Cover Date: February 1981
On Sale Date: November 1980
On Sale Date: November 1980
Writer: Michael Fleisher
Artist: Don Perlin
Letterer: Diana Albers
Colorist: Rob Carosella
Editor: Denny O'Neil
Editor In Chief: Jim Shooter
Cover Artist: Bob Budiansky
In Hell, the demon lord Azmodeus shows one of his demons, a lovely female named Tabicantra, a flame-image of Johnny Blaze and the Ghost Rider. Azmodeus wants the Ghost Rider to be his emissary on Earth but realizes that he must first sever the connection between him and Blaze. He sends Tabicantra to Earth so the link between man and demon can be destroyed, but it must be done within a certain frame of time, before the souls in his hourglass run out.
Later, Blaze rides on a stretch of highway, and passes a beautiful woman in a sports car. Unknown to him, the woman is Tabicantra, who comments to herself that Johnny is an extremely handsome man. Using her demonic powers, Tabicantra collapses a bridge just as Johnny crosses over. The stunt rider transforms into his demonic persona, saving himself from the crash. In Hell, Azmodeus watches the Ghost Rider survive the fall. He tells his demon hordes that Tabicantra's power weakens Blaze's control over the Ghost Rider. The more he transforms, the weaker the human persona will become, until finally the Ghost Rider will belong to Azmodeus.
Back on Earth, Blaze collects his motorcycle from the construction site it landed in after the bridge collapse. He rides to a diner, where he runs into Tabicantra. Again, the she-demon thinks about how attractive Blaze is but pushes those thoughts away as she gets back to her mission. Sometime later, Johnny has once again taken to the road, but is blocked by two semi-trucks. Suddenly, both trucks burst into flames, and Blaze doesn't have enough time to stop. He transforms into the Ghost Rider, who rides his mystical hell-cycle between the fiery trucks. On the other side, the Ghost Rider reluctantly gives control back to Blaze, who immediately sees Tabicantra trapped in a burning car. He manages to rescue her, but she faints during the ordeal. She awakens, and Johnny offers to give her a ride back to town on the back of his cycle. The two travel to the next town, stopping at a restaurant for dinner. He drops Tabicantra at the doors, leaving her to go park his bike. Though she hates to do it, the she-witch continues her mission, summoning a demonic creature to attack Blaze in the parking lot. The Ghost Rider quickly emerges and destroys the monster but refuses to relinquish control back to Blaze. Only by force of will does Johnny regain control. He returns to the restaurant, where Tabicantra ponders the situation. She knows that if Blaze becomes the Ghost Rider one more time before the hourglass runs out, he will be trapped as slave of Azmodeus forever. She decides to tell him everything, despite the fact that her master will be enraged beyond all imagining.
Azmodeus, furious that his slave would betray him, commands several demons to finish Tabicantra's job. The creatures attack Johnny, but before he can transform into the Ghost Rider, Tabicantra strikes him from behind and protects him in a force field. Realizing that only a few moments remain before the hourglass runs out, Tabicantra uses her own life-force to destroy Azmodeus' demons, resulting in her own death. Johnny awakens seconds later, confused, and unaware of what has transpired.
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| A frightening glimpse of things to come... |
THE ROADMAP
Azmodeus returns in Ghost Rider (1973) # 64 and again in Ghost Rider (1973) # 76.
CHAIN REACTION
To read my review of Ghost Rider (1973) # 53 see my book Wheels On Fire: An Unofficial Guide to Marvel Comics' Ghost Rider: 1972-1983!
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| Come on Marvel, where's our Tabicantra spin-off series? |
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