Ghost Rider (2022) # 14

"Sibling Rivalry"

Cover Date: July 2023; On Sale Date: May 2023

Writer: Benjamin Percy; Artist: Cory Smith & Brent Peeples; Inker: Oren Junior & Brent Peeples; Letterer: VC's Travis Lanham; Colorist: Bryan Valenza; Editor: Darren Shan; Editor in Chief: C.B. Cebulski; Cover Artist: Bjorn Barends

Four months ago: Danny Ketch is being subjected to experiments by Dr. Diyu at Infernal Labs, with the intention of separating him from the Spirit of Corruption inside of him. Dr. Diyu reveals a giant mech suit and a gateway to Hell inside the lab, stating that she has wasted too much time already.

Present day: Talia wakes up Johnny in a motel room, where he's been unconscious for the past three days after tapping into the signal connected to Infernal Labs. 

Three months ago: While recuperating in a nutrient bath, Danny asks Dr. Diyu to tell him about her brother, Delun, who was possessed by a demon when he was a small child and then died. This caused Dr. Diyu to begin her studies in demonology with her ultimate plan to get her brother back.

Present Day: Talia tells Johnny that she tracked the signal to Infernal Labs in California. When they leave the motel she gives him the keys to a new motorcycle, telling him that he belongs on a bike. 

Two months ago: Director Crux of the FBI contacts Dr. Diyu and gives her a mission to send Danny to resolve, despite her protests. Danny is sick and wasting away from the experimentation, but Diyu and her assistant place a remote control helmet onto him and force him to transform into the Ghost Rider. They send him to Alaska to destroy a group of vampires, and over the following weeks send him to other places, such as Savannah and South Carolina. 

Present day: Johnny and Talia attempt to sneak into Infernal Labs, but are seen on the security cameras. Dr. Diyu tells her assistant to fire up the hellfire transference device again, not caring if it kills Danny or not. She sends the hellfire into her mech suit and powers up the gateway, determined to find and rescue her brother from Hell.

"Memories of the Tide"

Writer: Jon Tsuei; Artist: Tadam Gyadu; Letterer: VC's Travis Lanham; Colorist: Brian Reber

South Korean superhero Taegukgi has arrived in California to investigate a series of disappearances at the Santa Cruz beach. He's met by Johnny Blaze, who has been brought to the area by the Spirit of Vengeance. The two compare notes on a ghost named Wrenley Fischer, a serial killer who died while Taegukgi was trying to apprehend him. Ghost Rider and Taegukgi team up and destroy Fischer's vengeful spirit, saving as many lives as they can in the process. 

THE ROADMAP

This is Legacy # 257 of the ongoing Ghost Rider series.

Danny Ketch last appeared as the host for the Spirit of Corruption in King in Black: Ghost Rider (2021) # 1. He was shown as the subject of Infernal Labs' experimentation at the end of Ghost Rider (2022) # 10.

The back-up story takes place between Ghost Rider (2022) # 15 and Ghost Rider (2022) # 16. 

CHAIN REACTION

The momentum of the storyline grinds to a halt with more flashbacks and some very questionable pacing decisions.

Everything was set up so perfectly at the end of the last issue with Johnny and Talia using the signal to backtrack to Infernal Labs, finally learning Danny's location and priming up for a confrontation. Instead, we get Johnny asleep for three days in a motel and then having shower sex with Talia. I'm baffled by some of the plotting and pacing choices that Percy makes, because this is nothing but an exercise in wasting time that the story didn't need. 

I don't have a problem with the extended flashback sequences, though they don't work as smoothly as last issue, because we did need some more clarification on exactly what was happening to Danny and why he was responsible for all the atrocities attributed to him in earlier issues. I do almost wish Percy had just chosen to use one issue for the Danny flashbacks in total, then catch up with Johnny and Talia in this issue instead of the bouncing back and forth. It forces Percy to stall for time in the present day sequences, which does this comic no favors in comparison to the last issue.

There's also the continuity bits and the decision to play fast and loose with Danny's status quo. I'm not as big a stickler for continuity as other readers, but Danny's role deserves some explanation. Is it the Spirit of Corruption still within him? I mean, we see the Death Rider transformation on the very first page of the issue for one panel, but then it goes to the standard Ghost Rider appearance for the rest of the comic. When you have two whole issues devoted to flashbacks about Danny Ketch, at least one line of dialogue could have been spared to explain this mess. I guess for clarity's sake we can just assume that Danny is a Ghost Rider again, reasons why be damned.

Cory Smith is joined once again by Brent Peeples on artwork, and the two once again make a solid art team with Peeples handling the flashback (within a flashback? sloppy plotting!) of Dr. Diyu's brother being possessed. The design for Danny's Ghost Rider, with the green flames and Weapon X style control helmet, is an inspired visual and perfectly incorporates the technological aspects of Infernal Labs with the supernatural Spirit of Vengeance. Smith also provides a visual timeline of Danny's ailing physical health, which shows him looking closer and closer to dying as the months roll on.

This issue also includes an extremely inconsequential back-up story with Ghost Rider teaming up with Taegukgi of Tiger Division, and the less said about it the better. It's there, it exists, nothing else to really talk about. The main meat of the conic is rather disappointing, but perhaps it's just a stumble along the road and Percy can pull everything together for next issue's conclusion.