Cover Date: November 1992; On Sale Date: September 1992
Writer: Howard Mackie; Artist: Andy Kubert: Inker: Joe Kubert; Letterer: Janice Chiang; Colorist: Gregory Wright; Editor: Bobbie Chase; Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco; Cover Artist: Andy Kubert
While Dan Ketch navigates through the afterlife, Lilith and her Lilin mourn the death of Meatmarket, who was killed by the Nightstalkers. She tells Pilgrim to teleport them all to the land of the midnight sun, where she will bring all of her exiled children to Earth. While she prepares herself in the Arctic Circle, the various members of the “Nine” (Ghost Rider, John Blaze, Victoria Montesi, Louise Hastings, Sam Buchanan, Frank Drake, Hannibal King, Blade, and Morbius) are teleported away from their various locations by a mysterious individual.
All nine of them appear together at the Arctic Circle, where they are confronted by Lilith and her Lilin. Pilgrim opens a teleportation rift in Lilith’s chest, which she will use to birth her newest child. Reaching into the void, she grabs hold of Dan Ketch’s soul and brings it to Earth in a monstrous new form as one of her Lilin. Dan tears his way through Ghost Rider, Blaze, and the Nightstalkers before turning on the Lilin. Ghost Rider is able to restrain Dan with his chain and toss him back through the rift while Lilin commands the rest of her Lilin to die in battle, granting her more power. While the others escape, Ghost Rider stays behind to defeat Lilith, seemingly destroying her by making her enter the rift. Ghost Rider collapses and all but Blaze and Morbius are teleported away by the arriving Dr. Strange, who promises to help return Dan to the world of the living. After they depart, only the young Lilin named Nakota is left alive and alone. Suddenly, Lilith emerges from the snow and kills Nakota, promising that her sacrifice will eventually allow Lilith to defeat the Midnight Sons.
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| Assemble! |
THE ROADMAP
"Rise of the Midnight Sons" concludes here, continued from Nightstalkers (1992) # 1.
Lilith returns and the Lilin are reborn in Ghost Rider (1990) # 41.
Dan Ketch had his throat ripped out by Blackout in Ghost Rider (1990) # 25, which is what sent his soul into the afterlife. He is brought back to life by Dr. Strange in Ghost Rider (1990) # 32.
CHAIN REACTION
“Rise of the Midnight Sons” comes to a rather perfunctory conclusion that fails to live up to the chapters preceding it.
If anything, I suppose this crossover did its business as assigned, it introduced four new titles each with their own distinct flavor and style. Having the overarching Lilith plot was almost an afterthought and that’s exactly how this sixth chapter reads. The Midnight Sons were never a unit that benefited from the “get the band back together” trope, because the characters don’t mesh well as a whole at all. Ghost Rider and Blaze were fine bridge characters, they were appropriate enough for the recruitment phase, but bringing them all together for a big fight scene in the Arctic Circle plays up the weakness of the characters when readers are reminded that they inhabit a superhero universe.
The Darkhold Redeemers worked so effectively in their own title because they were normal people investigating and using their minds to solve a mystery; Morbius benefited from being the only otherworldly being in his narrative; and the Nightstalkers were only tolerable inside their own story engine, otherwise they come off as ridiculous fascists. Letting each group of characters find their way through the Lilith storyline was a treat, because it gave different perspectives on the threat. When they’re all brought together for a huge fight it results in scenes like Vicki Montesi beating a Lilin with a leg bone.
Even as a conclusion to Ghost Rider’s participation in the event this comic disappoints, as it plays with the audience expectation that Danny’s fate would be resolved. Instead its merely delayed yet again for a resolution in a future issue. Moving the fight to the Arctic Circle also divorces the comic from any immediate consequences; if the Midnight Sons fail, what are the stakes other than some more Lilin appearing? It’s the most boring way possible to end the storyline, there’s no nuance or subtlety to it, which is a shame considering how well-crafted the previous chapters were. Mackie can’t really be faulted too much, considering how much of this was dictated by editor Bobbie Chase and the marketing department, and it seemed to signal just how bored the writer was with the whole Midnight Sons idea.
The artwork contributes to and suffers from the comic’s malaise as well, with Andy Kubert finishing up his brief stint before heading over to X-Men. The figure work is solid enough, enhanced by the elder Joe Kubert’s finishes, but the whole product looks rushed. Setting the story in the Arctic Circle translated into art without backgrounds, which places panels in an amorphous white space without physical relation to other objects. I don’t feel like Andy Kubert was as good a fit for Ghost Rider as his brother Adam Kubert was on the sister title, and I’m not sad to see him depart after this.
Ultimately, “Rise of the Midnight Sons” ended with a whimper that failed to resolve much of anything, instead stalling for time and later crossovers. A disappointment.
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| Danny, you've seen better days, man. |
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