Spirits of Vengeance: Spirit Rider # 1

Cover Date: October 2021
On Sale Date: August 2021

Writer: Taboo & B. Earl
Artist: Paul Davidson w/ Jeffrey Veregge
Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Dan Brown
Editor: Sarah Brunstad

Executive Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor In Chief: C.B. Cebulski

Cover Artist: Takashi Okazaki

After going berserk in New York City, Johnny Blaze is brought to California by Dr. Strange to meet Kushala, the time-displaced Demon Rider who is also a Sorcerer Supreme. Sensing a connection between the two of them, Kushala agrees to help Blaze, who she says is possessed by something that is corrupting the Spirit of Vengeance. They teleport to the Arizona desert where Kushala's tribe was massacred by American soldiers. Kushala journeys with Blaze into his subconscious to root out the source of the mystical infection, first arriving in Johnny's memory of his childhood at the Quentin Carnival. They meet a version of Barton Blaze, Johnny's father, who along with the rest of the carnival bystanders attempt to kill Kushala. Johnny rescues his innocence, in the form of himself as a young boy, and escapes with Kushala on a plane. The spirit of his innocence disappears and Blaze lands the plane at the place of his second challenge, where he meets his mother and two siblings that he never knew growing up. Despite Kushala's warnings that they should leave, Blaze is ensnared by the trap and fights against Kushala. The fight is interrupted by Zarathos, who attacks Johnny as his final challenge.

Kushala is separated from Johnny and confronted by the Leviathan, an alien creature from another universe that was fragmented into pieces, with the final shard coming to rest inside Kushala as her Spirit of Vengeance. She confronts the Leviathan and realizes that she cannot fight it with the power of vengeance. Instead she remembers her mother and lets go of the vengeance she feels in her heart, which depowers the Leviathan. It shrinks down to the size of an insect and Kushala eats it, devouring its power to join her own. She and Blaze return to the desert, where she tells Dr. Strange that the corruption inside Johnny is now contained within her. Using the extra power granted to her by defeating the Leviathan, Kushala is aided by Dr. Strange in returning to her own time in the 1800s. She decides that she is no longer a Demon Rider, but is now the Spirit Rider.

That's not how we treat our friends, Johnny Blaze!

THE ROADMAP

Kushala, the Demon Rider, first appeared in Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme (2016) # 1 and her origin was told in Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme (2016) # 3.

Kushala was brought to the present day at the end of Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme (2016) # 12 and was last seen in War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery # 3-5.

Johnny Blaze last appeared in King in Black: Ghost Rider # 1, where he gave up the throne of Hell to Mephisto.

Kushala's adventures continue in Ghost Rider: Kushala Infinite Comic (2021) # 1.

CHAIN REACTION

Kushala, who had been a minor footnote in Marvel history, gets brought into the wider Ghost Rider lineage in this special one-shot by Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas and Paul Davidson.

As I sit down to write this review, I am conflicted. On the one hand, Kushala is a wonderful creation and it's great to see her utilized in a story that simultaneously connects her to Johnny Blaze while also attempting to separate her out as a more unique character. On the other hand, this comic really struggles to explain the distinction between Kushala and Blaze, including the nature of their own "Spirits of Vengeance". 

Let's look at the positives first. Taboo and B. Earl are a very solid writing team that is entrenched in solidifying Kushala's First Nation heritage in a way that's interesting and respectful. On top of that, the writers have a great take on the character of Johnny Blaze, and their deep dive into his history and motivations were as surprising to me as anything when I first read through this. This is a story that isn't afraid to bring up Barton Blaze, Naomi Kale (even if she goes unnamed), and Zarathos as the major parts of Johnny's defining memories and desires. It's telling that they have Blaze lose his footing when faced with a dream life alongside his mother and siblings, which he knows is a fabrication that never happened, instead of a life with his father based pretty tightly on actual memories. It makes sense, given that Blaze is defined by tragedy and hence would want a life completely divorced from any of that, no matter how important his childhood was to him. 

What also works very well is the relationship between Blaze and Kushala, with her being deferred to up until Blaze succumbs to temptation. Not only a Spirit of Vengeance, Kushala's status as a Sorcerer Supreme isn't downplayed and gives the writers that ability to make her a fascinating guide through Blaze's subconscious. Her characterization is immediately engaging and consistent to how she was built up in Sorcerers Supreme. While I'm not too jazzed about yet another Ghost Rider kicking around the Marvel Universe, there's too many as there is in my opinion, Kushala is at least interesting in her own right.

Unfortunately, the back half of the comic is where things start to fall apart. Once Blaze exits the narrative and Kushala splits off on her own, the story gets bogged down with the Leviathan reveal. I'm not sure what the purpose of the Leviathan and its origin story is supposed to mean for the wider "Spirits of Vengeance" concept, and that vagueness muddying up the waters doesn't sit right with me. If Kushala is a Ghost Rider and her power comes from this alien god being, are Taboo and B. Earl trying to establish that ALL Ghost Riders get their power from the Leviathan? If it's just Kushala, then how is any of this connected at all to the established mythology? The narrative takes a massive info-dump once the Leviathan is introduced, filling a blank page with a dozen captions. I get that they wanted to feature work by Native American artist Jeffrey Veregge, but doing so in a way that undercuts the story's momentum was a mistake.

The rest of the comic's artwork by Paul Davidson has some great moments, even if his unique style doesn't quite lend itself well to the Ghost Rider as a visual presence. There's a bit of Paul Pope in his character work, and he deftly handles all the fiddly details of Kushala's native costume. So many Easter Eggs, too; Zarathos showing up in his "Siege of Darkness" design, Barton Blaze stepping out in a Bob Budiansky outfit from 40 years ago, and the mirror image splash pages of Johnny and Barton standing on burning motorcycles are all amazingly slight but effective touches. Davidson works hard to sell what's happening in this comic.

Overall, this is an interesting stepping stone for Kushala as a part of the Ghost Rider mythos. I'm curious where she's going to go from here.

Vengeance begets vengeance.