Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 5

"Rage Against the Machine"

Cover Date: September 1994; On Sale Date: July 1994

Writer: Len Kaminski; Artist: Mark Buckingham; Inker: Mark Buckingham & Kev Sutherland; Letterer: Richard Starkings w/ John Gaushell; Colorist: Christie Scheele w/ Heroic Age; Editor: Evan Skolnick; Group Editor: Bobbie Chase; Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco; Cover Artist: Mark Buckingham

Following the death of his friend Warewolf, the Ghost Rider wages all-out war against Central Security Systems' armored police force.  After he wins the battle, Zero is approached by reporter Willis Adams, who asks what Zero is so angry about.  Zero gives a short speech about what the "biz suits" have done to the world, and then tells the reporter that if he wants to know about him he should ask D/Monix.  Adam's technicians manage to stop the broadcast feed the moment Zero mentions D/Monix, and Zero departs the battleground.

He soon arrives in Neo-Chicago, home of the D/Monix corporation.  Using his steal camouflage field, he disguises himself as a guard and gains access to the D/Monix building, where he encounters executive Jackson Womack.  Upstairs, Harrison Cochrane thinks about the deal Womack had presented to him regarding the decryption of the Singapore Archive disc that had recently been recovered.  Fearing the wrath of D/Monix CEO Kellerman, Harrison tells the newly-arrived Womack that he doesn't think they should do it behind Kellerman's back.  Womack asks Harrison who fingered the Hotwire Martyrs in the archive's theft, and a surprised Harrison states that he was the one who did it.  Womack's features transform into a furious Zero, who addresses Harrison as "Dad".  Surprised to his see his dead son standing in front of him, Harrison attempts to justify his actions that led to Zero's death.  Zero transforms into the Ghost Rider and smashes Harrison's computer, retrieving the Archive disc.  After Harrison tells where to find both Zero's captive girlfriend Kylie and his confiscated motorcycle, Zero shatters the disc and leaves Harrison to clean up the mess.

Zero retrieves his bike and busts into the neuroterrogation lab, where he finds the comatose Kyle and the similarly captive Doctor Neon, who begs to be freed.  Zero is shocked to see his own dead body and briefly wonders if there would be a way to "reboot" his mind back into it. He quickly changes his mind and incinerates the corpse, thinking "no going back".  He then escapes D/Monix with the unconscious Kyle and Doctor Neon.  Elsewhere, the entities that comprise the Ghostworks have been watching, stating that the Singapore Archive contained evidence of their existence has now been destroyed and a period of observation for Zero should be considered before proceeding to "stage two".

Kinda sounds like the world today...

THE ROADMAP

This issue reveals that Zero's real name is Kenshiro Cochrane and that he is the son of D/Monix employee Harrison Cochrane.  Zero has his next meeting with his father in Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 17.

Zero's speech to reporter Willis Adams undergoes some extensive revisions by D/Monix in Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 8 and is released as propaganda in Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 11.  Willis Adams has another opportunity to interview Zero in Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 12.

Ghost Rider's bike was confiscated by CSS in Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 3.

CHAIN REACTION
Ghost Rider 2099's first story-arc comes to a close with some personal revelations about our hero Zero and our first clue that the Ghostworks may not be as altruistic as they claimed.

The sheer energy and intensity of this arc comes to a dramatic conclusion with this issue's revelations about Zero's father and the real meaning behind his murder in the first issue.  Zero is honestly not a very nice guy, overly aggressive and anti-social to the point where he's as much a manipulator of people as the corporations he despises (something we'll see to an even greater degree in the next arc, concerning his relationship with Kylie).  The parallels between Zero and his father Harrison are sad, considering that Harrison's conformist nature drove him to the eventual death of his own son, who he viewed as an embarrassment.  Similarly, you have Zero's anarchist personality, which is a direct reaction to his father's conformity, but is just as alarming.  Zero's a character who pushes back against everything that society offers in the same way that Harrison clings to preconceived notions of "the right thing to do".  Zero thinks he's noble for railing against the system, but it's done in a totally self-centered way.  Look at how quickly he dismisses rescuing Dr. Neon, who is obviously a captive alongside Kyle, the person Zero really cares about. 

Zero reaches his first real instance of character growth during that same scene, when he's confronted with his dead human body.  It's unclear if this version of Zero, later revealed to be an edited program created by the Ghostworks to emulate Zero's personality, is acting as Zero truly would have reacted or if he's doing what the Ghostworks wants.  While it's true he has immense power as the Ghost Rider, would the real Zero have so willingly destroyed his one chance to return to a "normal" life?  That's all supposition, of course, with hindsight allowing us to wonder about the reaction given the nature of the Zero copy reveal much later in the series.  Still, this is a great scene even taken at face value, with Zero accepting his role as the Ghost Rider by burning his human body to ash.

I'm impressed that the editors were able to keep the artwork looking so consistent during these first five issues, considering original artist Chris Bachalo bailed on the book during the third issue.  Mark Buckingham and Peter Gross all have similar, though distinct, styles to Bachalo, so the whole arc looks fairly seamless.  If anything, the work by Gross and Buckingham is clearer and sharper than Bachalo, who used a more sketchy style to invoke an oppressive mood.  That gloom and darkness is lost during the artist transition, but the series still retains its visual identity.  All three artists turn in magnificent work on this series, and this issue continues that trend.  As much as I enjoyed the work of the next regular series artist, Kyle Hotz, I wish Buckingham and Gross had remained on the series.

I've long held the opinion that the first five issues of this series would make for a fantastic movie, or even better an adult animated film.  This arc remains one of my favorite Ghost Rider stories of all time, I highly recommend tracking it down.

Burn, body, burn!