Agents of SHIELD Episode 4.04: "Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire"

SYNOPSIS
While looking at an apartment to rent, Jemma Simmons is confronted by an injured Daisy Johnson, who needs help hacking into SHIELD's database to find out how the Watchdogs are locating Inhumans.  When Jemma refuses, Daisy pulls out a gun and demands her help.  Meanwhile, at a prison in Los Angeles, Coulson visits Eli Morrow, an engineer who worked at Momentum Lab with Lucy and Joseph Bauer.  Eli is in prison for beating Joseph into a coma following the "accident" that took the lives of their other Momentum coworkers.  Not wanting to involve himself any deeper, Eli refuses to talk to Coulson and tells him to leave.  Outside the prison, Coulson and Mack see Robbie Reyes drive by, and Mack immediately recognizes him as the Ghost Rider that saved him at Momentum Labs.  Coulson and Mack chase Robbie through Los Angeles, but in a drainage gulley Robbie drives straight into the cloaked SHIELD Quinjet, knocking him unconscious and wrecking the car.

After getting the information from SHIELD's database, Jemma says that every registered Inhuman has a wristband that acts as a locating device.  When they look at SHIELD's database, they see that a third party is indeed searching through the wristband information and has stopped on J.T. James, who Daisy thinks will be the Watchdogs' next victim.  Inside the Quinjet, Coulson notices that Reyes' car has "healed itself" from the wreck.  He talks to Robbie, who is locked in a containment cell, and calls him a murderer.  Robbie states that he only kills those who deserve it, and that he got his power by making a deal with the Devil.  Realizing that Daisy trusted Robbie, Coulson unlocks the cell and lets him out.  Robbie has a brief stand-off with Coulson, but soon come to an agreement that Robbie will talk to his uncle Eli to get answers about the "ghosts", who are also vulnerable to the Ghost Rider and will be a valuable ally.

Daisy and Jemma find James working in a fireworks store and learn that he's bitter about his life following his experience with Hive.  He tells them that if they meet him later at a storage unit he'll give them something that could help them.  At the prison, Robbie talks to Eli about what happened at Momentum Labs, with a regretful Eli apologizing for letting his nephews down.  When Robbie reveals that Lucy Bauer is still alive and killing people, Eli says that she'll be going after "the book" that gave them the knowledge to build a Quantum Power Generator that would allow them to create matter from nothing.  In the Quinjet, Mack gets a signal telling them that "an asset" needs their help.  Meanwhile, the comatose Joseph Bauer is visited by Lucy, who wakes him up and demands to know where the book is.

At the storage units, Daisy and Jemma are surrounded by the Watchdogs.  James has been working with them because of his own feelings of loathing about being an Inhuman and wants to help exterminate his kind.  The women briefly escape into the storage facility, but James finds them using fireworks charged with his flame power.  He uses a chain that he sets on fire and whips behind him, only for it to be caught by Robbie, who has arrived with Coulson and Mack to save them.  James attempts to blow Robbie up, but Reyes transforms into the Ghost Rider and slams James into a wall.  The wall explodes and the two men fall into a bunch of stored fireworks, which quickly light on fire and explode.  The others have all escaped outside and after the explosion they see Robbie dragging an unconscious James, having decided not to kill him.  Later, on the Quinjet, Coulson tells Robbie and Daisy that SHIELD needs them to stop Lucy and retrieve the book, which is called the Darkhold.

REVIEW
After last week's detour into heavy Inhumans territory, Agents of SHIELD turns the focus back on Robbie Reyes and the Momentum Labs plot line, which makes for a much more interesting and entertaining episode.

Even though I saw all of the promotion for this season and its focus on Ghost Rider's addition to the cast, I don't think I was prepared for just how much the character was going to be incorporated into the show.  I'm certainly not complaining, because whenever the focus IS on Robbie Reyes the show grabs my attention and holds it firmly in its grasp.  I'm still not much interested in the SHIELD-centric subplots (there's a whole subplot about the Life Model Decoy Aida and Agent May that I didn't even bother to include in the synopsis), but the Ghost Rider stuff is absolutely engaging on just about every level.

Well, just about every level, yeah, because the Momentum Labs stuff is feeling a bit disconnected at this point, and that's probably because the pseudo-science behind it has yet to be adequately explained.  The focus on Momentum's mystery is being fed to us in drips, and this week's introduction of Eli Morrow doesn't do a whole lot to shine any light on what's going on.  One major event, though, is the revelation of the Darkhold being behind Momentum's experiments.  That was one of the two moments in this episode that made me squeal like a 12-year old girl, the Book of Sins being prominently featured as the show seems to fully embrace Marvel's horror-oriented ephemera.  With all of the scientific and Inhumans related stuff, SHIELD seems to be fully in its comfort zone; not so much with the Darkhold and Ghost Rider, and it makes the show unpredictable for both the characters and the viewers.

The other squeal-worthy moment was the face of between Robbie Reyes and JT James, who goes by the codename "Hellfire".  I understand that in the show James is an Inhuman with flame-power, fair enough, but the comics rooted the character with tertiary connections to Ghost Rider (hence "Hellfire").  That connection may not be in this episode, but seeing the two characters together made for a fantastic moment, especially when that hellfire chain starts getting whipped around.  Speaking of Ghost Rider, I again have to say that Gabriel Luna is the absolute MVP of not just this episode, but the season as a whole so far.  His portrayal of Robbie Reyes, despite being significantly different from the comics, is captivating and I just keep wanting to see more of him as this character.

So, while last week was a bit of a disappointment, "Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire" (great episode title, by the way) returns the show's forward movement for the Ghost Rider plot and has once again made me desperate to see the next episode. 

Ghost Rider (1990) # 82

Cover Artist: Pop Mhan

Published: Feb. 1997
Original Price: $1.50

Title: "The Duck and the Amok"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Pop Mhan
Inker: Josh Lowe
Letterer: Richard Starkings
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Editor: James Felder
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS

Danny Ketch and his mother are being chased out of their house by a flock of crows, hundreds of them, that are out for blood. Dan leads his mom into the garage and runs away; once out of sight, realizing that the crows must be controlled by the believed-to-be-deceased Scarecrow, he transforms into the Ghost Rider. Using his hellfire, the Rider chases the crows away and allows Danny to regain control of his body. Back in front of their house, Mrs. Ketch hears the voice of her dead daughter Barbara, who is standing in the lawn.

In the East Village section of New York, the apartment of Jennifer Kale has become a portal to another dimension. An attempt to send Howard the Duck back to his home world has gone awry, and now the prehistoric Moonboy and Devil Dinosaur have been brought to our world. Their entry through the portal destroys the apartment, and sends Jennifer, Howard, and John Blaze out into the street below. While Jennifer and Blaze attempt to evade the giant dinosaur, Howard finds himself snatched up into the monster's mouth as a snack. Blaze fires a few blasts of hellfire, and Devil Dinosaur spits Howard back onto the ground. Blaze attempts to shoot Devil again, but instead the three find themselves being chased by an angry dinosaur. Moonboy, meanwhile, is found by a drunken homeless man who gives the caveboy some alcohol.

Back at the Ketch home, Danny tries to figure out how the Scarecrow could be responsible for the crow attack - the last time he saw the villain, he had been trapped in Hell by Blackheart. Dan's mother, terrified by what she's seen, asks her son to stay with her until things calm down, and he promises to do so.

In the city, Blaze, Jennifer, and Howard are still being chased by Devil Dinosaur despite their attempts to stop his rampage. Blaze stabs Devil in the neck with a hellfire knife, but that only makes the tyrannosaurus even more angry. Moonboy, meanwhile, has become drunk and enraged as well. He reunites with Devil Dinosaur and the two continue to destroy the city. This is eventually captured by the local news, and Danny sees the footage of his brother being chased by a red dinosaur on television. Even though he should stay with his mother, Dan decides that he has to help Blaze. Back in the city, the police squad Code: Blue arrive to stop Devil Dinosaur. Their plan is to shoot the beast until its dead, even though Howard and Jennifer both say its not their fault that they're there and they don't deserve to die. Moonboy gets hit by the first shot, wounding him, but the arrival of Ghost Rider keeps the cops from firing again. Ghost Rider captures Moonboy and hands him over to the police, then he wraps his chain around Devil Dinosaur's neck and chokes it until it is unconscious. The police start the clean-up process, and Blaze gives Ghost Rider a harsh reception, going so far as to spit on him. Ghost Rider leaves with Blaze convinced that the demon is starting to go bad like Zarathos. Jennifer, injured due to a falling wall, is taken away in an ambulance, and Howard is left to walk away, still trapped in a world he never made. Meanwhile, Brother Voodoo and the vampire Lilith prepare themselves...the undead walk.

At the Ketch house, Danny's mother wakes up to find her son gone. She looks up and sees her dead daughter Barbara standing in the doorway, seemingly returned to life.

ANNOTATIONS 

Ghost Rider appears next in Marvel Fanfare (1997) # 3. Following his defeat of Devil Dinosaur, Ghost Rider travels to Central Park where he encounters Spider-Man and the Wendigo, after which he returns to check on Danny's mother in Ghost Rider (1990) # 83.

Ghost Rider learned his true identity of Noble Kale in Ghost Rider (1990) # 77.

Both Barbara Ketch and the Scarecrow were last seen trapped in Hell at the end of Ghost Riders: Crossroads # 1.

It was revealed that Dan Ketch, John Blaze, and Jennifer Kale are the Ghost Rider's descendants in Ghost Rider (1990) # 78.

Mrs. Ketch had a dream of a black crow landing on Barbara's headstone in Ghost Rider (1990) # 77. The whereabouts of the missing bodies, including Barbara's, is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 83.

Mrs. Ketch had her memories of Dan being Ghost Rider erased by Jennifer Kale in Ghost Rider (1990) # 79.

REVIEW

I don't believe there's a single issue of Ghost Rider that's received so much fan hatred as this one. Devil Dinosaur, Howard the Duck, and new artist Pop Mhan all combine to produce one mess of a comic.

For a lot of readers, this issue of Ghost Rider was the breaking point, the culmination of a series of events that had made a lot of fans pretty upset. Ghost Rider was now running around in a red and yellow tracksuit and long-time artist Salvador Larroca had departed in the issue before this. Pop Mhan came aboard with an art style completely different from any that had been seen on the series before - a style that many said was inappropriate for the character - and his first issue was essentially a comedy story. Now, I don't have quite as low an opinion of Mhan's work as the majority of fans. In fact, before this he had drawn an issue of Marvel Fanfare that guest-starred Ghost Rider and it was very nicely done. Based on that issue, I could see why the editor thought he would make a good artist for the regular Ghost Rider series. But because his first issue on the series was a comedic one, he adjusted his style to a much more cartoonish, dare I say goofy one than we'd seen in that Fanfare story. I understand perfectly why fans hated his work so much, as its highly exaggerated and stylized, and some of it honestly is just downright ugly. I actually don't mind his Ghost Rider, I thought he was especially good at drawing the flames with such amazing kinetic energy; but look at his rendition of John Blaze, who looks like a Cro-Magnon caveman in this issue. The main problem is that the artwork on a book like Ghost Rider needs to be appropriate for horror, and Mhan's work on this issue was unsuitable.

Even had this comic been drawn by someone like Larroca, however, it still would have been awful. I don't mind Howard the Duck's presence, I love that character, but Devil Dinosaur and Moonboy are just another glaring example of Velez's insistence on resurrecting forgotten characters from the 1970s. I don't even mind that Velez tried to do a comedy issue, a change of pace for one story isn't a bad idea. No, the problem is that he tries to do suspenseful horror on one page with the crows and Barbara Ketch's corpse and then he tries to do goofy comedic relief on the next with a drunk Moonboy and Blaze getting his shotgun bit in half.

A lot of readers jumped ship on this title after this issue, and Marvel's attempt to boost sales by bringing in tons of changes (New artist! New costume! New origin! New logo! Guest-stars, guest-stars, guest-stars!) absolutely blew up in their faces. Pop Mhan goes on to do some interesting work on this series and Velez was normally a solid writer; but all the negative elements combined to make this issue one of the lowest points in Ghost Rider history.

Grade: F

Ghost Rider (1990) # 81

Cover Artist: Salvador Larroca

Published: Jan. 1997
Original Price: $1.50

Title: "Caught Between a Duck and a Hard Place"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Inker: Mark Pennington
Letterer: Richard Starkings
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Editor: James Felder
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS

Following the defeat of the Furies, a cornered and wounded Black Rose finds herself surrounded by Jennifer Kale, John Blaze, and the Ghost Rider. While they debate on what to do with her, Blaze comments that there's something about the demoness that's almost familiar to him. The ground splits open, and Blackheart emerges in giant form to retrieve Black Rose, telling Blaze that she is “no longer his to play with”. Blackheart disappears with his consort, leaving Ghost Rider, Blaze, and Jennifer to the mercy of the police, who move in to arrest them while paramedics load the three women who had been possessed by the Furies into ambulances. When the police attempt to handcuff Ghost Rider, he lets loose a terrifying laugh and threatens the cops' lives, something that immediately reminds Blaze of Zarathos, the first Ghost Rider. At that moment, the Valkyrie appears, having dug herself out from under the truck tossed over her by the Furies. She threatens Ghost Rider to calm down and states that she was there to answer a mystic distress call that had been sent out by Jennifer before the Furies arrived. Unwilling to stay at the scene any longer, Ghost Rider creates a new motorcycle out of hellfire and leaves, threatening to kill the Valkyrie before he leaves should she ever put her sword to his throat again. He rides off, and using that as a distraction Blaze and Jennifer sneak away from the cops.

Ghost Rider rides across the bridge between Manhattan and the Bronx, his mind dwelling on the new memories of his life that he has recovered. He sees a woman being mugged below him, and though he stops the crime and gives the punks his Penance Stare, his heart is most certainly not on his job. In the East Village, Blaze and Jennifer arrive at her apartment, where he tells her about his children being missing. Since they know they're now blood related, Jennifer agrees to help John locate his kids.

Ghost Rider has returned to Cypress Hills Cemetery, wanting to pay his respects to Danny's deceased sister Barbara. When he gets there, he sees the police in the cemetery around a bunch of empty graves, including Barbara's. Ghost Rider transforms back into Dan, who finds his mother in the crowd talking to police about her daughter's missing corpse. When the cop asks Mrs. Ketch who she thinks is responsible, she says it has to be the Ghost Rider. Dan realizes that the memory spell Jennifer placed on his mother really worked, that she doesn't remember that he's Ghost Rider.

Back at Jennifer's apartment, she and Blaze enter to find a visitor waiting on them, none other than Howard the Duck, who Jennifer promised to send back to his home dimension. Howard and Blaze argue about who should get her help first, but that's interrupted by a knock on her door. Dr. Strange's servant, Wong, delivers to Jennifer a book to assist in sending Howard home, and in its pages she quickly finds the spell she needs. She prepares the spell and opens a dimensional portal to send Howard home, but which nearly sucks her and Blaze in as well. Shockingly, Howard jumps back through the portal, chased by Devil Dinosaur and Moonboy!

In Cypress Hills, Dan escorts his mother back to her house, worried that this stress on top of her alcoholism may prove to be too much for her. Before they can get inside, the two of them are attacked by a flock of black crows while not far away a mysterious woman watches and smiles...

ANNOTATIONS 

Ghost Rider learned his true identity of Noble Kale in Ghost Rider (1990) # 77.

It was revealed that Dan Ketch, John Blaze, and Jennifer Kale are the Ghost Rider's descendants in Ghost Rider (1990) # 78.

Mrs. Ketch had a dream of a black crow landing on Barbara's headstone in Ghost Rider (1990) # 77. The whereabouts of the missing bodies, including Barbara's, is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 83.

Blackheart created his consort Black Rose in Ghost Rider (1990) # 77 and sent her to Earth to assist the Furies in Ghost Rider (1990) # 79. Her connection to John Blaze is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 93.

Blaze's children, Craig and Emma, were missing throughout the short-lived Blaze series by Larry Hama and Henry Martinez, but were reunited with their father in Blaze (1994) # 12. However, Blaze admitted in Ghost Rider (1990) # 74 that his kids had disappeared once again to whereabouts unknown. It was finally revealed in Ghost Riders: Heaven's On Fire (2009) # 6 that his children are dead, having appeared to him along with wise deceased wife Roxanne while Johnny was in Heaven.

The Valkyrie responded to Jennifer Kale's mystic distress call that was sent in Ghost Rider (1990) # 79. Valkyrie was defeated by the Furies and buried under a truck in Ghost Rider (1990) # 80.

Mrs. Ketch had her memories of Danny being the Ghost Rider erased by Jennifer Kale in Ghost Rider (1990) # 79 to protect her from the Furies.

REVIEW

It's the last hurrah for long-time series artist Salvador Larroca before he's shuffled off to a higher-profile book, and Ivan Velez finishes one story-arc while at the same time ramping up for the next one.

Something that I've always found interesting about Velez's run is that the majority of it, from issue # 71 through # 85, is essentially one big mega-arc. The stories in those issues bleed into one another, there are no "down-time" issues to speak of outside the Devil Dinosaur story, and those fifteen issues all take place within the span of about one week for the characters. They go straight from fighting Vengeance to learning Ghost Rider's history and fighting the Furies, and in this issue with the Furies defeated we're launched straight into the upcoming Scarecrow arc. That in itself makes this story a strange entity, as it straddles two arcs without much of a plot of its own. It does, however, give us great examples of two plot elements that Velez relied on frequently during his run.

The first of those is the drastic change in Ghost Rider's personality following the revelation of his true identity as Noble Kale. The character as presented in this and the following issues is much more malicious, threatening to kill both police officers and a fellow hero before letting loose a terrifying laugh and tearing off into the night. The laughter, strangely enough, is the most chilling aspect of this, because as Blaze thinks to himself, that was a very distinct trait of the Zarathos incarnation of Ghost Rider. We're seeing the Ghost Rider change and evolve during this run, and what he's changing into is pretty disturbing.

The second plot element is Velez's insistence on using forgotten heroes of the 1970s in his stories, regardless of if they fit the tone of the story or not. Last issue started this with the absolutely inconsequential inclusion of the Valkyrie, who gets just as useless an appearance in this issue as she did the last. Later in the issue, we get Howard the Duck, whose presence will lead into next issue's story, widely regarded as one of the worst Ghost Rider comics ever produced. Now, I happen to love Howard the Duck...when he's written by Steve Gerber, that is. Velez does okay with Howard here, and his appearance at least has a connection to the plot, due to his past with Jennifer Kale (yet another 70s character dusted off by Velez). Now, it may have been the editors pushing all these characters onto the writer in hopes of revitalizing them for current readers - I believe both Valkyrie and Devil Dinosaur were awarded one-shot comics after their appearances here - but when each issue becomes nothing more than "obscure horror hero team-up" it starts to get very old very quickly.

Salvador Larroca spent thirty issues and nearly three years as this book's artist, sticking around after original series writer Howard Mackie departed, and its undeniable that he left an impressive visual mark on the character. Larroca's swan song here is bittersweet due to two factors: its a "middle of the road" issue without much action, and he's again forced to draw that hideous new costume designed by Adam Pollina. When an artist of Larroca's caliber is unable to make that outfit look good, it should have set off alarms that it was a terribly bad call on the editor's part. Regardless, though I think Larroca's art took a slight dip in quality when his long-time inking partner Sergio Melia left the book, he still turns in a good looking issue here. I particularly like his Howard the Duck, especially considering that the Disney/Marvel lawsuit had led to some ridiculous changes to Howard's physical appearance (out-of-proportion beak, he had to wear pants, etc...).

This issue was one of the final blows of a crippling year for Ghost Rider, with Larroca's departure bringing in Pop Mhan as the new artist next issue along with Devil Dinosaur to produce a comic that fans still complain about today. That's a totally different review, though, and this comic is pretty good despite what comes immediately after it.

Grade: B-

Ghost Rider (1990) # 79

Cover Artist: Salvador Larroca

Published: Nov. 1996
Original Price: $1.50

Title: "Song of the Furies"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Inker: Sergio Melia
Letterer: Richard Starkings
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Editor: James Felder
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS

As the dimensional void that serves as his prison changes and shifts around him, the Ghost Rider - clothed in a new costume - thinks about all he's learned about his past as a man named Noble Kale and the three demons known as the Furies who are coming to destroy him. Noble is visited in the void by the spirit of his little brother, Dante, who tells him that they have lots to do and remember...and most importantly, he has to face up to the blood on his hands, so when he's killed he'll die in a state of grace.

In Cypress Hills Cemetery, the police have uncovered a grave robbing incident where seven bodies had been taken. As the cops try to work out what they should do next, they fail to notice the demoness Black Rose emerging from one of the nearby graves. Elsewhere in Brooklyn, Danny Ketch, John Blaze, and Jennifer Kale begin to visit all of the people that are friends or blood relations to the Ghost Rider, to protect them from the Furies' wrath. In order to protect them, their only option is to erase their memories of the Ghost Rider's connection to Dan, and before they start Jennifer attunes her compact mirror to warn them of when the Furies arrive on this plane. They start their mission with Dan's mother, who falls quickly to Jennifer's mystical dust - Dan muses that she'll probably just think it's a hangover from drinking too much. Back in the Void, Noble continues to see visions of people from his forgotten past - Dante, his father Pastor Kale, and his wife Magdelena and their infant son.

At St. Michael's hospital, Dan and Jennifer visit the room of Gerry Dolan, where Stacy is sitting watching over her injured father. Jennifer casts the spell on the father and daughter, promising Dan that it won't affect Dolan's heart condition. They meet up with Blaze outside and start to go over other people that have personal relationships with the Rider - Dan mentions Jack D'Auria, but he's moved to Canada is out of their reach. Jennifer then comments that the Furies have to take over host bodies to appear on Earth, and that anyone who has come in contact with the Ghost Rider is eligible. At that moment, on a flight from Miami to New York, Paula Harris sits on the plane and thinks about how she ran away from Dan while they were dating. Suddenly, Black Rose appears on the plane and approaches Paula, telling her she and everyone else on the plane will die a horrible death unless she allows them to use her body for a few hours. Paula accepts, and she is transformed into the Dark Lady. When this happens, Jennifer's magic mirror begins to sing, alerting them that the first of the Furies has arrived on the earthly plane. Almost immediately after, in the burn ward of Our Lady of Mercy Hospital, Agent Uno - the former leader of an anti-terrorist task force who had been burned alive by Vengeance - is approached by Black Rose and given the same offer. In the subway, Kale's mirror alerts them to the coming of Lady Ash.

Jennifer, Danny, and Blaze all rush to Dan's apartment to try and find some weapons they can use before the third Fury arrives. As they rush into the building, Danny ignores Carlie Colon when she says hello to him. In Dan's apartment, Jennifer breaks a mirror and hands each of them a shard, telling them that the Furies aren't supposed to like their reflections when they're inhabiting a human host. Dan says that he thinks it's time for Ghost Rider to come out, but Jennifer warns him that they don't know how much of his memory has returned and that he may have discovered some things that won't make him very cooperative...there's nothing more horrible than a Fury, unless it's a Spirit of Vengeance. Back outside, Carlie's brother Choocho makes fun of her for fawning over Danny when no one would want a "Miss Piggy" like her. Thinking she's pathetic, Carlie opens the door to her apartment and finds Black Rose waiting for her.

Upstairs, Jennifer sends out a mystic distress call, hoping for a local deity like Thor or Hercules will answer it. She sees the mirror flash again, which means the third Fury, Ember the Maiden, has arrived. While Jennifer and Blaze prepare for the coming battle, Dan sulks in the background. Suddenly, all of the windows in the building shatter while the voices of the Furies boom - "Where is the Riding Ghost? Bring him to us or suffer!" Dan makes up his mind that the Ghost Rider is needed, and triggers the transformation despite Jennifer's warning. Blaze and Kale stand in shock as the Ghost Rider appears in his newly created outfit, formed out of pure hellfire. A moment later, Noble Kale busts onto the street to confront the three Furies, who have completely taken control over their host bodies.

ANNOTATIONS 

The full story behind Noble Kale's origin is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 92.

Dan's mother, Francis Ketch, revealed to him that she knew about him being the Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider (1990) # 41. Stacy Dolan learned the truth in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 18 and her father, Gerard Dolan, found out in Ghost Rider (1990) # 74.

Gerard Dolan was hospitalized for a heart condition following Ghost Rider (1990) # 76.

Dan mentions Jack D'Auria, who was last seen as the Shriker in Ghost Rider (1990) # 62.

Of the three women possessed by the Furies: Paula Harris was last seen in Over the Edge (1995) # 4, Agent Uno in Ghost Rider (1990) # 74, and Carlie Colon has been part of the supporting cast since Ghost Rider (1990) # 70.

The whereabouts of the bodies stolen from Cypress Hills will be shown in Ghost Rider (1990) # 83.

REVIEW

We got a brief last-page glimpse in the previous issue, but here's where we get our first extended look at the Ghost Rider's new costume - a horribly garish jumpsuit that I've always liked to call the "Speed Racer" uniform.

This issue continues Ivan Velez's first attempt at an origin story for the Ghost Rider, first bringing the Noble Kale name and background into play alongside the three Furies that were introduced in the previous two issues. What we're given is pretty much nothing but set-up for the fight in the next issue, padding out this storyarc more than was probably necessary. But it's okay, because it's still a good read that goes to incredible lengths to talk up just how much of a threat the Furies really are (a threat that the next issue unfortunately doesn't capitalize on). The Furies arrive on Earth by taking over the bodies of three current and former supporting cast members, from Velez's own creation Carlie to the previously forgotten and dumped-on-the-roadside Paula and Uno. I did like the nods to past continuity with the return of Paula and Uno, and it gives Velez's retcon origin teases a bit more weight than I expected with such a drastic change in direction.

While the book charges forward with the revamped status quo that Velez is setting up, we're also given a huge leap backward in terms of the book's original supporting cast. In the span of a few pages, all of the character development given to Francis Ketch and Stacy and Gerry Dolan is erased by a convenient "memory spell" that resets their personalities back to square one. Gone is the excellent character drama spelled out by Stacy's job as a cop colliding with her knowledge of Dan's secret identity in favor of returning the characters to - I can only imagine, anyway - a more manageable state for Velez and where he's wanting to take Dan. I admit, it DID seem like everyone and their literal mother knew about Dan being the Ghost Rider by this time, but Velez's attempts to close this particular Pandora's Box seems like an overly-complicated way to do it. Regardless, it seems more like a desperate attempt to turn the clock back on the characters than a genuine dramatic moment.

I suppose I can't go much further without talking about the Ghost Rider's new costume, designed by Adam Polina (mostly remembered for his work on X-Force around this time). While I understand the desire to move the book and character in a new direction following creator Howard Mackie's departure, I don't see why there was a need to take away the design that had become so iconic for Ghost Rider. It also doesn't help that not even an artist of Salvador Larroca's talent can make it look good. A lot of the blame goes on the shoulders of the color choices - I mean, who thought that red, yellow, and blue were appropriate colors for a motorcycle riding demon with a flaming skull for a head? But all of the elements of the costume are terrible, from the big yellow zipper running down the front to the sleeveless bodysuit beneath the jacket that we'll see in excruciating detail next issue. Fans should be thankful that this abomination only lasted for about 12 issues, which was way too long as it was.

Despite being saddled with the horrible new costume, Salvador Larroca and Sergio Melia continue to do the top-notch job on the artwork that they always have. While I do feel that Larroca's work began to slip in his last year or so on the book following Velez's start, his art never came close to being "bad". It's nowhere close to the sheer awesomeness of his art during the "Betrayals" and "In Chains" run, but it's still a pretty damn good job.

For all the good things this story had going for it, it was easily the beginning of the end for the series. A new origin and a horrible redesign were about to be coupled with a completely inappropriate new artist, and the patience of Ghost Rider fans was about to be tested like never before.

Grade: B-

Ghost Rider (1990) # 70

Cover Artist: Salvador Larroca

Published: Feb. 1996
Original Price: $1.95

Title: "Red Dusk"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Salvador Larroca

Inker: Sergio Melia
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Kevin Tinsley
Editor: James Felder
Editor In Chief: Bobbie Chase

SYNOPSIS

Several months have passed since the Ghost Rider last surfaced in New York, and he has found himself in an unfamiliar part of New York City. Dan Ketch has moved from Cypress Hills to the Bronx, hoping that by moving he can leave behind the chaos in his life. The Ghost Rider, now free to ride again, contemplates on the diminishing rapport with his host as he searches the rooftops of his new home. He stops his ride and hears a scream of an innocent in the alley below him, signaling the start of the evening's duties. In the alley, a woman named Lucy is assaulted by three men while she is out looking for her cat, the attackers demanding money from her at gunpoint. The Ghost Rider then descends from the rooftop, causing the three men to run away in terror. He catches one of the men, Toother, and subjects him to the penance stare, making him relive all of the pain he's caused others throughout his life. Afterward, the Ghost Rider rides away, leaving Toother to be found as a whimpering, crying mess by his two associates.

Elsewhere, in Little Italy, "Happy" Jack Karne and his two bodyguards are chased down a deserted alleyway. The large bodyguards attempt to fight off the person chasing them, but are both killed. The flaming-skulled vigilante then burns Karne to death, ignoring the man's pleas for mercy.

The next morning, Dan awakens with no memory of what the Ghost Rider did the night before. He scrapes together what little change he has, then notices the clock and realizes that he's running late for class. A few minutes later, Dan runs out of his apartment building, where he runs into Carlie Colon and her brother Choocho, one of the men the Ghost Rider had encountered the night before. Carlie swoons and flirts with Dan as he leaves, prompting Choocho to call her "pathetic".

Back in Little Italy, Stacy Dolan and "Ski" Sokolowski arrive at a police crime scene. The two cops find the melted skeletons of Jack Karne and his bodyguards, with the words "No Penance" written on the wall behind the bodies. Seeing the words, Stacy immediately thinks of the Ghost Rider.

Later that night, at "Little Luz's Bronx Girl Bodega", Lucy - owner and proprietor - tells some other women about her encounter with the Ghost Rider the night before. She tells them that the Rider was a monster that attacked her, wanting to eat her, and that the boys from the next block had simply distracted the demon from killing her. Dan then wanders into the store, looking to buy what little food he can afford, and realizes that the woman must have seen the Ghost Rider. After arguing with her over her admittedly bad attitude concerning his paying with coins, Dan leaves the store...just as a group of masked me pull up outside with guns to rob the place. Dan sighs and triggers the transformation, and within moments the Ghost Rider has subdued the masked men. The Rider then flies off on his bike, deciding that his new home is a perfect place for a Spirit of Vengeance.

ANNOTATIONS 

Ghost Rider last appeared in Over the Edge (1995) # 9.

The identity of the "No Penance" killer is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 73.

Stacy Dolan discovered that Dan was the Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 18. She then helped the NYPD Task Force to capture him in Ghost Rider (1990) # 61.

REVIEW

This is the first official issue of new writer Ivan Velez Jr.'s run on the book, the first time since the series began that Howard Mackie isn't affiliated with the characters he created. And, though some parts of the new direction seem a bit abrupt, this quite a good start for Ghost Rider's new direction.

The most noticeable difference with this issue is the new location for Dan and the absolute deluge of new supporting characters that Velez introduces. While a few of Mackie's supporting characters, namely Stacy and Ski, appear, the rest of the characters - from Lucy to Carlie and Choocho to Juan Carlito - are all residents of the Bronx neighborhood that Velez has moved the character to. Which, of course, makes sense from the "write what you know" standpoint. Mackie centered the series around Cypress Hills because that's where he grew up, and the same applies to Ivan Velez, who was from the Bronx area of New York.

When we get right down to it, however, this issue is really nothing more than a set-up for future stories, with the only real meat coming in the form of the "No Penance" murders that are obviously there to implicate the Ghost Rider as a murderer. But regardless, this is still an enjoyable read, and Velez settles in right away with some excellent insights into the Ghost Rider's head via the first person narration. But by taking the "several months have passed route", Velez skips over quite a bit of the changes that had to have happened in Dan's life since the last issue (or even the Crossroads one-shot, the true end to Mackie's run and start to Velez's). Gone are the Caretaker (who shall not be missed), Mrs. Ketch, and Paula, which is odd considering the status of her and Dan's relationship at the end of the previous issue. Luckily, Velez gets around to explaining Paula's disappearance in a future issue, but it's still pretty abrupt when you go from last issue to this one with out an explanation.

We're also treated to yet another excellent issue of artwork by Salvador Larroca, who, by this time, has long established himself as one of the major artistic high points of the Ghost Rider series. The only problem with the visuals in this issue are the ridiculous digital flames that the Malibu computer coloring team applied to the Ghost Rider's head and wheels. Instead of looking "cool", it comes off as extremely distracting and utterly ridiculous looking.

So, while Velez's run will later veer off into some shaky plotting and utter disdain for continuity, this is a solid start to what could effectively be called the book's second era. It couldn't have been easy following Howard Mackie on the book, but - for this issue at least - the series is in good hands.

Grade: B+

Ghost Rider (1990) # 69

Cover Artist: Salvador Larroca

Published: Jan. 1996
Original Price: $1.95

Title: "...Living Spirit of Vengeance"
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Salvador Larroca

Inker: Al Milgrom
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Mike Rockwitz
Editor: James Felder
Editor In Chief: Bobbie Chase

SYNOPSIS

Dan Ketch rides his mystical motorcycle through a police barricade, transforming into the Ghost Rider as he leaps into a group of high-tech terrorists. With information supplied to him by a mysterious informant named "Deep Throat", the Ghost Rider received information on an operation implemented by Anton Hellgate, and within moments he's defeated the terrorists and is one step closer to Hellgate himself. The next day, at Hellgate's Westchester estate, the crime lord kills one of the men defeated by the Ghost Rider. He tells his minions to contact Choam to eliminate the Rider once and for all.

Elsewhere, Dan's girlfriend Paula Harris sits in her apartment as her phone rings. She knows who's been calling nonstop for the past half-hour, and when a knock sounds on her door she fears who it could be. She answers and finds Dan, who hears the phone and correctly assumes that its her ex-boyfriend, who has been calling and threatening her. Dan answers the phone and yells at the caller, telling him not to call back. Paul then tells Dan to leave, since he's scaring her just as much as her ex does. Later, Hellgate tells the brute named Choam that all he has to do is cause plenty of blood to run in the streets and the Ghost Rider will find him. Dan leaves Paula's apartment, and stumbles across a mugging. He stops the criminals and savagely beats one of them until the mugger's victim begs him to stop.

Later, in Cypress Hills, Choam goes on a rampage in the streets, killing as many people as he can find. The police are useless, unable to stop his destruction as Choam waits for the Ghost Rider. Meanwhile, Dan goes to visit his mother. She asks him if the Ghost Rider is trying to take over again, but Dan tells her that it's the opposite: he's becoming obsessed with vengeance...and what's worse, he likes the feeling. Back at her apartment, Paula's phone begins to ring again. She looks out her window and sees her ex-boyfriend Duane at the payphone outside.

During their visit, Daniel and his mother are visited by the police, who tell them that they're evacuating the neighborhood due to Choam's rampage. Dan's palm begins to glow, and he races off toward the chaos. When he gets there, the Ghost Rider attacks Choam, only to find that his Penance Stare has no effect on him. Enraged by Choam's flagrant disregard for human life, the Ghost Rider kills the brute by choking him with his chain. Afterward, the Rider looks at his hands and asks "what have I done?"...only for Choam to stand back up and resume the battle. Choam tries to goad him into killing him again, but the Rider refuses - then ends the fight with a single punch. Ghost Rider leaves Choam chained up for the police, and is then approached from the crowd by Ms. Ketch. She whispers to him that Paula called for Dan, saying she's in trouble.

A short while later, Duane breaks into Paula's apartment with a gun, but finds Danny instead. Duane points his gun at Dan, but then has a gun placed to his head from behind. Stacy Dolan and her partner place Duane under arrest, and Paula comes to hug Dan. Stacy thanks Dan for calling her, and Dan thinks to himself that he almost let the lust for vengeance cloud his mind. While vengeance may not have been served, the law has.

ANNOTATIONS 

Ghost Rider appears next in Over the Edge # 4.

Danny started dating Paula in Ghost Rider (1990) # 58, and she started receiving calls from her ex-boyfriend in Ghost Rider (1990) # 66. Paula appears once more after this issue in Over the Edge # 4, then has a break-up with Danny following that story. She'll return as a host for one of the Furies in Ghost Rider (1990) # 79.

The mysterious "Deep Throat" began helping Ghost Rider target Hellgate's criminal activities in Ghost Rider (1990) # 66. The identity of "Deep Throat" will be revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 73.

REVIEW

It's the end of an era as this issue marks the last by series creator Howard Mackie, the writer responsible for the majority of Ghost Rider's stories (including spin-offs and guest appearances) throughout the 1990s. Unfortunately, he doesn't really go out on a high note.

Howard Mackie was a writer with three very distinct eras on Ghost Rider: the first third of his run being what catapulted the character to superstardom and the second, the Midnight Sons era, being what nearly drove the book to cancellation and dismal sales. This final issue by the writer caps off the third era of his tenure, a back-to-basics approach after the failure of the Midnight Sons experiment - and, with a few exceptions, the last twenty issues of Ghost Rider were of high quality. This, I'm afraid to say, is one of those exceptions.

We're essentially given a stock plot in this issue; worse, a stock plot that we've seen before in this title. The story's villain, Choam, is another riff on the utterly forgettable Slaughter Boy from # 51 - a villain that has piss poor motivation other than "evil". But really, Choam's involvement is there for no reason other than to put some action in and take up space to hide the fact that this issue's real plot couldn't feasibly be stretched out for 22 pages. So to extend things a bit we're given yet another "Hellgate sends flunky out to kill Ghost Rider", something we've seen multiple times in the last 30 issues. It's boring and trite, and I don't think anything else can really be said about it.

The more interesting part of the story comes from the resolution of Paula's subplot. Poor Paula has been hanging around the book for about a year now, and she still has the personality of a cracker; she's likeable, but I just don't care about her in the slightest. She especially pales in comparison to Dan's last romantic partner, Stacy Dolan, who IS a fleshed-out believable character. But regardless, Mackie's taking the time to finish off her abusive ex-boyfriend/stalker plotline, and he does so with a nice little twist at the end. Throughout the story, I was anticipating the ex-boyfriend to get a vicious Ghost Rider beat-down, with the demon influenced and corrupted by Dan's own rage and need for vengeance against the person threatening his girl. Instead, we get Dan confronting him with supernatural intervention being substituted with police action in the form of ex-girlfriend Stacy coming to Dan's aid. It's a very human wrap-up, and it's something we rarely get to see in this title: a happy ending for Danny with Paula (we'll just ignore the fact that Paula's cast out of the book by incoming writer Ivan Velez with hardly a mention).

Salvador Larroca, who stays on with the title after Mackie's exit, turns in an admirable artistic attempt. It's too bad he's been paired this month with Al Milgrom, a completely incompatible inker that sucks all the life from Salva's artwork. It's like creative motivation was shot with a hollowpoint between the eyes in this issue.

So, while this issue did have its merits, it's really just a paint-by-numbers Ghost Rider story. Honestly, I was expecting more from Mackie's last issue.

Grade: C

Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 149

Cover Artist: Colin MacNeil

Published: March 1994
Original Price: $1.50

Title: "The Price"
Writer: Chris Cooper
Artist: Fred Harper
Letterer: Ul Higgins
Colorist: Joe Andreani
Editor: Richard Ashford
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS

A robbery of a store has turned into murder, and Vengeance has arrived to deal with the killer. After wasting his bullets, the criminal says that he's heard of the Ghost Rider, and begs him not to kill him. Vengeance replies that his hand shoots hellfire, then asks if he knows what it would do to his head. Vengeance blows the criminals head off, answering "now you know".

 

Two days later, Michael Badilino walks the streets, having just learned that the criminal he killed was a cop - one gone bad. Stopping in front of an electronics store, Badilino watches a news report on the cop's murder. David Johnson apparently spent his off-duty hours involved in armed robbery and murder, linking him to six different crimes. Hardly anyone attended Johnson's funeral, and the report closes with a shot of Johnson's son, Billy. Badilino tries to convince himself that the kid will get over it, but eventually decides that it won't be that easy.

 

Soon, Michael goes to the Johnson home to speak to his wife. She tells him that David was a good man until Billy came down with a tragic heart condition. The insurance company wouldn't pay for the experimental treatment, so David took to robbery to pay the bills. When Badilino asks to speak to Billy, his mother realizes that the locked cabinet where David kept his gone is open and empty. The two rush to Billy's room, only to find him gone - they then hear him on the roof, shouting for Vengeance to come to him. Badilino climbs onto the building's rooftop, where he finds Billy waving the gun around, yelling that he'll kill innocent people below until the Ghost Rider comes to him. Michael approaches the kid and tells him to start by shooting him, to pretend that he's the Ghost Rider and that maybe he did have something to do with his dad's death. Finally, Billy hands the gun to Badilino, who tells him that vengeance consumes humanity without considering the high price of the lives it ruins. Billy asks Michael if the Ghost Rider is happy having killed his dad. Badilino replies that he's not sure what the Ghost Rider feels, but he thinks he's in a cold, hard place right now.

 

ANNOTATIONS

Vengeance assumed the mantle of the "new" Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider (1990) # 46. The original Ghost Rider and his human host, Dan Ketch, died in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 18.

 

This issue of Marvel Comics Presents also contained stories featuring the Daughters of the Dragon, Namor, and the Starjammers.

 

REVIEW

In a sharp contrast to the mediocre-at-best story from the previous two issues, Chris Cooper's ongoing Vengeance serial for MCP provides a story that's actually quite good, if a bit standard.

 

As I've said before, I have respect for any writer who can craft a full story into the meager 8 pages that Marvel Comics Presents allowed. Most writers failed horribly with this, but sometimes creators got it right, and this is one of the shining examples. Instead of producing yet another "lame villain fights hero" story, Cooper delves into more ambiguous territory, showing the ramifications of vigilantism. Finally we're seeing signs of the Chris Cooper that created the excellent Darkhold series, and it's not a moment too soon.

 

This story also toys around with a different aspect of Vengeance, that the demon is the darker, more violent side of Badilino. This was a concept originally conceived for the original Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider, before the Zarathos story was adopted, and it's interesting to see the idea revisited here. As Vengeance, Michael has no mercy nor remorse for those he strikes down - but as a normal man, he finds himself wracked with guilt over the fate of Billy's father and what he ultimately did to the boy himself. Of course, I'm never one for a happy ending - so I'd have preferred to see poor Billy kill himself instead of the slightly cliched ending we see here. But I'm also a bit of a sadist, so I won't deduct any points for it (ha ha). Also, in a roundabout way, this story alludes to the ultimate fate awaiting Vengeance and Badilino a few years from now - though that obviously is just a coincidence.

 

Jones and Harper turn in a much better job with the artistic chores this issue, and in fact only slip into their bad habits during the panels with (the unrecognizable) Linda Wei and her news broadcast.

 

In effect, this issue shows to the readers that even a Spirit of Vengeance can feel the burning, numbing pain of hellfire - and the Vengeance serial begins to improve.

 

Grade: B-

Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 148

Cover Artist: Phil Hugh Felix

Published: Feb. 1994
Original Price: $1.50

Title: "Vengeance Forsaken"
Writer: Chris Cooper
Artist: Reggie Jones
Inker: Fred Harper
Letterer: Ul Higgins
Colorist: Joe Andreani
Editor: Richard Ashford
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS

Atop the crown of the Statue of Liberty, Psiphon and his terrorists are holding a group of hostages for a ransom of 50 million dollars. Vengeance is bound by chains and Psiphon's own tendrils, providing an ultimate source for the villain's power. Police helicopters fly over the monument, one of which is destroyed by Psiphon's tentacles. Vengeance struggles in his bonds, but only serves to feed more power to Psiphon through his tentacles. The villain tells Vengeance that once he gets the money he plans to slaughter the tourists anyway - and in response, Vengeance breaks free of his chains and blasts Psiphon with hellfire. Vengeance then quickly kills the four terrorists, but is attacked from behind by a recovered Psiphon. As Psiphon beats on Vengeance, he tells him that he feeds on strong negative emotion, giving him power and invulnerability. The stronger the violent thoughts, the strong he becomes - which is why he lured the hero to him, for there is no stronger emotion than vengeance. Finally figuring out the key to defeating Psiphon, Vengeance transforms back into Michael Badilino, which immediately sucks all of the strength from Psiphon's body. Badilino picks up a gun, but instead of shooting he kicks Psiphon off the monument to his death.

 

Meanwhile, in Washington D.C., a group of men watch video footage of the battle, coming to the conclusion that Vengeance must be monitored and - if necessary - neutralized. They give this task to Sam Buchanan, a former Darkhold Redeemer, who tells the men that he lost the only woman he ever loved to the supernatural, and that he won't stop until all such beings have paid. The men tell Buchanan that effective immediately he works for them - and his first target is Vengeance.

 

ANNOTATIONS 

Vengeance assumed the mantle of the "new" Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider (1990) # 46. The original Ghost Rider and his human host, Dan Ketch, died in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 18. 

 

Sam Buchanan last appeared in Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993) # 4, the conclusion to "Siege of Darkness". The woman Buchanan loved, Victoria Montesi, "died" in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme (1988) # 61.

 

Psiphon returns in Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 164.

This issue of Marvel Comics Presents also contained stories featuring the Black Panther, Captain Universe, and American Eagle.

 

REVIEW

Vengeance's first solo outing as the headliner of Marvel Comics Presents comes to an end, and we're left with a story that's probably as good as it possibly could be given the villain and plot available.

 

As I said in the previous issue's review, Chris Cooper is left with an unenviable task with this series - he has to write an ongoing series with only 8 pages per issue for a character that can't be changed in any way because of his starring role in the more important Ghost Rider series. This proves to be an obvious problem, mainly because Vengeance isn't that terribly interesting to begin with. He's the Ghost Rider mixed with the Punisher, and he's frightfully boring in his current "anti-hero" incarnation. When Vengeance as a villain he at least had a clear motivation and a nice identity mystery surrounding him. Now he's simply told to be "Ghost Rider, just more violent", and I certainly don't think that's strong enough for him to carry TWO books on his own.

 

The disposable nature of MCP also means we're going to be saddled with unimportant stories and villains that are labeled "also-ran" right out of the gates. Psiphon is a laughable attempt at creating a villain to match up against Vengeance, who is really just a villain himself. Cooper is able to by pass the first question - why the hell doesn't Vengeance just incinerate this loser on the first page? - by making Psiphon's powers reliant on anger. Unfortunately, that also forces the horribly corny ending down our throat with Vengeance turning back to Michael Badilino in order to cut off Psiphon's power source. If I understand Psiphon's ranting correctly, however, it doesn't matter if it's Vengeance or Badilino that's in front of him...they're kinda the same person, with the same emotions. Unlike the Ghost Rider, Vengeance and Badilino are NOT two separate beings, and the ending to this story falls apart after a good few seconds of idle thought.

 

Reggie Jones and Fred Harper turn in another perfectly decent work of art with this story, but they still have a great deal of amateurishness to overcome. Panels are frequently devoid of backgrounds, and on occasion it's difficult to distinguish just what's going on in the action.

 

This story was certainly not a great debut for Vengeance in MCP - but it's still really hard to blame Chris Cooper when you look at what he has to work with.

 

Grade: D

Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 147

Cover Artist: Robert Brown

Published: Feb. 1994
Original Price: $1.50

Title: "Tower of Blood"
Writer: Chris Cooper
Artist: Reggie Jones
Inker: Fred Harper
Letterer: Ul Higgins
Colorist: Joe Andreani
Editor: Richard Ashford
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS

In an office tower above Manhattan, Vengeance bursts into a penthouse room filled with armed terrorists. Vengeance attacks the terrorists, but discovers that he's too late - the soldiers, only moments before, infiltrated the building. With no demands for ransom, the terrorists mercilessly slaughtered every innocent person they could find. One of the terrorists attempts to kill Vengeance, saying "forget the apprehend orders", but instead finds himself held dangling out the window. The Spirit of Vengeance drops the man when he hears a voice behind him, which says all of this was done to get his attention. The leader of the terrorists, Psiphon, orchestrated the entire thing to lure Vengeance. Psiphon breaks the neck of his hostage, causing Vengeance to fly into a rage. The hero's spikes and hellfire prove ineffectual against the villain, who then uses his steel tentacles hair strands to pummel Vengeance into unconsciousness. One of Psiphon's men asks his boss why he doesn't kill Vengeance now that he's down - to which Psiphon replies "why would I want to kill the source of all my powers?".

 

ANNOTATIONS 

Vengeance last appeared in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 19.   

 

Vengeance assumed the mantle of the "new" Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider (1990) # 46. The original Ghost Rider and his human host, Dan Ketch, died in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 18 

This issue of Marvel Comics Presents also contained stories featuring the Falcon, American Eagle, and the Masters of Silence.

 

REVIEW

Following Ghost Rider's death during the "Siege of Darkness', the ongoing Ghost Rider series was given over to Michael Badilino, a.k.a. Vengeance. Similarly, Vengeance was also awarded Ghost Rider's spot as the headliner of Marvel Comics Presents - but the approach to Vengeance's MCP stories is much different than it was for Ghost Rider.

 

Instead of breaking the stories into 4-8 issue arcs by various creative teams (and most likely being turned into Ghost Rider Team-Up feature Random Super heroes), the team of Chris Cooper, Reggie Jones, and Fred Harper were given the task of chronicling the ongoing adventures of Vengeance. But, with Howard Mackie doing the same thing in the pages of Ghost Rider, Cooper is left with the chore of writing stories that will more than likely be ignored in favor of the more high-profile competition.

 

And, of course, it doesn't help MCP any when the first issue of the new Vengeance serial is as poor as this one. I do certainly respect all of the writers who worked on MCP, because it must be incredibly hard to tell a complete story in just 8 pages. But it doesn't excuse the purely mediocre story and villain that Cooper crafts for Vengeance here. Psiphon is saddled with not just a stupid name but an incredibly stupid power - steel tentacles for hair, no matter how cool you try to make it, is just ridiculous. I could easily see this guy being laughed at by such loser villains as the Stilt-Man or the Matador, which says a lot. What's the most disappointing is that I expect so much more from Chris Cooper, who wrote the incredible Darkhold series and has proven that he can write intriguing stories with characters who don't come off as a stereotypical comic caricatures.

 

Following their work on the issues prior and during the "Siege of Darkness", Jones and Harper have acquired the full-time artistic spot on the Vengeance series in MCP. There are so many things to like about their work, but at the same time it always comes off as amateurish. But, as it did with Ghost Rider, their sketchy, rough style fits well with the character.

 

So, yeah, not a stellar start for Vengeance in MCP, and you can already tell that this series is going to play a weak second fiddle to the character's role in Ghost Rider.

 

Grade: C-