Ever wonder what happens to the Spirit of Vengeance when looking for a new Ghost Rider host? Wonder no longer, as Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #1 shows us the transformation and transportation taking place after it exits Johnny Blaze to find someone less heroic and more willing to be a monster! It’s a transitional first issue preparing us for the brand new Ghost Rider, much more willing to do the terrible things that must be done.
This issue opens with the Ghost Rider talking directly to us via captions. On the first page, we see multiple Ghost Riders throughout the ages, but on the page turn, we see Johnny Blaze alone and unaware of what is about to happen. The Ghost Rider is done with him and leaves him in a really bad place before zipping off to find a new host.
This issue is all about finding a new host, and Percy maximizes the enjoyment with vignettes of the Ghost Rider assuming bodies. At first, we see it enter and exit all sorts of people, from kids outside a 7-11 to strippers, but it soon finds a woman in desperate need of an edge. A mother who may lose her kids is an unconventional Ghost Rider, to say the least, but it’s a fun way to show how the Spirit of Vengeance could enter any of us.
As the story progresses, the Ghost Rider is a much more powerful being on Earth and off it. It’s a clever way of zipping around the Marvel universe to give us a sense of what the spirit is after. Fans of X-Men and Thor won’t want to miss the bodies it takes over.
Bye, Felicia.
Credit: Marvel
If you read solicitations or previews, you likely already know how this issue ends, which takes some of the zip out of the reveal. The captions don’t do a lot to explain why the final host is chosen, although I suspect that’ll be for issue #2.
Danny Kim brings the heat with this issue, and I mean that figuratively and literally. Lots of fire effects look great, also aided by the colors of Bryan Valenza. Valenza gives the metal chains of Ghost Rider a nice gleam that is quite realistic and the flames look great too. There’s a lot of montaging in his issue, and Kim draws the eye well across panels as the spirit enters people and exits them. The heavier ink style reminds me of Greg Capullo in some instances, which will please fans of the ’90s. There’s also a nice variety of characters that are well-rendered.
Even if you’re not interested in the next era of Ghost Rider, longtime fans will love Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance. It features a rare moment of the spirit finding a new host, and through that experience, Percy shows us the wide variety of types the Spirit of Vengeance dabbles in before finding the ideal and new Ghost Rider.
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