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Title: "Wolverine Goes to Hell, Parts 2-5"
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Renato Guedes
Inker: Jose Wilson Magalhaes & Oclair Albert
Letterer: Cory Petit
Colorist: Matt Wilson
Editor: Jeanine Schaefer
Editor-In-Chief: Joe Quesada
SYNOPSIS
Wolverine's soul has been sent to Hell, while a demon has taken control of his body and is systematically murdering Wolverine's friends and loved ones. His current girlfriend, Melita Garner, has teamed up with Mystique to help rescue Wolverine, with the stipulation that Melita cannot contact the X-Men. Instead she calls Logan's old friend, Yukio, for help. While on the phone, Yukio is attacked by the demonically-possessed Wolverine and nearly killed. Mystique also contacted some people for help, and the two women are met by Daimon Hellstrom and two Ghost Riders: Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch.
While Wolverine endures the torments of Hell, Mystique takes Melita and her allies to the alley where Logan was captured. Mystique herself had been part of the plot to send Wolverine's soul to Hell, but she's since changed her mind and wants to reverse what has happened. Hellstrom tells them that while they can't get Wolverine out of Hell they can exorcise the demons residing in his body, which will give his soul a fighting chance to return. They locate a church to do the exorcism in with the help of the Ghost Riders, they just have to find Wolverine, who has arrived at the X-Men's island home of Utopia. He attacks the X-Men, nearly killing Colossus before being stopped by Blaze and Mystique. Ghost Rider wraps Wolverine in his chains and drags him off of Utopia and across the bay back into San Francisco.
On the way to the church, Wolverine manages to pull Blaze and Mystique off the bike and attacks them both. During the fight, Blaze gets beheaded and Mystique gets stabbed in the stomach, but before Wolverine can kill her the second Ghost Rider, Danny Ketch, drives by and grabs Logan by the leg, dragging him to the church. Held by the Ghost Riders' chains, Hellstrom begins the exorcism on the demons inhabiting Wolverine's body, while Logan's soul fights its way free from Hell. When the exorcism is over, Wolverine runs screaming from the church, with Hellstrom, the Ghost Riders, and Melita following behind him. Outside to meet them are four of the X-Men: Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor and Magneto, who are demanding answers to what's been happening.
While Wolverine endures the torments of Hell, Mystique takes Melita and her allies to the alley where Logan was captured. Mystique herself had been part of the plot to send Wolverine's soul to Hell, but she's since changed her mind and wants to reverse what has happened. Hellstrom tells them that while they can't get Wolverine out of Hell they can exorcise the demons residing in his body, which will give his soul a fighting chance to return. They locate a church to do the exorcism in with the help of the Ghost Riders, they just have to find Wolverine, who has arrived at the X-Men's island home of Utopia. He attacks the X-Men, nearly killing Colossus before being stopped by Blaze and Mystique. Ghost Rider wraps Wolverine in his chains and drags him off of Utopia and across the bay back into San Francisco.
On the way to the church, Wolverine manages to pull Blaze and Mystique off the bike and attacks them both. During the fight, Blaze gets beheaded and Mystique gets stabbed in the stomach, but before Wolverine can kill her the second Ghost Rider, Danny Ketch, drives by and grabs Logan by the leg, dragging him to the church. Held by the Ghost Riders' chains, Hellstrom begins the exorcism on the demons inhabiting Wolverine's body, while Logan's soul fights its way free from Hell. When the exorcism is over, Wolverine runs screaming from the church, with Hellstrom, the Ghost Riders, and Melita following behind him. Outside to meet them are four of the X-Men: Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor and Magneto, who are demanding answers to what's been happening.
ANNOTATIONS
The Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider last appeared in Shadowland (2010) # 5 and had a cameo appearance in Daredevil (1964) # 511. He appears next in Wolverine (2010) # 6.
The Danny Ketch Ghost Rider last appeared in Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural # 5 and he appears next in Wolverine (2010) # 6.
Blaze and Ketch last teamed-up with Daimon Hellstrom in Ghost Riders: Heaven's On Fire # 2.
REVIEW
"Wolverine Goes to Hell" not only brings the supernatural side of the Marvel Universe into the series, but also reunites Jason Aaron with the Ghost Riders.
Aaron had been writing Wolverine for a while before it was relaunched with this storyline, but his run on Ghost Rider had finished the year before. So having Blaze and Ketch guest-star in this arc was a huge deal for Ghost Rider fans at the time, though it's a bit disappointing that they it was in little more than an expanded cameo. So, even though Ghost Riders did technically appear in all four issues, it wasn't until # 5 that they had any impact at all other than standing around without any dialogue. Hence the above abbreviated synopsis of the arc, which naturally left out all of the material about Wolverine actually being in Hell. This isn't a Wolverine blog, so the only thing I was concerned about recapping was the material that actually featured a Ghost Rider.
But, again, there wasn't very much to talk about concerning the Ghost Riders, other than it was very cool to see Jason Aaron using them as Mystique's mystical back-up. Daimon Hellstrom gets the bulk of the exposition, and that's fine, he's there to do the snarky dialogue while the Riders are his muscle. Unfortunately, when it comes down to the final chapter of the arc, the Ghost Riders don't get a lot to do other than get chumped by Demon Wolverine. The bulk of the story is taken up by Logan's journey through Hell and his fight with Satan, and that's totally understandable. As a whole, this story is pretty freaking great, Jason Aaron does a fantastic job with Wolverine as a character, and the Hell idea is pretty novel.
The artwork by Renato Guedes is pretty great, too, though I'm not real familiar with his work outside of this and his brief run on DC's Constantine series. He depicts the Hell sequences adequately enough, and his action is great. The demonic Wolverine tearing his way through Utopia is exceptionally well-done, and the splash page introduction of the Ghost Riders in issue # 2 is one of my favorite pieces of art featuring those characters. He's an artist I wouldn't mind seeing on a Ghost Rider series proper at some point in the future.
All in all, this is a great arc with spot-on writing and some good-to-great artwork. It's just not much of a Ghost Rider story, even for a guest-appearance, so don't seek it out unless you're actually a Wolverine fan (or if you just want to read a good story, I suppose).
Aaron had been writing Wolverine for a while before it was relaunched with this storyline, but his run on Ghost Rider had finished the year before. So having Blaze and Ketch guest-star in this arc was a huge deal for Ghost Rider fans at the time, though it's a bit disappointing that they it was in little more than an expanded cameo. So, even though Ghost Riders did technically appear in all four issues, it wasn't until # 5 that they had any impact at all other than standing around without any dialogue. Hence the above abbreviated synopsis of the arc, which naturally left out all of the material about Wolverine actually being in Hell. This isn't a Wolverine blog, so the only thing I was concerned about recapping was the material that actually featured a Ghost Rider.
But, again, there wasn't very much to talk about concerning the Ghost Riders, other than it was very cool to see Jason Aaron using them as Mystique's mystical back-up. Daimon Hellstrom gets the bulk of the exposition, and that's fine, he's there to do the snarky dialogue while the Riders are his muscle. Unfortunately, when it comes down to the final chapter of the arc, the Ghost Riders don't get a lot to do other than get chumped by Demon Wolverine. The bulk of the story is taken up by Logan's journey through Hell and his fight with Satan, and that's totally understandable. As a whole, this story is pretty freaking great, Jason Aaron does a fantastic job with Wolverine as a character, and the Hell idea is pretty novel.
The artwork by Renato Guedes is pretty great, too, though I'm not real familiar with his work outside of this and his brief run on DC's Constantine series. He depicts the Hell sequences adequately enough, and his action is great. The demonic Wolverine tearing his way through Utopia is exceptionally well-done, and the splash page introduction of the Ghost Riders in issue # 2 is one of my favorite pieces of art featuring those characters. He's an artist I wouldn't mind seeing on a Ghost Rider series proper at some point in the future.
All in all, this is a great arc with spot-on writing and some good-to-great artwork. It's just not much of a Ghost Rider story, even for a guest-appearance, so don't seek it out unless you're actually a Wolverine fan (or if you just want to read a good story, I suppose).
Grade: A
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