On Sale Date: December 2008
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Tan Eng Huat
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Jose Villarubia
Assistant Editor: Sebastian Girner
Editor: Axel Alonso
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
Cover Artist: Arthur Suydam
Unbeknownst to them, Ketch is watching from above, where he communicates with Zadkiel, who has taken the form of a dove. He appeases Ketch's conscience by telling him that the hosts of the Spirits of Vengeance must be saved before their power consumes them. Zadkiel, in the midst of laying siege to Heaven's gates, pauses his conversation with Danny to slaughter his way through the Asura, angel assassins. He then sends Daniel a legion of his Black Host angels to assist him against the Ghost Riders.
Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, former host to a Spirit of Vengeance Michael Badilino is visited by Kowalski, a disgraced cop that is seeking revenge on the Ghost Rider. Badilino possesses Blaze's old hellfire shotgun, which was recovered from the ruins of the Caretaker's shack in Tennessee. Badilino has been unable to get the gun to work, but when he hands it to Kowalski the gun fires a blast of hellfire through the wall. Kowalski pays Badilino and says that he has a boat to catch and a Ghost Rider to hunt.
Danny Ketch made his reappearance as an angel of Zadkiel in Ghost Rider (2006) # 22. His reasons for joining with Zadkiel, along with the explanation of his whereabouts in recent years, are told in Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch (2008) # 1-5.
Kowalski first appeared in Ghost Rider (2006) # 21 and was given the Penance Stare by Blaze in Ghost Rider (2006) # 23.
Michael Badilino first appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 21 and became Ghost Rider's antithesis Vengeance in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 9. He hasn't been seen since Ghost Rider: Finale, when he was left in Hell by Noble Kale. How he lost the Spirit of Vengeance inside him has yet to be revealed, but it was obviously before Danny Ketch began absorbing the powers of Ghost Riders around the world. He makes his next appearance in Ghost Rider: The Return of Vengeance (2021) # 1.
The Asura, the angelic assassins slaughtered by Zadkiel, first appeared in the 1993 Hellstorm series by Warren Ellis and Leonardo Manco.
This issue is definitely a standard middle chapter, delivering exposition and moving the characters into place for the final showdown. The most interesting bits are, of course, the new Spirits of Vengeance that we're introduced to, and Aaron is obviously having a ball with all of these new Ghost Riders from different cultures. Yoshio Kannabe is straight out of Akira until he turns into a skeletal sumo wrestler, wielding a spiked mace of course, and Molek and Bai Gu Jing are both visually interesting as well. They're stereotypical of their cultures, which isn't a knock against the creators because I assume it's done on purpose. The Spirits of Vengeance look like archetypes from the host's culture, so of course there would be some clichés thrown in there. Hell, look at Johnny Blaze, who is the proto-typical American biker thug when he transforms, all spikes and chains.
Being a plot-moving chapter of the story, it's a fair criticism to say that nothing much really happens in this issue. Danny defeats a new Ghost Rider, Zadkiel exposits while killing angels, and Kowalski shows up in a subplot; not much meat on the bones there, huh? The scene with Ketch and Zadkiel is absolutely essential, though, to catch readers up on the events of the concurrent Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch mini-series that shows how he became Zadkiel's pawn. We've also been told a lot about Zadkiel's assault on Heaven, but this is the first time we've actually been shown what such an event looks like. It's pretty typical of a standard "castle siege" sequence, even if it does have a nice callback to Warren Ellis' run on Hellstorm with the Asura.
Tan Eng Huat is responsible for the design of these new Ghost Riders, and he gives them enough visual distinction (along with the aforementioned archetype status) to make them interesting. Molek's turban and Bai Gu's nunchucks have enough flair to make them more than just another Ghost Rider, though I have to wonder why we never got to see what these Ghosts actually ride. The vehicles are part of the fun of this, as shown in the next issue's montage that includes Shark Rider, and it's disappointing that we don't get to see the individual rides of these two newly introduced characters. Still, Huat's artwork is very unique, and you're either a fan or not. I do think he fits this series much more so than he did Punisher, which he drew during Rick Remender's run not long after this.
With all the exposition (well, most of it) out of the way, the pieces are in place for what promises to be a great conclusion.
In Japan, a young man named Yoshio Kannabe races his motorcycle to a cemetery, where he finds his elderly Caretaker dead by his own hand. Danny Ketch is there as well, to steal the power of yet another Ghost Rider. Kannabe transforms into the Yokai-Raida and attacks Ketch, who also transforms into a Spirit of Vengeance. Ketch grabs Yoshio by the throat and sucks away his power, causing the boy to scream in pain. Two hours later, Johnny Blaze and Sister Sara, accompanied by the Islamic Ghost Rider Molek and the Chinese Ghost Rider Bai Gu Jing, arrive at the graveyard too late to catch Danny. They find Yoshio powerless and trembling amongst the stones, another victim of Zadkiel. Blaze thinks that the boy is better off, still shaken by his own confrontation with Danny weeks before. Molek tells Sara that there are still two remaining Ghost Riders that they must find.
Unbeknownst to them, Ketch is watching from above, where he communicates with Zadkiel, who has taken the form of a dove. He appeases Ketch's conscience by telling him that the hosts of the Spirits of Vengeance must be saved before their power consumes them. Zadkiel, in the midst of laying siege to Heaven's gates, pauses his conversation with Danny to slaughter his way through the Asura, angel assassins. He then sends Daniel a legion of his Black Host angels to assist him against the Ghost Riders.
Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, former host to a Spirit of Vengeance Michael Badilino is visited by Kowalski, a disgraced cop that is seeking revenge on the Ghost Rider. Badilino possesses Blaze's old hellfire shotgun, which was recovered from the ruins of the Caretaker's shack in Tennessee. Badilino has been unable to get the gun to work, but when he hands it to Kowalski the gun fires a blast of hellfire through the wall. Kowalski pays Badilino and says that he has a boat to catch and a Ghost Rider to hunt.
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| Is it like looking into a mirror, Danny? |
THE ROADMAP
Blaze discovered that the Ghost Rider curse was given to him by the angel Zadkiel in Ghost Rider (2006) # 18. He has been searching for a way to get to Heaven since Ghost Rider (2006) # 20.
Danny Ketch made his reappearance as an angel of Zadkiel in Ghost Rider (2006) # 22. His reasons for joining with Zadkiel, along with the explanation of his whereabouts in recent years, are told in Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch (2008) # 1-5.
Kowalski first appeared in Ghost Rider (2006) # 21 and was given the Penance Stare by Blaze in Ghost Rider (2006) # 23.
Michael Badilino first appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 21 and became Ghost Rider's antithesis Vengeance in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 9. He hasn't been seen since Ghost Rider: Finale, when he was left in Hell by Noble Kale. How he lost the Spirit of Vengeance inside him has yet to be revealed, but it was obviously before Danny Ketch began absorbing the powers of Ghost Riders around the world. He makes his next appearance in Ghost Rider: The Return of Vengeance (2021) # 1.
The Asura, the angelic assassins slaughtered by Zadkiel, first appeared in the 1993 Hellstorm series by Warren Ellis and Leonardo Manco.
CHAIN REACTION
Chapter 3 of "Last Stand of the Spirits of Vengeance" gives readers more Ghost Riders from around the world and our first real extended look at Zadkiel and his war on Heaven.
This issue is definitely a standard middle chapter, delivering exposition and moving the characters into place for the final showdown. The most interesting bits are, of course, the new Spirits of Vengeance that we're introduced to, and Aaron is obviously having a ball with all of these new Ghost Riders from different cultures. Yoshio Kannabe is straight out of Akira until he turns into a skeletal sumo wrestler, wielding a spiked mace of course, and Molek and Bai Gu Jing are both visually interesting as well. They're stereotypical of their cultures, which isn't a knock against the creators because I assume it's done on purpose. The Spirits of Vengeance look like archetypes from the host's culture, so of course there would be some clichés thrown in there. Hell, look at Johnny Blaze, who is the proto-typical American biker thug when he transforms, all spikes and chains.
Being a plot-moving chapter of the story, it's a fair criticism to say that nothing much really happens in this issue. Danny defeats a new Ghost Rider, Zadkiel exposits while killing angels, and Kowalski shows up in a subplot; not much meat on the bones there, huh? The scene with Ketch and Zadkiel is absolutely essential, though, to catch readers up on the events of the concurrent Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch mini-series that shows how he became Zadkiel's pawn. We've also been told a lot about Zadkiel's assault on Heaven, but this is the first time we've actually been shown what such an event looks like. It's pretty typical of a standard "castle siege" sequence, even if it does have a nice callback to Warren Ellis' run on Hellstorm with the Asura.
Tan Eng Huat is responsible for the design of these new Ghost Riders, and he gives them enough visual distinction (along with the aforementioned archetype status) to make them interesting. Molek's turban and Bai Gu's nunchucks have enough flair to make them more than just another Ghost Rider, though I have to wonder why we never got to see what these Ghosts actually ride. The vehicles are part of the fun of this, as shown in the next issue's montage that includes Shark Rider, and it's disappointing that we don't get to see the individual rides of these two newly introduced characters. Still, Huat's artwork is very unique, and you're either a fan or not. I do think he fits this series much more so than he did Punisher, which he drew during Rick Remender's run not long after this.
With all the exposition (well, most of it) out of the way, the pieces are in place for what promises to be a great conclusion.
 |
| Zadkiel going through his resume. |
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