Cosmic Ghost Rider Chronology


For a character created as recently as 2018, Cosmic Ghost Rider has amassed an extremely convoluted timeline that features time travel to the far future and the distant past before the character finally settled in the present day Marvel Universe.

The character's origin was established via flashback in Thanos (2017) # 16, which told the story of how Frank Castle, the Punisher, became the host of the Spirit of Vengeance following Thanos' destruction of Earth in the near future (probably about 20 years from the present day, at a guess).  In the centuries that followed, Castle became the Herald of Galactus, which transformed him into the "Cosmic" Ghost Rider and gave him the abilities of the Power Cosmic along with those of the Spirit of Vengeance.  He later fell into a partnership with Thanos, becoming his "Black Right Hand", and that lasted for several more centuries.  Finally, on the eve of the final battle between Thanos and the last living being in the universe, the Silver Surfer, Castle used a shard of the Infinity Time Gem to travel back in time to the present day Marvel Universe with orders to retrieve that era's Thanos and bring him to the future.  Despite his vast power, during the battle at the end of time Cosmic Ghost Rider was killed by the Silver Surfer.

Thanos (2017) # 13 (1st appearance)
Thanos (2017) # 14
Thanos (2017) # 15 (identity revealed as Frank Castle)
Thanos (2017) # 16 (origin story told)
Thanos (2017) # 17 (death)

Castle found himself inhabiting a strange afterlife realm, where he was met by Odin, Allfather of the Asgardian Gods.  Seeing Castle as a valiant warrior, Odin rescued him from the dying timeline that was subsequently erased by the actions of Thanos and gave him a life in Valhalla free from the Ghost Rider curse.  However, due to his antisocial actions in Valhalla, Odin gave Castle back his powers and offered to send him anywhere in time to live again.  Castle chose the distant past, specifically shortly after the birth of Thanos on the moon of Titan.  At first intending to murder Thanos as a toddler, Castle instead chose to kidnap him, intending to raise him to be a better person.  This resulted in another bout of time travel, this time to an alternate reality ruled by the Thanos he raised.  Following a return to the past, where baby Thanos was returned to his home, Castle found himself with a new life sans a purpose.

Thanos (2017) Annual # 1 (rescued by Odin)
Cosmic Ghost Rider (2018) # 1 (sent to the past)
Cosmic Ghost Rider (2018) # 2
Cosmic Ghost Rider (2018) # 3
Cosmic Ghost Rider (2018) # 4
Cosmic Ghost Rider (2018) # 5

Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History (2019) # 1
Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History (2019) # 2
Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History (2019) # 3
Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History (2019) # 4
Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History (2019) # 5
Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History (2019) # 6

Recently, Cosmic Ghost Rider has been seen as an inhabitant of the current era of Marvel Universe history.  He made his presence known during the reading of Thanos' will following the Mad Titan's death and became embroiled in the hunt for Gamora.  Following the end of "The Final Gauntlet" he found himself the thrall of the Asgardian death god Hela and sent to Hell, where he was welcomed by Johnny Blaze.

Thanos Legacy # 1 (1st appearance in present day Marvel Universe)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) # 1
Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) # 2
Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) # 3
Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) # 4
Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) # 5
Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) # 6
Avengers (2018) # 23
Avengers (2018) # 24
Avengers (2018) # 25

Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider (2019) # 1
Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider (2019) # 2
Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider (2019) # 3
Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider (2019) # 4
Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider (2019) # 5
Wolverine: Black, White & Blood (2021) # 3

Thanos (2017) # 16

Cover Art: Geoff Shaw
Published: April 2018
Original Price: $3.99

Title: "Thanos Wins, Part 4"
Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Geoff Shaw
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Colorist: Antonio Fabela
Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-in-Chief: Axel Alonso

SYNOPSIS
During his last attack on Earth, Thanos was in the skies above Manhattan slaughtering all of the planet's heroes.  On the ground below was Frank Castle, the Punisher, who was crushed under a falling building.  As he died, he thought that he would give anything to punish Thanos...and found himself in Hell before Mephisto.  Castle signed a deal with Mephisto to become the Ghost Rider, but found that he was the only living being left on Earth.  Centuries later, after having become mad from loneliness, Castle witness the coming of an injured Galactus.  Castle makes his second deal and becomes the cosmic powered Herald of Galactus, and the two of them went across the galaxy hunting for Thanos.  It took the pair centuries, but when they finally confronted Thanos the Mad Titan killed Galactus and offered Castle a place by his side, where he remained until the end of time.

Old Man Thanos, his younger time travelling counterpart, and the Ghost Rider are confronted by the Silver Surfer and his Annihilation Wave. When the wave of alien insects attacks, Thanos reminds Ghost Rider of his hellish power and, with a massive blast of hellfire, he destroys the entire Annihilation horde.  The Silver Surfer attacks, knocking all three of his opponents to the ground, and Old Man Thanos asks why the Surfer waited so long just to die.  The Surfer answers that he wasn't waiting, he was becoming worthy...just as Thor's hammer Mjolnir flies into his hand.

ANNOTATIONS
This issue was released with three additional printings, all of which featured new covers taken from Geoff Shaw's interior artwork.

Podcast Review: Inner Demons Episode 22 - "Stationary Demon" (Click to Listen)

REVIEW
Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw, having revealed the identity of Cosmic Ghost Rider in the last issue, gives readers his full origin sequence in this chapter of "Thanos Wins".

It's frankly amazing to me that this series was able to devote such a dedicated amount of presence to Cosmic Ghost Rider, who was essentially just a supporting character at best by this point.  I'm sure Marvel and the creators knew he was striking a chord with the readership, but this issue actually devoted a 13 of its 20 pages to the Rider's origin.  That's astounding ballsy, since this book is in fact titled THANOS and emphatically not COSMIC GHOST RIDER (not yet, anyway).  The origin sequence we get here actually makes the Frank Castle identity revelation a little easier to swallow, given how out of character it seemed in the last issue.  Detailing the "deals with devils", literally in one case, that Castle made to continue his path of vengeance was fascinating.  Unfortunately, it still glosses over the "centuries" that managed to transform the stoic Punisher into a riff on Deadpool, but I suppose it's forgivable when you consider the narrative in play.

Cates and Shaw continue to deliver these moments and images that probably sounded ridiculous until it was put on the page.  Castle as the Earthbound Ghost Rider, complete with Punisher skull shirt beneath his own flaming skull, astride the hell cycle?  Galactus and Castle as Butch Cassidy and Sundance?  Galactus even has a poncho and giant gun for god's sake, making him look like he's cosplaying as Cable.  Still, you can't deny the visuals of all those things, and Shaw makes it all look epic as possible.

Something else to note is that this arc has had some of the best damn cliffhanger endings for a series in recent memory.  This issue, which ends with the Silver Surfer brandishing Thor's hammer was one of those "holy shit!" moments that makes you sit up and beg for the next issue.  Cates and Shaw really have something special here, this whole series has been extremely high quality.  Recommended.

Grade: A+

Resurrection Day

As anyone who's followed the blog (or the website, back in the day) probably realized long ago, I like to take long as hell sabbaticals from posting.  I tend to get really into posting reviews and articles, where working on the blog fills me with a lot of obsessive joy, then I'll get severe Ghost Rider burnout (no pun intended) and step away.

For, like, MONTHS.

I last posted on the blog, podcast episode updates notwithstanding, back in August of 2018.  That's a long fucking time, and for that I apologize to all the Ghost Rider fans who come here looking for new material.  The good news is that I'm recharged and ready to resume rambling and ranting about comic books!  On the agenda are catching up on reviews (SOOOO many new comics have come out, people!), finishing the article series I began on the Top 20 Ghost Rider Stories of All Time and all the times the series has been cancelled over the years.  The podcast is, of course, on hiatus right now, so I can't in good conscience leave our fans without new Ghost Rider discussion on here.  It just wouldn't be right!

So, yeah, starting tomorrow: waking the hell up and getting on with writing! 


Oh, and just for posterity, here's a list of all the Ghost Rider comics that have come out since the last time I was actively posting, a checklist to follow along with at home:

Cosmic Ghost Rider # 1-5
What If Ghost Rider # 1
Infinity Warps: Ghost Panther # 1-2
Avengers (2018) # 2-15
Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) # 1-2
Thanos Legacy # 1

Any I missed? Let me know!

Inner Demons Episode 37: "Fly Like an Eagle"



Inner Demons returns with a new episode filled with three classic comic reviews, including Brian's choice for worst Ghost Rider comic of all time!  Which comic will it be, listeners: the return of the Phantom Eagle in Ghost Rider (1973) # 12, the final battle with the Hobgoblin in Ghost Rider (1990) # 17, or the conclusion to "Hell to Pay" in Ghost Rider (2007) # 7?

You can listen to the episode at the Vengeance Unbound page on blogspot, or you can download it from StitcheriTunes, or Google Podcasts.  You can also find us on Facebook, just search  for "Vengeance Unbound" and on Twitter under @InnerDemonsGR.  Thanks for listening!

Inner Demons Episode 36: "Dad Panther"



Look listeners, it can't be said that the humble hosts of Inner Demons, Chris Munn & Brian Biggie, don't suffer for your entertainment.  This episode, they review Chris' choice for worst Ghost Rider comic of all time, Infinity Wars: Ghost Panther # 2.  Say a prayer before diving into this one, folks.  But hey, they also look at (the much, much better) Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) # 1 and Ghost Rider 2099 # 12, so it's like a sandwich with two awesome kaiser buns holding together some rotten meat.  Wakanda Forever!

You can listen to the episode at the Vengeance Unbound page on blogspot, or you can download it from StitcheriTunes, or Google Podcasts.  You can also find us on Facebook, just search  for "Vengeance Unbound" and on Twitter under @InnerDemonsGR.  Thanks for listening!