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| Cover Artist: Mike Manley |
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Title: Road to Vengeance: The Missing Link, Part 3: "Links"
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Ron Garney
Inker: Chris Ivy
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Gregory Wright
Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco
SYNOPSIS
Ghost Rider and the young woman named Seer are transported to the Blood's mystical Nightclub, where protective spells immediately transform Ghost Rider back into Dan Ketch. Dan is desperate for answers from Seer, especially now that Centurious has captured both his mother and John Blaze.
Meanwhile, at Centurious' headquarters in the town of Holly, the villain's servant Carver continues the work Skinner started by cutting away pieces of Blaze's flesh while he's chained from the ceiling. Observing alongside Centurious is the demon mother Lilith, who is approached by her Lilin Blackout. A piece of Ghost Rider's chain had been stabbed into Blackout's head, and when Centurious removes it another piece of the chain is immediately called to connect to it - a chain recovered when Centurious took possession of Deathwatch from Ghost Rider.
At the Nightclub, Seer begins to tell Dan some of the secrets of the Blood and the Medallion of Power, showing him visions in a puddle of alcohol. She stops soon after starting, unwilling to say anymore; but she then decides that if none of the other Blood care to get involved then she'll tell Dan everything. At that moment, the Caretaker steps through a mirror and throws Seer across the room, telling her to keep her mouth shut. The old man attacks Dan, who for the first time triggers the transformation into Ghost Rider on his own. The Rider quickly disables Caretaker, and the fight is finished when Seer receives a flash of pain from John Blaze. Ghost Rider and Seer depart, leaving Caretaker alone in the Nightclub, happy that things are finally moving along.
At Centurious' base, Carver is blown back by the massive amount of hellfire pouring uncontrollably out of Blaze's mutilated body. Centurious orders him to continue until he finds the piece of the Medallion that dwells inside Blaze's body. Ghost Rider and Seer arrive in Holly, which is completely empty of people, and make their way toward the church. They're attacked by three Stygian demons who are quickly killed. When they enter the church, a revived Deathwatch bursts through the floor, now under the thrall of Centurious. Ghost Rider attacks with his chain, but is caught by Deathwatch and tossed down into the church's basement for Centurious to retrieve. Deathwatch then attacks, claiming that he was really after the Medallion of Power on the night that Barbara Ketch was mortally wounded by his men.
While Ghost Rider fights Deathwatch, Seer goes in search of Blaze. Deathwatch ultimately falls under Ghost Rider's fists, and the Rider goes to join Seer in her hunt for Blaze. They find his cell behind a wall of hellfire, and Ghost Rider pulls the horribly injured John free. Deathwatch grabs Seer from behind, but before he can harm her he is blasted away by the combined hellfire of Blaze and the Rider. Seer opens up a gateway to the Nightclub for their escape, and Blaze tells them to take him to Quinn for help. Centurious and Lilith, with the captive Francis Ketch and Ghost Rider's complete chain, arrive at Cypress Hills to prepare for the final battle.
ANNOTATIONS
"Road to Vengeance: The Missing Link" continues into Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 15. The story's previous chapters were in Ghost Rider (1990) # 41 and Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 14.
Readers got the first hint that Blaze's body was contaminated by hellfire in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 12.
The full history of the Medallion of Power and the Spirits of Vengeance is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 43. Due to revelations about the Ghost Rider's origin years later and the Caretaker's job to obfuscate the true history of the Spirits of Vengeance, as shown in Ghost Rider (2006) # 27 and Ghost Rider (2006) # 33, the story told by the Caretaker during "Road to Vengeance" is likely altered from the actual events or even perhaps outright lies.
The Caretaker was believed to have been killed by Vengeance in Ghost Rider (1990) # 39.
Deathwatch was nearly killed and left a mindless husk in Ghost Rider (1990) # 24. Centurious took possession of the captured Deathwatch, Hag, and Troll in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 9. The fates of Hag and Troll were never revealed. Deathwatch doesn't appear again for nearly 20 years, until Ghost Rider (2011) # 1.
Centurious made his first attempt at corrupting the town of Holly in Ghost Rider (1973) # 80, and it was there that the villain was trapped alongside Zarathos inside the Soul Crystal in Ghost Rider (1973) # 81. The Soul Crystal was last seen in Mephisto's possession in The Mighty Thor (1966) # 430.
REVIEW
Just like the chapters before it, this issue of "Road to Vengeance" brings back a villain we haven't seen in a while. This time its Deathwatch, who is given a horrible case of "retroactive motivation".
I have to say, there was nothing more irritating about this story (among a multitude of irritating things) than every single character suddenly claiming that they were really after the Medallion of Power all this time, even when previous stories gave no inclination of such things. In this issue, that's what Deathwatch claims, that he was really seeking the Medallion the night that Barbara Ketch was hurt and Ghost Rider was reborn. God damn it, I know you're trying to sell this Medallion of Power as a BIG DEAL, but how the hell can something that's supposed to be so secretive and mysterious be known to every single character other than the lead heroes? Its sloppy and insulting and it's a tactic that comic writers fall back on far more frequently than they should be allowed.
While Howard Mackie is scrambling to connect everything in the series-so-far back to the Medallion, to the point where he's re-writing stories he himself wrote only a few years before, we get our first solid clues as to the Ghost Rider's origins. The whole Medallion mess was something that stinks of being written on the fly, as it was only right before this arc that any mention was made of it. Before this, the big mystical macguffin was the Soul Crystal, which at least had established backstory with the characters. This story was supposed to be the big payoff for four years of teases and hints, and nothing adds up.
Artwork is by Ron Garney, who continues to do a solid job. In fact, Garney's work is pretty much this comic's only saving grace. The guy does a great job illustrating fight scenes, and I particularly enjoyed his rendition of the Caretaker as he emerges from the mirror to hoist Seer up by her pony-tail. Oh, and I've always liked Deathwatch's face mask, which he wore I believe a total of one time in this series' first issue, and its nice to see it make a return (even if it is for just a panel or two).
"Road to Vengeance" is awful; in fact, its the shining example of everything that went wrong with this series post issue # 25. At least it looks pretty, though...
Grade: D+
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