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Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: Tony Moore; Letterer: Joe Caramagna; Colorist: Dave McCaig; Assistant Editor: Sebastian Girner; Editor: Axel Alonso; Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada; Cover Artist: Arthur Suydam
Thousands of years ago, God created the Spirits of Vengeance to keep in check humanity's capacity for evil. Bonded to human hosts the Spirits were the charge of the angel Zadkiel, whose job it was to oversee the Spirits and keep their true origins shrouded in mystery. For thousands of years the Spirits of Vengeance fought to avenge the innocent, but today they are no more and Heaven itself is lost.
Sister Sara looks over the dead body of her grandfather, the Caretaker, who passed his mantle onto her when he died. Now that Zadkiel has won his siege of Heaven, though, she can only ask "what now?". Once upon a time, the Spirits of Vengeance were a force for good on Earth with the country having its own protector before it came to be called America. In the 17th century a Puritan named Noble Kale destroyed witches; in the time after the Civil War, a former slave named Caleb became the Ghost Rider to avenge his slain family; wherever there was a need for vengeance on American soil you'd find a Ghost Rider. During wars overseas, Spirits such as the Ghost Flier of World War I and the Hellfire Tank Squad of World War II avenged slain Americans while the Undead G-Man and Knuckles O'Shaugnessy protected the home country.
But in the present, there are no protectors left. Sister Sara arrives at the only home she's ever known, the Sacred Heart Convent for the Sisters of the Holy Sepulcher, hoping that the Mother Superior will give her guidance. Sara enters to find all of her fellow nuns slaughtered with the Mother Superior barely clinging to life. She tells Sara that the stranger that called himself the Deacon came and killed them all. Before she dies, the Mother Superior tells Sara that its her responsibility to not let the fire go out now.
Whenever good people suffered and cried out for vengeance, the Ghost Rider would be there. Devil Rig and the Hell-Driver fought against a vampire infestation, the Hellbilly stopped a zombie horde, and others all the way through Johnny Blaze and his brother Danny Ketch fought to keep the world from going to Hell. But it wasn't enough, and now Zadkiel has claimed the throne of Heaven while the Spirits of Vengeance are finished. Sara finishes burying her sisters and is approached by two Ghost Riders of Tomorrow who were sent to deliver Sara a message by Sara herself in the future. They tell her that while Zadkiel may have taken Heaven that doesn't make him God, that there's still time to stop him before he becomes too powerful. Before they disappear back into the time stream they tell her to find Blaze and Ketch for the final battle. Sister Sara, the Caretaker, picks up her swords and rides off on her bike, determined to claim vengeance.
Elsewhere, the Deacon and Blackout discuss their new mission for Zadkiel. Looking through a large collection of photographs, the two murderers are looking for bastards that will help them kill the Ghost Rider.
Sister Sara looks over the dead body of her grandfather, the Caretaker, who passed his mantle onto her when he died. Now that Zadkiel has won his siege of Heaven, though, she can only ask "what now?". Once upon a time, the Spirits of Vengeance were a force for good on Earth with the country having its own protector before it came to be called America. In the 17th century a Puritan named Noble Kale destroyed witches; in the time after the Civil War, a former slave named Caleb became the Ghost Rider to avenge his slain family; wherever there was a need for vengeance on American soil you'd find a Ghost Rider. During wars overseas, Spirits such as the Ghost Flier of World War I and the Hellfire Tank Squad of World War II avenged slain Americans while the Undead G-Man and Knuckles O'Shaugnessy protected the home country.
But in the present, there are no protectors left. Sister Sara arrives at the only home she's ever known, the Sacred Heart Convent for the Sisters of the Holy Sepulcher, hoping that the Mother Superior will give her guidance. Sara enters to find all of her fellow nuns slaughtered with the Mother Superior barely clinging to life. She tells Sara that the stranger that called himself the Deacon came and killed them all. Before she dies, the Mother Superior tells Sara that its her responsibility to not let the fire go out now.
Whenever good people suffered and cried out for vengeance, the Ghost Rider would be there. Devil Rig and the Hell-Driver fought against a vampire infestation, the Hellbilly stopped a zombie horde, and others all the way through Johnny Blaze and his brother Danny Ketch fought to keep the world from going to Hell. But it wasn't enough, and now Zadkiel has claimed the throne of Heaven while the Spirits of Vengeance are finished. Sara finishes burying her sisters and is approached by two Ghost Riders of Tomorrow who were sent to deliver Sara a message by Sara herself in the future. They tell her that while Zadkiel may have taken Heaven that doesn't make him God, that there's still time to stop him before he becomes too powerful. Before they disappear back into the time stream they tell her to find Blaze and Ketch for the final battle. Sister Sara, the Caretaker, picks up her swords and rides off on her bike, determined to claim vengeance.
Elsewhere, the Deacon and Blackout discuss their new mission for Zadkiel. Looking through a large collection of photographs, the two murderers are looking for bastards that will help them kill the Ghost Rider.
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| Good to see you again, Noble. |
THE ROADMAP
Sister Sara first appeared in Ghost Rider (2006) # 26. She became the new Caretaker when her grandfather died in Ghost Rider (2006) # 27.
The original Caretaker first appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 28.
Zadkiel won the war for Heaven at the conclusion of "Last Stand of the Spirits of Vengeance" in Ghost Rider (2006) # 32.
Of the numerous Ghost Riders shown via flashback, only two outside of Johnny Blaze have been seen before: Noble Kale's origin was told in Ghost Rider (1990) # 92 and Caleb's story was told in Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears (2007) # 1-6. In total there are 18 different Ghost Riders shown in this issue. All of the Ghost Riders introduced in this issue, along with all other Ghost Riders introduced throughout Jason Aaron's run, return for the final battle against Zadkiel in Heaven at the conclusion of Ghost Riders: Heaven's On Fire (2009) # 6.
The Deacon first appeared in Ghost Rider (2006) # 24 and Blackout was shown working for Zadkiel in Ghost Rider (2006) # 26. The two killers are looking through photographs of several villains, some but not all from the Ghost Rider's past; shown are pictures of Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, Manphibian, Man-Thing, Scarecrow, Satana, Blackheart, the Orb, the Circus of Crime, Death Ninja, Doghead, Iron Mike, Razorback, Big Wheel, Black Talon, Reverend Styge, the Killdozer, Zodiak, and others. The roster of the "Ghost Rider Revenge Squad" is shown in full at the end of Ghost Riders: Heaven's On Fire (2009) # 2.
CHAIN REACTION
After months of set-up and storytelling, writer Jason Aaron gives us the complete history of the Spirits of Vengeance that include some truly bizarre concepts. Its an issue that you'll either love for the sheer outlandishness of it or hate for the utter ridiculousness of the various past Ghost Riders.
Not surprisingly, I fall in the former category instead of the latter. A lot has been made of the idea that Aaron has turned Ghost Rider into a "legacy hero" during his run, with the current Rider being just the latest in a long string of past incarnations. Its certainly not a concept that's new to the Ghost Rider mythos, as he became a legacy hero way back in 1990 when Dan Ketch took up the cycle and later writers added elements like Vengeance and Noble Kale. But it absolutely can be said that no writer has taken the idea to the extremes that Aaron has, especially in this issue - and that's saying something, considering a couple of issues ago showed us a Spirit of Vengeance on a freaking shark. But when it comes right down to it, you're going to have one of two opinions on the crazy-ass ideas Aaron throws as it us in this issue: you'll either think a Ghost Rider version of Lone Wolf McQuaid is the coolest thing you've ever seen or the dumbest. Personally, I think it's awesome.
Outside of the various imaginative Ghost Riders present during our trip through history (I mean, c'mon, Knuckles O'Shaugnessy and the Hellbilly are just bad ass, lol) the other major component is the streamlined explanation of the Spirits origin. While on the surface it appears we're dealing heavily with some retroactive continuity where Noble Kale, Blaze, and Ketch are concerned, the beautiful thing about the "Heaven's Weapon" origin is that all of the various Ghost Riders shown throughout the years can be made to fit pretty seamlessly (granted, Zarathos provides a spanner in the works, but I'll talk about him and how he fits at a later date). Noble Kale as a Puritan witchhunter is a great concept that allows poor neglected Noble a place amongst all of these new ideas. In fact, I'm really curious to find out if Garth Ennis and Clayton Crain will be going ahead with more Ghost Rider stories a la "Trail of Tears" to explore more of these concepts. If Marvel doesn't start producing a Spirits of Vengeance series as a companion title then they really have no idea how to sell comics - it would be like printing straight money, I'm telling you.
Not to be overlooked amidst all of the important backstory elements is the character of Sister Sara, the new Caretaker. As much as I liked the original Caretaker, he really wasn't anything more than a walking plot device there to give out vague clues and act mysterious when needed. Throughout his run, and especially here in this issue, Aaron has wisely taken the time to establish Sara as a character with personality outside of her Caretaker role. I took the journey with her in this issue, from crushing despair to the burning need for vengeance to her final feelings of hope after her message from the future is heard. I like Sara quite a bit, and I'm glad she's sticking around for the conclusion of the run.
Replacing Tan Eng Huat on artwork for this arc is Tony Moore, best known for his work on The Walking Dead for Image Comics. Moore is an artist whose style I enjoy quite a bit; though not as stylized as Huat or Roland Boschi, his work still has its own unique attributes with a darkness that suits the tone of the book well. It certainly couldn't have been easy for him considering his first issue demanded he design over a dozen new Ghost Riders right out of the gate. His design for Noble Kale and the Ghost Riders of Tomorrow were particularly well done (though I think the team missed a great opportunity to use Zero Cochrane, the Ghost Rider of 2099, in that role).
While I'm still loving what Aaron's doing on this series, I think the true test for this new origin and status quo will come when the next writer, whoever that may be, takes over. I have my doubts as to whether all this will add to the character or completely destroy it for future writers; I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Not surprisingly, I fall in the former category instead of the latter. A lot has been made of the idea that Aaron has turned Ghost Rider into a "legacy hero" during his run, with the current Rider being just the latest in a long string of past incarnations. Its certainly not a concept that's new to the Ghost Rider mythos, as he became a legacy hero way back in 1990 when Dan Ketch took up the cycle and later writers added elements like Vengeance and Noble Kale. But it absolutely can be said that no writer has taken the idea to the extremes that Aaron has, especially in this issue - and that's saying something, considering a couple of issues ago showed us a Spirit of Vengeance on a freaking shark. But when it comes right down to it, you're going to have one of two opinions on the crazy-ass ideas Aaron throws as it us in this issue: you'll either think a Ghost Rider version of Lone Wolf McQuaid is the coolest thing you've ever seen or the dumbest. Personally, I think it's awesome.
Outside of the various imaginative Ghost Riders present during our trip through history (I mean, c'mon, Knuckles O'Shaugnessy and the Hellbilly are just bad ass, lol) the other major component is the streamlined explanation of the Spirits origin. While on the surface it appears we're dealing heavily with some retroactive continuity where Noble Kale, Blaze, and Ketch are concerned, the beautiful thing about the "Heaven's Weapon" origin is that all of the various Ghost Riders shown throughout the years can be made to fit pretty seamlessly (granted, Zarathos provides a spanner in the works, but I'll talk about him and how he fits at a later date). Noble Kale as a Puritan witchhunter is a great concept that allows poor neglected Noble a place amongst all of these new ideas. In fact, I'm really curious to find out if Garth Ennis and Clayton Crain will be going ahead with more Ghost Rider stories a la "Trail of Tears" to explore more of these concepts. If Marvel doesn't start producing a Spirits of Vengeance series as a companion title then they really have no idea how to sell comics - it would be like printing straight money, I'm telling you.
Not to be overlooked amidst all of the important backstory elements is the character of Sister Sara, the new Caretaker. As much as I liked the original Caretaker, he really wasn't anything more than a walking plot device there to give out vague clues and act mysterious when needed. Throughout his run, and especially here in this issue, Aaron has wisely taken the time to establish Sara as a character with personality outside of her Caretaker role. I took the journey with her in this issue, from crushing despair to the burning need for vengeance to her final feelings of hope after her message from the future is heard. I like Sara quite a bit, and I'm glad she's sticking around for the conclusion of the run.
Replacing Tan Eng Huat on artwork for this arc is Tony Moore, best known for his work on The Walking Dead for Image Comics. Moore is an artist whose style I enjoy quite a bit; though not as stylized as Huat or Roland Boschi, his work still has its own unique attributes with a darkness that suits the tone of the book well. It certainly couldn't have been easy for him considering his first issue demanded he design over a dozen new Ghost Riders right out of the gate. His design for Noble Kale and the Ghost Riders of Tomorrow were particularly well done (though I think the team missed a great opportunity to use Zero Cochrane, the Ghost Rider of 2099, in that role).
While I'm still loving what Aaron's doing on this series, I think the true test for this new origin and status quo will come when the next writer, whoever that may be, takes over. I have my doubts as to whether all this will add to the character or completely destroy it for future writers; I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
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| I think Dave Mustaine would be pleased. |
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