Ghost Riders: Heaven's On Fire (2009) # 3

"Heaven's On Fire, Part 3: The Brothers Ghost Rider"

Cover Date: December 2009
On Sale Date: October 2009

Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Roland Boschi
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Dan Brown
Editor: Sebastian Girner
Consulting Editor: Axel Alonso
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada

Cover Artist: Das Pastoras

On a small mountain road in South America , Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch get into an argument that results in Blaze punching Ketch in the face. Johnny followed Danny, who was told by Satan that the gateway to Heaven is somewhere nearby. Blaze decides he wants no part in all this, but before he can ride away Danny is run over by the monstrous vehicle of the villain called Big Wheel. Johnny runs to Danny's side and finds his brother alive; immediately after, the two brothers stand transformed into the Ghost Riders.

 

Two days before, Danny stands in front of the assembled Blaze, Sister Sara, Daimon Hellstrom, Jaine Cutter, and the Antichrist on Wall Street in New York City . Ketch explains that he sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for helping them defeat Zadkiel. If they get the Antichrist to safety then Satan will give them the keys to enter Heaven.

 

In the present day, the two Ghost Riders give chase after the Big Wheel, who eventually manages to catch both Riders in the claws of his vehicle's arms. Big Wheel steers his vehicle across a bridge above a large ravine, then after saying its not personal but for a paycheck he drops the two brothers off the bridge. As they fall, Blaze's bike rides down the side of the mountain and catches him, allowing him to race back up to catch their foe. Ketch, meanwhile, isn't so lucky - he falls all the way to the bottom of the jungle and lands with his bike waiting for him. Back up top, Blaze catches up to Big Wheel as he tears through a construction site, and dares the villain to play chicken with him.

In the jungle ravine, Danny is attacked by the alien named Trull, who has taken possession of a massive steam shovel. Trull attempts to crush Ketch, but instead is picked up and thrown across the jungle to land in another construction zone. Trull is able to jump from mechanical form to form, and he possesses yet another piece of construction equipment with which to attack the Ghost Rider. Blaze, meanwhile, finishes his battle with Big Wheel by crashing straight through his vehicle, completely destroying it. The surviving Big Wheel attempts to talk his way out, but Blaze grabs him and gives him the Penance Stare.

 

Back in the construction zone, Ketch has defeated Trull by destroying every piece of mechanical equipment in the area. Once he's finished, however, Danny turns his attention toward the workers hiding around him. He attacks them, yelling that he's going to melt their souls and burn our their sins, but is stopped by a hand on his shoulder from the now-human Blaze. Later, the brothers find an ancient Indian temple that serves as a doorway to Heaven; they just don't have the key to open it. The brothers decide that there are other gates, they just have to find the right one. As they leave, Blackout watches from the top of the temple, the key to the gateway held in his hand.

 

Elsewhere, a group of nuns have received a prophetic dream that people are coming to access their doorway to Heaven. The Gun Nuns break out their armory of weaponry and prepare themselves to kill the ones who are coming.

God bless you, Trull the Inhuman.

THE ROADMAP

Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch first met in Ghost Rider (1990) # 13, but didn't learn that they were brothers until Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 16.

 

Zadkiel won the war for Heaven at the end of "Last Stand of the Spirits of Vengeance" in Ghost Rider (2006) # 32.

 

The Big Wheel first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man # 182 and Trull the Inhuman first appeared in Tales to Astonish # 21.

 

CHAIN REACTION

"Trull yet lives! Prepare to lose mass quantities of your bodily fluids!"

 

After my complaints that the previous issue didn't feature the Ghost Rider enough, Aaron and Boschi give us this all-action issue with the “Brothers Ghost Rider” facing off against two very unlikely villains.

 

I'll say this much about the villains in this story - Trull the Inhuman is absolutely fucking hilarious. He's a formless alien that possesses a giant steam shovel and talks in nothing but exclamation pointed Silver Age villain monologues. That right there is comic book gold these days, no doubt about it. The Ghost Rider Revenge Squad has its opening salvo in this issue with Trull and the Big Wheel, who are obviously the group's benchwarmers. They pose such little threat to the Ghost Riders, it makes me wonder why Zadkiel would have bothered recruiting them in the first place. Still, I applaud Aaron for choosing them; he has a wonderful knack for taking obscure villains, such as the Highwayman a few issues previous, and making them completely awesome. I'm still not much sold on Big Wheel, but after this issue I absolutely want to see more of Trull the Inhuman!

 

Also, after two issues of set-up, we get our first “all-action issue” of the series. Aaron and Boschi give us a spectacular running battle with the two Ghost Riders and their enemies. They even throw in a unique setting for the fight with the South American jungle and construction sites. Future writers take note, THIS is how you write an action issue of a comic book series. Aaron doesn't scrimp on the characterization either, as we get our first extended look at the relationship between Blaze and Ketch since the war for Heaven concluded. The writer gets both of these characters down, especially in their dueling inner monologues that bring up their individual thoughts on suddenly learning they were brothers a few years ago. Good, good stuff.

 

In fact, the only problem I can find in this issue is with the artwork. Roland Boschi, of course, turns out yet another fantastic issue here, don't get me wrong. This story actually brought back fond memories of Boschi's first Ghost Rider arc and the running battles it contained with the nurses and ghost cannibals. He's amazing when it comes to showing motion in his action sequences, something that's pretty essential for Ghost Rider. No, the problem comes with the story requiring both Ghost Riders to be involved at the same time. While they have different designs, Boschi's interpretations makes them look far too similar to one another, so much so that I had trouble keeping track during the fall sequence. There needs to be something to set these two Riders apart aside from Ketch's longer coat.

 

Honestly, this was probably my favorite issue so far of “Heaven's On Fire”. I would say that Aaron and Boschi have their work cut out for them when it comes to topping this one, but then I remember who I'm talking about and all my worries fade away.

You're on a slippery slope there, Danny.