Thunderbolts (2013) # 32

Cover Artist: David Yardin
Published: Dec. 2014
Original Price: $2.99

Title: "The Punisher Vs. the Thunderbolts", Part 6
Writers: Ben Acker & Ben Blacker
Artist: Kim Jacinto
Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino
Colorist: Isreal Silva
Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso

SYNOPSIS
Six months after the dissolution of the Thunderbolts, the Red Leader (who faked his own death at the Punisher's hands) has taken control of the Central American county Kata Jaya, where the Thunderbolts had their first mission.  With an army of Crimson Dynamos and soldiers powered by gamma radiation, Red Leader has established total dominance over the country and rules it with an iron fist.  He goes on a tour of his compound with his assistant, Caitlin, where he has renegotiated his deal with Mephisto to own a pocket of Hell in which to torment his brother, Madman.  The Leader has established an empire by providing scientific resources to other villains and criminal organizations, but what he really wants is the love of Caitlin, who constantly rebukes his attempts at winning her heart. 

The compound is attacked by the reunited Thunderbolts (Red Hulk, Deadpool, Elektra, and the Punisher), who have arrived with the Avengers to take out the Red Leader.  Following their imprisonment six months ago, Red Hulk and the Punisher were given a deal to "clean up their mess" and be awarded their freedom.  While Hawkeye and the Avengers stay to deal with the army of soldiers and demons, the Thunderbolts go into the compound, where the Leader successfully evades all of their attempts to capture him.  To the villain's surprise, he is shot in the back with tranquilizer darts by Caitlin, who is an undercover SHIELD agent.

Back in a prison facility in the United States, the Red Leader is imprisoned.  The Punisher holds up Ghost Rider's severed skull, which uses the Penance Stare to place the Leader in a cycle of torment.  Hawkeye and the Thunderbolts leave, but the team disbands, leaving Red Hulk alone.  Inside the prison, Ghost Rider's skull is deactivated by Mephisto, who has Leader sign a new contract (upon which the power of the Ghost Rider returns to a relaxing Johnny Blaze as he's reading a book in his home).  Mephisto then escorts Red Leader to Hell for an eternity of torture and damnation. 

ANNOTATIONS 
The Spirit of Vengeance was defeated by the Punisher and exorcised from Johnny Blaze in Thunderbolts (2013) # 29, and Blaze did not appear in issues 30 and 31.

The Thunderbolts had their first mission in Kata Jaya in Thunderbolts (2013) # 1-5.  The Red Leader's brother, the gamma-powered Madman, was killed in Thunderbolts (2013) # 5.

Red Leader made his original deal with Mephisto in Thunderbolts (2013) # 21.

Johnny Blaze makes his next appearance in All-New Ghost Rider (2014) # 6.

REVIEW
Thunderbolts ends with a pathetic whimper as it fails to justify its own existence, leaving me to wonder just how the hell this series lasted for 32 freaking issues.

Let's get the important bit out of the way of the way first, which is Ghost Rider's involvement in this issue.  Johnny Blaze was introduced to the series with a lot of fanfare, but didn't really do much of anything during his time with the team, usually getting sidelined pretty quickly in the few storylines he participated in.  Ghost Rider was a character who would theoretically fit fairly easily into a cast of characters like this, but he never really clicked and was just sort of there in the background.  His one spotlight was the issue of this arc that saw him get chumped by the Punisher, which brings me to the baffling use of the character at this issue's climax.  Apparently, Castle didn't just exorcise the Spirit of Vengeance from Blaze, he separated them into two physical beings and has been keeping his skull in his backpack ever since, a skull that still has its power but none of its consciousness.  I can't even begin to understand how that makes any sort of sense, other than to set up the joke bit at the end with Blaze sitting in his house and suddenly becoming the Ghost Rider again.  It sort of typifies Johnny's role in this series, the joke character who sits around while Red Hulk and the Punisher do everything important.

Acker and Blacker do at least attempt to give the series a proper wrap-up with all of their call backs to previous storylines (Kata Jaya, the Crimson Dynamos, Mephisto, etc...), but it's wrapped in such ludicrous trappings that it makes the entire series feel like even more of a failure than it really was.  Thunderbolts had a good concept, it just lacked creators who were able to do anything with it, outside of perhaps Charles Soule (though even he seemed to flail a little bit when it came to most of the characters).  The Red Leader turned out to be not so much of a threat after all, despite all of the build-up through three separate writers leading toward his inevitable betrayal.  Killer pandas and Captain America zombie clones aren't what you need when trying to tie up what started as a serious drama/action series.  Perhaps Acker and Blacker realized that trying to give the series any kind of meaningful end was futile and went for the slapstick as their last resort?  Who knows?

The artwork is by Kim Jacinto, who had produced several fill-in issues throughout the last year, and it's telling that Marvel couldn't keep a consistent artist on this series for even one story-arc.  Jacinto isn't a bad artist, though as I've said before he falls into that exaggerated cartoon category that, at least in my opinion, didn't help the series find its audience.  Still, I like bits and panels of the art in this issue, and it does fit the over-the-top tone of the story.

Thunderbolts is a series with a lot of history behind it, and this iteration will likely not be viewed kindly in the future.  Could you imagine this series, with these characters, handled by the likes of Jason Aaron and Leonardo Manco, just to spit-ball a more mature creative team?  As it is, this final issue of the series is a mercy killing at best and at worst a waste of money for anyone unfortunate enough to pick it up.

Grade: F

In Stores Today: The Champions Masterworks Collection

THIS IS IT!
Today sees the release of the Marvel Masterworks collection of 1975's team series The Champions, which of course included Ghost Rider as a prominent (sort of) member of the line-up.  If you've been reading the blog, you've seen reviews recently of the first four issues of the series by Jim and I, and let me tell you, brother: this series is rough.  Things do pick up considerably once Bill Mantlo and John Byrne take over as the creative team, but this series is still the poster-child for misguided Marvel titles of the Bronze Age. 

If you're a Ghost Rider fan who has never had the chance to read this series (the two trades collecting the series have been out of print for years), this might be worth a curiosity buy if you have a ton of disposable income.  The book has a hefty $99 price tag, which I think might make it the most expensive Masterwork to date?  Even though this has a totally thorough round-up of the series in-total, including all of the team's guest-appearances in other titles of the time (except the Godzilla issue, of course), it's still definitely not worth such a high price.  And though I definitely understand the exclusion, it would have been nice to see some of the latter-day Champions plug-in stories (such as Giant-Size Hulk # 1 and Gambit & the Champions # 1) and the reunion from X-Force/Champions Annual 1999. 

So, if you're not a fan of Bronze Age comics (and that era's Ghost Rider in particular), I'd recommend skipping this book.  If you DO decide to pick it up, there's some great unintentional comedy in those pages.  As a bonus for all Ghost Rider fans, here's the best page of the series for to you enjoy some sweet Byrne artwork.  Click the image to embiggen!

I just saved you $100.  You're welcome.

Thunderbolts (2013) # 29

Cover Artist: David Yardin
Published: Oct. 2014
Original Price: $2.99

Title: "The Punisher Vs. the Thunderbolts", Part 3
Writers: Ben Acker & Ben Blacker
Artist: Kim Jacinto
Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino
Colorist: Isreal Silva
Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso

SYNOPSIS
After surviving the bomb placed inside his safe house, the Punisher begins his war on the Thunderbolts.  He starts with Deadpool, who he cuts into several pieces and seals inside vibranium canisters to keep him from regenerating.  At Thunderbolts headquarters, Elektra argues with Ross and Johnny Blaze about the attempted murder of the Punisher, which Ross neither admits or denies culpability.  Elektra disappears, quitting the team, and Ross orders the Ghost Rider to go get the Punisher.  Unbeknownst to her, however, Hawkeye has placed a tracking device on Elektra, and he has used SHIELD resources to determine that the Red Hulk has been with her.

Ghost Rider's search for the Punisher does not take long, as he finds Castle waiting for him in the middle of the street.  Months ago, when Blaze joined the team, the Punisher went to great lengths to work up a contingency plan to kill the Ghost Rider.  Visits to Dr. Strange and Elsa Bloodstone led Castle to a satanic church, where he met the fallen angel Zadkiel, who Blaze had sent to Hell.  Due to Blaze angering Mephisto, Zadkiel was sent back to Earth to kill the Ghost Rider with Mephisto's mystical sword, stating that only a weapon "forged in the beyond" can remove the Spirit of Vengeance from its host.  Castle grabbed the sword and killed Zadkiel, and now has the weapon for his face-off with Ghost Rider. 

The battle between the two vigilantes does not go well for the Punisher, who uses "uru shivs" provided by Elsa Bloodstone and Carter Slade's "spirit guns", neither of which have any effect on Ghost Rider.  While the Rider whips him through the air with his chains, Castle throws Mephisto's sword at him, but Ghost Rider catches it and pulls Castle in to hit him with the Penance Stare.  To Ghost Rider's surprise, the Penance Stare has no effect on the Punisher, who feels no regret for anything he's done.  Castle attempts to use the sword again, but Ghost Rider shatters it and wrestles Punisher to the ground.  Realizing that the Spirit of Vengeance can "only be felled by weapons forged in the beyond", Castle chokes the Rider with his own chains, which somehow removes the demon from Blaze's body.  Blaze is overjoyed that he is freed from being the Rider's host, prompting him to thank Castle and wander away to live his life.  Frank is then approached by Elektra, who attempts to make peace, but Castle merely smiles and tells her that she too is on his list.

ANNOTATIONS 
Zadkiel was defeated and sent to hell by Johnny Blaze (and a whole bunch of other former Ghost Riders) in Ghost Riders: Heaven's On Fire # 6.

Blaze angered Mephisto in Thunderbolts (2013) # 22, when he helped the Thunderbolts journey to Hell to imprison their former teammate Mercy.

Carter Slade's "spirit guns", which the Punisher states he "bought off eBay", were last seen in the possession of Jamie Slade, the latest Phantom Rider, in Hawkeye and Mockingbird (2010) # 5.

REVIEW
"Punisher versus the Thunderbolts" continues with an issue-long throw-down between Frank Castle and Johnny Blaze, a fight so uneven that the writers have to do some serious plot gymnastics to make it work (and no, they're still not successful).

I am a huge fan of the Punisher, he ranks just below Ghost Rider and John Constantine in my list of favorite characters.  Like Batman, the Punisher is a character that has long been shown as capable of taking out just about any opponent, provided he has time to plan and set up traps ahead of time.  I'm not one of those fans who thinks that they're favorite character is unbeatable, it's potentially possible for the Punisher to actually take out Ghost Rider if there's an inventive creator handling the fight.  Acker and Blacker, I'm sorry to say, are not creators of that caliber, and they're solution for having the Punisher win is ludicrous in the extreme.  This goes back to the inherent problem of having Ghost Rider on a team at all, because he's so much more powerful than the other members he makes them superfluous.  Placing him up against the Punisher means that Castle had to go to ridiculous means to reach that power-set, and while again it can be done, the way Acker and Blacker set it up in this issue requires way too much hand-waving.

I did appreciate the return of Zadkiel, who has been loosed on Earth by Mephisto to return Ghost Rider to Hell.  It's a good use of past continuity, though again, having the Punisher kill a fallen archangel with a "plot sword" goes into some shifty territory.  I love the Punisher, but this arc is making him unstoppable to the point of overkill.  Let's look at the fight itself, which is the real meat of this issue, and I do think Acker and Blacker approach it in the right way.  Castle has all of these contingency weapons, and all of them fail to the point where he's just getting whipped through the air by Ghost Rider's chains.  Then it all falls apart with the now-clichéd failure of the Penance Stare (second time this has happened since Ghost Rider joined the team, the first time against Venom), though with the Punisher I can almost buy it.  The "plot sword" gets destroyed, which was a nice swerve that went against expectations, but then we get hit with THAT SCENE.  Punisher chokes Ghost Rider with his chains, which somehow exorcises the demon from Johnny Blaze?  It's unclear how it works, because the art certainly doesn't convey anything other than Ghost Rider falling down and Johnny Blaze being human on the next page.  Not only does it make not a lick of sense, even given the "weapon from beyond" gibberish stated earlier in the issue, but it chumps out Ghost Rider in favor of making the Punisher look unstoppable. 

I mentioned the artwork, which for this issue was by Kim Jacinto, who had filled-in previously back during Charles Soule run on the book.  It's troublesome, I think, that we're now three issues into a six-issue arc, and each issue has been drawn by a different person.  The visual consistency is at least maintained, because Jacinto is another in the line of cartoonishly-inclined artists that included Carlo Barberi and Gerardo Sandoval.  I still don't understand why a book with as dark a premise as Thunderbolts keeps getting not only this style of artist, but why it has such a bright color palate.  Everything about the artwork in this series screams "generic superhero comic", when a darker tone would benefit it much more appropriately.  Jacinto does, at least, draw an interesting interpretation of Ghost Rider, with flames billowing out almost uncontrollably.

This is an arc that is trying desperately to justify its premise and is failing at every attempt.  The imminent cancelation of this series is going to be a mercy killing at this point, and at least Ghost Rider's absence means I won't have to review the next two issues.  Only one issue left, then!

Grade: C-

Thunderbolts (2013) # 28

Cover Artist: David Yardin
Published: Sept. 2014
Original Price: $2.99

Title: "The Punisher Vs. the Thunderbolts", Part 2
Writers: Ben Acker & Ben Blacker
Artist: Gerardo Sandoval
Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino
Colorist: Isreal Silva
Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso

SYNOPSIS
During the Avengers' battle with a giant monster in New York City, Hawkeye notices something going on atop a nearby building.  After the battle, Hawkeye and Iron Man investigate the rooftop and find evidence of both the Punisher and Ghost Rider being present.  Iron Man tells Hawkeye to find out what happened, and when Hawkeye later uses a SHIELD station to look in on one of the Punisher's safehouses he learns that the building had recently been site to an explosion.

At Thunderbolts Mountain in Michigan, Red Hulk addresses the remaining team members (Deadpool, Elektra, Ghost Rider, and the Leader) about the Punisher's recent departure.  Ross tells the others that they need to decide if they're in or out, especially since he's running the team and making all of the decisions, such as the one to keep the villain Dr. Faustus around as a conscripted prisoner/associate of the team.  Johnny Blaze goes to a nearby bar and encounters a pack of killer werewolves, prompting him to transform into the Ghost Rider to destroy them, all the while contemplating whether he should stay with the team or not.  The Leader makes his decision to stay, while also thinking about ways to incapacitate the others.  Deadpool discusses the team with his wife, the vampire Shiklah, during a battle with various assassins.  Red Hulk interrogates the captive Faustus, telling him that he's part of the Thunderbolts now whether he likes it or not.

Meanwhile, Elektra visits the Punisher's destroyed safehouse and finds Hawkeye there investigating.  After a brief fight, Hawkeye tags the departing Elektra with a tracking device.  Deadpool resigns from the team by phone, leaving Hulk and Ghost Rider to be confronted by an enraged Elektra, who accuses Ross of killing the Punisher out of revenge for quitting the team.  Their fight is interrupted by the sound of gunshots, and they find both the Leader and Faustus dead.  The Punisher has killed the villains and taken the anti-Hulk gun taken from Faustus' mercenaries, leading Red Hulk to realize that the Punisher "has declared war on the Thunderbolts".

ANNOTATIONS 
Ghost Rider is the most recent addition to the Thunderbolts, having joined in Thunderbolts (2013) # 20.

REVIEW
Ben Acker and Ben Blacker continue the Punisher's "war on the Thunderbolts" with an issue that attempts to dive into the motivations of each member, but actually just dumbs them way waaaaay down.

Thunderbolts was never the most nuanced series when it came to the characterizations of the various team members, but under previous writer Charles Soule there were at least attempts made to humanize them past "murder badasses".  The previous arc went a long way toward making me like the Red Hulk as a protagonist, something I thought was impossible, but Acker and Blacker have thrown all of that goodwill out the window by reducing the characters to one-note caricatures of themselves.  The Red Hulk was certainly abrasive at times and definitely a control freak, but this take on the character makes one wonder why ANYONE would follow such an utter asshole into battle.  The other characters are similarly downgraded to being idiots, especially when it comes to their decisions to stay or leave the team.  Honestly, none of the characters, under any of the various creators attached to this series, had been given much reason for being there other than, well, "murder badasses".  But when you have Deadpool deciding to stay and then resigning by phone a few pages later, it doesn't make much sense. 

Even worse of an offense is the characterization of Johnny Blaze, who admits to himself in the span of two pages that he is both "not a thinker but a do-er" and "a lone wolf and always will be".  That's such a simplistic take on Blaze, who does tend to think with his fists and is more of a loner, but not so bluntly.  Blaze is a loner by necessity, since he has a fucking vengeful demon inside him that would happily turn on his teammates as quickly as their enemies.  Blaze had zero reason or motivation to be on this team in the first place, outside of "hey I like to murder like a badass too!", and this really shows how stupid that rationale is for the character. 

The artist for this issue is Gerardo Sandoval, who recently did the artwork for titles I haven't read like Guardians 3000 and the Secret Wars: Age of Apocalypse mini-series, and he follows the standard Thunderbolts route of being as cartoonishly distorted as humanly possible.  It's a symptom of a bad sickness for this series, when "murder badasses" are overacting like they're in a shitty anime cartoon.  His action sequences are nigh-incomprehensible, particularly the two pages with Ghost Rider fighting the werewolves.  I assume people like this type of artwork, I'm just so sick and tired of seeing it on titles like Thunderbolts and Ghost Rider, where it clashes horribly with the book's tone.

I was giving Acker and Blacker the benefit of the doubt with their first issue, but this one really proves that the duo are still amateurs when it comes to writing comics.  All of the personalities of the heroes are deleted in favor of "dominant traits", making a book about nothing more than ugly people spouting clichés.  Go pick up a copy of an early Youngblood comic from 20 years ago and you'll get exactly what you get here.

Grade: D

Thunderbolts (2013) # 27

Cover Artist: David Yardin
Published: Aug. 2014
Original Price: $2.99

Title: "The Punisher Vs. the Thunderbolts", Part 1
Writers: Ben Acker & Ben Blacker
Artist: Carlo Barberi
Inker: Carlos Cuevos
Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino
Colorist: Isreal Silva
Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso

SYNOPSIS
While the Avengers fight a giant monster in the middle of Manhattan, a group of mercenaries specially armed with weapons designed to kill the heroes are preparing to attack from a nearby rooftop. The soldiers are stopped and killed by the Thunderbolts, their bodies incinerated by Ghost Rider to remove all evidence of their presence. The Punisher and Deadpool note that they have perhaps been seen by Hawkeye, but Castle dismisses it as impossible from that distance. The Red Leader has traced the signal from the soldiers communicators back to their source, and while en route Elektra notes that all of the guns are specially designed to kill their target except for the one meant for Captain America, which is loaded with tranquilizers.

They trace the signal to a high school, where inside they find all of the students not only dead but petrified in place. Overwhelmed with the deaths of so many innocent children, Ghost Rider nearly erupts into a tantrum before transforming back to Blaze. In the school's auditorium, the dead students come alive as zombies and attack the team, biting and infecting them until only Deadpool and Ghost Rider remain. This, however, is merely a horrific dream sequence brought on by a type of gas released by an old foe of Captain America, Doctor Faustus. Deadpool, however, was unaffected by the gas and kills Faustus' men, taking the villain hostage. While each of the other Thunderbolts see their own personal terror (the Punisher turned into a zombie, Red Hulk having killed his teammates, Elektra learning she is a Skrull, and Blaze being given the Penance Stare by Ghost Rider), Deadpool wakes them up by spraying them with a water hose. Castle wants to kill Faustus, but is stopped by Ross, who says he will make Faustus work for them to help as many people as he's killed. Punisher refuses to go along with this and quits the team. Castle returns to his personal safehouse in a rage, hoping that he's not still feeling the effects of Faustus' gas, and finds a bomb in his refrigerator that reads "you don't quit us, you're fired". Then the building explodes.

ANNOTATIONS 
Elektra was captured and replaced by a Skrull for several years, as told during the Secret Invasion crossover.

REVIEW
Thunderbolts sees its third creative team change in two years as new writers Ben Acker and Ben Blacker come aboard.

Acker and Blacker are not familiar to me at all. I understand they do a podcast and have written a handful of Marvel one-shots in the last year, including the Thunderbolts Annual that I didn't pick up. So, I'm coming into their work totally cold with no real expectations on what they may produce. I know that Thunderbolts is a series that really stumbled out of the gate when it was launched by Daniel Way and Steve Dillon, but things picked up considerably once Charles Soule came on as the second writer and added Ghost Rider to the cast (assuring that I'd be reading regardless of quality, you're welcome). So, we have a book with creative problems matched with an unproven writing team. How bad could things be for the series now?

Thankfully, there's a lot to like about this issue, which kicks off a new arc that turns the Punisher against his teammates. The best aspect of this book's premise is that the team is filled with not just amoral heroes but really psychologically damaged vigilantes with alpha personalities and an extreme disdain for taking orders. Much of the conflict has come from clashes between the team members, from Mercy and Venom leaving because of it and Red Leader actively working to betray his teammates at every opportunity. This really came to a head in Soule's last arc, so I like that Acker and Blacker are continuing the trend. The new writers also work well with the characters' established personalities, every one seems spot on in their reactions and attitudes toward what's going on. I even liked the bit of character development they gave to Johnny Blaze, who is fearful of what an unleashed Ghost Rider could do (understandably so, given his nightmare vision of the Rider turning on him).

The events used to justify the Punisher's heel turn are a bit predictable, I assume his paranoia is being induced by Faustus' mind control agent, but the "how" isn't what's selling the concept. The Punisher is the most morally "black and white" of all the members, so him having a disagreement and quitting isn't out of the blue. The surprise ending, with Ross having apparently attempted to get rid of Castle via a bomb, is obviously heading toward a swerve in the last act. With all of the power at their disposal, any one of the Thunderbolts (Ross included) would be enough to eliminate the Punisher, so the use of a bomb throws up the red flag that I have to assume was intentional. That is, of course, what I'm sure the point of this arc is, however. The Punisher may be the least powerful, but he's probably the most dangerous of the Thunderbolts; hence five issues of him taking on the team in what I'm sure will be hilariously inventive ways.

Carlo Barberi returns as the book's artist, and as I've said before he turns in perfectly serviceable work that continues the title's visual continuity. He's just not very flashy and the style might not be to everyone's tastes. He's a more-controlled version of Humberto Ramos, with the slight exaggeration to the action. He draws a decent Ghost Rider, and I really liked the bit with Blaze incinerating the bodies of the soldiers to eliminate the evidence.

I was disappointed to see Soule leave the book just as his run was really getting good, but based on this debut issue I'm hopeful that Acker and Blacker will stick around for the long haul and give this series some much-needed direction.

Grade: B

All-New Ghost Rider (2014) # 10

Cover Artist: Damion Scott
Published: March 2015
Original Price: $3.99

Title: "Legend", Part 5
Writer: Felipe Smith
Artist: Damion Scott
Inker: Cory Hamscher
Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Val Staples
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso 


SYNOPSIS
Outside Lincoln High School, Guero Valdez has punched Robbie Reyes in the face, accusing him of being the Ghost Rider.  Guero and his two friends continue to beat on Robbie and threatens the life of his little brother, while Robbie fights with the spirit of Eli Morrow in his head, who is demanding that Robbie needs to fight back.  When their teacher, Mr. Wakeford, attempts to intervene, Guero punches him and knocks him out, which causes Robbie to lose control of his emotions.  Overcome by rage, Robbie's body is taken over by Eli, who breaks Guero's arm in three places before he's hit from behind by another member of the gang.  Guero and his friends run away, yelling that they have powers now too and will be back to kill him.  Eli jumps in the Hell Charger and flees as well, not staying for medical attention despite having been stabbed in the hand by Guero's knife. 


At the headquarters of the Blue Hyde Brigade, Dr. Calvin Zabo meets with Russian mob leader Yegor Ivanov, who is talking about his former hitman, the serial killing Satanist Eli Morrow.  Guero and his friends arrive and take their blue pills, transforming into the Blue Krue, and Guero tells Zabo and Ivanov that the Ghost Rider is really Robbie Reyes, a name that Ivanov recognizes.  Robbie, still possessed by Eli, has returned home to bandage his wounds and receives a phone call from Ivanov, who gives him an address to meet.  Before Eli can leave, he's visited by Mr. Wakeford, who has brought Robbie's brother Gabe home.  Eli decides to make Wakeford his first sacrificial victim, but before he can kill the teacher Robbie manages to take control of the body and punches Wakeford in the face, telling him to leave and not come back.  Robbie, still struggling for control with Morrow, jumps in his car and leaves to find Ivanov. 

Eli arrives at an abandoned warehouse on a pier to kill Ivanov, unaware that the Blue Hyde Brigade are laying in wait.  Ivanov mentions the Reyes family, which causes Robbie to again fight for dominance of the shared body, stopping Morrow from killing the Russian.  Zabo tells his men to continue to wait, but Guero takes another blue pill and crashes out of the warehouse, wanting to kill Robbie.  Eli takes total control and transforms into the Ghost Rider, easily knocking Guero off the pier.  Robbie gathers all of this strength and takes control of their body, just in time to catch Guero with his chain and pull him back up, which also results in Guero's spine being broken as he lands.  Zabo and the rest of the Blue Hyde Brigade attack, easily overcoming Robbie with their superior strength and numbers, but Reyes is saved by Johnny Blaze, who has arrived to help.  Reyes and Blaze defeat the Blue Hyde Brigade and capture Zabo, but Ivanov escapes and swears revenge.

The next day, Blaze says his goodbyes to Robbie, and tells him that for better or worse, he's part of their family now, he's a Ghost Rider.  When Robbie picks up Gabe from his disability school, he sees Guero, who is now in a wheelchair himself.

ANNOTATIONS 
The Reyes' family's connection to Eli Morrow and Yegor Ivanov will be revealed in All-New Ghost Rider (2014) # 11.

Other than in a one-page flashback cameo in All-New Ghost Rider (2014) # 11, Johnny Blaze doesn't make another appearance until years later in Iceman (2017) # 6.

REVIEW
"Legend" reaches its conclusion, though to say it resolves much of anything would be a bit of a lie.


Writer Felipe Smith had so many balls juggling throughout this arc, which makes for a sharp contrast against the first arc, "Engines of Vengeance", which was streamlined and to-the-point.  I'm usually a fan of complex and involved storylines with multiple subplots being woven through, but here it just resulted in a big ol' mess with an ending that left way too much still in the air.  In this arc alone, we have Dr. Zabo (held over from the first arc when his story should have come to a natural conclusion) and his Blue Hyde Brigade trying to take over the Los Angeles gangs, the involvement of Yegor Ivanov and the Russian mob, which ties into the history of Eli Morrow.  We're given an origin of sorts for Eli, who was a Satanist serial killer/mob enforcer that was betrayed by his boss Ivanov and used sacrificial magic to put his soul into his car.  Okay, so that brings us to Robbie's struggle for dominance against Eli, who takes control and is revealed to be far less altruistic than he seemed at first as he tries to murder Ivanov and return to his serial killing ways.  This leads us to the problems Robbie has at school and home with his brother due to Morrow's possession, which feeds into his feud with Guero, who is now a member of Zabo's "Blue Krue". 

Take a breath!

We also have Johnny Blaze brought into the series to explain how Robbie is his own unique version of a Ghost Rider, and the fight and later team-up between the two Riders.  Blaze gives us the origin for Eli Morrow in a roundabout way, which feeds into Robbie's own struggle for control (a la Blaze and Zarathos back in the day).  At the end of this issue, we have Zabo in jail, Guero and the Blue Krue taken out of commission, and Blaze back on the road after giving Robbie his blessing as a Ghost Rider.  Smith has left plenty of stuff hanging, including Ivanov's status and the continuing presence of Eli Morrow, but look at that synopsis.  Smith has crammed three storyarcs worth of events into five issues, and it feels bloated, with the readers not given space to digest anything without being thrown into the next plot twist.  Also, what the hell was the point of the animals being mutated back in the opening issues of the arc?  More unnecessary complications to a story that was already bursting at the seams.  Had Smith slowed down and focused on just a few ideas, such as Johnny Blaze and the struggle between Robbie and Eli, much of this could have been stretched out to a more natural pace.

Much of this arc fell flat, but there were some shining points, such as the slow destruction of Robbie's relationship with Gabe, which was heartbreaking to read.  I liked the use of Blaze in the story, even if he was obviously just there to lend credibility to Robbie as a Ghost Rider.  The struggle between Eli and Robbie is interesting, mainly because it harkens back to what should be, to me, a core trait of any good Ghost Rider series, namely the fight to keep personal demons at bay.  If only these good bits weren't being drowned out by more Mr. Hyde and mobster stuff, which is seriously wearing thin. 

Adding to the sense of disjointed chaos is the artwork by Damion Scott, whose brief run as artist thankfully comes to an end with this issue.  I wasn't much of a fan of his work at the start of this arc, but it has become even more rushed and sloppy by the time we get to this issue (which was already running a month late upon its eventual release).  Compared to the way the Hyde transformations were drawn by former series artist Tradd Moore, Scott's depiction of the Blue Krue is cartoonishly simple and about as non-threatening as it can get.  Scott falls in the same school of art as other similarly miscast Ghost Rider artists Pop Mhan and Trent Kaniuga, and I will never understand Marvel's attempts to marry the character to this overexaggerated style.

I had such high hopes for this series following that amazing opening arc, but "Legend" fails to live up to those expectations on just about every level.

Grade: C

Ultimate Avengers 2 (2010) # 6


Cover Artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Published: Oct. 2010
Original Price: $3.99

Title: "Crime & Punishment", Part 6
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Inkers: Gerry Alanguilan w/ Jason Paz, Edgar Tadeo, & Jeff Huet
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Colorist: Dave McCaig w/ Frank Martin
Assistant Editor: Sana Amanat
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor-In-Chief: Joe Quesada

SYNOPSIS
Johnny Blaze, the Ghost Rider, attacks Vice-President Blackthorne, who is now also a demonically-powered Vengeance.  Blaze quickly gets the upper hand, saying that he's fantasized about killing Blackthorne for 20 years, but before he can finish the job he is shot down by Hawkeye,the Punisher, and SHIELD.  Blackthorne laughs and takes down the Avengers himself, then turns his attention toward the wounded Blaze.  He's interrupted by Tyrone Cash, who grabs him while driving the Ghost Rider's motorcycle.  Cash drives the flaming bike into a nearby gas station, causing a massive explosion.  However, the explosion does nothing to Blackthorne, who insults the unconscious Cash for thinking fire could harm a demon.  Having recovered, Blaze wraps his chains around Blackthorne and drags him into a church, which begins to sap the strength of both men, but not before Blaze beats Blackthorne into the ground.  The two men continue to fight even as they transform back into their human bodies, with Blackthorne recovering and striking Blaze with a candle-holder.  Blackthorne is then shot and killed by the newly-arrived Punisher, who also has orders to execute Blaze as well.  Johnny gets up and walks away, telling the Punisher that he won't kill him because they have too much in common, namely seeking vengeance for the murders of their loved ones.  Outside the church, Hawkeye arrives and asks Castle where the Ghost Rider is, with Frank replying that he let him go.  Castle begs Hawkeye to tell him where the control implant is inside his body so he can escape to continue his mission of punishing criminals, but Hawkeye just punches him in the face, knocking him out.

In Illinois, Mephisto and Johnny Blaze sit on a park bench, watching Roxanne Simpson play with her husband and daughter.  Mephisto states that he brought her back to life, but if Blaze ever once turns against him she will go right back in the ground.  Johnny says that he'll continue being the Ghost Rider to send souls to Hell if it means Roxanne will have a happy life.

Meanwhile, Nick Fury confronts Hawkeye with the knowledge that the Punisher escaped and the control implant had been hidden in the tooth knocked out by Hawkeye's punch. Later, in Russia, the Punisher has caught up with the "Red Hammer" and prepares to executing him, wondering about the message that was passed along to him by the Ghost Rider.  Who else but his family would tell him to keep up the good work?

ANNOTATIONS
Though the cover says "Ultimate Avengers 2 # 6", the indicia labels it as "Ultimate Avengers # 12".

Ghost Rider gave the Punisher his message from the afterlife in Ultimate Avengers 2 (2010) # 4.

REVIEW
The second Ultimate Avengers mini-series wraps up with resolutions to the Ghost Rider and Punisher arcs, with one ending quite satisfyingly and the other, well, not so much.

In the last review I talked about how I just didn't like the Avengers as characters in this series, and this issue made me realize why: outside of the Punisher, not a single one of the Avengers were important to this story.  In fact, I think I would have enjoyed this series a helluva lot more if Millar and Yu had simply done an "Ultimate Ghost Rider" mini-series that cut out all of the useless Avengers bits.  Because when you look back at this story, the Ghost Rider parts are really the only parts that work, the rest is at best filler and at worst distracting noise.  The first two issues are essentially one-shots that are used to introduce two new cast members, the first being the Punisher, who does factor into the wider plot of "vengeance against those who wrong you", and the second being the utterly useless Tyrone Cash.  It's not until you reach issue # 3 that the actual story kicks in with Ghost Rider's introduction.

I will say that I would read the shit out of a Millar/Yu Ghost Rider series, because their work on the character is fantastic.  Millar cuts out a lot of the unnecessary clutter around the character and pares him down to two simple ideas: the deal with he devil and the quest for vengeance.  Of course, we're given most of Johnny Blaze's backstory through a weird psychic flashback told to us by a character that's not explained at all, the Spider, but the central idea of Blaze's plight is still solid. He gets his payback here and at the end the character is set up with a status quo: reap souls for Mephisto and Roxanne gets to live, waffle even a little and she dies.  That's a great theme for the character, and its a shame that with the death of the Ultimate imprint we'll never get to see this take on Blaze again.

Millar's take on the Punisher, on the other hand, so totally misses the mark.  Ultimate Punisher whines and eventually begs for Hawkeye to let him go, he even says please!, and is shown to be as ineffectual as the other Avengers when it comes to, well, everything.  The mysterious "message from beyond" that fuels the Punisher's flight to freedom, for him to "keep up the good work", also falls flat.  He wonders if the message is from his family, but given that the message came from HELL shows that Frank must have a low opinion of his wife and kids.  I'm a big Punisher fan, and everything about his appearance in this series irked me to no end.

What still remains great, though, is the artwork by Leinil Yu.  Yes, he still struggles with fight sequences being coherent, but the guy draws one fantastic Ghost Rider.  He also does something that I always feel is important for a Ghost Rider story, he communicates the darkness of the character and his circumstances through the artwork.  Yu isn't drawing this like an Avengers comic, it's a horror comic that causes the garish outfits of Hawkeye and Captain Punisher to stand out like an eyesore, which is how it should look when you're mashing up superheroes with the supernatural.

This series has a lot going for it, and I do recommend it for Ghost Rider fans.  Just be aware that everything OTHER than the Ghost Rider bits is flawed to say the least.

Grade: B-

Ultimate Avengers 2 (2010) # 5


Cover Artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Published: Sept. 2010
Original Price: $3.99

Title: "Crime & Punishment", Part 5
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Inker: Gerry Alanguilan
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Colorist: Dave McCaig
Assistant Editor: Sana Amanat
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor-In-Chief: Joe Quesada

SYNOPSIS
While the Avengers set up a defensive perimeter around the White House to protect the Ghost Rider's last victim, Vice-President Robert Blackthorne, the VP is having a secret meeting inside with his master, Mephisto.  Blackthorne makes another deal with Mephisto, selling his soul for the power to defeat the Ghost Rider.  Atop the White House, Hawkeye and the Punisher have a conversation about whether the Ghost Rider is a mutant or a demon, as they've been told.  When Hawkeye asks Castle about the "message" passed along to him by the Rider, Frank merely replies that it was "something that warmed my heart".  Hawkeye tells Punisher that he used to have a tracking implant inside him until he was trained to submit to SHIELD.  

While Mephisto transforms Blackthorne, Johnny Blaze approaches the White House fence and starts his own transformation.  Outside the White House, Tyrone Cash arrives to join Black Widow and War Machine.  Suddenly, a second Ghost Rider with flaming horns, a transformed Blackthorne, comes crashing out of the building behind them, with Black Widow hitching a ride on the back of his motorcycle as he rides away.  Blackthorne easily defeats Widow, Cash, and War Machine, but is stopped from killing them by the newly-arrived Johnny Blaze.  Punisher and the rest of the SHIELD force arrive to find two Ghost Riders fighting it out.  Blaze gets the upper hand and tells Blackthorne that he's been waiting 20 years for revenge, and he hasn't got a prayer.

ANNOTATIONS
Though the cover says "Ultimate Avengers 2 # 5", the indicia labels it as "Ultimate Avengers # 11".

Though never given a code-name, it can be assumed that Robert Blackthorne is transformed into the Ultimate Universe version of Vengeance.

REVIEW
"Crime and Punishment" stomps into its third act by offering up a twist in the plot and even more horrid, unlikable characters.

I think I would like this series a lot more if the Avengers weren't in it.  Millar's characters in the original Ultimates were egotistical and a trifle unbalanced, but they had other facets of their characters that made them interesting to read about.  Captain America wasn't just a jarhead with a 1940s bias, he had a sadness that made his jingoism seem understandable, if unwanted.  These Avengers, however, are just total assholes.  Even Hawkeye, the least offensive member of the team, comes across as every bad anti-hero cliche shoved into one purple-clad guy.  The Punisher is a neutered whiner, Black Widow and War Machine are sadistic ciphers that spout one-liners in place of characterization, and don't get me started on Tyrone Cash.

The Ultimate Universe was a bleak place full of the worst aspects of humanity, a worldview created mainly through Mark Millar's writing (though Bendis has his roll in it, too).  So it makes sense that in this warped mirror version of not just the Marvel Universe but our real world as well the Vice-President of the United States is a Satanist and murderer.  It's not enough that the politicians are corrupt, they have to be in conspiracy with the actual Devil to be considered evil.  That actually makes me think of another facet to my point above about the Avengers in this series, they're nothing but stooges of a Satanic politician, and they're the titular heroes.  Going back to the character of Robert Blackthorne, this is a world where the second most powerful man in America gets turned into an "evil" version of Ghost Rider, complete with spinal cord whip and flaming devil horns.  If that doesn't give you an idea of how Millar might view the United States, nothing will.

The two characters that actually work in this series are Johnny Blaze and Mephisto/Satan (he's never named in the story, but the recap page calls him Mephisto).  Blaze is sympathetic, justified in his actions, and god damn if we don't want to see him win.  He may be a tool of the Devil as much as the other characters, but he's a far more understandable and even likable protagonist than the Avengers, who are as ineffectual in battle as they are unappealing to read about.  Mephisto, on the other hand, is so cartoonishly evil that he swings back around to being awesome.  He's a villain who orchestrated multiple murders over a twenty year span of time just so at the end he could make two Ghost Riders punch each other to death.  That's amazing; it doesn't make much sense, granted, but it's amazing nonetheless. 

What's also amazing is the artwork by Leinil Yu, assisted by inker Gary Alanguilan and colorist Dave McCaig, which just leaps off the page.  Yu has always been one that struggles with coherent fight sequences, with character choreography coming off as stiff and awkward, and that continues with this series.  He takes shortcuts with his art, particularly in long shots of characters, where details are left in on a minimal level (such as Ghost Rider's chains just being dash marks).  Still, though, his Ghost Rider looks incredible, and the book is elevated in quality every time that character is one panel.  I'm not as much a fan of his design for Vengeance (Blackthorne, never named as such, but c'mon...), with the red jumpsuit covered in spikes and the giant horns made of fire.  I get that it's supposed to be an over-the-top evil version of Ghost Rider, but it looks kinda ridiculous.

This series has one issue left to convince me that the Avengers are actually worth reading about, but I'm still eagerly anticipating the end of Johnny Blaze's story.  Weird how the comic can induce polar opposite opinions.

Grade: B-

Ultimate Avengers 2 (2010) # 4

Cover Artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Published: Sept. 2010
Original Price: $3.99

Title: "Crime & Punishment", Part 4
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Inker: Gerry Alanguilan
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Colorist: Dave McCaig
Assistant Editor: Sana Amanat
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor-In-Chief: Joe Quesada

SYNOPSIS
Having halted the Ghost Rider's escape with billionaire Bill Warren from Chicago's O'Hare Airport, Hawkeye sends the Punisher in to finish the job. Using his new Stark Industries suit, Castle quickly catches up to the Rider and attacks, hitting him several times before firing his weapon point blank. The attack does nothing to the Ghost Rider, who incapacitates Punisher with a chain strike that splits open his suit. However, when he sees the cross hanging from Castle's neck, the Ghost Rider throws him to the ground and delivers Castle a message from "the other side". Later, Castle returns badly injured to the rest of the team, having failed to stop the Rider from crucifying Warren on a tree. Castle tells him that while he has no idea who the Ghost Rider is, he doesn't think he's a mutant. Meanwhile, back at the airport a mysterious man with white and red hair finishes a crossword puzzle with the word "crucified".

Much later, at the New York headquarters of the Ultimates, the Triskelion, Nick Fury and Gregory Stark inform Ultimates director Carol Danvers that they will be using the base until the Ghost Rider situation has been resolved. While they're there, they plan on using the Spider (a psychic prisoner dressed in a Spider-Man costume) for information. The Spider's interrogation is being handled by the "Nerd Hulk", a clone of Bruce Banner, and Monica Chang, the newest Black Widow and Nick Fury's ex-wife. In order to gain the Spider's help, Chang tells him about her relationship with Fury and how he slept with every female friend and family she had, and how despite all of that she's still in love with him. Satisfied, the Spider tells Black Widow the story of a biker named Johnny Blaze and his fiance Roxanne Simpson. Twenty years ago, Blaze and Roxanne were murdered by a group of bikers as a sacrifice to Satan, led by a man named Bobby Blackthorne. The rich men that have been the Ghost Rider's victims were these bikers, granted power and wealth by their deal with the Devil. The Spider explains that Satan offered Blaze a deal as well, a chance for revenge, and spent twenty years turning him into the Ghost Rider. In return for Blaze's servitude, Satan resurrected Roxanne, who now lives a normal life in Illinois. Only two of the bikers remain, one of which has just slit his wrists in a bathtub moments before James Rhodes and Tyrone Case could get to him. The last, Robert Blackthorne, is now the Vice-President of the United States, the man who gave the Presidential kill order for the Ghost Rider to the Avengers.

ANNOTATIONS
Though the cover says "Ultimate Avengers 2 # 4", the indicia labels it as "Ultimate Avengers # 10".

The Punisher's message from the Ghost Rider is revealed at the end of Ultimate Avengers 2 # 6.

REVIEW
Ultimate Ghost Rider gets an origin story in an issue that's one big info-dump with some breathtaking artwork.

The two big additions to Mark Millar's Ultimate Avengers series for this arc have been the Punisher and Ghost Rider, and while one gets handled appallingly bad the other comes out with a rather intriguing origin. Frank Castle is here for the obvious parallels between his origin and the Ghost Rider's, the loss of their loved ones driving them to extreme acts in the name of revenge (punishment? vengeance? pick one, I suppose). However, in order to force the Punisher to fit into this series, Millar has taken away everything interesting about the character. Frank Castle as a Captain America stand-in, complete with super-soldier suits and big sci-fi guns (not to mention that stupid costume design with the mask and glasses), just doesn't work. It makes the character look ridiculous, visually and as a character, and it really is a case of pounding a square peg into a round hole.

Ghost Rider, thankfully, gets much better treatment, not so much changed as streamlined down to a core idea: selling your soul for revenge, no matter what the cost to yourself. I like the idea that Satan set everything up, manipulating each event to get what he wanted even though it took twenty years to come to fruition. Blaze sold his soul to get revenge on Blackthorne and his gang, when it was Satan who orchestrated it all. Not too shabby on the plotting, Mr. Millar. Unfortunately, the very cool origin sequence is handled in such an oblivious manner, spelled out to not only the readers but the characters by a deus ex machina. I don't remember what the deal was with the Spider (I think he wound up being just some Korean guy with psychic powers?), or why he felt the need to dress like a zombie Spider-Man, but having him spell things out for the Avengers looked like a writer in desperate need of exposition but no organic way to make it happen. How would even a psychic know about events that transpired in Hell? Whose mind did he read to make these connections? It bothers me, it's weak and uninspired writing. Thankfully, the treatment of Ghost Rider and Johnny Blaze is very strong, otherwise this issue would be a waste of pages.

The huge saving grace for this series is the art team of Leinil Yu, Gary Alanguilan, and Dave McCaig. Yes, my usual problems with Yu's artwork are still there, specifically the stiff characters and poorly laid-out action sequences. When Yu gets to just draw the Ghost Rider, however, something truly awesome takes place. I LOVE this rendition of the Rider, from the way the flames are shaped to the way his bike looks, to the colors used on him. He looks incredible, and I can happily suffer through the shaky storytelling to get images like pages 18 and 19.

This is a strange series to review, because there's as many positive elements as there are negative. The artwork truly is the selling point, though, and I recommend it for that alone.

Grade: B+

The Ghost Rider (1967) # 2

Cover Artist: Dick Ayers
Published: April 1967
Original Price: $.12

Title: "The Macabre Menace of the Tarantula!"
Writer: Gary Friedrich
Artist: Dick Ayers
Inker: Vince Colletta
Letterer: Artie Simek
Colorist: None Credited
Editor: Stan Lee

SYNOPSIS
The Ghost Rider halts a group of rustlers from stealing a herd of cattle from some ranchers, then returns to his mountain hideout. Waiting for him is young Jamie Jacobs, the only person that knows the Ghost Rider is really school teacher Carter Slade. The Rider takes the opportunity to show Jacobs how he accomplishes his "supernatural" feats, using his blackout cape and a lantern that projects a ghostly image of himself. Meanwhile, the cattle rustlers return to their shack to find a masked man with a bullwhip named the Tarantula waiting for them. He shows off his prowess with the whip and declares himself the gang's leader, determined to prove that the Ghost Rider is merely a man and not a spirit.

The next morning, Slade and Jacobs are supervising the construction of the new schoolhouse. Ben Brooks and his sister Natalie talk to Slade about the Ghost Rider, with Ben convinced that the vigilante is really a villain that should be stopped. Natalie introduces Slade to her fiance, Clay Rider. That night, the Tarantula and his men ride into town and demand $100 a month from each settler, for "protection". Slade watches from the crowd while Tarantula leaves, saying he'll be back at sundown tomorrow. Ben Brooks is the only man who disagrees with paying the Tarantula, the other townspeople all afraid of their families being harmed. The following day, Slade falls from the roof of the schoolhouse and winds up in a hospital bed, though not seriously harmed (and given a good alibi for when the Ghost Rider shows up that night).

The Tarantula and his men return that night, and only Ben Brooks stands up to him. Before they can seriously harm Brooks the Ghost Rider appears and frightens away the gang of outlaws. The Tarantula is still convinced that the Rider is merely a man, not falling for any of the faux supernatural tricks the hero employs. When the Ghost Rider breaks the villain's bullwhip, however, the Tarantula grabs Natalie and threatens her life. Slade uses his black lariat to snare Natalie and lift her to safety, making it appear that he is using ghostly powers to make her fly into the air. While the Ghost Rider rescues Natalie, a frightened Tarantula escapes into the night. Ghost Rider leaves as well, returning to his hideout, while the townspeople convince Ben Brooks to become the sheriff of Bison Bend. Ben accepts and declares that he will bring the Ghost Rider in to face justice.

ANNOTATIONS 
The Tarantula is revealed to be Clay Riley, Natalie's fiancé introduced this issue (as Clay "Rider"), in Western Gunfighters # 2. Riley appears as the Tarantula next in Ghost Rider (1973) # 50.

Carter Slade last appeared (as the Phantom Rider) in The Original Ghost Rider (1992) # 20. 

This issue was reprinted in Night Rider # 2, where all instances of Ghost Rider's name were changed to "Night Rider" following the debut of Johnny Blaze.

REVIEW
The Ghost Rider fights his first proper villain in a second issue that's far superior to the previous debut.

With the origin story mercifully out of the way, the only exposition left for Friedrich and Ayers to give concerns the Ghost Rider's "powers" and how they work. They really hammer home that Slade's spook act is just that, an act, and it likely informed a lot of how Friedrich wrote the early Blaze stories where Johnny was pretending to be a for-real demon to scare his enemies. Of course, Johnny actually WAS a for-real demon with for-real demonic powers, and ol' Carter Slade is just a cowboy with spooky gimmicks.

This issue's plot is much tighter and works so much better than the mess from the first issue. We start off with the explanation of Slade's tricks, then get to see him implement each of them in turn when he fights the Tarantula. Sure, the Ghost Rider's "blackout cape" and "lantern projector" don't make a lick of scientific sense, and it definitely smacks of more stuff liberally stolen from the Rex Fury version, but it all works out in the end. The ghost shtick was the one thing Slade had to set him apart from all of the other Western heroes with books during this time, and gives the book a unique feel.

The Tarantula pretty much became Slade's default nemesis, as he's the only antagonist to make multiple appearances in the series and is the villain that appears during Johnny Blaze's trip to the past in the early 1980s. He's not much more than a "master criminal" with a mask, a gimmick, and a horrible Spanish accent, but I don't know. I kinda dig the Tarantula, if only for the fact that he's SO DEAD CERTAIN that the Ghost Rider is actually a man instead of a ghost. Granted, he's absolutely right, but with all of the evidence mounting against his theory while Carter uses every trick in his repertoire his maddening determination is actually endearing. Of course, the Tarantula is just Marvel trying to inject its superhero/supervillain formula onto a Western series, and most of the time that ended with failure (see all of the costumed nutbags that showed up in the pages of Kid Colt and Two-Gun Kid's comics around this time).

Dick Ayers turns in another yeoman art job that's once again marred by Vince Colletta's rough finishes. Still, the art looks miles better than it did in the first issue, perhaps Colletta had more time to work on this one than he did the one before? The Tarantula doesn't have the most gracious outfit, considering its colored plum purple, but Ayers works wonders with the Ghost Rider himself. That stark white outfit played against the black background is striking, and it really helps to sell the "vanishing body part" tricks.

I actually really enjoyed this issue, though keep in mind that it's definitely a product of its time.

Grade: B+

Ultimate Avengers 2 (2010) # 3

Cover Artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Published: Aug. 2010
Original Price: $3.99

Title: "Crime & Punishment", Part 3
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Inker: Gerry Alanguilan
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Colorist: Dave McCaig
Assistant Editor: Sana Amanat
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor-In-Chief: Joe Quesada

SYNOPSIS
Nick Fury has assembled his team of Avengers, including the "first Hulk" Tyrone Cash and the Punisher, and is going over the details of their target: a flaming-skulled biker who has graphically murdered a philanthropist, a software billionaire, and an oil magnate. Fury has no idea who the killer is working for but they believe he is a genetically altered mutant, and the White House has issued an execution order. When Frank Castle refuses to participate, Black Widow electrocutes him by triggering a neural implant hidden inside his head. This convinces Castle to stay in line as part of the team.

Later, at the estate of the deceased oil magnate, James Rhodes and Tyrone Cash are investigating the corpse, which has been petrified by the Ghost Rider's Penance Stare. They learn that the only connection between the victims is that all of them were in the White House Biker Corps, an exclusive club where rich guys meet up for a charity bike ride. They also find one survivor at the magnate's house, a personal assistant wearing a holy cross around his neck.

At Chicago O'Hare Airport, a white-haired man is working a crossword puzzle with the descriptions of the murdered victims written in the puzzle spaces. Outside on the airfield, Hawkeye leads a SHIELD squad with the Punisher, waiting for another member of the Biker Corps to arrive, a property tycoon named Mr. Warren. As the plane begins the land, the Ghost Rider drives up the field and jumps his bike through the plane itself, grabbing Warren as he blasts through. The plane explodes while the Rider lands on the ground and speeds off with Warren. Hawkeye pulls out a rocket launcher and fires it at the escaping Ghost Rider, blasting the creature off of his bike. Hawkeye, Punisher, and SHIELD then move in to capture their target.

ANNOTATIONS
Though the cover says "Ultimate Avengers 2 # 3", the indicia labels it as "Ultimate Avengers # 9".

REVIEW
Following his last page appearance in the previous issue, Ultimate Ghost Rider finally makes his presence known three issues into the mini-series. The story is still taking its sweet time, but an absolutely fantastic artistic turn saves the day.

Seriously, Leinil Yu's version of Ghost Rider looks absolutely amazing. I've never really been a huge fan of Yu's work in the past; I've always felt that his art was too stiff and unnatural, his action sequences are difficult to follow, and his sketchy style clashes badly with some of the titles he's worked on. He's not a guy I associate with big, superhero stuff, which is of course why he's spent the better part of this decade drawing stuff like New Avengers and Secret Invasion. It's an ill fit for him, at least in my opinion. Even some of his work on this issue, particularly when its just people standing around talking, looks stiff and awkward. But his Ghost Rider looks great, mainly because this scratchy, unnatural approach works nicely for the character. In particular, he makes the flame look alive instead of just a static image, which is an important thing to get right when drawing Ghost Rider. I even love his design for the Rider's motorcycle, which looks like its been carved out of pieces of jagged metal. Dave McCaig's colors are an important piece of what makes the artwork pop as well, how he makes the Ghost Rider's skull look lit-up through the flames. The eye and nose sockets aren't the traditional deep black, they're back-lit and it looks great.

As for the writing, well, that's another story. I'm honestly surprised that it's taken this long for us to get an Ultimate Ghost Rider story considering what a big fan Mark Millar is of the character. I remember reading interviews with Millar from the early 2000s where he'd frequently name-drop Ghost Rider as one of his dream projects. So while I may have a lot of issues with Millar's work, I can't fault him for being a Ghost Rider fan. I even quite like his interpretation of the character, which I assume is his distilled take on what works for him about GR. The Ultimate universe gives him the opportunity to write HIS version of Ghost Rider without the worries of continuity, and since Millar's use of continuity has never been one of his writing strengths I think this was the best place to let him work. This take on Ghost Rider is handled fairly well as an otherworldly creature that no one can quite believe exists. Fury and SHIELD just assume he's a mutant and act accordingly, while the readers know the real score, letting us see things unfold from a perspective different from the characters.

There are still some problems with the non-Rider parts of the issue, and they're the fairly standard issues I always have with Millar's writing. There's the typical amount of cynicism and paranoid "edginess" to the dialogue (for example, Fury's "...the greatest crime of all...it murdered some rich people") that always grates on my nerves. I'm not against taking a cynical approach to class warfare, but Millar taps into that well WAY too often for it to be shocking anymore. Tyrone Cash is still a walking cliche of an English gangsta and Frank Castle is handled appallingly bad. Seriously, Ultimate Punisher whines and complains like an old woman through most of this issue, and seeing him get punked twice by this new Black Widow is just embarrassing.

So, yeah, this is a Mark Millar comic, so most people will already have their opinion on it whether they've read it or not. But if you're coming into this series just as a Ghost Rider fan, I don't think you'll be too disappointed.

Grade: B-

Ultimate Avengers 2 (2010) # 2

Cover Artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Published: July 2010
Original Price: $3.99

Title: "Crime & Punishment", Part 2
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Inker: Gerry Alanguilan
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Colorist: Laura Martin
Assistant Editor: Sana Amanat
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor-In-Chief: Joe Quesada

SYNOPSIS
In South America, a gangster drug-lord named Tyrone Cash leaves his mansion for a walk on the beach. He thinks back to sixteen years ago, when he was a crippled scientist at Oxford and first met Bruce Banner. Back on the beach, Cash meets with War Machine, who is acting as a representative of Nick Fury's Avengers squad. Rhodes shows Cash a picture of a woman and child who say they miss him very much - SHIELD knows that Cash is really Leonard Williams, Bruce Banners former mentor on the Super Soldier program in England where he first became addicted to murder and destruction, and that he now runs this country since he killed the local gang-lords. Cash attacks Rhodes and the two battle their way up the beach, eventually crashing through Cash's mansion. When he gets War Machine on the ground, Cash leaps into the air and grabs a commuter plane, which he slams into Rhodes. Rhodes tells Cash to stop, to which Tyrone replies that there's nothing they can take away from him that he cares about. Except, Rhodes replies, if he doesn't come back to America with him SHIELD will tell his family that he's still alive. Reluctantly, Cash agrees to hear War Machine's proposition.

Later, at Fury's New Jersey safehouse, the assembled Avengers (Fury, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Punisher, War Machine, and Cash) are debriefed on their next mission. The White House itself has given them a kill-order on a frightening biker called the Ghost Rider!

ANNOTATIONS
Though the cover says "Ultimate Avengers 2 # 2", the indicia labels it as "Ultimate Avengers # 8".

REVIEW
Ultimate Avengers has its second issue a row that deals with the recruitment of a new member. This time it's Tyrone Cash, an original character who is called "the first Hulk".

I really don't know what to think of Tyrone Cash, I honestly don't. What was the point of bringing this character into the cast? Even though the real Hulk is dead, Millar had just introduced the "Nerd Hulk" in the previous story-arc (in fact, almost all of the characters introduced as Avengers in the first arc have been discarded). It's almost as if Millar wanted to use Luke Cage, but was told at the last minute that he'd already introduced Cage into the Ultimate universe years before as a joke character. Cash has some interesting attributes, particularly how "going Hulk" changed him from a mild-mannered scientist to a violence-addicted killing machine that still possesses his brilliant intellect (unlike Banner's Hulk). But the guy's dialogue is so awful, with every British stereotype you can think of coming out of his mouth.

Like last issue's introduction of the Punisher, there's hardly a plot to this issue - it's nothing but a padded fight sequence, We're now two issues into this arc and the main plot hasn't even started yet, illustrating why I have such a problem with comics written for the eventual trade paperback. Why should I spend four dollars on a comic that can be read in less than a minute?

The best thing about this issue is Leinil Francis Yu's artwork, which has improved exponentially since his work on New Avengers and Secret Invasion. I can't help but think the improvement is due at least in part to Gerry Alanguilan's inking and Laura Martin's brilliant colors. The fight sequence between Cash and War Machine is illustrated well, with the actions drawn clearly and dynamically. The real money shot of the issue, of course, is the final double-page spread that introduces Ghost Rider. Yu draws an amazing interpretation of the character, and I especially love how he draws the Rider's motorcycle.

I'm eagerly anticipating the next issue, which will hopefully get the Ghost Rider plot underway after two months of stage-setting. This issue is pretty, sure, but by itself I can't help but feel a little gypped.

Grade: C+

Ultimate Avengers 2 (2010) # 1

Cover Artist: Marc Silvestri
Published: June 2010
Original Price: $3.99

Title: "Crime & Punishment", Part 1
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Inker: Gerry Alanguilan
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Colorist: Laura Martin
Assistant Editor: Sana Amanat
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor-In-Chief: Joe Quesada

SYNOPSIS
Frank Castle, the Punisher, is on a killing spree - murdering criminal after criminal over a span of two months. Most of the criminals he's killed were part of an Eastern European people-trafficking business, which is led by Joseph Petrenko, a.k.a. Russia's "Red Hammer". Unwilling to believe that his men are being killed by a lone vigilante, Petrenko is coming to America to have a sit-down with other mob bosses. Punisher raids another of Petrenko's outfits and takes one of the men to "Baby Guantanamo", his own personal torture chamber. Castle finds out everything he wants to know about the sit-down, including the time and place. Frank visits the graves of his wife and children, praying to the cross around his neck, as preparation for what he plans to do.

That night, Castle has taken the place of Petrenko's limousine driver and is ready to ambush the Russian outside his hotel. When Castle pulls out his pistol, however, Petrenko easily disarms him and slams is face into the car window. Petrenko pulls off his mask and reveals himself as actually being Captain America, who is arresting the Punisher for the murder of over two hundred people. The real Joseph Petrenko was arrested by SHIELD the moment he stepped off his plane.

Later, at SHIELD's hospital one mile beneath the Bronx, Castle is interrogated by Nick Fury and the Black Widow. When Castle asks about Petrenko, Fury tells him that the Red Hammer was sent back to Russia. That, Frank says, is the answer to their question of why the Punisher does what he does. Fury tells Castle that the only way to keep him off death row is to join his Avengers, a secret black-ops unit that handles the job the Ultimates wouldn't touch. Now they're after a Captain America of their own...and later, Castle is outfitted in a mock Captain America costume (one that incorporates his own personal skull image on the chest). Fury and Black Widow then say that War Machine is en route to meet up with the Hulk - but when Castle asks how they expect to put the Hulk on a top-secret wetworks team, Fury explains that they're not recruiting Banner. They're after Banner's mentor, the first Hulk...

ANNOTATIONS
Though he appears on the variant cover of this issue, Ghost Rider doesn't make his first appearance until the end of Ultimate Avengers 2 (2010) # 2.

This issue was released with a Ghost Rider variant cover by Marc Silvestri.

Though the cover says "Ultimate Avengers 2 # 1", the indicia labels it as "Ultimate Avengers # 7". 

Cover Artist: Leinil Francis Yu
REVIEW
This second story-arc of Ultimate Avengers not only introduces Ghost Rider to the Ultimate universe, it also gives Mark Millar his long-standing wish to write the Spirit of Vengeance. Unfortunately, neither of those things happen in this issue, which is taken up totally by the Punisher's recruitment to the squad.

Mark Millar is a writer that I usually avoid, for the reason that I find his over-the-top, shock tactic writing to be the opposite of what I consider good storytelling. That being said, though, I was a big fan of his and Brian Hitch's Ultimates series. I can't really offer up a reason for liking it, other than being impressed by Hitch's highly-detailed artwork, but it nevertheless has been the only Millar project that I've enjoyed on any level. Due to those fond memories of the Ultimates, I picked up the first story-arc of his Ultimate Avengers series and was pleasantly surprised by the story that Millar and Carlos Pacheco produced. I don't know if I would have stuck with the series, however, until I learned that Ghost Rider was to be the villain of the next arc.

I'm honestly surprised that it has taken this long for Ghost Rider to be introduced in the Ultimate universe when seemingly every other Marvel character had already been farmed out. I wasn't surprised that Millar was the writer responsible for Ghost Rider's introduction, though, as the writer has expressed his love of the character in numerous interviews. In fact, every time the Ghost Rider series has been relaunched I expected Millar's name to be attached. So I am curious to see what Millar does with the character.

This issue is more concerned with the Punisher, who seems to be the exact same character as his normal Marvel Universe counterpart. I question the logic behind this, I mean what's the point of having an Ultimate Punisher if there's no difference between him and the MU version? There's not much going on plot-wise here, as most of the pages are given over to the Punisher's murder spree. I see the Ultimate books are still heavily padding issues for the eventual trade paperback, which was a policy I hoped I'd seen the last of.

This does give artist Leinil Yu the opportunity to show off. I've never really been impressed with Yu's work; I've found his art to be boring at the best of times and flat-out ugly at the worst. I'm not sure if it's the presence of inker Gerry Alanguilan or something else entirely, but Yu's art seems much tighter and straight-forward than normal. I like this change in style and I hope he continues with it. I couldn't help but laugh, though, at his "Captain Punisher" design. If the point was to keep people from knowing the Punisher is an Avenger, why did they put a huge honkin' skull on his chest?

If it wasn't packaged for the trade, I'd believe this issue was intended as a stand-alone interlude story. It's decent enough for a Punisher story, but I'm looking forward to Ghost Rider's appearance much more than I was Castle's.

Grade: B