Marvel Tales # 255

"Panic On Pier One!"/"Shock Therapy"

Cover Date: November 1991
On Sale Date: September 1991

Writer: Chris Claremont/Scott Lobdell
Artist: Sal Buscema/Vince Evans
Inker: Pablo Marcos/Phil Sheehy
Letterer: Irv Watanabe/Jade Moede
Colorist: Jan Cohen/Mike Thomas
Editor: Archie Goodwin/Kelly Corvese
Editor In Chief: Jim Shooter/Tom DeFalco

On a night time New York street, a Hollywood production crew sets up to shoot a live stunt for the Stuntmaster television show. Coincidentally, the shoot is taking place directly in front of Peter Parker's apartment building, prompting he and Mary Jane to stop and watch. Johnny Blaze, the resident stunt cyclist for the show, suits up and starts the stunt, unaware that danger lurks from a nearby rooftop. As Blaze's bike touches down on the roof of a car, a sticky substance of some sort is shot onto the wheel, ripping the front half of the bike off. Unable to get the bike under control, Johnny transforms into the Ghost Rider in order to survive. Luckily for him, Parker has climbed a building and donned his trust web-shooters, which pull Blaze away from what could have been a messy wreck. Peter dons his Spider-Man costume and joins Blaze on the street, but before any explanations can come about, a stream of fast-hardening paste wraps around Spidey's body, carrying him into the air. Above them, the terrible Trapster says that after he finishes Spidey off, he'll be back for Blaze!

Suspended from his flying platform by the paste line, Spidey is forced to listen to the Trapster's explanation on how he escaped from prison. Finally, using his web-line to gain leverage, Spidey leaps onto the platform to attack the Trapster. The villain gets the upper hand, however, and hurls Spider-Man from the platform! Riding on the street below on his mystical flame-cycle, the Ghost Rider sees Spidey's fall. Riding in a tight circle, Blaze creates a heat vortex that slows the wall-crawler's fall and allows him to be caught without injury. The Trapster, his sky-sled damaged from the fight, crashes on a nearby aircraft carrier, followed quickly by Spidey and GR. Blaze follows the Trapster into the ship's nuclear weapon loading area, and corners him in front of some volatile chemicals. Spidey tries to stop GR from using his hellfire, for fear of causing a nuclear explosion, but the hero is instead put on the receiving end of Blaze's soul-searing flame. Ghost Rider then turns his attentions to the Trapster, blasting him with a stream of hellfire, which burns not his body, but his soul. The Trapster falls, screaming in agony, while Spidey condemns GR for what he's done. He tells Blaze that they're supposed to be the good guys, and that they should be better than the guys they fight. Blaze merely responds with "I am what I am." before riding off, leaving Spidey to take the Trapster to a hospital.

Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 90

"Servants of the Dead, Part 1: Live Underground"

Cover Date: November 1991

On Sale Date: September 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

In the tunnels that run beneath Manhattan, mutant soldier Cable is investigating the movements of the sewer dwelling Morlocks. When the Morlocks spot him, Cable drops to the floor, only to have the ground collapse beneath him. Elsewhere, at Cypress Hills Cemetery, Dan Ketch is visiting the grave of his sister, Barbara.

Cable makes his way through an underground stream, miles away from his previous location. When he goes further into the caverns he comes across a young woman that's running for her life. She tells Cable that her pursuers are the Grateful Undead, two of whom attack Cable with throwing knives. Cable kills the two assassins, though the girl tells them they are not killed quite so easily. The girl leads Cable through the tunnels, eventually bringing them beneath Cypress Hills. Cable is attacked by two giant hands that come up from the ground, belonging to a "guardian" that Cable swiftly kills. Cable shoots the ceiling with his rifle, hoping to blow a way to the surface. This results in Dan seeing an explosion in the cemetery, followed by the girl's screams. Danny touches the gas cap of his motorcycle, transforming him into Ghost Rider. The Rider descends into the tunnel, where he finds the girl being carried away by the Grateful Undead and Cable pinned to the wall by a net. Cable tells Ghost Rider to cut him down because they're about to be attacked.

The Original Ghost Rider Rides Again (1991) # 5

"Half a Demon...Half a Man!"/"Ghost Rider...Unleashed?"

Cover Date: November 1991
On Sale Date: September 1991

Title: "Half A Demon...Half A Man!"
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Artist: Don Perlin/Bob Budiansky
Inker: Dave Simons
Letterer: Diana Albers
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Tom DeFalco
Editor In Chief: Jim Shooter/Tom DeFalco

Cover Artist: Bob Budiansky

In the nether-regions of Hell, the demon Asmodeus travels to the realm of Mephisto and offers the demon-lord a "suggestion" concerning Johnny Blaze and the Ghost Rider. Mephisto comments that the Ghost Rider's true name is Zarathos, but allows Asmodeus to continue. The lesser demon offers to lift the burden of Blaze from Mephisto, to which the Hell ruler replies that Zarathos would be crucial to Asmodeus' attempt to rule Earth. Mephisto decides to turn the "suggestion" into a contest, where Zarathos shall run a gauntlet in Hell, with his freedom as the goal. If he fails, he will belong to Asmodeus.

Meanwhile, on Earth, Johnny confronts Ralph Quentin about the incident with Steel Wind. During the argument, Blaze suddenly feels faint, so he excuses himself to go get some air. Riding on his motorcycle into a secluded area, Johnny is jumped by a pack of demons, who knock him unconscious and carry him through a shimmering gate. Blaze wakes up and is surprised to see both Mephisto and Asmodeus standing before him, as he is chained to an upright altar of sorts. Mephisto brings forth the Sword of Demonicus, which he uses to cleave the true form of Zarathos out of Blaze's body. Mephisto tells Zarathos that both he and Johnny must race through Hell to a mystic portal back to Earth. If both of them reach the portal together, they will forever be separated and free from one another.

Blaze and Zarathos begin their race through Hell, but Asmodeus immediately sends his minions out to stop them from reaching their destination. The two riders reach a bridge, where they encounter a giant named Saturnyne, a demon with an immense hatred toward the Ghost Rider. Blaze rescues Zarathos from the giant, and the two then trick Saturnyne into impaling himself on a piece of the broken bridge. The two continue down the Road of Lost Souls, where Johnny encounters what he believes to be the ghosts of his parents. Zarathos loses his temper and blasts the two shades with hellfire, forcing them to reveal their true demonic forms.

The two continue farther, but their path is soon blocked by a twisted mass of flesh called Mount Avarice. Zarathos explains that the Mount is made of the souls of men that were concerned only with themselves, and must spend eternity entwined with each other. If the souls sense a kinship with them, then they will drag them down among them. Blaze soon experiences a feeling of self-doubt, and begins to sink into the mass of limbs. Zarathos reluctantly turns back and saves Johnny from his fate, pulling him through the entwinement of souls. The two continue their journey on foot through a narrow tunnel, only to see two of Asmodeus' demons cut the rope tying down a large boulder that takes up the entire space of the corridor. Zarathos uses his hellfire to stop the boulder's descent toward them, but finds that their path is now blocked. Blaze turns, only to find that the souls of Mount Avarice are coming up the tunnel after them. Zarathos turns to the boulder and uses all the hellfire at his command to shatter the blockade, though it knocks him unconscious in the process. Blaze drags the Ghost Rider through the tunnel, but is unable to get away from Mount Avarice. Zarathos then awakens and blasts the souls with his hellfire, forcing them to retreat. The two run the rest of the way, finally coming to the portal that will take them back to Hell. Both of them then decide, however, that only one must step through the portal, in order to ensure that they will never be bonded together again. The two struggle, and during their fight they fall through the portal together.

Johnny awakens on Earth, at the place where he was attacked and taken. Realizing that Zarathos is inside him once again, Johnny pounds on the rock furiously, and in the process transforms into the Ghost Rider, who swears vengeance on Mephisto. Back in Hell, Mephisto explains to Asmodeus that had Blaze and Zarathos simply walked through the portal together, they truly would have been freed from each other and the curse of the Ghost Rider would have been lifted. Mephisto then decides to take his prize for besting Asmodeus, destroying the demon with a bolt of hellfire. As the netherruler watches the Ghost Rider through a scrying glass, he states that as long as he rules, the Ghost Rider will never be free.

Ghost Rider (1990) # 19

"The Deal"

Cover Date: November 1991
On Sale Date: September 1991

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

Chris Daniels, a recent divorcee, sits in his empty apartment with a gun to his head, wanting to kill himself.  He finds that he doesn't have the guts to pull the trigger, and cries that he just wants the strength to kill himself.  At that moment, Mephisto appears in the apartment, offering to make Chris a deal.  Meanwhile, Ghost Rider interrogates a drug dealer that works for Zodiak for information on the villain's whereabouts.  Back in his apartment, Chris makes his deal with Mephisto, who enhances Chris' life force, giving him increased strength and vitality.  Mephisto then gives him the stipulation that while he now has the will to commit suicide, he has become virtually immortal and unable to die except by the Ghost Rider's hands.  Mephisto then departs, leaving an enraged Daniels naked in his apartment.  

The next day, Dan Ketch is spending time with his mother and girlfriend.  When Stacy asks about going out that night on a date, Dan blows her off due to his plans to hunt for Zodiak.  Elsewhere, Zodiak is torturing Tim, the drug dealer that Ghost Rider had interrogated.  Chris Daniels, meanwhile, goes to his neighbor's apartment and asks for clothes.  He experiences a stab of pain in his head and demands the girl drive him to Brooklyn.  Using a police scanner, Dan hears  a police all about Zodiak and transforms into Ghost Rider to confront him.  Daniels is taken into Brooklyn by his neighbor on her motorcycle, but he eventually steals the bike and attempts to kill himself by crashing into a bus.  When that doesn't work, he experiences another headache and decides to keep moving. 

At the scene of Zodiak's latest murder, Ghost Rider observes from a rooftop.  He's attacked by Zodiak and then by Daniels, who demands that Ghost Rider kill him.  Ghost Rider and Daniels fight across the rooftops, with Daniels demanding over and over again that Ghost Rider kill him, with the Rider refusing due to his vow to not take a human life.  Finally, Daniels falls off the building, hopeful that he will die.  Ghost Rider finds Zodiak and unmasks him, revealing him to be the tortured Tim, who Zodiak forced to pose as him.  Daniels attacks again, but is again stopped by Ghost Rider.  The real Zodiak appears with a gun he claims is a "demon-killer" and shoots both Daniels and Ghost Rider with it.  Ghost Rider destroys the gun and when Zodiak attempts to fly away he's knocked out of the sky and falls into the subway, where both Ghost Rider and Daniels follow.