Cover Date: November 2019; On Sale Date: September 2019
Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: Stefano Caselli & Luciano Vecchio; Colorist: Jason Keith; Letterer: VC's Cory Petit; Assistant Editor: Shannon Andrews Ballesteros; Associate Editor: Alanna Smith; Editor: Tom Brevoort; Editor in Chief: C.B. Cebulski; Cover Artist: Stefano Caselli
In Hell, Robbie Reyes meets the Ghost Riders of old, former Spirits of Vengeance that are "neither damned nor redeemed with no place to rest in any dead land". They warn Robbie that Johnny Blaze wants his power to become the true Devil, that he's become corrupted by Hell's throne. At Avengers Mountain, Thor and She-Hulk do battle with Frank Castle, the Cosmic Ghost Rider, who was sent by Blaze to kill the Avengers. Castle is eventually blasted into Tony Stark's armory, where he's attacked by Captain Marvel.
Back in Hell, Blaze's demon army attempts to stop Robbie, but they are met by the other Ghost Riders so Robbie can catch up to Blaze. Robbie uses the Hell Charger to run Blaze over, causing Johnny to call in his "big gun". Robbie is confronted by Callus the Void, one of the Dark Celestials killed during the Final Host's attempted invasion of Earth. On top of that surprise, Robbie is taunted by his evil uncle Eli Morrow, who is possessing the Celestial.
The fight with Cosmic Ghost Rider continues inside Avengers Mountain, with Blade and Daimon Hellstrom hanging back to watch. When the Boy-Thing attempts to stop Castle and is harmed in the process, Blade enters the fight and shoots Castle with the Breathing Gun, which actually harms him. Castle realizes that he's been played for a fool by Johnny Blaze, who brought him to Hell and then stuck him inside the Hell Charger as a trap for the Avengers. Castle swears vengeance on Blaze and volunteers to help the Avengers get to Hell to rescue Robbie, saying that because this is a Challenge of the Ghost Riders they're going to need "a sweet-ass ride". In Hell, Robbie fights against Eli, but stops when he discovers his parents, who are shocked by what Robbie has become. Using the distraction to his advantage, Eli smashes the Hell Charger while Blaze rides past them, threatening to bring the rest of Robbie's family down to Hell once he wins the race.
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| What "others", Jason Aaron??? WHAT OTHERS??? |
THE ROADMAP
The collection of past Ghost Riders that meet Robbie in Hell were last seen in Absolute Carnage: Symbiote of Vengeance # 1 where they welcomed Alejandra Jones into their ranks.
Cosmic Ghost Rider was last seen in Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) # 6, where he was killed and brought to Hell at the behest of Johnny Blaze, who drafted him into the Challenge of the Ghost Riders.
Callus the Void first appeared along with the Final Host in Avengers (2018) # 1 and was defeated/killed by Robbie and the other Avengers in Avengers (2018) # 6.
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| Don't ever change, Frank Castle. |
CHAIN REACTION
Aaron, Caselli, and Vecchio unleash Cosmic Ghost Rider and raise the stakes for Robbie's race through Hell, but this storyline still isn't holding together.
I like this comic. I feel like I need to say that up front, because there are some points I'm going to bring up that's going to make it seem like I hate it, and that's not the case. The parts taken individually are all fine to great, with the coalition of past Ghost Riders coming to Robbie's aid and the Avengers fighting their way against the grossly more powerful Cosmic Ghost Rider, but the story as a whole just doesn't click. Ultimately, it all boils down to the treatment of Johnny Blaze and the stakes of the Challenge of the Ghost Riders that he's instigated.
I mentioned in the review for the previous issue that the reasons for the race are fairly nebulous, and that's only made more apparent here. So, Johnny needs Robbie's Ghost Rider powers to make himself the undisputed King of Hell, and his plan to gain that power is to challenge him to a race across Hell. Why does Johnny need Robbie specifically to race against him, especially when there's a score of other Ghost Riders already there in Hell? What does Robbie gain if he wins the race, other than foiling Blaze and protecting his brother? It's obvious that Blaze has ulterior motives, the Undead G-Man says as much when he's talking to Robbie, but how does any of this give Johnny Blaze an advantage? If he's racing Robbie because he's a "living" Ghost Rider, unlike the others already in Hell, then why doesn't the race include Danny Ketch? Or hell, what about Cosmic Ghost Rider, who is infinitely more powerful than Robbie Reyes?
Frank Castle ultimately saves this comic, because his presence is so entertaining that it almost tricks you into not asking questions about the nonsensical parts of the plot. Cosmic Ghost Rider's slow inclusion in the Marvel Universe proper has been fascinating to watch, and having him take on the entire team of Avengers is a delight. Aaron doesn't fall into the trap that other writers have experienced, where they don't know exactly how to write this version of Castle and they double down on the nonsense. Seeing his nonchalance when it comes to taking on the Avengers is refreshing in that classic "Marvel heroes fight over a misunderstanding" trope.
Caselli and Vecchio continue to produce solid artwork for the series, and it's not readily apparent where one artist's work ends and the other begins. They both excel at the action sequences, giving the events in Hell with Robbie and the Celestial the appropriate amount of gravitas while the conflict with Cosmic Ghost Rider is treated almost as an exercise in futility for the Avengers. The assembled Ghost Riders all look great and are immediately distinct from one another, which couldn't have been easy given that it's a bunch of flaming skulls in different period outfits.
I want to like "Challenge of the Ghost Riders" so much more than I do, and maybe I'm trying too hard to piece together the plot mechanics? This issue, at least, is a rare case of the parts being better than the whole.
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