Writers: Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum; Artist: Scott Hepburn; Letterer: Travis Lanham; Colorist: Antonio Fabela; Editor: Darren Shaw; Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski; Cover Artist: Scott Hepburn
Mephisto drags Cammi's soul to Hell as payment for Frank regaining his own soul from the Cosmic King. Frank jumps through the open portal and falls down into Hell, burning all the way down until he's at the brink of death. Before dying he realizes that even though he's not a Ghost Rider anymore he still has the Power Cosmic and uses it to charge and heal himself. Mephisto locks Cammi's soul in a vault and then returns to his penthouse in the Hotel Inferno, while Frank finds himself fighting his way through a horde of demons. Castle charges the hotel penthouse on a demonic horse and demands that Mephisto return Cammi's soul. Mephisto offers to return Cammi's soul and bring her back to life if Frank again sells his soul to become the Ghost Rider, though as Mephisto points out he would be damning himself for the girl's life.
Cammi wakes up back on the alien planet Squol, where she finds Cosmic Ghost Rider waiting for her. She hugs Frank, realizing that he gave up his soul again to save her. However, the alien parasite that had possessed the Cosmic King is still alive, and it grabs Cammi, taking her as its new host. Realizing that he saved Cammi's soul only for her to become the parasite's newest host, Frank can do nothing but watch and apologize. Months later, a squad of Brood warriors search the ruins of Squol and find Cosmic Ghost Rider's skull. Frank destroys the Brood and uses their energy to reconstitute his body, then flies off on into space on his motorcycle again, hoping to find Cammi and save her from her fate.
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| That horse has seen better days |
THE ROADMAP
Cosmic Ghost Rider makes his next appearance in Cosmic Ghost Rider (2022) # 1.
Cammi Bennaly makes a return appearance in Nova: Centurion (2025) # 1, but no mention is made of her status quo at the end of this story and she is no longer possessed by the alien parasite.
Mephisto appears next in Ghost Rider (2019) # 1, where he is still a prisoner inside Hotel Inferno. He does become the ruler of Hell again in King in Black: Ghost Rider (2021) # 1.
CHAIN REACTION
Cosmic Ghost Rider's third mini-series concludes with some sketchy continuity usage and a cliffhanger ending that doesn't really stick the landing.
I think a lot of my problem with this mini-series is the use of Cammi as the writer's pet character and that her status quo shift at the end of this series stands as a modus operandi for the next Cosmic Ghost Rider creator to deal with. Saddling Frank with more guilt for an "innocent" girl being enslaved by a cosmic parasite isn't necessarily a bad idea, it's just one that seems to shit the character into playing a role he isn't equipped to fulfill. I mean, I don't think future writers of Cosmic Ghost Rider are going to make "the search for Cammi" part of the ongoing narrative, you know? Still, I admire Hallum trying to give the mini-series some serious stakes and repercussions for the characters, it's just doesn't land the way I think the writer expects it to.
Now don't get me wrong, I think Hallum does a fine job with the characterization and dialogue in this issue. Frank Castle absolutely would jump head first into Hell to save an innocent person, that's totally in the game for him. I also totally believe that he would sell his soul again to bring Cammi back to life, because Castle as depicted as Cosmic Ghost Rider hasn't really opined about how feels when it comes to being soulless. He seems pretty chill about it, matter of fact, so he's not really giving up much. He doesn't even lose his power, and that Power Cosmic twist when he gets to Hell was a nice reveal that I didn't consider when he apparently became "powerless" at the end of issue 3. All that is well and fine.
What I don't really enjoy or even understand is Mephisto's role in this story. The whole premise of Mephisto at this point in continuity is that he's imprisoned at the top of Hotel Inferno, which is on Earth, while Johnny Blaze rules in his place as the king of Hell. That status quo was emphasized at the beginning of this series, when Mephisto was visited in his cell by the Cosmic King. So how can Mephisto be visiting alien worlds and sauntering through Hell when he's imprisoned? Frank visits him in his penthouse in this issue and the rules just don't make sense. For that matter, how can Mephisto have any kind of claim on Frank Castle's soul? Cosmic Ghost Rider is from another timeline and he sold his soul years in the future from the present day, so how can this Mephisto call in that marker? Any soul that Mephisto had for Castle would be for the present day Punisher, who to my knowledge has yet to make any kind of deal with the devil. It's real fuzzy continuity usage and all it does is make things more confusing.
The artwork by Scott Hepburn continues to be solid, though, and I really dig his visuals for Cosmic Frank rampaging through Hell on a devil horse. His work really sells the sweeping space visuals, and while his Hell looks a little too bright and clean for my tastes he still gets across all of the necessary information to tell the story while still making it look exciting. I like the way he draws the flames on Castle's skull and how the alien parasite is just this mess of gooey tendrils. Hepburn's followed nicely Dylan Burnett's footsteps on this character.
I don't know, though, there's just something about this mini-series that didn't click with me. It's well-written for the most part and it's certainly well-drawn, but I don't find myself caring about the fate of the characters. And when your big twist ending demands you to be invested in the welfare of a supporting character you don't really care about, well, that's a problem.
Hell of a lot better than Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History, though, so at least there's that.
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| Hugging can be dangerous for your health |
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