On Sale Date: January 2010
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: Christian Nauck
Johnny Blaze and Daniel Ketch have finally reached Heaven and have confronted the angel Zadkiel. Unfortunately, the battle is decidedly one-sided, and the Ghost Riders lay defeated within moments. Zadkiel, however, is unable to kill the two men despite his growing Godly powers. Meanwhile, back on Earth, Sister Sara confronts the Deacon, who slaughtered Sara's fellow nuns weeks before.
In Heaven, Johnny is visited by the spirits of his wife, Roxanne, and their two children. She tells him that he's not alone, the others have been watching him and are just waiting for someone to lead them. Johnny collects his brother, Danny, and the two go off to confront Zadkiel once again. Zadkiel is growing into his new power, but he is taken off guard when a legion of dead Ghost Riders erupt from the ground beneath him and drag him to the earth. Only God can create a Ghost Rider, and only God can destroy one...all the Ghost Riders that Zadkiel killed are there in Heaven, wanting revenge. At that moment, Kid Blackheart appears in Heaven with his army of demons, only to find Zadkiel laying defeated by a legion of Ghost Riders past and present. The Ghost Rider army quickly lays waste to the demons, turning Heaven into a battlefield once again.
Back on Earth, Sara fights the Deacon. With a stroke of her sword, she severs the villain's spine, leaving him paralyzed for life. Elsewhere, Daimon Hellstrom and Jaine Cutter embrace after their own battle with Hell's demons has ended with them victorious. In Heaven, the Ghost Riders report that Kid Blackheart has escaped while the demons have all been destroyed. Roxanne appears again and tells them that God has reclaimed Heaven again and wants to thank Johnny for his help. When Blaze asks to be freed from his curse, however, Roxanne tells him that he has too much work to do first. Johnny turns away and tells God to kiss his ass.
In various epilogues: the Deacon is hospitalized alongside the All-New Orb; Kid Blackheart is in a strip club with Master Pandemonium and Blackout; Vengeance is now the servant of the last living Gun Nun; and Zadkiel is being tortured by Satan in Hell. Blaze, Ketch, and Sister Sara stand in the desert, but despite defeating Zadkiel they don't feel different. The three ride off into the sunset, looking for a new adventure.
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| A bittersweet reunion. |
THE ROADMAP
Daimon Hellstrom and Jaine Cutter joined the fight against Zadkiel in Ghost Riders: Heaven's On Fire (2009) # 1.
Zadkiel won the war for Hell at the end of "Last Stand of the Spirits of Vengeance" in Ghost Rider (2006) # 32.
The All-New Orb first appeared in Ghost Rider (2006) # 26. The new Vengeance first appeared in Ghost Rider (2006) # 21, but didn't gain his newfound power until Ghost Rider (2006) # 32.
Master Pandemonium previously appeared in Ghost Riders: Heaven's On Fire (2009) # 2 as the go-between for Danny Ketch and Satan.
The Deacon slaughtered Sister Sara's former convent in Ghost Rider (2006) # 33.
The Ghost Riders that appear during the fight for Heaven were previously introduced throughout Jason Aaron's run, most specifically in Ghost Rider (2006) # 33. Also included in the Ghost Rider army is Carter Slade, the western "Phantom Rider" who first appeared in The Ghost Rider (1967) # 1. This the first time that Slade has been shown as an actual Spirit of Vengeance, though the character was also featured in the 2007 Ghost Rider feature film as played by Sam Elliot.
Blaze and Ketch appear next in Deadpool Team-Up # 897. Vengeance makes his next appearance in Secret Avengers (2010) # 21.1 as part of the new Masters of Evil alongside Princess Python and Whiplash.
This issue reprints the second half of Marvel Spotlight (1972) # 12.
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| Knuckles O'Shaughnessy, don't ever change. |
CHAIN REACTION
We've reached not only the end of the "Heaven's On Fire" mini-series, but also the end of writer Jason Aaron's run on Ghost Rider. Everything's wrapped up in a neat little bow, but unfortunately it's a case of too many characters and side-plots fighting for space.
In the review for the previous issue, I complained that Aaron had included more characters and plots than were necessary in this series. I wasn't sure just how he would be able to give closure to all the plates he was spinning in the air. Most of the space is given over to the fight with Zadkiel, which is how it should be, but the other characters are given at most one page and at the less one panel to wrap up their stories. I ask again, what was the point of including Daimon Hellstrom and Jaine Cutter other than to have them take up space that was desperately needed for Johnny's own story? Why go to the trouble of introducing a new Vengeance when he gets just one panel to wrap up his subplot? Sister Sara, at least, gets a few pages to resolve her conflict with the Deacon; but characters like Kid Blackheart, Blackout, Master Pandemonium, and the Gun Nuns are shuffled off in a one page epilogue. Aaron included everything but the kitchen sink in this series, and a lot of it was unnecessary.
But the main story is the Ghost Riders fighting Zadkiel. After two years of build-up, I couldn't help but feel disappointed with the outcome. Zadkiel is defeated in one page, which is a bit anti-climactic. Again, had Aaron left off the Kid Blackheart plot he could have given more pages over to the real important battle with Zadkiel. Granted, I loved the return of the past Ghost Riders and their uniting in battle, especially since it allowed us to see a final look at the Hellbilly and Shark Rider, among others (and hey, that's the Phantom Rider!). But it's all over far too quickly, which boggles my mind considering they had six whole issues to take care of this plot. It almost seems like Aaron hadn't planned on having to wrap things up so quickly, with the first issues of this mini-series intended to be regular issues of the canceled ongoing series.
Roland Boschi's art, however, is far from disappointing. After a bit of a poor showing last issue, Boschi is back up to par here with his rendering of the Ghost Rider army and their fight against Hell's demons. Boschi has quickly become one of my favorite Ghost Rider artists, and his swan song here is a good example of why.
Sadly, the Jason Aaron run ends on a disappointing note. It's certainly not bad, in fact its very well written, but there's just way too much going on and it costs the resolution of the important plots the space they desperately needed.
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