On Sale Date: September 1981
Writer: Jim Shooter
Artist: Bob Hall
Inker: Dan Green
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor In Chief: Jim Shooter
Cover Artist: Bob Hall
Hours later in New Mexico, Johnny Blaze sits atop a rocky hillside overlooking a deserted stretch of road. The curse with which he lives has cost Blaze everything he's held dear, casting him out from society - and when a fancy sportscar zooms past him, all of his anger and frustration at life bubbles to the surface. As he rages against the unfairness of his situation while some rich playboy gets to have fun, Blaze transforms into the Ghost Rider and demands vengeance, starting with the owner of the sports car. In the car, Warren Worthington III and Candy Southern are enjoying a late night cruise when they see the Ghost Rider approaching in the rearview mirror. Warren, who is also the winged mutant known as the Angel, tells Candy not to worry - he recognizes the Ghost Rider as a friend from their time together in the Champions a few years ago. But the Ghost Rider has changed since Worthington knew him, becoming more demonic and vengeful - as the couple discover when the Rider runs their car off the road and into a ditch. When the Ghost Rider returns to admire his handiwork, he challenges the Angel to a race across the desert, a challenge Worthington accepts to get Candy out of harms way. When they are far enough away, the Angel attacks the Ghost Rider, but this only causes the Rider to bathe Worthington in hellfire, causing him to fall screaming to the ground. Hours later, Southern sits in the hospital with the comatose Angel and speaks with Captain America on the phone. While she'd hoped to reach Worthington's old teammate, the Beast, Captain America tells her that while the Beast is no longer a member the Avengers will be there the next day to find the Ghost Rider.
The next day, Johnny Blaze has taken a job as a gas station attendant in Alkalai Flats, his guilt over what he did to Worthington causing him to stay in the town until his former friend wakes up from his coma. He's working when he hears the news: the Avengers have arrived in town. At the small airfield, the Avengers - Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Tigra - arrive and talk with the town's mayor. While Tigra goes shopping for more appropriate (re: western) attire, Captain America acquires a motorcycle from a local mechanic. Meanwhile, while Blaze prepares to leave town before he's discovered, the mother of a young boy comes to him yelling for help: her son, who idolizes the Avengers, has climbed a water tower while playing superhero and is now about to fall to his death. Johnny decides to change into the Ghost Rider to save the boy, but the demon instead decides not to - for there is nothing to avenge if the child dies by his own hand. As the boy falls, he's caught by Iron Man.
A few miles away, the Ghost Rider is found by Captain America and Tigra, who chase after the demon on their own bike. After a harrowing chase into a canyon, Cap and Tigra turn a corner to find that it's a dead end - and while the Ghost Rider simply rides his flame cycle up the canyon wall, the Avengers collide hard with the rocks. As they try to recover their senses after the wreck, the Rider returns and fries both of them with hellfire. Following his teammates' screams, Iron Man encounters the Rider and tackles him off his bike, confident that his hellfire can't penetrate his armor. This is a mistake, he discovers, when the Rider blasts flame into the openings for his eyes and mouth, sending him crashing to the ground. Finally, Thor confronts the Ghost Rider and proves that the hellfire has no effect on the Asgardian. When Thor throws his hammer at the Rider, the demon jumps on his hellcycle and outraces Mjolnir, stopping only when the hammer's throw has spent and it moves to return to its owner's hand. Gripping the handle of the hammer, the Ghost Rider uses its momentum against Thor, knocking the Thunder God for a loop with his own weapon.
Soon, the visibly shaken Avengers regroup and try to come up with a plan to capture the Ghost Rider. Tigra is terrified of meeting the Rider again, the hellfire having scared her - but Captain America, himself even saying that he's never experienced anything so horrifying, convinces her to put aside her fear to help them. Eventually, the Avengers again attack the Rider, but this time they are more prepared for his power. While the heroes attempt to contain the demon, the battle is brought to a halt by a newcomer: the Angel, awakened from his coma but still injured. He tells Blaze that he has a theory about him: the more bitter and unhappy he is as Blaze, the more ruthless and violent the Ghost Rider becomes. Face to face with his innocent victim, Blaze manages to wrest control of his body from the Ghost Rider and collapses on the ground, asking everyone to just leave him alone. Now that the Ghost Rider is gone, Johnny Blaze has committed no crime...and the heroes walk away from him, hoping that Blaze will eventually accept their help.
Johnny Blaze first met the Angel in The Champions (1975) # 1 and remained on the team with the high-flying mutant until the group disbanded. After winning his freedom from the Ghost Rider curse, Blaze approached the Angel for financial help in The New Defenders (1972) # 145-146. The money borrowed from Worthington allowed Johnny to purchase the Quentin Carnival, as revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 14.
Part of Johnny Blaze's misery in this story comes from him having recently lost his title as World Stunt Cycle Champion to Flagg Fargo in Ghost Rider (1973) # 46.
In the basement of Avengers Mansion, Captain America undergoes a rigorous training session as he attempts to process the recent court-martial of his fellow Avenger, Yellowjacket. While the Captain punishes his body, Tigra and Jarvis, the Avengers' butler, discuss the events that led to Hank Pym's dishonorable discharge from the team, with Jarvis sticking up for Pym despite the mistakes the man has made. Elsewhere in New York, Thor and Iron Man meet in their civilian guises to discuss the mental state of Pym, each of them wanting to help their former teammate as much as they can. At that moment, Pym's wife and fellow Avenger, the Wasp, sits at her home and works on fashion designs, sunglasses covering up the swollen eye given to her by the mentally unbalanced Yellowjacket. Janet goes to the front room of her house to meet with the downtrodden Henry, who attempts to apologize to her for what he did. Janet tells Pym that she's filing for divorce, and Pym can only apologize again as he takes his leave.
Hours later in New Mexico, Johnny Blaze sits atop a rocky hillside overlooking a deserted stretch of road. The curse with which he lives has cost Blaze everything he's held dear, casting him out from society - and when a fancy sportscar zooms past him, all of his anger and frustration at life bubbles to the surface. As he rages against the unfairness of his situation while some rich playboy gets to have fun, Blaze transforms into the Ghost Rider and demands vengeance, starting with the owner of the sports car. In the car, Warren Worthington III and Candy Southern are enjoying a late night cruise when they see the Ghost Rider approaching in the rearview mirror. Warren, who is also the winged mutant known as the Angel, tells Candy not to worry - he recognizes the Ghost Rider as a friend from their time together in the Champions a few years ago. But the Ghost Rider has changed since Worthington knew him, becoming more demonic and vengeful - as the couple discover when the Rider runs their car off the road and into a ditch. When the Ghost Rider returns to admire his handiwork, he challenges the Angel to a race across the desert, a challenge Worthington accepts to get Candy out of harms way. When they are far enough away, the Angel attacks the Ghost Rider, but this only causes the Rider to bathe Worthington in hellfire, causing him to fall screaming to the ground. Hours later, Southern sits in the hospital with the comatose Angel and speaks with Captain America on the phone. While she'd hoped to reach Worthington's old teammate, the Beast, Captain America tells her that while the Beast is no longer a member the Avengers will be there the next day to find the Ghost Rider.
The next day, Johnny Blaze has taken a job as a gas station attendant in Alkalai Flats, his guilt over what he did to Worthington causing him to stay in the town until his former friend wakes up from his coma. He's working when he hears the news: the Avengers have arrived in town. At the small airfield, the Avengers - Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Tigra - arrive and talk with the town's mayor. While Tigra goes shopping for more appropriate (re: western) attire, Captain America acquires a motorcycle from a local mechanic. Meanwhile, while Blaze prepares to leave town before he's discovered, the mother of a young boy comes to him yelling for help: her son, who idolizes the Avengers, has climbed a water tower while playing superhero and is now about to fall to his death. Johnny decides to change into the Ghost Rider to save the boy, but the demon instead decides not to - for there is nothing to avenge if the child dies by his own hand. As the boy falls, he's caught by Iron Man.
A few miles away, the Ghost Rider is found by Captain America and Tigra, who chase after the demon on their own bike. After a harrowing chase into a canyon, Cap and Tigra turn a corner to find that it's a dead end - and while the Ghost Rider simply rides his flame cycle up the canyon wall, the Avengers collide hard with the rocks. As they try to recover their senses after the wreck, the Rider returns and fries both of them with hellfire. Following his teammates' screams, Iron Man encounters the Rider and tackles him off his bike, confident that his hellfire can't penetrate his armor. This is a mistake, he discovers, when the Rider blasts flame into the openings for his eyes and mouth, sending him crashing to the ground. Finally, Thor confronts the Ghost Rider and proves that the hellfire has no effect on the Asgardian. When Thor throws his hammer at the Rider, the demon jumps on his hellcycle and outraces Mjolnir, stopping only when the hammer's throw has spent and it moves to return to its owner's hand. Gripping the handle of the hammer, the Ghost Rider uses its momentum against Thor, knocking the Thunder God for a loop with his own weapon.
Soon, the visibly shaken Avengers regroup and try to come up with a plan to capture the Ghost Rider. Tigra is terrified of meeting the Rider again, the hellfire having scared her - but Captain America, himself even saying that he's never experienced anything so horrifying, convinces her to put aside her fear to help them. Eventually, the Avengers again attack the Rider, but this time they are more prepared for his power. While the heroes attempt to contain the demon, the battle is brought to a halt by a newcomer: the Angel, awakened from his coma but still injured. He tells Blaze that he has a theory about him: the more bitter and unhappy he is as Blaze, the more ruthless and violent the Ghost Rider becomes. Face to face with his innocent victim, Blaze manages to wrest control of his body from the Ghost Rider and collapses on the ground, asking everyone to just leave him alone. Now that the Ghost Rider is gone, Johnny Blaze has committed no crime...and the heroes walk away from him, hoping that Blaze will eventually accept their help.
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| Champions forever! |
THE ROADMAP
This story takes place between Ghost Rider (1973) # 62 and Ghost Rider (1973) # 63.
Johnny Blaze first met the Angel in The Champions (1975) # 1 and remained on the team with the high-flying mutant until the group disbanded. After winning his freedom from the Ghost Rider curse, Blaze approached the Angel for financial help in The New Defenders (1972) # 145-146. The money borrowed from Worthington allowed Johnny to purchase the Quentin Carnival, as revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 14.
Part of Johnny Blaze's misery in this story comes from him having recently lost his title as World Stunt Cycle Champion to Flagg Fargo in Ghost Rider (1973) # 46.
CHAIN REACTION
To read my review of Avengers (1963) # 214 see my book Wheels On Fire: An Unofficial Guide to Marvel Comics' Ghost Rider: 1972-1983!
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| So that means Ghost Rider is totally worthy, right? |
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