On Sale Date: December 1982
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Artist: Bob Budiansky
Inker: Kevin Dzubin
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Tom DeFalco
Editor In Chief: Jim Shooter
Cover Artist: Bob Budiansky
Meanwhile, though his body lay unconscious on the operating table, Johnny's mind is trapped in the dream dimension, riding a motorcycle across a winding road of unreality. He hears a voice calling his name and decides to seek it out, eventually finding his deceased step-mother, Mona Simpson. Mona rejects Johnny's attempt to hug her, saying that he has broken the promise he made to her on her deathbed, that he would never ride in a cycle show again. Before Johnny can reply, he is interrupted by Elliot, the criminal formerly known as the Clown, whose mind was destroyed by the Ghost Rider. In the dream realm, Elliot has returned to his rightful mental state, but says that in the real world, he may never recover from what the Rider did to him. Suddenly, the two are startled by Zarathos, who races by on his hellcycle and grabs Mona, riding away with her deeper into the Dream Dimension. Johnny and Elliot get on Blaze's cycle to follow, with the former Clown acting as a guide to the realm. He takes Johnny to a cemetery, where he encounters the ghost of his father, Barton Blaze. The two race off on their cycles, where Barton calls his son a whining wash-out. When Blaze lays the blame on the demon inside him, Barton simply laughs, his skin burning away to reveal the skeletal face of Zarathos, and zooms off on the hellcycle.
Elliot calms down the distraught Johnny, who is desperately trying to make himself wake up. He takes Blaze to the top of a large mountain, to three men that can possibly help him. Dr. Strange, Daimon Hellstrom, and Dr. Druid offer no help at all, going so far as to call Johnny a coward and a disappointment. Blaze then finds himself in the hospital room of Crash Simpson, who is dying from cancer. When Blaze protests that he saved Crash from the cancer, he is then forced to relive Simpson's fatal motorcycle crash. As Simpson dies in his arms, he tells Johnny that he would have preferred the cancer. Crash then transforms into the Ghost Rider, still holding the screaming Mona Simpson, and disappears in a flash of hellfire.
Johnny and Elliot once again chase after Zarathos, but are again stopped by a person from Blaze's past. Johnny finds Roxanne Simpson, who fails to recognize him as the man she fell in love with. Another Blaze then appears, one that's well-dressed and wealthy, to whom Roxanne runs. This second Blaze transforms into Mephisto, devours Roxanne, and fades away. Elliot then points out the Ghost Rider, who is frying Mona with his hellfire. Swirling around the two are the souls of every person that Zarathos has punished, which Elliot blames on Johnny, saying that the Ghost Rider is directed by his own guilt and failures. Johnny leaps at Zarathos, determined to save Mona, but is instead burned by the hellfire himself. Strangely, Blaze does not resist the hellfire, but instead embraces it as punishment for all the souls he's damned in his life. Elliot then transforms into Nightmare and tells Zarathos that the mental wall between he and Blaze is gone, broken down along with Johnny's own sense of self-worth. Zarathos races out of the Dream Dimension, leaving Johnny to fry in a never-ending cycle of hellfire.
On Earth, just as the surgeons prepare to cut into Blaze's body, the Ghost Rider emerges and breaks free. Zarathos, uninhibited by Johnny's will, quickly slaughters the medical crew and Renaldo's small band of freaks. The demon then finds Renaldo himself hiding in the corner, afraid that Zarathos will burn him with hellfire again. The demon approaches and says that tearing Renaldo limb from limb would be much more interesting. Back in the Dream Dimension, Johnny writhes in the hellfire, completely defeated. Suddenly, the true spirit of Mona Simpson rises from the flames and tells Johnny that his ability to keep the demon restrained all these years has saved countless numbers of people, and that if he gives up now then Zarathos will have a free reign on Earth. Unwilling to let that happen, Johnny regains his will and dives through the hellfire, making it back to his motorcycle. As he rides toward the exit of the Dream Dimension, Nightmare attempts to block his path, but is unsuccessful. Johnny escapes, determined to wrest back control over his body. At that moment, back on Earth, the Ghost Rider prepares to deal Renaldo the death blow. Before he can, however, Johnny manages to fight his way back into possession of their form, stopping Zarathos spree of terror. Renaldo cowers on the floor, saying that he knows the demon will come back. Johnny simply replies "Not if I can help it."
Mona and Crash Simpson both died in Marvel Spotlight (1972) # 5.
Eliot Franklin, the Clown of the Circus of Crime and son to Johnny's friend Corky, was fried by hellfire in Ghost Rider (1973) # 73.
This issue identifies Johnny's mother as "Clara Blaze", who actually never existed. The Simpson family invented "Clara" so Johnny wouldn't know the true identity of his mother, which was revealed to be Naomi Kale in Ghost Rider (1990) # -1. It is shown in Ghost Rider (2006) # 5 that Naomi left while Johnny was very young, following the death of his father Barton, and that she took his siblings (Danny and Barbara) with her. Johnny repressed all of this in favor of the story told to him by Crash and Mona Simpson, that his mother was named Clara and died before he could remember. Johnny learned that Naomi was his mother in Ghost Rider: Finale.
From their position in Nightmare's dream dimension, the Lord of Dreams shows Zarathos, the Ghost Rider, an image from Earth. Johnny Blaze is strapped down and unconscious, ready to be operated on by Renaldo's surgeons. The Ghost Rider asks why Nightmare has agreed to help rid him of Blaze, to which the demon replies that he has come across several mortals that were driven to nightmare by Zarathos. If the Ghost Rider were to ride unfettered through Earth, then he would be able to cause enough terror to feed Nightmare for all time.
Meanwhile, though his body lay unconscious on the operating table, Johnny's mind is trapped in the dream dimension, riding a motorcycle across a winding road of unreality. He hears a voice calling his name and decides to seek it out, eventually finding his deceased step-mother, Mona Simpson. Mona rejects Johnny's attempt to hug her, saying that he has broken the promise he made to her on her deathbed, that he would never ride in a cycle show again. Before Johnny can reply, he is interrupted by Elliot, the criminal formerly known as the Clown, whose mind was destroyed by the Ghost Rider. In the dream realm, Elliot has returned to his rightful mental state, but says that in the real world, he may never recover from what the Rider did to him. Suddenly, the two are startled by Zarathos, who races by on his hellcycle and grabs Mona, riding away with her deeper into the Dream Dimension. Johnny and Elliot get on Blaze's cycle to follow, with the former Clown acting as a guide to the realm. He takes Johnny to a cemetery, where he encounters the ghost of his father, Barton Blaze. The two race off on their cycles, where Barton calls his son a whining wash-out. When Blaze lays the blame on the demon inside him, Barton simply laughs, his skin burning away to reveal the skeletal face of Zarathos, and zooms off on the hellcycle.
Elliot calms down the distraught Johnny, who is desperately trying to make himself wake up. He takes Blaze to the top of a large mountain, to three men that can possibly help him. Dr. Strange, Daimon Hellstrom, and Dr. Druid offer no help at all, going so far as to call Johnny a coward and a disappointment. Blaze then finds himself in the hospital room of Crash Simpson, who is dying from cancer. When Blaze protests that he saved Crash from the cancer, he is then forced to relive Simpson's fatal motorcycle crash. As Simpson dies in his arms, he tells Johnny that he would have preferred the cancer. Crash then transforms into the Ghost Rider, still holding the screaming Mona Simpson, and disappears in a flash of hellfire.
Johnny and Elliot once again chase after Zarathos, but are again stopped by a person from Blaze's past. Johnny finds Roxanne Simpson, who fails to recognize him as the man she fell in love with. Another Blaze then appears, one that's well-dressed and wealthy, to whom Roxanne runs. This second Blaze transforms into Mephisto, devours Roxanne, and fades away. Elliot then points out the Ghost Rider, who is frying Mona with his hellfire. Swirling around the two are the souls of every person that Zarathos has punished, which Elliot blames on Johnny, saying that the Ghost Rider is directed by his own guilt and failures. Johnny leaps at Zarathos, determined to save Mona, but is instead burned by the hellfire himself. Strangely, Blaze does not resist the hellfire, but instead embraces it as punishment for all the souls he's damned in his life. Elliot then transforms into Nightmare and tells Zarathos that the mental wall between he and Blaze is gone, broken down along with Johnny's own sense of self-worth. Zarathos races out of the Dream Dimension, leaving Johnny to fry in a never-ending cycle of hellfire.
On Earth, just as the surgeons prepare to cut into Blaze's body, the Ghost Rider emerges and breaks free. Zarathos, uninhibited by Johnny's will, quickly slaughters the medical crew and Renaldo's small band of freaks. The demon then finds Renaldo himself hiding in the corner, afraid that Zarathos will burn him with hellfire again. The demon approaches and says that tearing Renaldo limb from limb would be much more interesting. Back in the Dream Dimension, Johnny writhes in the hellfire, completely defeated. Suddenly, the true spirit of Mona Simpson rises from the flames and tells Johnny that his ability to keep the demon restrained all these years has saved countless numbers of people, and that if he gives up now then Zarathos will have a free reign on Earth. Unwilling to let that happen, Johnny regains his will and dives through the hellfire, making it back to his motorcycle. As he rides toward the exit of the Dream Dimension, Nightmare attempts to block his path, but is unsuccessful. Johnny escapes, determined to wrest back control over his body. At that moment, back on Earth, the Ghost Rider prepares to deal Renaldo the death blow. Before he can, however, Johnny manages to fight his way back into possession of their form, stopping Zarathos spree of terror. Renaldo cowers on the floor, saying that he knows the demon will come back. Johnny simply replies "Not if I can help it."
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| Would his name change to Cancer Simpson? |
THE ROADMAP
Zarathos was shown his true origin by Nightmare in Ghost Rider (1973) # 77.
Mona and Crash Simpson both died in Marvel Spotlight (1972) # 5.
Eliot Franklin, the Clown of the Circus of Crime and son to Johnny's friend Corky, was fried by hellfire in Ghost Rider (1973) # 73.
This issue identifies Johnny's mother as "Clara Blaze", who actually never existed. The Simpson family invented "Clara" so Johnny wouldn't know the true identity of his mother, which was revealed to be Naomi Kale in Ghost Rider (1990) # -1. It is shown in Ghost Rider (2006) # 5 that Naomi left while Johnny was very young, following the death of his father Barton, and that she took his siblings (Danny and Barbara) with her. Johnny repressed all of this in favor of the story told to him by Crash and Mona Simpson, that his mother was named Clara and died before he could remember. Johnny learned that Naomi was his mother in Ghost Rider: Finale.
CHAIN REACTION
To read my review of Ghost Rider (1973) # 78 see my book Wheels On Fire: An Unofficial Guide to Marvel Comics' Ghost Rider: 1972-1983!
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