Ghost Rider: Vengeance Unbound

GHOST RIDER # 8 (volume 1)

SYNOPSIS
After his defeat of Aquarius, Satan himself appears before Johnny Blaze, declaring that he is tired of the stunt rider constantly defying his power. The Ghost Rider attempts to flee, but Satan blasts him to the ground with hellfire. Though he cannot claim Johnny's soul, the demon states that will make his life os painful that he will give it over of his own free will. Crumbling before the Hell-Lord's onslaught, Johnny calls out Roxanne's name. Satan gets even more angry, as the mere thought of someone pure in heart is painful to him. Satan then turns the tables, saying that while Roxanne protects Johnny, there is nothing to protect her . Blaze attempts to fight the devil, but Satan merely fades away, telling Johnny that everything he is stems from Hell itself. Moments later, dawn breaks, transforming Johnny back into his normal self. He rides away, eventually coming to the hospital that houses the injured Stuntmaster, who offers him a job as a stuntman on his television show. Johnny declines, due to his commitment to the cycle show. At that moment, Roxanne comes into the room, wrapping her arms around Blaze, telling him how worried she was about him. Johnny begins to complain about how the cycle show is on it's last leg, and the Stuntmaster tells him about a cycle race coming up that's got a huge cash prize. Before she can hear anymore, however, Roxanne is given a vision of her father burning in a lake of fire. Nearly fainting at the grusome sight, Johnny asks her why she screamed, but Roxanne lies and says it was nothing. Meanwhile, in Hell, Satan watches the scene and comments that the vision he gave the girl resulted in more than he hoped, having caused her to tell a "little white lie".

That evening, on a bridge overlooking San Francisco, Johnny and Roxanne have a long discussion about their lives. As the sun sets, however, Blaze once again falls victim to his curse, transforming into the Ghost Rider. Immediately after, a ghostly image of Crash Simpson appears, causing Roxanne to run toward it despite Johnny's warnings. Realizing too late that it's a trick of Satan's, the vision vanishes in a burst of light, taking Roxanne with it. Not sure what to do, Blaze decides to try and contact Daimon Hellstrom - the Son of Satan - for assistance.

In Hell, Roxanne appears before Satan, who tells her that he has no desire to harm her. He opens a door, revealing Crash Simpson, who is trapped in a never-ending loop of reliving the death of his wife, Mona - his own personal Hell. Roxanne faints after seeing this, forcing Satan to call forth the demon Slifer. Giving him one more chance to defeat the Ghost Rider, Satan transforms him and sends him to Earth, where as the newly-christened Inferno he appears before Blaze. Johnny avoids the demon's mystical bolts, but fails when he tries to turn the battle into a physical one. Inferno bats the Rider away, and then a wave of power begins to emit from the demon - energy of pure fear, driving the onlooking citizens to take up arms and destroy the thing they fear, namely the Ghost Rider. Johnny gets back on his hellfire-cycle and attempts to ride away, but finds himself completely boxed in by the insane crowd.

Back in Hell, Roxanne confronts Satan with the knowledge that the mysterious Messenger took her father to safety from the demon realm. Satan merely laughs at this, revealing that the Messenger was in fact him . Roxanne refuses to believe this, but Satan tells her that there is only one way he will relinquish his hold on Crash's soul. Roxanne must renounce her protection of the Ghost Rider, for while he could still fight his way free of Satan's grasp, her father could not.

ANNOTATIONS
Slifer first appeared as a servant of Roulette in Ghost Rider # 4 (vol. 1), and again as a servant of Aquarius in Ghost Rider # 7 (vol. 1).

The Stuntmaster helped the Ghost Rider, and was subsequently injured, in Ghost Rider # 7 (vol. 1). Blaze will ultimately accept the Stuntmaster's job offer to be a stuntman on his television show in Ghost Rider # 13 (vol. 1).

The "Messenger" that supposedly saved Crash Simpson from Hell, though who was secretly Satan in disguise, appeared in Marvel Spotlight # 8.

REVIEW
Writer Tony Isabella takes the first step toward resolving the long-running Satan plot with the introduction of new villain Inferno, who is...well...he's just plain ridiculous, that's what he is.

Don't get me wrong, a villain with the power to inspire irrational fear in his victims is a sound, solid idea. It was used to great effect with the Scarecrow during the 90s run of the series, not to mention the DC Comics Scarecrow, Marvel's Mr. Fear, and even the Hate-Monger to a different extent. Even the idea of upgrading supporting villain Slifer into a more formidable opponent is a good idea, taking an existing threat and boosting him up to potential A-list villainy for the hero. Hell, I even like the name Inferno!

Unfortunately, the design of the character rested in the hands of Jim Mooney. Sigh, God bless Jim Mooney, the guy was a solid superhero artist that was undeniably talented – but man was he mismatched when he pulled the Ghost Rider assignment. When it came to demons and horror, the guy just couldn't hack it. No matter how hard he tried, and the effort is obviously there on every page, the things meant to be scary and horrific just looked goofy as all get-out. You have Slifer, a pudgy demon that reminds me of George Costanza from Seinfeld, and when he gets his “upgrade” to Inferno? Orange scales, one eye, and moustache-like tentacles hanging from his face, egad. And when he uses his fear-inducing power on the crowds of people, is it really necessary to have the word "FEAR" radiating from his head? I think I can figure out what's going on without the hint, thank you very much. Mooney also gives us a design for Satan that makes me hang my head in shame. This is SATAN we're talking about, the ultimate evil! The ruler of Hell, the fallen angel that dared rebel against God himself! In my mind, Satan does not walk around with a Dracula cape, elf booties, and red underpants. Take a look at Ploog's visuals for Satan in the first few issues, that's how you draw an ominous demonic force!

Okay, I've complained about the artwork for long enough; so how's the story, you might ask? Isabella actually turns in a pretty engaging script for this one, particularly during Satan's attempt at manipulating Roxanne Simpson into revoking her protection over Johnny's soul. A specific highlight of the script is near the beginning when Satan confronts Blaze and tells him “everything you are stems from me”. Of course Satan isn't completely correct, as Blaze was a champion stunt rider with or without his supernatural power, but it still works at wearing down the already emotionally-drained Johnny Blaze.

Readers had been asking for a wrap-up of the Satan storyline for quite a while, and Isabella was moving things along to come to a resolution. But naturally, no one expected just how Isabella planned on ending this in the next issue...