The latest volume of Ghost Rider by writer Benjamin Percy concluded the limited series Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance,a wild mini with a story that showed The Hood getting a hold of the demon Zarathos and robbing Johnny Blaze of his powers, but both had to sacrifice to restore the status quo. Percy set up a solid conclusion to his run, and now writer Sabir Pirzada and artist Sean Damien Hill will pick up the legend and legacy of Ghost Rider in this new five-issue limited series. What is in store for readers in this adventure?
Marvel Comics
This issue involves a lot of setup. The Ghost Rider action you see is captured entirely in our preview. So get ready to be re-introduced to Vengeance, as he will be the main character in this issue and probably the antagonist for the Riders. The last time we saw Vengeance was back in 2020 with his Return of Vengeance one-shot. One of the problems I had with that comic was Vengeance returned to do…what, exactly? Sabir Pirzada might have quite a story for us using Vengeance’s character and an answer to that question. I liked his hook in this issue, where the man and demon separated and tried to find each other.
Marvel Comics
The comic’s central portion focuses on Vengeance’s remains and how it has found a sad fate, from scaring people with past sins to life as a scarecrow. The idea is excellent and a bit comical, but the way Vengeance returns is caused by teenagers and their anger, which is slightly deflating. Yet, it does work in the latter half to explain why Vengeance must step up his game to survive. The art by Sean Damien Hill and the colors by Andrew Dalhouse help to make those moments thrilling, with their visuals giving a slight boost of interest in this issue.
The issue is a bit hollow, just like Vengeance is right now. Hopefully by issue #2, we will have more of a reason for Vengeance’s need to return. There are several Spirits of Vengeance and Ghost Riders, and some attention being paid to the solicit’s call of Johnny, Danny, Robbie, Hood, and Kushala would be great, as the claim is that they are involved in this story. The editor does call out issue #52 of Ghost Rider Volume 2, so that could hold some clues worth checking out. Hopefully, this slow start will lead to bigger things as this mini-series progresses.
Spirits of Vengeance is a new series that fittingly begins its focus on the ’90s character Vengeance. What a sad fate that spirit is suffering, but what will cause his new mission, and how does it involve the Ghost Riders? Questions arise from this issue as it starts setting up the foundation for this new adventure. It also ties to the past — will they come into play in the future? The engine is restarted and warming up; hopefully, it will be a hell of a ride.
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