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| Cover Artist: Henry Martinez |
Original Price: $1.75
Title: Siege of Darkness, Part 8: "The End of the World As We Know It"
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Henry Martinez
Inker: Keith Williams
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colorist: John Kalisz
Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco
SYNOPSIS
After the destruction of Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, the Midnight Sons find themselves in the middle of an attack by the Lilin. Managing to find a doorway, Caretaker opens a portal to the Nightclub, and the heroes barely escape. Ghost Rider, Blaze, and Vengeance decide that the best course of action is to take the fight to Lilth and seal off the portal to the Lilin dimension. Caretaker disagrees, saying that even if they stop Lilith they don't have the strength to defeat Zarathos. When he refuses to let the three leave, the Spirits of Vengeance quickly disable Caretaker. The Midnight Sons then leave, deciding to fight without him. After a moment of thought, the Caretaker reluctantly follows them.
In the cemetery, Lilith takes advantage of the amnesiac Zarathos, coupling with him in an attempt to father his children. Ghost Rider and the rest attack the portal, and while the Nightstalkers hold off the Lilin, the Spirits of Vengeance approach the source of the evil mist. Zarathos attacks and easily defeats the three, but a repentant Morbius appears and gives them time to regroup. Caretaker shows the three how to tap into the power of the Medallion, which they use to seal up the portal to Lilin's world. The mist is quickly sucked back into the hole, carry with it Lilith and all of her offspring. After this expenditure of power, the Medallion shatters in Ghost Rider's hand, destroyed. The battle is not completely won, however, as the use of the Medallion has brought back Zarathos' minions, the Fallen. Caretaker attacks the demons, telling the other heroes to search for the missing members of the Blood. As the Fallen easily defeat the Caretaker, a joyful Zarathos proclaims that his lost memories have finally returned.
ANNOTATIONS
Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum was destroyed in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme (1988) # 60. The "Siege of Darkness" crossover continues in Nightstalkers (1992) # 15.
The history of the Medallion of Power was revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 43 and Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 16.
Morbius betrayed the Midnight Sons in Darkhold: Pages From the Book of Sins (1992) # 15, due to his being infected by the blood of one of the Lilin in Morbius: The Living Vampire (1992) # 1.
Lilith makes a small cameo appearance at the end of Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993) # 4. She doesn't make a full re-appearance until 2004's Witches # 2-4.
Only two of the Lilin remain on Earth following this issue: Blackout reappears in Ghost Rider (1990) # 53 and Skinner reappears in Ghost Rider (1990) # 62.
Lilith makes a small cameo appearance at the end of Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993) # 4. She doesn't make a full re-appearance until 2004's Witches # 2-4.
Only two of the Lilin remain on Earth following this issue: Blackout reappears in Ghost Rider (1990) # 53 and Skinner reappears in Ghost Rider (1990) # 62.
REVIEW
"Siege of Darkness" reaches the halfway point, 8 freaking chapters in to a story that went on for way too long.
This crossover is one that most fans look back on with utter disdain due to the damage it did to the characters and the Midnight Sons imprint as a whole. In an attempt to unify the six titles, the crossover actually resulted in the cancellation of three books and the ultimate demise of the line itself. This is one of the stories that readers point to as an example of Marvel in the 1990s: endless crossovers, bad writing, and even worse art. All of that is true, "Siege of Darkness" is terrible...in part.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say something I don't think anyone else has ever said. The first half of "Siege of Darkness" is actually a perfectly decent, and at times even good, crossover event. It's not as good as "Rise of the Midnight Sons" or the surprisingly-excellent "Midnight Massacre", but it's far superior to its lead-in event, "Road to Vengeance: The Missing Link". It has a solid hook with the Lilin invasion and each chapter elevated the threat satisfactorily. Morbius' betrayal, the death of Louise Hastings, and the destruction of the Sanctum Sanctorum were all HUGE moments that definitely gave the storyline tension. So far, so good...
This chapter, which was the first to roll through the Spirits of Vengeance series, gives us the heroes on the run again and provides a great set-up for what should have been the conclusion to the crossover. Ghost Rider, Blaze, and Vengeance do what they should have done at the end of "Road to Vengeance" and banish Lilith and the Lilin away for good. In doing so, we get a resolution (of sorts) to the Medallion of Power concept, with it being used and then destroyed in the process. This is genuinely good stuff, even if I still dislike the "McGuffin of Power" as it relates to Ghost Rider's origin, and it's a totally solid ending to the crossover.
But then the crossover KEEPS GOING for nine more issues! Had they just shuffled Zarathos off to be used as the big bad for, say, Ghost Rider # 50 in a few months, things would have wrapped up nicely. From this point forward, though, it was like the writers had no idea what they were supposed to do next. It became a fetch quest to find members of the Blood that no one cared about to defeat a villain, Zarathos, who was nothing like the character people remembered. The second half of this crossover is what makes it terrible, and it's a shame that it rightfully eclipses the good work done in the first eight chapters.
Turning to things that are getting better instead of worse, Henry Martinez's second month on the title sees a dramatic improvement to what he produced last issue. It couldn't have been easy for a relatively unknown artist to step into a huge crossover two months in a row, on top of following up Adam fucking Kubert as the regular artist. Martinez is going to develop into a very good artist once he gets rolling on the Blaze solo title a year later, but you can see him developing his skills here. I was really against his work at the end of "Road to Vengeance", and seeing him improve month-to-month is a pleasure.
So, yeah, if you want to read "Siege of Darkness" just stop with this issue, specifically before the last two pages. You'll be much happier if you do.
This crossover is one that most fans look back on with utter disdain due to the damage it did to the characters and the Midnight Sons imprint as a whole. In an attempt to unify the six titles, the crossover actually resulted in the cancellation of three books and the ultimate demise of the line itself. This is one of the stories that readers point to as an example of Marvel in the 1990s: endless crossovers, bad writing, and even worse art. All of that is true, "Siege of Darkness" is terrible...in part.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say something I don't think anyone else has ever said. The first half of "Siege of Darkness" is actually a perfectly decent, and at times even good, crossover event. It's not as good as "Rise of the Midnight Sons" or the surprisingly-excellent "Midnight Massacre", but it's far superior to its lead-in event, "Road to Vengeance: The Missing Link". It has a solid hook with the Lilin invasion and each chapter elevated the threat satisfactorily. Morbius' betrayal, the death of Louise Hastings, and the destruction of the Sanctum Sanctorum were all HUGE moments that definitely gave the storyline tension. So far, so good...
This chapter, which was the first to roll through the Spirits of Vengeance series, gives us the heroes on the run again and provides a great set-up for what should have been the conclusion to the crossover. Ghost Rider, Blaze, and Vengeance do what they should have done at the end of "Road to Vengeance" and banish Lilith and the Lilin away for good. In doing so, we get a resolution (of sorts) to the Medallion of Power concept, with it being used and then destroyed in the process. This is genuinely good stuff, even if I still dislike the "McGuffin of Power" as it relates to Ghost Rider's origin, and it's a totally solid ending to the crossover.
But then the crossover KEEPS GOING for nine more issues! Had they just shuffled Zarathos off to be used as the big bad for, say, Ghost Rider # 50 in a few months, things would have wrapped up nicely. From this point forward, though, it was like the writers had no idea what they were supposed to do next. It became a fetch quest to find members of the Blood that no one cared about to defeat a villain, Zarathos, who was nothing like the character people remembered. The second half of this crossover is what makes it terrible, and it's a shame that it rightfully eclipses the good work done in the first eight chapters.
Turning to things that are getting better instead of worse, Henry Martinez's second month on the title sees a dramatic improvement to what he produced last issue. It couldn't have been easy for a relatively unknown artist to step into a huge crossover two months in a row, on top of following up Adam fucking Kubert as the regular artist. Martinez is going to develop into a very good artist once he gets rolling on the Blaze solo title a year later, but you can see him developing his skills here. I was really against his work at the end of "Road to Vengeance", and seeing him improve month-to-month is a pleasure.
So, yeah, if you want to read "Siege of Darkness" just stop with this issue, specifically before the last two pages. You'll be much happier if you do.
Grade: B
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