Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 125

"The Walking Wounded, Part 3: Innocent Blood"

Cover Date: March 1993; Publication Date: January 1993

Writer: Ann Nocenti; Artist: Steve Lightle; Inker: Chris Ivy & Ken Branch; Letterer: John Babcock; Colorist: Mike Thomas; Editor: Terry Kavanagh; Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco; Cover Artist: Steve Lightle

Ghost Rider is stunned to learn that he has given the Penance Stare to the seemingly innocent Mary Walker, which sends him into a spiral of madness about innocent blood. Father Louis, who witnessed Typhoid killing two of the three security guards, is sucked into Ghost Rider's madness as a geyser of blood erupts beneath him. The shopping mall is slipping into the realm of madness brought on by Dusk, which affects the surviving security guard. The guard crashes through the mall and begins shooting at hallucinations, prompting the members of the Women's Action Movement to gather Mary's unconscious body and fortify themselves inside the mall for a "battle of the sexes".

Father Louis manages to fight his way free of the madness inflicting the mall, only to find that Ghost Rider has transformed back into Danny Ketch, who is distraught over what he did to Mary. While the security guard is overcome by hallucinations, including one of Dusk in the form of Typhoid, Mary wakes up and states she feels beside herself but is otherwise fine.

THE ROADMAP

This issue of Marvel Comics Presents also contained stories featuring Wolverine, She-Hulk, and Iron Fist.

CHAIN REACTION

Things start to get trippy as the Typhoid Mary team-up story plunges headfirst into the realm of madness, though it certainly doesn't make it an easy story to follow along with.

This story honestly only makes sense after you've read through every chapter once and then gone back to read it again, because only in hindsight is it all clearly laid out. Taken as an individual chapter, though, there's no explanation to what is going on. The symbolism of the events, like the security guard being hounded by demonic bats and Ghost Rider being literally consumed by innocent blood erupting like a geyser from the floor is stunning but completely nonsensical without the knowledge that Dusk is bridging the gap between the real world and the realm of insanity. 

The crux of the chapter, though, hinges on Ann Nocenti's soapbox preaching about feminism and the battle of the sexes. I've never minded Nocenti's heavy hand when it comes to hot topics like sexism, but I can certainly understand the turn off for readers who are just wanting an escapist story. I do appreciate that the writer isn't coming fully on the side of feminism, as she has the leader of the women's movement be just as extreme as the sexist security guard. She paints both sides as being equally appalling when taken to their utmost level.

Steve Lightle's artwork is still solid, though again it suffers for having additional hands on the inking process. He has some truly inspired imagery going here, with the innocent blood and the hallucinatory backdrop of the shopping mall as it falls into madness. Plus, his Ghost Rider looks particularly menacing and grim, which is always appreciated. The art still falls short of the stellar work in the first chapter when Lightle was handling all the chores, but it's certainly far from disappointing.

This chapter has so many positive things going for it, I just wish there was a little more clarity to the story. I'm still definitely intrigued and can't wait to move on to the next issue.