Cover Date: June 1981
On Sale Date: April 1981
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Artist: Don Perlin
Inker: Joe Sinnot
Letterer: Diana Albers
Colorist: George Roussos
Editor: Al Milgrom
Editor In Chief: Jim Shooter
Artist: Don Perlin
Inker: Joe Sinnot
Letterer: Diana Albers
Colorist: George Roussos
Editor: Al Milgrom
Editor In Chief: Jim Shooter
Cover Artist: Michael Golden
At a Detroit music arena, controversial singer Asmodeus Jones - the so-called "King of Devil-Rock" - is performing his song "Send In the Demons" to a crowd of 16,000 fans. During the song, Jones summons forth the demon Fashima, who appears as an image above the stage to temporarily mesmerize the crowd. Standing on the edge of the stage, recently-hired stage hand Johnny Blaze recognizes the forces as being demonic in nature.
In New York, Dr. Strange is searching for any evidence of the Six-Fingered Hand via his Cauldron of the Cosmos. He is provided only a seemingly random assortment of images - a Detroit welcome sign, a guitar, a demon's face, and a flaming skull. Strange reaches out with his magic and teleports the other Defenders, who had been out taking care of other business, to his home. When Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan, sees the images in the Cauldron he immediately recognizes the Ghost Rider. Deciding that Detroit is where they must go, Strange teleports himself, Hellstrom, Valkyrie, Hellcat, and the Gargoyle across the country.
Meanwhile, in Detroit, Johnny Blaze rides through the city on his way to Jones' mansion to find out what was up with the demon manifestation at the concert. He suddenly crashes his bike into an invisible wall, causing him to wreck but remain unhurt. Blaze looks up to see the Son of Satan and the other Defenders, who say they needed his attention to ask him some questions. Johnny immediately transforms into the Ghost Rider, who recognizes Hellstrom from their first meeting. The demon explains that he has changed since they last met, he is Johnny Blaze no longer. He creates his motorcycle out of hellfire and rides up the building to attack the heroes. Through teamwork, however, the Defenders easily subdue the raging Ghost Rider and Hellstrom is able to force the demon to submerge and allow Blaze control over his body once again. Dr. Strange explains to Johnny what they're looking for, which Blaze recognizes as what he saw at Asmodeus Jones' concert.
At his Detroit mansion, Jones and his manager Felix Palmer finish a sexual ceremony to worship Fashima. Palmer is concerned that things may go wrong at the next concert, when Jones and Fashima are going to merge into one being in order to turn 16,000 music fans into slaves of the Six-Fingered Hand. Jones strikes out at Palmer, which causes the manager to threaten the singer - it was he that made the deal with Fashima, and he can break that deal just easily. Unnoticed by the two men, Dr. Strange has heard all via his astral form.
That night, the Defenders are in attendance at the concert behind an invisibility shield. Jones begins his act, which slowly turns the crowd into zombies who are chanting Fashima's name over and over. Suddenly, the Ghost Rider roars onto the stage and attacks Jones, who interrupts Fashima's materialization in order to fight back. At that moment, the Defenders attack en masse, causing Jones to absorb too much power - power that forces Fashima to retreat back to her own dimension. Once the chaos is over, Palmer cradles a powerless Jones in his arms while Hellstrom explains what happened to Fashima. Felix tells the group that he made the deal with the Hand and it's he who must pay the price for failure - and like that, he's gone, disappeared. Asmodeus breaks down and admits that Felix Palmer was his brother, which brings out shocked reactions from the Defenders...all but Hellcat, who simply laughs maniacally due to her being influenced by the Hand.
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| Huh, that was easy enough. |
THE ROADMAP
Ghost Rider last appeared in Ghost Rider (1973) # 57 and he makes his next appearance in Ghost Rider (1973) # 58.
Daimon Hellstrom references his first meeting with the Ghost Rider in Marvel Spotlight (1972) # 12, but seems to have forgotten that he and Johnny Blaze reunited as friends in Ghost Rider (1973) # 17.
Dr. Strange also seems to have selective amnesia, as he was nearly killed by the Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider (1973) # 29-31.
The Defenders have been battling the Six Fingered Hand since Defenders (1972) # 94. The "Six-Fingered Hand" story-arc brought together many of Marvel's horror characters, such as Dracula, the Son of Satan, Devil-Slayer, Man-Thing, and of course, Ghost Rider.
CHAIN REACTION
To read my review of The Defenders (1972) # 96 see my book Wheels On Fire: An Unofficial Guide to Marvel Comics' Ghost Rider: 1972-1983!
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