Cover Date: December 1972; On Sale Date: September 1972
Writer: Gary Friedrich; Artist: Mike Ploog; Inker: Frank Monte; Letterer: Herb Cooper; Editor: Roy Thomas; Cover Artist: Mike Ploog
In the dressing room at Madison Square Garden, Curly (the deceased
Crash Simpson reincarnated in a different body) prepares to kill his
unconscious daughter with a large knife. Suddenly, Satan appears and
tells his servant that Roxanne must be sacrificed in his temple, and
only then will Crash regain his rightful body. Curly hides Roxanne in a
large barrel and wheels her outside, where he catches a cab.
Elsewhere, the Ghost Rider tears down a deserted
highway on his motorcycle, attempting to collect his thoughts. He is
quickly spotted by a parked police car, who give chase after Blaze.
Johnny weighs his options of either stopping and letting the police see
him or running. He decides to try and escape, and speeds off into the
night. After a harrowing chase, Blaze realizes that he won't easily lose
the officers. He races toward a destroyed bridge, which he jumps on his
cycle. The police, unable to pursue, state their disbelief at what they
just witnessed. Later, the Ghost Rider seeks refuge in a cemetery,
where he decides to stop and rest. Meanwhile, Curly arrives at the
temple, where he tells his satanic followers to prepare a black mass. He
takes Roxanne into the basement and lays her on a large altar, where
she will be sacrificed at midnight.
Having fallen asleep in the cemetery, Blaze is
awaken at dawn by his transformation back into his human form. Realizing
what time it is, he races back to Madison Square Garden, where he is
scheduled to perform another cycle show. An hour before the show, Johnny
is told by his road manager, Bart Slade, that Roxanne has been missing
since the night before. Blaze flies into a rage, threatening Bart that
if he doesn't find Roxanne soon, he'll be fired. An hour later, at the
start of the show, Johnny apologizes to Slade, unaware that the manager
has plans to steal Roxanne away from him. After the show, Slade tells
Blaze that one of the guards saw a curly-haired individual leaving the
locker rooms the night before. Johnny realizes that it was Curly who
took Roxanne, and decides to go find him as soon as it gets dark.
That night, the Ghost Rider busts into the hangout
of Satan's Servants, Curly's cycle gang. The demonic biker traps the
hoodlums in a ring of fire and commands that they tell him where to find
Curly. They tell him that he hangs out at a strange church a few blocks
away. At that moment, Curly and his followers prepare the altar for the
black mass. They bring out Roxanne, who is dressed in ceremonial garb,
and chain her to the altar. Curly snaps his fingers, and Roxanne awakens
from her trance. As Curly begins to bear down on her with a large
knife, Johnny rides down the stairs of the church on his motorcycle,
melting the knife with a blast of hellfire. The cult members quickly
scatter, but Johnny is quickly stopped in tracks by the appearance of
Satan, who tells Johnny that only the death of his servant can stop her
sacrifice. Both Blaze and Curly agree to a duel, but Satan then reveals
his pawn's true form, that of Crash Simpson, and gives him a weapon: the
flaming blade of Hell itself. Roxanne screams for Johnny not to hurt
her father, but as Blaze says: "Either he dies -- or we do!"
