Ghost Rider (1990) # 26

"Blood Feud!"

Cover Date: June 1992; On Sale Date: April 1992

Writer: Howard Mackie; Artist: Ron Wagner; Inker: Mike Witherby; Letterer: Janice Chiang; Colorist: Gregory Wright; Editor: Bobbie Chase; Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco; Cover Artist: Jim Lee

During Mardi Gras in New Orleans, a member of the Thieves Guild is murdered by an assassin in black. Ghost Rider arrives in the city in search of John Blaze to help with the aftermath of Blackout ripping out the throat of his human host, Dan Ketch. Dan is trapped in the afterlife and will die if Ghost Rider reverts to his human form. The X-Men are en route to New Orleans as well to stop the war between the Thieves and Assassins Guilds, with Gambit anxious to arrive in the city. They are stopped by a police officer, who is quickly disarmed and left stranded by the mutants before he can call for backup. 

Back in New Orleans, Ghost Rider wanders through the empty parts of the city and comes across the Assassin as he murders another thief, along with their wife and unborn child. Ghost Rider chases the Assassin back to the underground caves that serve as the den of the Assassins Guild, and he is quickly overwhelmed by the assassins. They transform into the Brood, alien creatures who infect and take over their human host bodies, and the Brood Queen decides to infect Ghost Rider. 

The X-Men arrive in the city and meet up with Rogue and Bella Donna, who is Gambit’s wife and a member of the Assassins Guild. They descend into the underground lair and discover the Brood, realizing that the aliens have completely taken over the Assassins Guild. Their fight is brought to a halt by Ghost Rider, who has been transformed into one of the Brood by the queen. 

Jack Skellington?

THE ROADMAP

This story continues in X-Men (1991) # 9. Ghost Rider last appeared in a cameo in X-Men (1991) # 8, the first chapter of the "Brood Trouble in the Big Easy" crossover.

  

CHAIN REACTION

Ghost Rider stumbles into an X-Men story in what is a one-sided crossover.

It pains me to say this, but as much as this story is the apex of Ghost Rider’s popularity and sales success, it’s also nothing more than a bunch of unnecessary filler. For X-Men readers, particularly those invested in Gambit and his origin backstory, this is an essential crossover; for Ghost Rider readers, it’s nothing but a detour from the ongoing storyline that had just started in the 25th issue. Perhaps had Ghost Rider been given an equally valid reason to participate in the crossover I would feel differently, but as it stands this is an X-Men story that Ghost Rider was shoehorned into with little regard other than wanting to sell a bunch of comics.

Now don’t get me wrong, 13-year-old Chris ate this stuff up with a spoon when it was released, because I was a big X-Men fan as well. Read today, though, the superfluousness of Ghost Rider’s part in this story sticks out like a sore thumb. It’s a distraction from having to deal with Dan Ketch’s death in the previous issue, holding out and killing time before the next crossover happens. “Rise of the Midnight Sons” is only two issues away by this point, and a filler crossover about Louisiana assassin guilds and Brood aliens does not make for a satisfying bridge. Everything just plain stops for this issue and it’s ultimately pointless.

The only real successful thing about the comic is the Wagner/Witherby artwork, which lays the gothic ambiance on quite thick. It’s a treat seeing their rendition of New Orleans, especially set during Mardi Gras, and the architecture really comes to life on the page. Wagner’s X-Men doesn’t quite compare to the ultra-polished Jim Lee version that appears in the other half of the crossover, which shows his struggles with regular superhero style characters. He excels on stuff like Morbius and Punisher War Journal, not so much with the spandex set.

I hate that this is a Gambit story interrupting the Ghost Rider series, I hate that this is a meaningless crossover released right before yet another crossover, and I hate the whiplash in tone that occurs when you transition between Ghost Rider and X-Men. Taken solely as a single issue, it’s not so bad, but it is forgettable.

Finger lickin' good!