On Sale Date: November 1991
Writer: Erik Larsen
Artist: Erik Larsen
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colorist: Gregory Wright
Editor: Danny Fingeroth
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco
Cover Artist: Erik Larsen
A delirious cyborg is wreaking havoc in New York City, and both Spider-Man and Ghost Rider are attempting to stop him before more innocent people are killed by his psychotic rampage. Spider-Man attempts to talk the man out of causing more destruction, but the cyborg instead attempts to flee with his legs transforming into rockets. Ghost Rider uses his bike to catch up to the flying cyborg and attempts to use the Penance Stare on him. The cyborg, Ghost Rider, and Spider-Man all fall the buildings below, and Ghost Rider saves Spider-Man from falling off of a building. The cyborg, however, crashes into a building, which then collapses on him. The heroes, believing the cyborg to be dead, depart with Spider-Man remarking that he's going to call SHIELD to collect the body. They are both unaware that the cyborg is still alive as he digs himself free from the rubble and escapes.
Meanwhile the Sandman is about to visit a family that he's been staying with, only to see their house explode, killing them. He swears revenge on Doctor Octopus, who he believes is responsible. Meanwhile, Octopus has just received an upgrade in the form of adamantium arms that he states will make him unstoppable. Later, Sandman joins his former Sinister Six teammates (Electro, Vulture, Hobgoblin, and Mysterio) to form a revenge plan against Doctor Octopus. Sandman finds Spider-Man and tells him about the group's plans, and the hero follows the villains to a warehouse. The Sinister Five confront Doctor Octopus while Spider-Man watches from the skylight, where he sees a giant figure looming on the roof behind him.
Meanwhile the Sandman is about to visit a family that he's been staying with, only to see their house explode, killing them. He swears revenge on Doctor Octopus, who he believes is responsible. Meanwhile, Octopus has just received an upgrade in the form of adamantium arms that he states will make him unstoppable. Later, Sandman joins his former Sinister Six teammates (Electro, Vulture, Hobgoblin, and Mysterio) to form a revenge plan against Doctor Octopus. Sandman finds Spider-Man and tells him about the group's plans, and the hero follows the villains to a warehouse. The Sinister Five confront Doctor Octopus while Spider-Man watches from the skylight, where he sees a giant figure looming on the roof behind him.
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| The sky is not his natural element. |
THE ROADMAP
Ghost Rider last appeared in Sleepwalker (1991) # 11 and appears next in Spider-Man (1990) # 22.
Spider-Man and Ghost Rider met last in Ghost Rider (1990) # 16-17.
CHAIN REACTION
Spider-Man and Ghost Rider met last in Ghost Rider (1990) # 16-17.
CHAIN REACTION
Erik Larsen takes over as both writer and artist on the adjectiveless Spider-Man title and immediately fills the book with guest-stars. First up on the team-up docket is Ghost Rider!
Larsen was a logical choice to take over the reins of Spider-Man following Todd McFarlane's departure, as the series was created to be a vehicle for artists turned writers and Larsen had already followed McFarlane as the artist of Amazing Spider-Man. Larsen, like McFarlane, was an inexperienced writer when he took over the series, and hoo boy does it ever show. It's not so much that the writing in this comic is bad, because Larsen actually has a really good handle on characterization. His Spider-Man is spot-on with the quips and responsibility and his villains are all appropriately written to fit into their past characterizations. Even Ghost Rider, the guest-star du jour for this issue, is written well, and he's a character that tripped up many writers of this era. Most either make him overly violent, like McFarlane did in an earlier issue of this series, or they make him way too verbose as he monologues his way through his team-ups.
No, the problem lies in how disjointed this comic is in its plot structure, with the first half of the comic devoted to a fight scene that's totally divorced from the main plot of the arc. The cyborg that Spider-Man and Ghost Rider fight at the start of the issue does come back later in the arc, he has absolutely nothing to do with the Sinister Six. It feels like two random comics smashed together with a Mary Jane nudity subplot in the middle. That's Larsen's biggest fault with his writing here, that the events in the comic all feel divorced from one another. I guess Larsen just wanted to start his run on the title with a big action scene, but didn't have his Sinister Six in place to accommodate that yet.
When it comes to the artwork, though, Larsen is at the top of his game. He was always an artist that was pretty divisive among fans, with many not liking his thin lines and exaggerated characters. I can honestly take or leave his art, I neither love nor hate it, but it does tell the story here very well with plenty of dynamic action shots. He knows how to pace a scene to emphasize the action shots without sacrificing clarity, and his Ghost Rider looks pretty damn cool. A lot of people wrote him off as a poor man's McFarlane, but I think his storytelling skills were probably superior to Todd's.
Ghost Rider will return as a guest-star during Larsen's "Revenge of the Sinister Six" arc, but not for several issues. So we'll be skipping reviews of those, and honestly the plot for this arc is so paper thin that you can pick up any random issue and not feel lost.
Larsen was a logical choice to take over the reins of Spider-Man following Todd McFarlane's departure, as the series was created to be a vehicle for artists turned writers and Larsen had already followed McFarlane as the artist of Amazing Spider-Man. Larsen, like McFarlane, was an inexperienced writer when he took over the series, and hoo boy does it ever show. It's not so much that the writing in this comic is bad, because Larsen actually has a really good handle on characterization. His Spider-Man is spot-on with the quips and responsibility and his villains are all appropriately written to fit into their past characterizations. Even Ghost Rider, the guest-star du jour for this issue, is written well, and he's a character that tripped up many writers of this era. Most either make him overly violent, like McFarlane did in an earlier issue of this series, or they make him way too verbose as he monologues his way through his team-ups.
No, the problem lies in how disjointed this comic is in its plot structure, with the first half of the comic devoted to a fight scene that's totally divorced from the main plot of the arc. The cyborg that Spider-Man and Ghost Rider fight at the start of the issue does come back later in the arc, he has absolutely nothing to do with the Sinister Six. It feels like two random comics smashed together with a Mary Jane nudity subplot in the middle. That's Larsen's biggest fault with his writing here, that the events in the comic all feel divorced from one another. I guess Larsen just wanted to start his run on the title with a big action scene, but didn't have his Sinister Six in place to accommodate that yet.
When it comes to the artwork, though, Larsen is at the top of his game. He was always an artist that was pretty divisive among fans, with many not liking his thin lines and exaggerated characters. I can honestly take or leave his art, I neither love nor hate it, but it does tell the story here very well with plenty of dynamic action shots. He knows how to pace a scene to emphasize the action shots without sacrificing clarity, and his Ghost Rider looks pretty damn cool. A lot of people wrote him off as a poor man's McFarlane, but I think his storytelling skills were probably superior to Todd's.
Ghost Rider will return as a guest-star during Larsen's "Revenge of the Sinister Six" arc, but not for several issues. So we'll be skipping reviews of those, and honestly the plot for this arc is so paper thin that you can pick up any random issue and not feel lost.
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| Someone call Damage Control! |
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