Ghost Racers (2015) # 4

Cover Date: September 2015; On Sale Date: July 2015

Writer: Felipe Smith; Artist: Juan Gedeon; Letterer: VC's Cory Petit; Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain; Editor: Mark Paniccia; Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso; Cover Artist: Francesco Francavilla

Robbie Reyes watches the television in horror as he discovers that his little brother, Gabe, has been transformed into a Ghost Racer and is preparing to enter his first race.  The Spirit of Eli explains to Robbie that Gabe's Spirit of Ignition comes from their family genetics.  The race begins, and all of the assembled Ghost Racers are targeting Gabe as he tries to outrun them to the finish line.  Robbie teleports onto the track with the Battle Charger just in time to save Gabe from T-Rider Rex, which is a tyrannosaurus rex riding a flaming jet fighter.  Robbie refuses to teleport himself and his brother away, telling Eli that the only way to truly be free is to defeat Zadkiel.  Arcade releases Venus Compiler to kill the Reyes boys, and the robot biker cuts her way through the other Ghost Racers easily, forcing Robbie and Gabe to run for their lives.  While watching from above the arena, Zadkiel warns Arcade that he can no longer control Reyes or his Spirit of Ignition, so they need to finish him tonight.

Robbie grabs onto Carter Slade and has him utilize the Penance Stare, forcing Slade and the other Spirits of Ignition to free themselves from Zadkiel's control.  They work together to destroy Venus Compiler and then turn their attention toward their captors.  Zadkiel catches Gabe just before he reaches the finish line and flies with him into the air, threatening to destroy the young boy.  Eli uses his teleportation power to allow Robbie and Gabe to switch places, and Robbie sucks Zadkiel's soul into his mouth, killing the angel.  The Racers then knock Arcade out of the sky, where he's caught by a vengeful Alejandra, who makes good on her promise to rip out the villain's eyes.  Eli opens a teleportation portal, and the Ghost Racers run Arcade over as they make their way through the portal and out of the Killiseum.  United as one force, they are Ghost Racers no more...now they are Spirits of Vengeance!

Ghost Racers (2015) # 3

Cover Date: August 2015; On Sale Date: June 2015

Writer: Felipe Smith; Artist: Juan Gedeon; Letterer: VC's Cory Petit; Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain; Editor: Mark Paniccia; Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso; Cover Artist: Francesco Francavilla

Ghost Racer Robbie Reyes has disappeared from the Killiseum, teleported away by the spirit of Eli before Arcade could have him killed.  He arrives in downtown Doomstadt, and after a frantic drive into an alley Eli explains that because he's different from all of the other Spirits of Ignition he is now immune to Zadkiel's influence.  Eli transforms the Battle Charger into an innocuous car, and Robbie heads toward his apartment to pick up his little brother, Gabe, so they can leave town.

Before they get very far, Robbie and Eli are found by six other Ghost Racers that were sent out by Zadkiel to retrieve Reyes.  The other Spirits of Ignition easily destroy the Battle Charger, leaving Robbie to fight them without a vehicle.  When Eli attempts to teleport them away, Robbie transforms back into his human form and stops fighting, attempting to reason with his fellow Racers.  One of them, Carter Slade, attacks Robbie with the Penance Stare.  When the other Racers attempt to kill Robbie, however, Slade stops them.  All of them transform back into their human forms and are able to remember their lives before being enslaved to the Killiseum.  They allow Robbie to escape, and when they are called back to the Killiseum by Zadkiel they are all punished brutally for their failure.

When Robbie arrives at his apartment, he finds that Gabe is missing.  He visits Lisa, his neighbor, to ask if she's seen his brother, which she hasn't.  Robbie goes inside her apartment when he sees her television playing the Ghost Races, which has just introduced their newest Racer: Gabriel Reyes, who sits crying inside an Igniter vehicle. 

Ghost Racers (2015) # 2

Cover Date: July 2015; On Sale Date: May 2015

Writer: Felipe Smith; Artist: Juan Gedeon; Letterer: VC's Cory Petit; Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain; Editor: Mark Paniccia; Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso; Cover Artist: Francesco Francavilla

Before becoming a Ghost Racer, Robbie Reyes and his brother Gabe were living normal lives in Doomrock Heights, part of South Doomstadt.  On a particularly hot day, Robbie and Gabe are hanging out with their friends (Guero, Ernie, and Romero) when Robbie sees a pretty girl walk by.  While Robbie is talking to her, Gabe busts open a fire hydrant for everyone to use to cool off.  This brings the attention of a Sentinel, who is ready to apprehend them for vandalizing property of Doom.  Robbie takes the blame for the hydrant, and the Sentinel scans him, discovering an "Igniter Spirit" inside him.  Two Thors arrive to assist in Robbie's apprehension, while the Sentinel takes in Guero, Ernie, and Romero, leaving Gabe alone on the street. 

At Doomstadt Coliseum, Arcade and Zadkiel visit Robbie in the prison cells, addressing him as a Ghost Racer despite Robbie's protests to the contrary.  Zadkiel notes that his Spirit of Ignition is different from the others and draws its power from another source, thought Arcade doesn't care.  They leave Robbie with the other imprisoned racers: Danny Ketch, Zero Cochrane, Alejandra Jones, and Knuckles O'Shaugnessy.  Later, Robbie is taken to an armored battle charger, and when he gets in he hears a voice speaking to him inside his head; it's his igniter spirit, who calls himself Eli.  Robbie transforms into a Ghost Racer for the first time as the race begins, but he is quickly taken out while Alejandra wins.  After the race, all of the losers including Robbie are tortured by Zadkiel.  Eli talks to Robbie and makes him a deal: Robbie makes sure they never lose again and Eli will find them a way out.

In the present day, Robbie has won every Ghost Race since then, making him a celebrity in the eyes of his fans and his brother, Gabe.  Arcade, meanwhile, has bet a significant amount of money against Robbie winning the next race, and tells Zadkiel that he has to ensure Robbie's loss.  During that night's race, Robbie takes an early lead and sees a giant mutated monster on the track that he recognizes as his three friends taken by the Sentinel, merged into one creature.  Still in shock, he sees his friends killed by a missile.  Then, Venus Compiler, a robotic biker that acts as the ultimate challenge for racers, is released to catch up to Robbie, destroying other Ghost Racers in her path.  Robbie screams at Eli to get them out of there, which Eli does by opening a portal that they drive through, causing them to disappear.  Arcade is furious, saying he doesn't win his money if Reyes disappears, and demands Zadkiel send out their best Ghost Racers to find Robbie and bring him back.

Ghost Racers (2015) # 1

Cover Date: June 2015; On Sale Date: April 2015

Writer: Felipe Smith; Artist: Juan Gedeon; Letterer: VC's Cory Petit; Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain; Editor: Mark Paniccia; Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso; Cover Artist: Francesco Francavilla

At the Killiseum, the entertainment center of Battleworld, a massive crowd is in attendance for the Ghost Races.  Each attendee has their favorite racer, but the most popular by far is Robbie "the Hell-Charger" Reyes, who is preparing for the race.  The proprietor of the Killiseum, Arcade, introduces the crowd to the Spirits of Ignition, and the race begins! 

The race between the five competitors is fierce, with Alejandra "Nicaraguan Hellfire" Jones nearly winning in the last moments before being taken out.  The winner is Reyes, who comments to the spirit of Eli Morrow inside him that the race was too close and they almost lost.  While Reyes is taken to the victory podium, the losing competitors (Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch, Alejandra Jones, and Carter Slade) are all "de-spirited" and taken into custody by the Killiseum guards.  Reyes is interviewed by a reporter who comments that he now holds the record for the most victories in the Ghost Races.  Before he can comment, Danny Ketch yells to Reyes that he'll suffer for the torture that the rest of them have to endure, and that no one can escape the curse of the Ghost Racer. 

Later that night, Robbie and his younger brother Gabe are treated to VIP status at Club Jekyll & Hyde.  The two brothers watch a highlight reel of Robbie's victories in the races, with Gabe calling Robbie his hero.  Meanwhile, at the Killiseum, Arcade and his "guardian angel" Zadkiel are supervising the torture of the racers who lost.  Arcade checks in on the statistics of the night's race and comments to himself that Reyes is too good a racer, and it will make Arcade even richer if Reyes never sees the finish line again.