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| Cover Artist: Javier Saltares |
Original Price: $3.99
Title: The Last Temptation, Part 4: "Wedding of the Ghost Rider"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Javier Saltares
Inker: Mark Texeira
Letterer: Richard Starkings
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Title: "Acabado"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Javier Saltares
Inkers: Mark Texeira, Javier Saltares, & Klaus Janson
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Colorist: Tom Chu
Editor: Jeff Youngquist
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
SYNOPSIS
Dan Ketch sits on his bed and stares at his hand - it has been 33 days and counting since the brand of vengeance disappeared, 33 days and counting since he was freed from the curse of the Ghost Rider. He hears a knock on his door and answers it, finding his brother, John Blaze, standing outside his apartment. John invites himself inside and tells Dan that despite the months of searching with Jennifer Kale - who went home as well - he was unable to locate his missing children. Dan agrees to let John stay with him for a while, and the two decide to go to a bar and talk.
In Hell, Noble Kale sits on the throne and is flanked by his two brides, Pao Fu and Roxanne Simpson-Blaze/Black Rose. They are visited by three other Hell-Lords - Hela of Asgard, Pluto of Hades, and Belasco - who tell Kale that they are the only three to officially recognize him as the rightful ruler of this realm. Ghost Rider questions their offer of friendship, but Hela corrects him by saying that no friendship is offered; they just simply won't take part in the eventual destruction by the other realms. The three demons then disappear, leaving Kale, his brides, and the advisor Skritch. After Skritch explains that Satannish and Dormammu may very well attempt to overthrow him, Kale orders him to assemble the masses so he may speak to his subjects.
Back on Earth, Stacy Dolan stares at a pregnancy test in her bathroom. She shatters her mirror and collapses in tears at the realization that she's going to have a baby. At a local bar, Dan and John talk about Blaze's missing children and how he and Jennifer ran out of money. To get bus tickets home, John had to sell his motorcycle, but that doesn't mean he's given up the search. He stops suddenly and notices that the brand is missing from Dan's hand, and the younger brother happily tells John that he's free of the curse. And not only that, but he also got to speak to their mother.
In Hell's Tower, the spirit of Naomi Kale observes the gathering mass of demons below before being approached by the Ghost Rider. Transforming back into his human form, Noble speaks to Naomi about what she'll do now that her children have been freed from the curse. They're interrupted by Dante, the deceased younger brother of Noble, who tells them that he's come to take Naomi to her final resting place. Dante warns Noble to watch the darkness inside him as they fade away, leaving the Ghost Rider to ask the newly-arrived Vengeance and Doghead about their present choices. Meanwhile, on Earth, Stacy visits Dan's apartment and leaves him a letter and her set of keys - in the letter, she explains to him that she's marrying Ski and begs Dan to forgive her before writing goodbye.
In Hell, Ghost Rider and his lieutenants address the assembled masses of Hell. Noble announces himself as King, their ruler, and then grants them their freedom from Hell. All imprisoned souls will be freed to live as they please, wherever they please, with only one condition and law: do no more evil. After this is said, the angel Uriel appears and condemns Noble's actions, telling him that he cannot allow such a thing. Ghost Rider explains to Uriel that when Mephisto returns, which is inevitable, he will find his kingdom turned into a democracy where evil is outweighed by the good of its denizens' souls...and what better vengeance could he ever conceive. Uriel attempts to force Noble to rescind his decree, but the angel finds himself at the Rider's mercy. Uriel is banished from Hell from this day forward, to the cheering of the masses, and the angel disappears after being humbled. Noble then says that it's time for him leave, handing over the throne to Vengeance to rule by proxy. Doghead, Verminous Rex, and Wallow he leaves as governors to enforce the first law of doing no evil. He promises to return and then asks Roxanne to join him for unfinished business. Noble kisses Pao Fu, then he and Roxanne ride through the portal back to Earth.
In front of their apartment building, Dan helps an obviously intoxicated John down the street. Blaze is upset that he spent so much time hating their mother for leaving and has now found out that she freed them from the curse. Missing his children and wife, John says that he's totally alone now - only to see Roxanne waiting for them at the front of the building. She asks if he is John Blaze and if they are really married with children. John disbelieves this at first, claiming that Roxanne is dead, but quickly realizes that she is truly alive once again. Hearing familiar laughter, Dan looks to a rooftop and sees Noble astride his bike. Transforming into the Ghost Rider, Noble rides into the city, finally able to make a choice concerning his destiny. He is Noble Kale, the Spirit of Vengeance and the King of Hell. He is the Ghost Rider. Back on the street, Dan wonders to himself if this is the happy ending they all deserved, and catches a glimpse of Dante and Naomi waving to them before they fade away.
ANNOTATIONS
This special, also titled "Ghost Rider: Finale", finally sees print the final unpublished issue of Ghost Rider (1990), nearly a decade after the series was cancelled. It also features a reprint of Ghost Rider (1990) # 93 and the Ghost Rider/Dan Ketch entry from The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Marvel Knights special first published in 2005.
Roxanne Simpson-Blaze was killed by Hellgate in Ghost Rider (1990) # 50 and resurrected as Black Rose by Blackheart in Ghost Rider (1990) # 77. Roxanne has most recently been established as deceased once more by Lucifer in Ghost Rider (2006) # 5, and she was seen along with her children when Johnny went to Heaven in Ghost Riders: Heaven's On Fire (2009) # 6.
Noble's deceased brother, Dante, last visited the Ghost Rider in the void in Ghost Rider (1990) # 79.
Noble Kale made one prior appearance as Lord of Hell before this issue in Werewolf by Night (1997) # 6. Kale would appear one final time in Peter Parker: Spider-Man (1990) # 93, where he bonds once again with Dan Ketch. After a decade in comic limbo, Dan Ketch finally made his reappearance in Ghost Rider (2006) # 23 and his whereabouts for the last several years are revealed in Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch (2008) # 1-5.
John Blaze reappeared as the host for the Spirit of Vengeance once again in Ghost Rider (2001) # 1, and it is confirmed to be Zarathos possessing him in Ghost Rider (2011) # 4.
REVIEW
It's very appropriate that the site's 100th review is Ghost Rider: Finale, a book that finally gives fans a sense of closure for the comic series they followed for nearly a decade. You could almost hear the collective gasp and sigh of relief when Marvel released the news that this comic was finally being published...but did the end product live up to the near-mythical hype surrounding it?
Following the series' untimely cancellation and subsequent refusal to publish Ghost Rider # 94, the final issue, Ghost Rider fans were understandably at wit's end with Marvel Comics as a publishing company. While the details behind the comic's publication have been beaten to death by the online community, I find it odd that the book has finally been released at all. Of course it doesn't hurt that Marvel is trying like hell to pump out as much Ghost Rider material as possible in time for the upcoming feature film, but this still stands as a strange entry for an editorial regime that seems bound and determined to make us forget that the Dan Ketch version of the Ghost Rider ever existed. With the focus now set squarely on Johnny Blaze as the demon's host once again, this comic stands as a strange business move for the publisher.
But regardless of the reason, the release of this issue goes a long way to regain the fans that felt betrayed by the company's cancellation of the series' final issue after years of faithful purchases. Ivan Velez Jr., the writer of the series at the time of its cancellation, has since moved on to the world of independent comic production, and this issue stands as his final work for a major publisher. While many fans had their problems with Velez's run on the book, this issue finishes off the final arc of the series that was arguably the writer's best. As a final issue, it goes a long way toward wrapping up the dangling plot-lines left by the previous issue, but it still feels fairly unsatisfying for a number of reasons.
For one, many of the revelations in this story were rendered moot - if not outright disavowed - almost immediately after by editor Ralph Macchio and writer Howard Mackie in an issue of Peter Parker: Spider-Man. While that shouldn't affect one's ability to enjoy the story contained here, it does force the reader to accept things with a grain of salt when they know that none of the things finalized here have been mentioned again since the book's end. Dan Ketch is a blight on Marvel at the moment, and it remains to be seen whether or not current series writer Daniel Way will even attempt to revisit the character. Another unsatisfying aspect is that this issue, while originally intended to set forth a new status quo for the character, can by pretty boring to read in places. A lack of action doesn't necessarily make a book unreadable, but Ghost Rider as a character lives and dies by its visual appeal. What we're given for this final issue is essentially 22 pages of talking heads that are frantically trying to tie up every subplot in the allotted space, and it does come across as a little rushed.
What also seems rushed is the artwork, something that is honestly astonishing to me. Javier Saltares has had the art for this issue finished literally for years, lacking only inks and embellishments to finish things off before colors are applied. I'm assuming that the pages credited to Mark Texeira were done in 1997 before production on the comic was halted, and possibly the few pages inked by Saltares were done at the same time. The unfinished pages were completed by Klaus Janson, an inker that simply does not mesh well with Saltares' pencil work. Janson has the habit of making every artist he inks, no matter what their style is really like, look just like Klaus Janson artwork. Janson's inks really make the book spill into a nosedive in the last third of the issue, and it's a shame - I've seen Saltares' pencils for those pages, and they were gorgeous. What I fail to understand is why Janson had to be called in to begin with - both Saltares and Texeira are currently working on the new Ghost Rider series, and both recently took two issues off from the book. For internal consistency, it makes a lot more sense to have one of the two apply new inks over the unfinished pages...but who knows why this was ultimately decided other than the artists themselves? I do have to mention how good the colors look on # 94, however, especially compared to those of the reprinted issue # 93.
Of course, I say all of this with trepidation, because this is quite frankly a comic that Marvel did NOT have to publish. They did it to satisfy a fan base that felt abused by a previous editorial regime, and I have to give the current editorial staff - Joe Quesada, Tom Brevoort, Axel Alonso, Jeff Youngquist, and others I'm sure - credit for putting out a book targeted at one small section of their readership. I'm thankful to finally have this comic in my hands after so many years of talking about it, and it ultimately doesn't really matter that the hype surrounding it eclipsed the actual product.
I'm still happy nonetheless.
Grade: B
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