Guardians of the Galaxy (1990) # 14

"Spirit of Vengeance Part 2: Hallowed Be Thy Name..."

Cover Date: July1991

On Sale Date: May 1991

Writer: Jim Valentino
Artist: Jim Valentino
Inker: Steve Montano
Letterer: Brad K. Joyce
Colorist: Evelyn Stein
Editor: Craig Anderson
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Cover Artist: Jim Valentino

Believing that they are warriors for the Universal Church of Truth, the 31st Century Spirit of Vengeance attacks the Guardians of the Galaxy in their ship. One of the Guardians, a young shapechanger named Replica who actually is a member of the Universal Church, demands that they kill the demon. The fight ends when the ship is surrounded by the Universal Church's fleet of starships and the Spirit of Vengeance escapes back to the planet Sarka, realizing he was wrong about the Guardians. 

The Guardians are taken to Sarka to be indoctrinated into the Church, prompting a fight between the Guardians and the soldiers. Yondu and Vance Astro manage to escape, but the other Guardians are captured and placed in torture devices. Only Replica is allowed to remain free due to her being a member of the Church who refuses to betray her beliefs to help her friends. Yondu and Vance locate the Spirit of Vengeance, who agrees to help them rescue the other Guardians. Replica, despite her crisis of faith, attempts to free the Guardians herself but is caught by the Grand Inquisitor. The Spirit of Vengeance arrives with Vance and Yondu, freeing the other Guardians in the process. While the Guardians teleport back to their ship, the Spirit of Vengeance remains behind and impales the Grand Inquisitor with his motorcycle. The Guardians are then able to escape the planet's orbit to head off on their next mission.

His expression in the last panel is priceless!

THE ROADMAP

This storyline is the first appearance of Wileadyus Autolycus, the Spirit of Vengeance of the 31st century.  He will go on to make several more appearances in the 1990s Guardians of the Galaxy series and makes his next appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy (1990) Annual # 2.

CHAIN REACTION

Ghost Rider goes cosmic as the 31st Century Spirit of Vengeance concludes his introductory arc in Guardians of the Galaxy!

As a kid I was a sucker for Ghost Rider guest-appearances, definitely being one of those readers who were boosting sales on lesser titles whenever I'd see that flaming skull on a cover. Guardians of the Galaxy wasn't a series I read regularly, though I had picked up an issue or two before this. Seeing the cover to this issue, though, with its Dark Phoenix Saga homage, broken logo and all, probably made me wet my pants with excitement. Danny Ketch's arrival meant that the Ghost Rider was now a legacy character, and seeing him show up in this series, which was all about legacies of the Marvel Universe, was both an ingenious sales gimmick and a pretty natural story hook.

The most interesting facet of this issue is the Universal Church of Truth and how both Replica and the Spirit of Vengeance relate to it. One has dogmatic faith and the other has equally dogmatic feelings of persecution and rebellion.  Frankly, it's thrilling stuff and instantly gives this storyline a sense of pathos beyond just "heroes go to another alien planet". Valentino is a really good storyteller, both as a writer and as an artist, and he goes to great lengths to paint Replica's crisis as genuine.  He does the same for the Spirit of Vengeance, giving his cause a voice but not letting it go unsaid by the main characters that he's just as bad as those he's fighting against.

The artwork is flashy without a lot of substance, which was par for the course in 1991 from an eventual founder of Image Comics. Valentino was definitely the strongest storyteller of the Image founders, even if his characters overact wildly on panel. His Ghost Rider design is fantastic, including that image of the motorcycle with skull tusks on the front, which again is used in an awesome impaling sequence. 

Guardians of the Galaxy could easily be dismissed as a gimmick series stuck with the idea of fitting in as many future versions of high-selling characters as it possibly could.  Underneath that exterior, though, lies some superb writing and highly exciting artwork. I definitely recommend it.

Is that potato screaming?