about things and that sometimes he hears his a voice in his head, which the doctor assures is his conscience and is perfectly normal. Robbie states that Gabe has thrown away all of his comics and toys and now spends all of his time shut up alone in his room, but the doctor tells him that it's normal behavior for a 13 year old boy to be rebellious. On the drive home, Robbie's attempts to connect with Gabe are halted by his brother asking why he was left alone and without food on the floor by Robbie (unaware that it was Eli Morrow in possession of Robbie's body at the time). At home, Eli directs Robbie to the box that Eli had dug up from the floorboards under Gabe's room, which contains a photo of Eli with Robbie's parents, revealing that Eli is Robbie and Gabe's uncle. At that moment, Robbie's friend Lisa arrives for a tutoring session, but Gabe's attitude makes the visit uncomfortable. On the drive home, Lisa admits that she would like to be Robbie's girlfriend, but before they can kiss Eli reveals another emotional bombshell: Gabe came out disabled because Eli pushed their mother down the stairs while she was pregnant. Robbie drops Lisa off and flies into a rage, transforming into the Ghost Rider as he drives.
The next day, Robbie and Lisa see on the news a report about the Ghost Rider's rampage and how a violent street gang was found with all of their bones broken, yet still alive. Meanwhile, in his room, Gabe is visited by Eli, who claims to be a "spirit of justice" that wants to make Gabe into a superhero. He directs Gabe to the "Ninja Wolf" costume he'd worn for Halloween years before. Robbie receives a call from the auto garage asking him to work and Lisa volunteers to stay with Gabe. She takes Gabe to the pharmacy to pick up some medications, but when she returns to the car Gabe is gone. Directed by Eli and wearing the "Ninja Wolf" costume, Gabe takes an elevator to the top floor of a nearby building and jumps out the window.
THE ROADMAP
While Robbie's body was under the control of Eli Morrow, Gabe was left alone in their home in All-New Ghost Rider (2014) # 9. Morrow found the box under the floorboards in Gabe's room in All-New Ghost Rider (2014) # 8.
Robbie met Johnny Blaze and learned about the history of the Ghost Riders in All-New Ghost Rider (2014) # 9.
CHAIN REACTION
Following a rocky second arc, All-New Ghost Rider hits a high note with one of the title's best issues to date.
Felipe Smith is a creator I had absolutely no familiarity with prior to his work on this series, and while I had my concerns after the convoluted mess of "Legend", I'm happy to report that this is almost a perfect comic. We've finally moved away from Zabo, his pills, and all of the gang war things that cluttered the previous arc, and the focus has narrowed considerably that what I consider the real heart of this series. The relationships that Robbie has with his brother Gabe and the spirit of Eli Morrow is what absolutely needs to drive this series, and it's no surprise that those aspects were the shining bits of "Legend". Giving those relationships the spotlight returns the charm that the opening arc had in spades, and they're definitely the most interesting aspects of the series. We also learn a fact that should have been obvious in hindsight, that Eli is related to Robbie (specifically his uncle), which explains why the haunted car chose Robbie seemingly at random. It's a revelation that explains a lot but still leaves the dangling mystery of what happened to Robbie's parents, who I guess just sort of disappeared one day?
The core of the issue, though, is the relationship between the Reyes brothers and the development of Gabe since the last arc. Including a 10 month gap of time between this issue and the last was a good way to allow Gabe to step into being his own character and to play up how traumatic the events of the last arc was to him and the way he perceives his brother. Gabe no longer resembles the child from the first issue, even though only about a year has passed since then, and while the character's physical and mental progression was a little jarring at first I like how it was left a bit vague as to what really happened. Did Gabe's development leap forward because of the medication and treatments that Robbie paid for or because of Eli's supernatural influence? I like that not everything is being spelled out, and in Gabe's case there really doesn't need to be a concrete confirmation of what happened.
The best thing about this issue, though, is the artwork. Ever since the first production art was released prior to the first issue, I've wanted to see Felipe Smith take over the art chores alongside the writing. I highly enjoyed Tradd Moore's work on the first arc, it was phenomenal, but Damion Scott coming on board with issue 6 really killed a lot of momentum that the series had developed. Smith is a fantastic artist, and he draws my ideal version of the Robbie Reyes Ghost Rider, especially when it comes to evoking the rage and horror that should go with such a character. That opening page (which also contains an awesome shot of Johnny Blaze, to boot) with Robbie mid-transformation following into his arrival as Ghost Rider on the next page, howling like a real demon from hell as he leaps from his car...god damn that is some seriously amazing art. Whatever Marvel's next step for Robbie may be, Smith should absolutely be allowed to both write and illustrate it.
It's a shame that the book gets this good again just as it's coming to an end.
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