Cover Date: January 2024; On Sale Date: November 2023
Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson; Artist: Nic Klein; Letterer: VC's Cory Petit; Colorist: Matthew Wilson w/ Nic Klein; Editor: Will Moss; Editor in Chief: C.B. Cebulski; Cover Artist: Nic Klein
A migrant work camp in Texas is attacked by a creature that kills one of the residents, while a young boy named Leo watches as a World War II motorcycle owned his "Uncle Sal" catches on fire. One month later, Bruce Banner and his companion Charlie are hitchhiking across Texas when they are picked up by a passerby who offers them help. They take Banner and Charlie to the migrant camp and are told that it's not safe to sleep outside the camp at night. Banner excuses himself from the camp anyway to keep the people safe. While Leo tells Charlie about his Uncle Sal, who he describes as an angel that rides the antique motorcycle to fight the monsters, Banner transforms into the Hulk. Sal's motorcycle flames to life and the Hulk is attacked by a Ghost Rider wearing World War II combat fatigues and carrying a hellfire machine gun.
While the Hulk and Ghost Rider fight, the residents of the camp explain to Charlie that Leo's Uncle Sal has been his guardian angel protecting him danger since he was little. The fight stops when the camp is attacked again by the War Devil creature, who is stopped from killing Charlie by the Ghost Rider. Hulk recognizes the creature as working for the Eldest, who is raising monsters across the country. Hulk kills the War Devil and the Ghost Rider fades away, leaving the empty motorcycle. The night night, the War Devil entity possesses not only a group of retired veterans but also the Hulk himself, who tells everyone to run while the other War Devils arrive on demonic horses.
While Hulk fights the possession, the psyche of Bruce Banner finds itself attacked by the War Devil inside Hulk's mind. Ghost Rider reappears and attacks the Hulk with a hellfire bazooka, which stuns him long enough for him to rescue Banner in the mental plane and regain control of his body. Ghost Rider and Hulk defeat the creatures in the camp, but their bodies merge and become a giant embodiment of the War Devil entity. Working together, the Hulk is able to use Ghost Rider's hellfire chains to decapitate the War Devil, destroying it. In the aftermath, Ghost Rider tells Hulk that he's connected to Leo to protect him, and that Hulk needs to watch out for Charlie, as she's his weak point.
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| A bump in the road. |
THE ROADMAP
Sal Romero became a Ghost Rider during an aerial attack in Nazi-occupied France in 1994, as detailed in Hellhunters (2024) # 1. How he became connected to the boy Leo in this story has yet to be revealed, though some family connection is implied.
Romero appears next in Thunderbolts: Doomstrike (2025) # 3, where he is recruited by Bucky Barnes to fight back against Doctor Doom's world takeover.
CHAIN REACTION
Yet another new Ghost Rider is introduced in this three-part Incredible Hulk storyline.
I'm honestly getting sick and tired of new Ghost Riders being introduced every year or two. For every successful or interesting variation, such as Cosmic Ghost Rider or Robbie Reyes, Marvel tosses out slop like Host Rider and Fantasma. So when I saw that yet another Spirit of Vengeance with a twist was being introduced in this series, my eyes rolled so far back in my head I could see the top of my own skull. But I have to admit, Johnson and Klein have sold me on Sal Romero, at least in the context of this storyline.
I like seeing Ghost Riders from past periods of history, which can allow a lot more personality and nuance to their characterization than just "this one rides a pogo stick or a hang glider". There have been other World War II Riders shown before, such as the tank crew during Jason Aaron's run and the attempt at retconning the Blazing Skull into a "Ghost Rider 1945". Sal Romero is much more in the classic Spirit of Vengeance motif than most new incarnations of the character; he actually rides a motorcycle, which is surprisingly refreshing, and he has some cool uses of hellfire weaponry, such as the machine gun and grenades. It also helps that the character is being introduced in what is definitely a horror-oriented approach.
I was a fan of Immortal Hulk a few years back, at least until it reached it's inexplicably baffling ending, and framing the Hulk in a horror atmosphere worked wonders for the character. I'm happy to see that approach being attempted again, albeit in a different way, by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein. I hadn't picked up any issues of this run until the Ghost Rider appearance, but it's certainly piqued my interest in where the creators are going with the overall story. The idea of the Endless being the "mother of all monsters" is interesting, though not miles away from the old concept for Lilith in the Midnight Sons days, and having characters like Ghost Rider getting roped in is appreciated.
And the artwork? Nic Klein goes hard on this, people. I wasn't familiar with his work at all, but I'd kill to see him illustrate a Ghost Rider series. The horror atmosphere is thick, the panel work is excellent - I mean, there are multiple double-page spreads of action sequences that read flawlessly - and the book just oozes with detail. The Hulk transformation in issue # 6 is appropriately grotesque and the painted work during the mindscape scenes are top notch. This creative team just kills on these issues, and the more I think about them the more impressed I am.
I do actually want to read more about Ghost Rider '44, and I think he's a welcome addition to the mythos. I'd prefer him to be just a one-and-done character for present day stories, but I would happily read more about his past adventures...what's that, you say? Hellhunters? Why yes, thank you!
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| Face full of road rash! |
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