Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: David Marquez; Letterer: VC's Cory Petit; Colorist: Erick Arciniega; Editor: Tom Brevoort; Associate Editor: Alanna Smith; Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski; Cover Artist: David Marquez
Robbie Reyes is in Hell, trapped in a traffic gridlock on a never-ending freeway. He calls out for someone, anyone, to help him, even the Devil. On cue, a mysterious person that Robbie recognizes arrives, warming him about making deals in Hell.
On Earth, the Ghost Rider fights the Avengers, holding his own against Thor, Captain Marvel, and Captain America. The rest of the Avengers, including Blade, fight against the Shadow Colonel and his Legion of the Unliving. When the fight starts going against him, Ghost Rider prepares to unleash the Penance Bomb, which causes Robbie immense pain in Hell. Only the timely intervention of Blade saves them, as he bites the Ghost Rider's throat and sucks out the magical sickness that allowed the vampires to control him. Robbie, now back in control and on Earth, begs Captain America to forgive him, saying it wasn't his fault.
Meanwhile, in Russia, the Red Widow interrogated Dracula by killing off the vampire lord's concubines. Later at the Russian prison, the Shadow Colonel releases blood bombs inside the cells to transform the prisoners into new vampires for their army. When the Avengers get word of what's happening they head off to Russia, leaving Robbie behind. He neglected to tell them who it was he saw in Hell: Johnny Blaze, greatest of the Ghost Riders and new King of Hell.
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| Ghost Riders do have a history of exploding, it's true. |
THE ROADMAP
Johnny Blaze became the King of Hell in Damnation: Johnny Blaze - Ghost Rider # 1 and was last seen in Doctor Strange: Damnation (2018) # 4.
Robbie Reyes met Johnny Blaze in All-New Ghost Rider (2014) # 8 and they last spent time together in Iceman (2017) # 6.
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| An absolute "drop the mic" moment for this comic! |
CHAIN REACTION
It's Ghost Rider versus the Avengers in the third part of the vampire arc by Aaron and Marquez.
One of the criticisms lobbied at Jason Aaron from Ghost Rider fans is the "ghost washing" of Robbie Reyes to make him a more conventional version of the Spirit of Vengeance. Gone were most of the things that made Reyes stand out from his previous stories by creator Felipe Smith and in were the Penance Stare and the vague "demon possessed car" statements. It was certainly a curious way to approach the character as he moved to arguably the biggest spotlight that he could be afforded. I've trusted that Aaron has a plan for the character, because honestly Aaron earned his Ghost Rider street cred years ago.
So its been really rewarding to see, after a year of stories about Namor and Celestials, a renewed focus on the Ghost Rider plan. Its wrapped neatly and tightly around this issues from revelations, starting with Robbie finally acknowledging the changes in his evolution and a merging of his story with a seemingly abandoned major plot line from a year before. First though, before I get to that final page, I need to flag up that Avengers/Ghost Rider fight. While not quite on the level of that classic Avengers issue with Zarathos stomping a hole in Earth's Mightiest Heroes, it is still a great display of how powerful any Ghost Rider can be. The resolution to Ghost Rider's rampage is a bit ridiculous, with Blade biting and literally sucking the bad away, but it got the plot job done I suppose.
Even though not everything about this comic works, the Dracula scene in Russia being the least convincing part, the conclusion cliffhanger is absolute aces. The reappearance of Johnny Blaze as the King of Hell is long overdue, considering the "Damnation" event happened over a year before this with nary a whisper of Blaze's fate. So seeing his last-page appearance here was both a genuine surprise and a fantastic use of continuity that I was afraid had been forgotten.
The artwork for this comic is impeccable, another wonderful example of how well David Marquez has come to fit this series. I had my doubts that his clean line work would fit a story with vampires and demons from Hell, but those doubts were obviously unfounded. His action sequences are laid out beautifully and his character work on the monstrous Ghost Rider and that splash page at the end with Blaze are perfect.
This arc has been everything I've wanted from Aaron's Avengers since the beginning, and that surprise bit with Blaze was a great cherry on top.
One of the criticisms lobbied at Jason Aaron from Ghost Rider fans is the "ghost washing" of Robbie Reyes to make him a more conventional version of the Spirit of Vengeance. Gone were most of the things that made Reyes stand out from his previous stories by creator Felipe Smith and in were the Penance Stare and the vague "demon possessed car" statements. It was certainly a curious way to approach the character as he moved to arguably the biggest spotlight that he could be afforded. I've trusted that Aaron has a plan for the character, because honestly Aaron earned his Ghost Rider street cred years ago.
So its been really rewarding to see, after a year of stories about Namor and Celestials, a renewed focus on the Ghost Rider plan. Its wrapped neatly and tightly around this issues from revelations, starting with Robbie finally acknowledging the changes in his evolution and a merging of his story with a seemingly abandoned major plot line from a year before. First though, before I get to that final page, I need to flag up that Avengers/Ghost Rider fight. While not quite on the level of that classic Avengers issue with Zarathos stomping a hole in Earth's Mightiest Heroes, it is still a great display of how powerful any Ghost Rider can be. The resolution to Ghost Rider's rampage is a bit ridiculous, with Blade biting and literally sucking the bad away, but it got the plot job done I suppose.
Even though not everything about this comic works, the Dracula scene in Russia being the least convincing part, the conclusion cliffhanger is absolute aces. The reappearance of Johnny Blaze as the King of Hell is long overdue, considering the "Damnation" event happened over a year before this with nary a whisper of Blaze's fate. So seeing his last-page appearance here was both a genuine surprise and a fantastic use of continuity that I was afraid had been forgotten.
The artwork for this comic is impeccable, another wonderful example of how well David Marquez has come to fit this series. I had my doubts that his clean line work would fit a story with vampires and demons from Hell, but those doubts were obviously unfounded. His action sequences are laid out beautifully and his character work on the monstrous Ghost Rider and that splash page at the end with Blaze are perfect.
This arc has been everything I've wanted from Aaron's Avengers since the beginning, and that surprise bit with Blaze was a great cherry on top.
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