Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 92

"Servants of the Dead, Part 3: In the Cathedral of the Dead"

Cover Date: December 1991

On Sale Date: October 1991

Writer: Howard Mackie

Artist: Guang Yap
Inker: Bud LaRosa
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Fernando Mendez
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

Cover Artist: Sam Keith

Having fallen from a collapsed bridge, Ghost Rider and Cable are plummeting into a deep chasm. After reaching his falling motorcycle, Ghost Rider uses his chain to form a bridge, allowing he and Cable to cross into a tunnel in the cavern wall. Ghost Rider retrieves his chain and the two heroes make their way through the tunnel to a cathedral with skeletal remains covering the floor. They sense something moving in the remains beneath them, but see nothing. Cable asks Ghost Rider if he serves the dead since he's a Spirit of Vengeance, but they are interrupted by a priest of the Grateful Undead, who calls them blasphemers. The priest's acolytes emerge and engage the heroes in a brief battle. When Ghost Rider and Cable win the fight, the priest calls upon his god that lives beneath the bones to drag them under and claim them as food.

Marvel Tales # 256

"Carnival of Souls!"

Cover Date: December 1991
On Sale Date: October 1991

Writer: Steven Grant
Artist: Pat Broderick
Inker: Bruce Patterson
Letterer: James Novak
Colorist: George Roussos
Editor: Dennis O'Neil
Editor In Chief: Jim Shooter

Cover Artist: Dwayne Turner

In Connecticut, Peter Parker and Glory Grant are enjoying a carnival that has come to town. The couple approach the freak tent, where Peter is surprised to hear the barker mention a "six-armed spider-man". They enter the tent, where the ringmaster is shuffling a swamp monster - a monster Peter almost recognizes as the Man-Thing - off stage. The next attraction is the Blazing Skull, a fully aflame skeleton that the crowd immediately declare a fake. Parker realizes that it's not a trick and stands up, asking why the Ghost Rider is in a sideshow. The ringmaster yells for his men, who roughly remove Peter and Glory and toss them out of the carnival. Peter thinks to himself that something strange is going on, that he accidentally used his spider-strength against the carnies to no effect. Glory and Peter get on a bus back to New York, but Peter vows to return as Spider-Man.

At midnight, Spider-Man has returned to the carnival, finding it seemingly deserted. He fights off a group of vicious guard dogs before being confronted by the mysterious ringmaster, who is flanked by the whole of the carnival troop. The ringmaster makes reference to a vow of vengeance against Spider-Man, but Peter claims to have never met the man before. Suddenly, a blast of hellfire nearly hits Spider-Man, alerting him to the presence of the mesmerized Ghost Rider. Spider-Man leads the Ghost Rider on a chase across the giant roller coaster, but as he's winning he's struck in the shoulder by a surprise blast of hellfire that burns his soul. He lands on the ground and is knocked unconscious by one of the carnies.

Later, Spider-Man wakes up in one of the wagon living quarters in the carnival, shackled by chains to the wall. The ringmaster enters and reveals himself as Moondark the Magician, a sorcerer that Spider-Man had fought once before in San Francisco. Moondark reveals that he has captured the soul of Johnny Blaze in his mystical ring, making the Ghost Rider his to control. Following his death months ago in San Francisco, Moondark was resurrected sans soul by his demonic masters and sent back to Earth. He found a job as a magician in the traveling carnival, one by one claiming the souls of the workers - including the temporarily employed Johnny Blaze - and has held them within his crystal soul orb. Moondark unleashes the power of the orb against Spider-Man, who breaks his shackles just in time to shoot a strand of webbing at his foe - the webbing pulls the ring from Moondark's finger, and when it shatters the soul of Blaze is freed. The power of the soul orb fades away with a blast of the Ghost Rider's hellfire, saving Spider-Man, and the two heroes are attacked by the mesmerized carnies. Moondark himself proves immune to the Rider's hellfire, due to the lack of a soul, and the villain uses his power to best both of the heroes. As Moondark calls forth his demonic master to claim the souls of Blaze, Spider-Man, and the carnival workers in exchange for his own, the Ghost Rider blasts the soul orb with hellfire. The orb is destroyed, freeing the souls of the carnies from enslavement, and in return the demonic master claims Moondark instead, devouring him before fading away. The Ghost Rider forms his motorcycle and rides away, leaving Spider-Man to wonder if the temporary absence of Blaze's soul has turned the Ghost Rider into a cruel, less than human monster.

Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 91

"Servants of the Dead, Part 2: Chase In the Dark"

Cover Date: December1991

On Sale Date: October1991

Writer: Howard Mackie

Artist: Guang Yap
Inker: Bud LaRosa
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Fernando Mendez
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

Cover Artist: Sam Keith

Having entered the tunnels beneath Cypress Hills Cemetery, Ghost Rider finds Cable trapped to the cave wall and the young girl being dragged away by the Grateful Undead. Ghost Rider frees Cable, and the two heroes are splattered with the girl's blood, thrown by the Undead as a warning for them to stay away. The two men follow the Undead to a huge cavern, where the mysterious underground group have set up an ambush. Using rocket launchers from the cliffs above, they herd Ghost Rider and Cable to a nearby wooden bridge. When Ghost Rider's motorcycle crosses the bridge, it collapses, sending both of them down into the chasm below.

The Original Ghost Rider Rides Again (1991) # 6

"The Empire of Sleep!"/"Shades of Gray!"

Cover Date: December 1991
On Sale Date: October 1991

Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Artist: Bob Budiansky
Inker: Kevin Dzubin
Letterer: Joe Rosen/Diana Albers
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Tom DeFalco
Editor In Chief: Jim Shooter/Tom DeFalco

From their position in Nightmare's dream dimension, the Lord of Dreams shows Zarathos, the Ghost Rider, an image from Earth. Johnny Blaze is strapped down and unconscious, ready to be operated on by Renaldo's surgeons. The Ghost Rider asks why Nightmare has agreed to help rid him of Blaze, to which the demon replies that he has come across several mortals that were driven to nightmare by Zarathos. If the Ghost Rider were to ride unfettered through Earth, then he would be able to cause enough terror to feed Nightmare for all time.

Meanwhile, though his body lay unconscious on the operating table, Johnny's mind is trapped in the dream dimension, riding a motorcycle across a winding road of unreality. He hears a voice calling his name and decides to seek it out, eventually finding his deceased step-mother, Mona Simpson. Mona rejects Johnny's attempt to hug her, saying that he has broken the promise he made to her on her deathbed, that he would never ride in a cycle show again. Before Johnny can reply, he is interrupted by Elliot, the criminal formerly known as the Clown, whose mind was destroyed by the Ghost Rider. In the dream realm, Elliot has returned to his rightful mental state, but says that in the real world, he may never recover from what the Rider did to him. Suddenly, the two are startled by Zarathos, who races by on his hellcycle and grabs Mona, riding away with her deeper into the Dream Dimension. Johnny and Elliot get on Blaze's cycle to follow, with the former Clown acting as a guide to the realm. He takes Johnny to a cemetery, where he encounters the ghost of his father, Barton Blaze. The two race off on their cycles, where Barton calls his son a whining wash-out. When Blaze lays the blame on the demon inside him, Barton simply laughs, his skin burning away to reveal the skeletal face of Zarathos, and zooms off on the hellcycle.

Elliot calms down the distraught Johnny, who is desperately trying to make himself wake up. He takes Blaze to the top of a large mountain, to three men that can possibly help him. Dr. Strange, Daimon Hellstrom, and Dr. Druid offer no help at all, going so far as to call Johnny a coward and a disappointment. Blaze then finds himself in the hospital room of Crash Simpson, who is dying from cancer. When Blaze protests that he saved Crash from the cancer, he is then forced to relive Simpson's fatal motorcycle crash. As Simpson dies in his arms, he tells Johnny that he would have preferred the cancer. Crash then transforms into the Ghost Rider, still holding the screaming Mona Simpson, and disappears in a flash of hellfire.

Johnny and Elliot once again chase after Zarathos, but are again stopped by a person from Blaze's past. Johnny finds Roxanne Simpson, who fails to recognize him as the man she fell in love with. Another Blaze then appears, one that's well-dressed and wealthy, to whom Roxanne runs. This second Blaze transforms into Mephisto, devours Roxanne, and fades away. Elliot then points out the Ghost Rider, who is frying Mona with his hellfire. Swirling around the two are the souls of every person that Zarathos has punished, which Elliot blames on Johnny, saying that the Ghost Rider is directed by his own guilt and failures. Johnny leaps at Zarathos, determined to save Mona, but is instead burned by the hellfire himself. Strangely, Blaze does not resist the hellfire, but instead embraces it as punishment for all the souls he's damned in his life. Elliot then transforms into Nightmare and tells Zarathos that the mental wall between he and Blaze is gone, broken down along with Johnny's own sense of self-worth. Zarathos races out of the Dream Dimension, leaving Johnny to fry in a never-ending cycle of hellfire.

On Earth, just as the surgeons prepare to cut into Blaze's body, the Ghost Rider emerges and breaks free. Zarathos, uninhibited by Johnny's will, quickly slaughters the medical crew and Renaldo's small band of freaks. The demon then finds Renaldo himself hiding in the corner, afraid that Zarathos will burn him with hellfire again. The demon approaches and says that tearing Renaldo limb from limb would be much more interesting. Back in the Dream Dimension, Johnny writhes in the hellfire, completely defeated. Suddenly, the true spirit of Mona Simpson rises from the flames and tells Johnny that his ability to keep the demon restrained all these years has saved countless numbers of people, and that if he gives up now then Zarathos will have a free reign on Earth. Unwilling to let that happen, Johnny regains his will and dives through the hellfire, making it back to his motorcycle. As he rides toward the exit of the Dream Dimension, Nightmare attempts to block his path, but is unsuccessful. Johnny escapes, determined to wrest back control over his body. At that moment, back on Earth, the Ghost Rider prepares to deal Renaldo the death blow. Before he can, however, Johnny manages to fight his way back into possession of their form, stopping Zarathos spree of terror. Renaldo cowers on the floor, saying that he knows the demon will come back. Johnny simply replies "Not if I can help it."

Ghost Rider (1990) # 20

"Sign of Death"

Cover Date: December 1991
On Sale Date: October 1991

Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Ron Wagner
Inker: Mark Texeira
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Gregory Wright
Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco

Cover Artist: Ron Wagner

Ghost Rider and Zodiak are at a stand-off on a subway platform. Thinking that perhaps the Rider will kill him if he takes out Zodiak himself, Chris Daniels (Suicide) attacks the murderer. Zodiak extends his claws, gutting Suicide with one swipe. Realizing that the injury won't kill him, Jenkins rushes again, only to be picked up and thrown in front of an incoming subway train. Zodiak leaps onto the train, but the Ghost Rider refuses to let him escape. The biker extends his chain, which latches onto the back of the train, dragging him down the tunnels behind it. Daniels, meanwhile, climbs from the tracks, mangled but still alive. He pushes his way through to the street, where his wounds begin to heal themselves. He chances across a crowd that surrounds the Rider's bike, giving him the idea to watch and wait. Suddenly, the cycle comes alive, and as it races off, Suicide jumps on for the ride.

Back on the train, Zodiak bails off and heads into a side-tunnel, followed closely by the Ghost Rider. Nothing the killer does seems capable of stopping the Spirit of Vengeance, who finally gets his hands around Zodiak's neck. The Rider removes the man's mask, revealing a face covered with a dozen demonic eyes. Zodiak uses the distraction to break free, and climbs up to the street. The motorcycle approaches, and Daniels bails off as the Ghost Rider emerges. Zodiak enters a movie theater and takes two hostages, telling the Rider that he'll let them go if he's allowed to walk away. He tells his story, saying how he was once an occult bookstore owner, who one day was visited by twelve demons. The demons offered him power, which he accepted, only to become grafted to the demons instead, acting as their puppet. Zodiak throws the hostages and runs, taking a woman in a car hostage in a fit to escape. They make it onto a bridge, where the Ghost Rider finally catches up to them. Suicide jumps the killer, but the woman goes over the side of the bridge. Instead of using the chance to kill Zodiak, Daniels saves the woman. Zodiak stands defeated, but still claims victory since the Ghost Rider will not take a human life. Suicide decides to take matters into his own hands, pushing both Zodiak and himself off the bride and onto a garbage barge below them. The two are impaled on wooden spikes as they hit, but as the Ghost Rider discovers when he makes his way down, only Suicide has survived. Chris Daniels is now a hero, but despite this he still wants nothing more than to die.