Cloak and Dagger (1988) # 18

"The Heat is On..."

Cover Date: June 1991
On Sale Date: April 1991

Writer: Terry Kavanaugh
Artist: Dave Ross
Inker: Sam DeLarosa
Letterers: Brad K. Joyce
Colorist: Nel Yomtov
Editor: Danny Fingeroth
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Cover Artist: Dave Ross

Cloak, Dagger, Spider-Man, and a girl named Anna have been brought to Mephisto's dimension as part of his plot to open a doorway between Hell and Earth for his demon army.  Ghost Rider arrives, having traveled through a dimensional doorway on Earth, and Mephisto explains his plot to the heroes before the demons begin to swarm over them.  Mephisto is distracted by events elsewhere and teleports way to meet with Thanos, leaving his demons to subdue the heroes.  Ghost Rider places Anna on his motorcycle, which rides her through a portal and back to Earth, and he then turns his attention toward the demons, joining Spider-Man, Cloak, and Dagger in their fight.  When Mephisto returns he assumes a giant size and swallows Cloak and Dagger whole, while Ghost Rider rides out of Hell with Spider-Man on the back of his bike.  They manage to reach Earth, but Cloak and Dagger are spat out by Mephisto and transported somewhere else entirely.

Guardians of the Galaxy (1990) # 13

"Spirit of Vengeance"

Cover Date: June 1991
On Sale Date: April 1991

Title: "Spirit of Vengeance"
Writer: Jim Valentino
Artist: Jim Valentino
Inker: Steve Montano
Letterer: Ken Lopez
Colorist: Evelyn Stein
Editor: Craig Anderson
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Cover Artist: Jim Valentino

The 31st Century Guardians of the Galaxy are orbiting above the planet Sarka, recovering from their recent adventures and scanning for a bomb that they believe was left behind by one of their enemies.  When the bomb explodes in their ship's gymnasium, two of their members Vance Astro and Aleta are caught in the blast.  Meanwhile, on the planet's surface, an outlaw priest named Autolycus that is waging a war against the Universal Church of Truth believes that the Guardians' ship contains the Church's Black Knights.  He transforms into the Spirit of Vengeance and departs on his flying death-cycle toward the orbiting ship.

On their ship, none of the Guardians have been harmed by the explosion, but they realize that repairs will have to be made.  They track an incoming bogey from the planet and one of the Guardians, Starkhawk, goes into space to intercept the Spirit of Vengeance.  Still believing the Guardians to be members of the Universal Church, the Spirit impales Starhawk on the front of his death-cycle and leaves him to die floating in space before continuing on to the ship.  Vance Astro, who hails from Earth's 20th century, recognizes the Spirit of Vengeance as "some kind of Ghost Rider".  When they find that their ship is unable to destroy the Spirit's cycle, Aleta flies out to meet him.  She is able to convince the Spirit that the Guardians are not part of the Church he boards their ship to meet them.  The Spirit tells the Guardians that he is trying to free his planet from the the Universal Church's oppressive regime that corrupts the innocent and sends Black Knights to destroy him.  They are interrupted by the youngest member of the Guardians, a shapeshifter named Replica, who denounces the Spirit as a demonic murderer of priests that they must kill.  The Spirit, seeing the symbol of the Universal Church on Replica's necklace, believes that the Guardians were lying to him and that they all must now die at his hands.

Quasar (1989) # 22-24

"Cosmos In Collision, Parts 4-6"

Cover Date: June1991

On Sale Date: April 1991

Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Artist: Greg Capullo
Inker: Keith Williams
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Paul Becton
Editor: Howard Mackie

Managing Editor: Len Kaminski
Editor-In-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Cover Artist: Greg Capullo

Quasar is dead, his body hung on display in the home of his enemy, Maelstrom. Sensing the death of the innocent hero, Ghost Rider storms into the home and defeats Maelstrom's three followers, Helios, Phobus, and Gronk. When he reaches Quasar's body, Ghost Rider is attacked by Deathurge, a supernatural arbiter of suicide that is working with Maelstrom to destroy the universe. The battle between the two ends in a draw and Deathurge flees, allowing Ghost Rider to remove Quasar's body from its shackles.

Later, Moondragon and Quasar's two human friends, Kayla and Ken, have escaped their imprisonment in the house and come across Ghost Rider. Moondragon convinces Ghost Rider to take Kayla and Ken to safety, as they are both innocent people placed in jeopardy. Ghost Rider agrees, though reluctant to leave without first exacting vengeance for Quasar's death.

Ghost Rider (1990) # 14

"Happily Ever After?"

Cover Date: June 1991

On Sale Date: April 1991

Title: "Happily Ever After?"
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Mark Texeira
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Gregory Wright
Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco

Cover Artist: Mark Texeira

Held at gunpoint, Dan is the captive of John Blaze, who says he wants to kill Zarathos, not him. He knows Dan doesn't believe its Zarathos that's possessing him, and that he's sure he thinks the Ghost Rider is a force for good, but Blaze says he doesn't know the type of forces that the kid is playing with. The telephone in the hotel room rings, which Blaze answers in disappointment. He tells the person that he loves them, but he can't come home yet. He hangs up and tells Danny that he's risking his happiness and his family by making sure the evil of Zarathos isn't unleashed again. He says he should just kill Dan and get it over with, but he can't do it because he was a stupid kid once, too. Meanwhile, in the sewers beneath Central Park, two workers investigate a backed up sewage line that's needing cleaned. The two men discover a mountain of dead bodies, and then their flashlights blink off. The two men are then attacked by Blackout, who kills them.

Back in the hotel room, Blaze watches a news report about the police officer that the Ghost Rider was framed for killing. Following that, a report comes in about a gruesome murder in Central Park, where several people have disappeared throughout the day. Dan begins to yell that Blackout is the one killing people, and that they've got to stop him. Not wanting to listen, Blaze gags the kid again. At that moment, in Salem Fields Cemetery, Dan's motorcycle revs to life. Minutes later, the bike busts through the wall of the hotel room, and as it passes Danny it transforms him into the Ghost Rider. Blaze turns the lights off in the room, and recites a spell of binding, trapping the Rider in a pentagram. Elsewhere, in Deathwatch's Manhattan office, Blackout agrees to do a job for his former employer, but that Danny is to be left for him. When Blackout leaves, Deathwatch telephones Tyler Meagher and tells her that the bait has been set and the Ghost Rider will come to her.

At the hotel, Blaze tells the Ghost Rider about his life as the original host for Zarathos. He explains that after Zarathos and Centurious were trapped in the Soul Crystal, he married his love, Roxanne Simpson, and had two children. He bought the Quentin Carnival and the family was happy...until the Ghost Rider returned. Blaze knew he couldn't let his children grow up in a world in which the Ghost Rider ran free. He points his shotgun at the Rider, and the demon grabs the barrel of the gun. Hellfire flows from the Ghost Rider, through the gun and into Blaze, breaking the containment spell. As the Rider goes to leave, Blaze commands him to stop. He raises his shotgun and fires, blasting the biker through the window and onto the street below. John realizes that his gun shot hellfire, with which he continues to shoot the Rider, blowing large chunks out of his body. The Ghost Rider says that he is not Zarathos, and that he cannot leave his mission unfinished. Blaze prepares to finish the Rider off with a shot to the skull, but hesitates when he thinks about what will happen to Danny if he kills the demon. The Ghost Rider uses the opportunity to knock John away, and then climbs on his bike and rides away. Blaze watches the demon ride away, realizing that he now has the means to kill him.