Writer: Rob Williams; Artist: Lee Garbett; Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles; Colorist: Robert Schwager & Andres Mossa; Editor: Sebastian Girner; Senior Editor: Stephen Wacker; Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso; Cover Artist: Matthew Clark
Alejandra has been shot in the heart with an arrow by Hawkeye, who has used a mystical amulet attached to the error to paralyze the Ghost Rider and keep her from transforming. He takes her into custody, but realizes that he needs to save Johnny Blaze from Steel Wind and Steel Vengeance. The two sisters have chained Blaze between their bikes are about to drive him into a bullet train when Hawkeye arrives to save him. Hawkeye has to jump off of his skycycle during the fight and leaves Alejandra tied onto it. Right before it crashes into the bullet train and explodes, Alejandra successfully pulls the arrow from her chest. Blaze and Hawkeye are taken prisoner by Steel Wind, who tells them that they will experience "The Dragging".
The two men are dragged through downtown Tokyo by Steel Wind and Steel Vengeance, but they are saved by Alejandra. The Ghost Rider has transformed the bullet train into a "hell train" with a giant skull as its engine car. She chases them out into the desert, where Blaze and Hawkeye jump onto the train and Alejandra blows up the sisters with the hellfire shotgun. Afterward, Blaze offers to help Alejandra and Hawkeye tells her that she still needs to pay for her crimes. Blaze takes the mystical amulet and both he and Alejandra teleport away.
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| Steel Wind, you deserved better. |
THE ROADMAP
Alejandra and Blaze both appear next in Venom (2011) # 13, which is the first part of the "Circle of Four" storyline.
Alejandra was forced to obliterate the sin from the villagers in Nicaragua by Adam in Ghost Rider (2011) # 3. She will get her opportunity to confront Mephisto on behalf of those souls in Ghost Rider (2011) # 9.
Steel Wind first appeared in Ghost Rider (1973) # 75 and her sister Steel Vengeance first appeared in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 2. Steel Vengeance was killed by Centurious in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 9 and Steel Wind made her last appearance in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 23, where she sought revenge against Centurious and made her peace with Johnny Blaze. She apparently changed her mind prior to this issue.
Hawkeye was one of the Avengers (along with Ms. Marvel and Spider-Woman) who witnessed the Ghost Rider's destruction of Nicaragua in Ghost Rider (2011) # 3.
Hawkeye and Johnny Blaze first met way back in The Champions (1973) # 11.
CHAIN REACTION
This headache of a series is still happening, and in this issue there's a lot of terrible dialogue and unfunny jokes. Also, the creative team doesn't know anything about geography.
Let's get that last part out of the way first. I don't know if it was an error on the part of the writer, Rob Williams, or the artist, Lee Garbett, but this issue apparently takes place in Japan. I certainly didn't know that last issue, because it was never said, and you definitely can't tell by the artwork. See, Garbett has the majority of the issue taking place in a desert wasteland that is inexplicably set just outside the city of Tokyo. Now, there is a desert in Japan, but it's small, on the coast, and nowhere near Tokyo. So it's a major breakdown in communication somewhere, or just a lack of basic research, either way it's annoying and baffling at the same time.
Garbett's art doesn't fare as well as it has in previous issues, and now I suppose he's become the default "regular artist" on the series after doing so many fill-ins. He still has his usual clean, simplified style, but there's something about the details that don't look as refined in this issue. The biggest example is the transformed bullet train, which could have been an amazing visual but instead is just a big skull. His Alejandra is still looking good, though, and retains her femininity without sacrificing what makes Ghost Rider look like Ghost Rider.
The story this issue, which picks up from last issue's disappointing reintroduction of Steel Wind and Steel Vengeance, continues with everything that annoyed me ramped up even more. Steel Wind is still a raving lunatic without any of the nuance or pathos she had in previous appearances, which has been replaced with her complete ineptitude. How can these two even be considered a threat when they're so ridiculous? It's overcompensating, trying to put a mark on a series that had been defined not long ago by Jason Aaron and the Orb, though it misses the point. The Orb was just as ridiculous as Steel Wind, yes, but he was balanced out by villains who were actually scary and threatening, such as the Scarecrow and Vengeance. Williams also must get a real kick out of playing Blaze and Hawkeye off one another, though he still misfires wildly here as well. Blaze is not the cocky jokester to Hawkeye's straight man, if anything their personalities would make it the other way around.
"Circle of Four" is up next and it's actually a pretty good story. This comic, though, is terrible on just about every level.
Let's get that last part out of the way first. I don't know if it was an error on the part of the writer, Rob Williams, or the artist, Lee Garbett, but this issue apparently takes place in Japan. I certainly didn't know that last issue, because it was never said, and you definitely can't tell by the artwork. See, Garbett has the majority of the issue taking place in a desert wasteland that is inexplicably set just outside the city of Tokyo. Now, there is a desert in Japan, but it's small, on the coast, and nowhere near Tokyo. So it's a major breakdown in communication somewhere, or just a lack of basic research, either way it's annoying and baffling at the same time.
Garbett's art doesn't fare as well as it has in previous issues, and now I suppose he's become the default "regular artist" on the series after doing so many fill-ins. He still has his usual clean, simplified style, but there's something about the details that don't look as refined in this issue. The biggest example is the transformed bullet train, which could have been an amazing visual but instead is just a big skull. His Alejandra is still looking good, though, and retains her femininity without sacrificing what makes Ghost Rider look like Ghost Rider.
The story this issue, which picks up from last issue's disappointing reintroduction of Steel Wind and Steel Vengeance, continues with everything that annoyed me ramped up even more. Steel Wind is still a raving lunatic without any of the nuance or pathos she had in previous appearances, which has been replaced with her complete ineptitude. How can these two even be considered a threat when they're so ridiculous? It's overcompensating, trying to put a mark on a series that had been defined not long ago by Jason Aaron and the Orb, though it misses the point. The Orb was just as ridiculous as Steel Wind, yes, but he was balanced out by villains who were actually scary and threatening, such as the Scarecrow and Vengeance. Williams also must get a real kick out of playing Blaze and Hawkeye off one another, though he still misfires wildly here as well. Blaze is not the cocky jokester to Hawkeye's straight man, if anything their personalities would make it the other way around.
"Circle of Four" is up next and it's actually a pretty good story. This comic, though, is terrible on just about every level.
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| Painfully unfunny. |
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