Writer: Ed Brisson; Artist: Juan Frigeri; Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna; Colorist: Jason Keith; Editor: Jake Thomas; Senior Editor: Jordan D. White; Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski; Cover Artist: Will Sliney
Johnny Blaze rides into New York City with Mephisto in tow, only to find the city overrun with giant symbiote dragons. Blaze attempts to down one of the dragons with his Damnation Stare and manages to drive it to the ground, where it is beheaded by Danny Ketch, the newly christened Death Rider. Ketch has arrived to help alongside the Caretaker and Blackheart, who wishes to see Mephisto freed and returned to the throne of Hell. While Johnny and Danny talk about Blackheart, Mephisto takes the opportunity to try and escape. Mephisto is confronted by a group of demons possessed by symbiotes, who wish to claim the devil for themselves. Ghost Rider and his companions fight through the demons, allowing Johnny time to give one his Damnation Stare, which disrupts all of the symbiotes in the area, freeing the demons.
Blackheart opens a portal to Hell, but Johnny refuses to let Mephisto go. The Caretaker and Danny explain that Lilith is coming for the throne of Hell, and only Mephisto can stop her. Johnny finally, reluctantly agrees and allows Mephisto to return to Hell, abdicating his place on the throne. This allows Johnny, Danny, and the Caretaker to turn their attention to fighting the horde of symbiotes attacking the city.
Meanwhile, Stacy Dolan and Emma wake up in the Fadeaway Bar, released from Blackheart's corruption. In Hell, Mephisto takes his place on the throne, saying "it's good to be home".
THE ROADMAP
This issue continues from Ghost Rider (2019) # 7 and is the conclusion to writer Ed Brisson's run on the series.
Johnny Blaze claimed the throne of Hell in Damnation: Johnny Blaze - Ghost Rider (2018) # 1. Mephisto was imprisoned in the Hotel Inferno in Doctor Strange: Damnation (2018) # 4 and was freed by Blaze in Ghost Rider (2019) # 4.
Danny Ketch became Death Rider, the Spirit of Corruption, in Ghost Rider (2019) # 4.
Blackheart kidnapped Emma in Ghost Rider (2019) # 5 and Stacy Dolan in Ghost Rider (2019) # 6.
Johnny Blaze appears next in Savage Avengers (2019) # 21-22. Danny Ketch appears next in Ghost Rider (2022) # 13, where he is once again a Spirit of Vengeance.
CHAIN REACTION
Ed Brisson uses the "King in Black" crossover to bring his aborted run on Ghost Rider to a conclusion, one that is about as satisfying as one could hope for given the circumstances.
I have to say, it was a nice gift to readers for Marvel to allow Brisson the space to wrap things up with this one-shot, because a lot of titles that got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic didn't get such a courtesy. It's bittersweet, sure, given that the cancelled Ghost Rider series was a solid read that paid homage to nostalgia while making its own way forward, but at least we get a resolution to the outstanding plots that were left hanging following the abrupt end of the series.
The most pressing of those plots, naturally, was Johnny Blaze's role as the king of Hell, which gets the inevitable reset button press that most readers naturally knew would be coming eventually. I find it doubtful that Marvel had a plan for Blaze following this issue other than resetting the status quo without the whole "he's now the Devil" thing hanging over the head of any new creators down the road. Naturally, the plot gets little room to breathe through its resolution here, especially with all the talk about Lilith, who doesn't appear at all. It's also effectively the undoing of the "Damnation" event and it's consequences, with Mephisto no longer imprisoned on Earth and back in Hell where he belongs. I'm honestly surprised at how long that status quo lasted, and to no one's surprise it sees its end by way of another crossover (though one that's entirely unrelated to Mephisto or Ghost Rider or anything else in this comic).
If I'm not talking much about "King in Black", it's because there's really not much to talk about in regards to this comic. I didn't read the event at all, so I can only assume the symbiote dragons are probably a common through-line for the various crossover tie-ins. Here they're simply window dressing, an excuse to validate the existence of this comic when it's really concerned with tying up Brisson's dangling storylines. I'm okay with that, because again, at least we got that resolution at all. If we have to read about alien dragons on the story's peripherals, so be it.
Juan Frigeri also gets his resolution with the series, as he was the artist most associated with Brisson's run on the series (yes, even more so than Aaron Kuder). Frigeri essentially started his run with another Venom crossover, 2019's "Absolute Carnage: Symbiote of Vengeance" tie-in, and it's great that he gets to see the characters off along with Brisson. He has an undeniable Marvel house style to his artwork, but it fits the story well. His Mephisto is perhaps a bit too "superhero" for my tastes, I prefer a more demonic take on the character, but his Ghost Rider is pitch perfect.
So, like Danny says in the comic itself, this may not be the ending we wanted but hell, at least there IS an ending. "King in Black" be damned, this is essential reading for Ghost Rider fans even if you could care less about the wider crossover.
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