Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 2

"Steel Vengeance"

Cover Date: September 1992
On Sale Date: July 1992

Title: "Steel Vengeance"
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Adam Kubert
Inker: Chris Warner
Letterer: Michael Heisler
Colorist: Gregory Wright
Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco

Cover Artist: Adam Kubert

One week ago, cowboy-wannabe Tim Andrews is hitchhiking through the desert of Montana when he's passed by a woman on a motorcycle. Soon, in a remote cabin, Andrews is tortured by the woman, who tells the cowboy that she is a painter who, like her sister, once knew beauty - now they know only pain, and her dry pallet must be moistened by blood. She reveals a blade from her robotic arm and then kills Andrew, painting the Ghost Rider's skull on canvas in his blood. She receives a phone call from Reverend Styge, who tells her that the Master has decided it's time for her to act against Ghost Rider and Blaze. In payment, their Master will talk about helping her sister. After hanging up, the woman stabs her blade through the painting, saying that John Blaze and Ghost Rider - the ones responsible for what happened to her and her sister - will feel the pain of Steel Vengeance.

 

In the present, Blaze and Ghost Rider finish their confrontation with an alcoholic wife-beater, allowing him to live after hearing the frantic pleas of his small child. Later, Blaze and Ghost Rider arrive back at the Quentin Carnival and tell Wolf and Clara about their meeting with Michael Morbius in New York City. While Blaze goes in his trailer to sleep, the Ghost Rider is silently attacked by an unknown force that extinguishes his hellfire and causes him to lapse into a comatose state. On a nearby hill overlooking the carnival grounds, Steel Vengeance observes her targets before striking in the name of her sister, Steel Wind. A series of explosions alerts Blaze to the danger, and he exits the trailer to find Steel Vengeance - who he mistakes for Steel Wind - wrecking havoc in the Carnival. He finds Ghost Rider unresponsive on the ground, and is caught by surprise by Steel Vengeance, who knocks him unconscious. She turns her attention to the comatose Ghost Rider, beating him savagely before becoming frustrated with his inability to fight back. Confused as to how Blaze and the Ghost Rider could now be two separate beings, she tosses the Rider aside to find the now-missing Blaze.

 

In another part of the Carnival, John awakens amidst his friends to find his gun missing. Wolf tells him to rest while they take care of the problem, and promptly meet Steel Vengeance outside. The Carnival troupe pose little threat to her, but she is caught unaware by Blaze, who knocks her to the ground and puts a knife to her throat. She tells him that her Master will make everyone John cares about suffer, and Blaze asks if her "master" is Mephisto. She answers that he is incorrect, but that he and the Ghost Rider will suffer for all that they did to him. Blaze realizes who the "Master" must be, commenting that "It's not possible. If he's free then so is...". Before he can finish, the woman knocks him aside and prepares to kill him. Blaze's gun is tossed into his hands by the awakened Ghost Rider, who states that he has seen the spirit of Dan Ketch and he now knows what is needed to return him to life. Steel Vengeance proves unaffected by the Rider's penance stare and races off on her bike, chased by Blaze and Ghost Rider. Vowing to return soon, the mad woman runs her motorcycle off of a cliff, exploding when she hits the ground hundreds of feet below. Blaze asks Ghost Rider what happened to him, but the Rider simply replies that they must ride to find the Darkhold Redeemers - the final battle is almost upon them. Meanwhile, Lilith and her child Nakota spy on the two Spirits of Vengeance, awaiting their arrival in New York. Lilith senses that another player has entered the fray, one that may prove to be an ally in the future.

That is one terrified, hairy man.

THE ROADMAP

"Rise of the Midnight Sons" continues unofficially in Ghost Rider (1990) # 30 and officially in Darkhold: Pages From the Book of Sins (1992) # 1. This issue is continued from Morbius the Living Vampire (1992) # 1.

 

The reason for the Ghost Rider's coma state during this issue is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 30.

 

Dan Ketch had his throat ripped out by Blackout in Ghost Rider (1990) # 25. He survived in the void by transforming into the Ghost Rider at the moment of his death.

 

Steel Wind first appeared and met her fate at Zarathos' hands in Ghost Rider (1973) # 75. Steel Wind reappears alongside her sister, Steel Vengeance, in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 7.

 

Reverend Styge last appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 18. The identity of the mysterious "Master" is revealed to be Centurious in Ghost Rider (1990) # 37 and Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 10.

 

Lilith's comments that a player of power has entered the fray and may prove to be an ally in the future actually became truth: she joins in partnership with Centurious in Ghost Rider (1990) # 41.

 

CHAIN REACTION

With the book's first "Rise of the Midnight Sons" interlude issue, Spirits of Vengeance kicks into high-gear the mystery surrounding John Blaze and the villain determined to destroy him. While it was pretty obvious at the time that the unrevealed villain was Centurious, this issue does an excellent job of ratcheting the suspense up several notches, despite being marred by a fairly uninteresting antagonist.

 

It had been hinted at briefly in an earlier issue of Ghost Rider, but it was with this issue that the seeds were planted for the next year and a half of stories for both books. Writer Howard Mackie had played coy about bringing in too much from the previous volume of the series, touching upon things only slightly with Nightmare and Dr. Strange establishing that the new Ghost Rider was a different entity from Zarathos. John Blaze's introduction to the book had given off a pretty big signal to the readers, especially when this team-up book debuted, that a lot of the questions regarding what happened to the characters from the previous volume were about to get answered. While the end result of the tons of build-up to the Centurious/Zarathos storyline was disappointing to say the least, the vague hints dropped in this and other early issues were highly effective in hyping up the anticipation.

 

To say that the final run on the previous volume by J.M. DeMatteis and Bob Budiansky was a heavy influence on Spirits of Vengeance would be an understatement. Along with Centurious, one of the characters introduced during that run was Steel Wind, who was featured in an issue that was easily one of the highlights of an already great run of stories. Mackie was obviously trying to recapture the magic of Steel Wind with the horribly-named Steel Vengeance in this story (can we please drop the constant references to vengeance?), but he doesn't quite achieve what he's aiming for. While Steel Wind was a character that was truly poetic and horrific with a tragic back story that bled into her great villainous characterization, Steel Vengeance comes across as a one-note caricature that says the same thing 100 times over in variations. The beauty of Steel Wind is replaced with big guns and Wolverine claws, and as a character Steel Vengeance fails miserably.

 

Thankfully, the story surrounding Steel Vengeance makes up some for the lack-luster villain. The action sequences are well-done, as is the tie-in to next month's issue of Ghost Rider with the strange coma that he falls into. What really sells this issue, though, is the hints of things to come, summed up in the exchange between Blaze and Steel Vengeance that teases not only the return of Centurious but Zarathos as well. Just the thought of Zarathos' possible return is enough to scare the hell out of Blaze, and Mackie does a good job of conveying this.

 

The artwork is also tremendous, another winning collaboration between Adam Kubert and Chris Warner. While Warner will soon be replaced by Bill Reinhold, it's to Kubert's credit that the power of his pencils shine through despite whoever is embellishing them. The design for Steel Vengeance, while trying to echo that of Steel Wind, falls flat and just adds to the mediocrity of the character, but the action sequences illustrated by Kubert are spectacular. Especially impressive is the mauling of the comatose Ghost Rider by the villain and the Rider's look upon his return, damaged and badly mangled by his inability to defend himself. Spirits of Vengeance was easily the most visually exciting of the two Ghost Rider titles during this time, a credit that falls squarely on Adam Kubert's shoulders.

 

All in all, this issue is merely a prelude to upcoming stories that teases more information than it reveals. But regardless, it's nice to see some nods to the past and a story that's more than just killing time while "Rise of the Midnight Sons" continues around it.

 

Berserker claw!