GHOST RIDER # 46 (volume 1)
SYNOPSIS
After being beat during the first night of their competition, Johnny prepares for the second part of his stunt-cycle tournament with Flagg Fargo. The first challenge is the barrel race, which Johnny does perfectly on until the end, when he bumps one of the barrels. Fargo then goes on to win the challenge, and by the end of the second night the score has Johnny behind by over 200 points. Johnny gets riled by Fargo's constant insults and punches him. He then leaves, riding out to an all-night diner. While there, he spots one of the men responsible for the warehouse robbery he had witnessed a few nights before. He transforms into the Ghost Rider, who follows the criminal only to lose him in front of Fargo's trailer. The demon, believing that the criminal is in cahoots with Fargo, busts into the stunt rider's trailer and threatens him. The Rider leaves when Flagg professes his innocence, saying that once he gets the confession from his accomplices he shall return for vengeance.
Hours later, Johnny tries to get some sleep in preparation for the next day's competition, the last chance he has to keep his title. Unable to rest, he takes a ride on his bike, only to run across the van of the same criminals he'd pursued earlier. He transforms, and the Ghost Rider rips into the men's hideout. When he demands to know about Fargo's involvement, the men all say that the biker is honest and would never join with a bunch of crooks.
The next day, Blaze and Fargo meet for the last day of the competition. Though still 200 points behind, Johnny performs with the determination to keep his world championship. At the end of the day, the final scores are 825 to 820, in Fargo's favor. Flagg is named the new world champion stunt rider, but during the ceremony he says that what Blaze had done that day was the greatest riding he's ever seen his life. He offers the title back to Johnny, who refuses it. He says that Flagg won it fair and square, but he will be back to reclaim the title himself. Blaze retires to his room, where he despairs alone.
ANNOTATIONS
The first half of the contest between Blaze and Flagg Fargo happened in the previous issue, Ghost Rider # 45 (vol. 1).
Johnny gets his chance for a rematch against Fargo in Ghost Rider # 58 (vol. 1).
This issue is reprinted in Essential Ghost Rider vol. 2.
REVIEW
For the first time in what seems like forever, part of the status quo for Ghost Rider undergoes a change. Until now, writer Michael Fleisher seemed content with penning single-issue stories that continued the "Blaze as cursed drifter" motif established by Roger McKenzie. But with "The End of a Champion", Fleisher has taken a major step forward in the slow dismantling of Johnny Blaze's life.
By this time, Johnny has lost everything important to him in his life. Roxanne is gone, his friends and family are gone, his Cycle Show is a distant memory, and he's essentially a homeless man drifting from town to town in hopes of finding food and/or work. The Ghost Rider, having slowly emerged as a distinctly separate and malevolent entity, has ruined his life...he can't stay in one place for too long due to the Ghost Rider's rampages. The only thing Blaze had left was his standing as the world's greatest stunt cyclist...and with this story, his last refuge is taken away from him. And the saddest part is that Johnny's defeat is brought on by no one but himself.
Fleisher truly outdoes himself with the script to this issue. While Flagg Fargo is the ultimate braggart, he's not an irredeemable villain. He's honest, and even in victory offers the title to Blaze because he knows he's not really the best. Johnny, conversely, turns in one of the most depressing roles of his life. The Ghost Rider has cost him so much, and now he truly has nothing left. The final scene, with Johnny sitting alone in his room, crying to himself, is an incredibly powerful ending that really hammers home just how big a loss this was for him.
Don Perlin also shines in this issue. Johnny looks more and more downtrodden and haggard as the issue progresses, showing just how much of a toll the events of the contest are to him and his body. Until Bob Budiansky takes over a few years later, Perlin was easily the quintessential Ghost Rider artist - and this issue in particular is one of the highlights of his lengthy run.
"The End of a Champion" is an excellent story, depressing and tense from start to finish. When the end of the issue came, I found myself hoping beyond hope that Johnny would win the contest...but wisely, Fleisher has him lose, taking away that last bit of self-respect he has. Highly recommended.
Grade: A
Ghost Rider # 46 (volume 1)
Published: July 1980
Original Price: $0.40
Cover: Bob Budiansky
Title: "The End of A Champion"
Writer: Michael Fleisher
Artist: Don Perlin
Letterer: Diana Albers
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Denny O'Neil
Editor In Chief: Jim Shooter