Ghost Rider: Vengeance Unbound

MARVEL SPOTLIGHT # 12

SYNOPSIS
Locked in a cabin at the Indian reservation, a manic Daimon Hellstrom pounds on the door to his prison, promising that he can save the life of Linda Littletrees. Despite the fact that Hellstrom had told them not to release him until morning, no matter how much he pleaded, Sam Silvercloud and Snake Dance open the door and free the man, only to Daimon transformed into the Son of Satan! Garbed in a red cape, golden trident in hand and a pentagram tattooed on his chest, the demon spawn tells the indians that while by day he is the meek Hellstrom, by night he becomes his father's son, whose elemental trident can produce blasts of searing hellfire. Hellstrom demands to know Linda's whereabouts, sure that she has been possessed by his father. When the two men refuse to tell him, the Son of Satan raises his trident in the air, causing a ferocious thunderstorm. From the clouds, a mystical chariot descends, drawn by two demonic horses. Daimon jumps aboard the chariot and leaves the indians, determined to find Linda Littletrees.

Meanwhile, in the remote desert, Roxanne Simpson finds herself at the mercy of Big Daddy Dawson and his biker gang after the disappearance of Linda and the Ghost Rider. Before the men can injure the young girl, the Son of Satan appears, demanding to know where Linda and Blaze have gone. Hellstrom quickly defeats the bikers, causing them to run away without Dawson, whom the devil scion has blasted with his trident. Daimon then attacks Roxanne, demanding to know where his father has gone. She tells him that the Witch Woman disappeared with the Ghost Rider, though she doesn't know where they went. Hellstrom knows, however, and departs, abandoning Roxanne once again to the desert.

The Son of Satan makes his way to a desert plateau in the desert, in which is a cavern that doubles as a gateway to Hell itself. He descends into the netherrealm, and when he reaches his father's throne room, finds Satan and his two captives, Linda Littletrees and Johnny Blaze. Not pleased at seeing his son, Satan commands his demon hordes to destroy him, but Hellstrom fights on, destroying the demons with his power. He makes his way to a bridge high above the floor, a bridge that supports the weight of the entire roof of Hell. Daimon threatens to destroy the bridge, thusly destroying Hell, unless Satan allows him, Linda, and Blaze safe passage back to Earth. Satan agrees, realizing he has no choice, and Daimon takes the two captives back to Earth. Realizing that the sun is about to come up, and with it a reversion back to his normal self, Daimon sets down his chariot in the desert and leaves Blaze and the unconscious Linda, despite the fact that the two would most likely die. Daimon flies away, stating that their lives are of little consequence to him.

ANNOTATIONS
This issue was reprinted in The Original Ghost Rider # 10 and Essential Ghost Rider vol. 1.

Linda Littletree's possession by Satan, her kidnapping of Johnny Blaze, and Roxanne being left for Dawson's gang all happened in Ghost Rider # 2 (vol. 1).

This story takes place between Ghost Rider # 2 (vol. 1) and Ghost Rider # 3 (vol. 1), and the Son of Satan story continues in subsequent issues of Marvel Spotlight.

REVIEW
Ah, the Son of Satan...how wonderful the 1970s must have been for a book with THAT title to get a green light. Now, I'm far from being a religious person of any kind, but I can only imagine the outrage from certain groups if Marvel were to attempt to publish this title today. It is assumed that the company did have some problems even back in 1973, as the original title for this Ghost Rider spin-off was "The Mark of Satan", which was supposed to star the lord of Hell himself as the book's star. With the decision not to pursue this idea, we were given Daimon Hellstrom, the spawn of the Devil.

Though Hellstrom would turn into an excellent character through the efforts of writers like Steve Gerber, J.M. DeMatteis, and Warren Ellis, the Son of Satan's initial appearance in this issue is only mildly interesting. What made him an intriguing character here is the fact that, as a protagonist and supposed hero, he's pretty much an evil bastard in his own right. Any acts of heroism he may commit are accidental as he attempts to act against his demonic father, shown with brutal clarity when he "rescues" Roxanne Simpson from Big Daddy Dawson and his biker gang. He only temporarily saves the girl from the gang's attentions, and immediately threatens her himself when he questions her on the whereabouts of Satan. While Hellstrom's malicious nature would prove an asset to the character in his appearances years later, it doesn't serve him well here. I honestly didn't enjoy reading abut such an unlikable protagonist.

I loved the character in DeMatteis' Defenders run, and the short-lived Hellstorm series of the 1990s was one of the best Marvel horror ventures in the company's long history. This story, however, is really not good at all. Gary Friedrich's plot is filled with concepts that are quite silly, from demonic horse-drawn chariots to "netheranium" tridents and the still-insipid Big Daddy Dawson. The script did have at least one bit that I liked, though, when Daimon verbally abuses Satan by claiming that he should be more concerned with corrupting young women than the male biker that's proven to be the demon's obsession. The artwork by Herb Trimpe, an artist whose work I've never enjoyed, is also mediocre, especially considering the higher quality artists that the Ghost Rider series had employed before this.

So, while the comic is historically note-worthy for bringing us the first full appearance of Daimon Hellstrom, it's not really worth the high price tag that would most likely accompany it if one were to purchase it. Ghost Rider readers can also happily skip this issue, as Blaze only appears in a measly five panels (and not even as the Ghost Rider, an error in the art considering Blaze was in his demonic form at the end of GR # 2 and the beginning of GR # 3).

Grade: F

VENGEANCE UNBOUND
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MARVEL SPOTLIGHT # 12 SYNOPSIS Locked in a cabin at the Indian reservation, a manic Daimon Hellstrom pounds on the door to his prison, promising that he can save the life of Linda Littletrees. Despite the fact that Hellstrom had told them not to release him until morning, no matter how much he pleaded, Sam Silvercloud and Snake Dance open the door and free the man, only to Daimon transformed into the Son of Satan! Garbed in a red cape, golden trident in hand and a pentagram tattooed on his chest, the demon spawn tells the indians that while by day he is the meek Hellstrom, by night he becomes his father's son, whose elemental trident can produce blasts of searing hellfire. Hellstrom demands to know Linda's whereabouts, sure that she has been possessed by his father. When the two men refuse to tell him, the Son of Satan raises his trident in the air, causing a ferocious thunderstorm. From the clouds, a mystical chariot descends, drawn by two demonic horses. Daimon jumps aboard the chariot and leaves the indians, determined to find Linda Littletrees. Meanwhile, in the remote desert, Roxanne Simpson finds herself at the mercy of Big Daddy Dawson and his biker gang after the disappearance of Linda and the Ghost Rider. Before the men can injure the young girl, the Son of Satan appears, demanding to know where Linda and Blaze have gone. Hellstrom quickly defeats the bikers, causing them to run away without Dawson, whom the devil scion has blasted with his trident. Daimon then attacks Roxanne, demanding to know where his father has gone. She tells him that the Witch Woman disappeared with the Ghost Rider, though she doesn't know where they went. Hellstrom knows, however, and departs, abandoning Roxanne once again to the desert. The Son of Satan makes his way to a desert plateau in the desert, in which is a cavern that doubles as a gateway to Hell itself. He descends into the netherrealm, and when he reaches his father's throne room, finds Satan and his two captives, Linda Littletrees and Johnny Blaze. Not pleased at seeing his son, Satan commands his demon hordes to destroy him, but Hellstrom fights on, destroying the demons with his power. He makes his way to a bridge high above the floor, a bridge that supports the weight of the entire roof of Hell. Daimon threatens to destroy the bridge, thusly destroying Hell, unless Satan allows him, Linda, and Blaze safe passage back to Earth. Satan agrees, realizing he has no choice, and Daimon takes the two captives back to Earth. Realizing that the sun is about to come up, and with it a reversion back to his normal self, Daimon sets down his chariot in the desert and leaves Blaze and the unconscious Linda, despite the fact that the two would most likely die. Daimon flies away, stating that their lives are of little consequence to him. ANNOTATIONS This issue was reprinted in The Original Ghost Rider # 10 and Essential Ghost Rider vol. 1. Linda Littletree's possession by Satan, her kidnapping of Johnny Blaze, and Roxanne being left for Dawson's gang all happened in Ghost Rider # 2 (vol. 1). This story takes place between Ghost Rider # 2 (vol. 1) and Ghost Rider # 3 (vol. 1), and the Son of Satan story continues in subsequent issues of Marvel Spotlight. REVIEW Ah, the Son of Satan...how wonderful the 1970s must have been for a book with THAT title to get a green light. Now, I'm far from being a religious person of any kind, but I can only imagine the outrage from certain groups if Marvel were to attempt to publish this title today. It is assumed that the company did have some problems even back in 1973, as the original title for this Ghost Rider spin-off was "The Mark of Satan", which was supposed to star the lord of Hell himself as the book's star. With the decision not to pursue this idea, we were given Daimon Hellstrom, the spawn of the Devil. Though Hellstrom would turn into an excellent character through the efforts of writers like Steve Gerber, J.M. DeMatteis, and Warren Ellis, the Son of Satan's initial appearance in this issue is only mildly interesting. What made him an intriguing character here is the fact that, as a protagonist and supposed hero, he's pretty much an evil bastard in his own right. Any acts of heroism he may commit are accidental as he attempts to act against his demonic father, shown with brutal clarity when he "rescues" Roxanne Simpson from Big Daddy Dawson and his biker gang. He only temporarily saves the girl from the gang's attentions, and immediately threatens her himself when he questions her on the whereabouts of Satan. While Hellstrom's malicious nature would prove an asset to the character in his appearances years later, it doesn't serve him well here. I honestly didn't enjoy reading abut such an unlikable protagonist. I loved the character in DeMatteis' Defenders run, and the short-lived Hellstorm series of the 1990s was one of the best Marvel horror ventures in the company's long history. This story, however, is really not good at all. Gary Friedrich's plot is filled with concepts that are quite silly, from demonic horse-drawn chariots to "netheranium" tridents and the still-insipid Big Daddy Dawson. The script did have at least one bit that I liked, though, when Daimon verbally abuses Satan by claiming that he should be more concerned with corrupting young women than the male biker that's proven to be the demon's obsession. The artwork by Herb Trimpe, an artist whose work I've never enjoyed, is also mediocre, especially considering the higher quality artists that the Ghost Rider series had employed before this. So, while the comic is historically note-worthy for bringing us the first full appearance of Daimon Hellstrom, it's not really worth the high price tag that would most likely accompany it if one were to purchase it. Ghost Rider readers can also happily skip this issue, as Blaze only appears in a measly five panels (and not even as the Ghost Rider, an error in the art considering Blaze was in his demonic form at the end of GR # 2 and the beginning of GR # 3). Grade: F	Marvel Spotlight # 12 Published: Oct. 1973 Original Price: $0.20 Cover: ??? Title: "The Son of Satan!" Writer: Gary Friedrich Artist: Herb Trimpe Inker: Frank Chiaramonte Letterer: John Costanza Colorist: John Severin Editor: Roy Thomas