"Stifle."

And that's a wrap for the Collector, and some of our Spider-friends! Maybe not all of them, though. I was also kind of hoping to keep Kurt in this costume for a bit, for a change coming hopefully in August...

The Hulkiverse and the Riderverse maybe aren't in regular continuity, but also feel like just a matter of time: I know there's a bunch of Venomverse stuff already. Some of those Hulks we haven't seen here before, but I bought the new Red She-Hulk a bit ago, and still haven't opened her: I really do like the old one! This is more of a space concern, but I've also bought the last two Legends Ghost Riders that came with their bikes, and haven't opened them either. The upcoming Robbie Reyes is short his Hellcharger, which will doubtless lead to still more 'Ghost Walker' jokes; but I'm looking forward to that wave and expanding Alpha Flight.

Also, if the Riderverse included not just Ghost Riders but Kamen Riders; that'd be a bit of alright! The Masked Rider there was a recent model pick-up; although I have a Shin Kamen Rider coming. I haven't actually seen Masked Rider--I believe there was an attempt to localize it, back in the Fox Kids days, that might have gone way younger and jokier than Mighty Morphin Power Rangers shows did. That didn't really seem to stick, and Kamen Rider maybe hasn't broken big in the states, but there's been a ton of versions, and some of the costumes get way out there. 

And, it's long been established, the Hulk likes beans! Like, a lot.

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Didn't I do this already? The hell...

This had the Legacy number on the cover as well, but I did have a moment's confusion with this issue and yesterday's book; since I thought Sam was the Captain America in the Black Cat story, but this had Steve on the cover...because this was like 60-some issues prior! From 2019, Avengers #23/LEG #723, "Challenge of the Ghost Riders, Part 2: Hell Race 666" Written by Jason Aaron, art by Stefano Caselli.

"Challenge of the Ghost Riders" sounds like a great cartoon that we'll never get in this failed earth; but this issue a failed exorcism of Robbie Reyes' Hellcharger car has sent Robbie to Hell (or a hell, we've discussed this!) and the Avengers Mountain--the Celestial the team lived in now--was possessed! Daimon Hellstorm--Hellstrom?--is called in, as the demonic entity also takes over several suits of Iron Man's armor. Meanwhile, in Hell, Johnny Blaze explains to Robbie that Ghost Riders love two things: vengeance, and racing. (The mammoth-riding prehistoric Rider is shown, either setting up or tying into later Avengers of 1,000,000 B.C. stuff.) Robbie doesn't wanna, though: he was trying to get rid of the curse, and didn't want to race. Johnny was currently King of Hell, and apparently needed to get stronger to keep his hold on the throne, which meant this race: forced to stop "babying" Robbie, he threatens to take Robbie's brother for a ride, which lights a fire in Robbie...see what I did there? Well, I liked it, anyway.

Back on earth, Hellstorm realizes who the demonic entity was--one of the biggest killers the world had ever known, but not a demon--and of course is knocked out before he can say this early in the story. The race in hell goes badly for Robbie; partly because Johnny cheats and has "zombie cannons" shooting at him, but also the street-racing Hellcharger maybe wasn't the right tool for the job: as he takes a jump for the lead, Johnny yells back "...you're the cocky jackass that took a tank to a motocross race!" But, Robbie is then visited by a gaggle of Ghost Riders--a surprising number of whom wear hats, which I feel is counter-intuitive for guys with their heads on fire--who tell him he's going to have race the Ghost Rider way. I feel like that involves a lot of cackling.

At Avengers Mansion, the demonic presence appears, engulfed in flames like a Human Torch, and taking on Thor and She-Hulk, before revealing himself as...Frank Castle, Cosmic Ghost Rider! Boooooo! Absolutely hate CGR. I don't think I'd take to him even if he wasn't Frank--and honestly, he's so not Frank I still can't believe anybody thought this was a good idea. They should've gone with this guy, or better yet, brought back Ghost Rider 2099. That reveal just let the air out of the Hellcharger's tires for me. Also, while Marvel has pretty firmly established a legacy of Ghost Riders, they often seem to have trouble with what to do with more than one of them at a time? It's not quite like Green Lanterns, where even with several there you can distinguish them: put Johnny, Danny, and Robbie in the same scene and you have to be very careful with their outfits! Read more!

How is Marvel allowed to use that as a title?

From 1996, Over the Edge #4, "The Joker's Wild" Written by Bruce Sakow, pencils by Robert E. Brown, inks by Tom Palmer, Brad Vancata, Bud LaRosa, and Mike Witherby.

Hmm, sliding timeline here: this references Ghost Rider #3 from 1990, which the biker later identified as "Ralphie" claims was two years ago. He had been part of the biker gang, the Cypress Hills Jokers, but had lost his mind after Ghost Rider arrived and his friend Angel was killed by Blackout. Which of course he blames on Ghost Rider, that's how things are done in super-hero comics. Passing himself off as a faux-Ghost Rider with a skull mask (but no flames! Poor production values, Ralphie) he goes on a pretty solid rampage, starting with blowing up a good chunk of the cemetary, which injures Danny Ketch's mom in her home. (I have the feeling she got hurt a lot in that book, like worse than Aunt May!)

Ghost Rider gives chase, as do the cops, with Danny's ex-girlfriend Stacy Dolan called into action: she knew it had to be an impostor, but I'm surprised she got let in on the secret identity. The anti-Ghost Rider task force seems to have a fancy building, and new toys from S.H.I.E.L.D, including a "neutron impulse blaster." Your tax dollars at work. It's pretty clear Stacy knows Danny/Ghost Rider is innocent, but she still takes a shot at him later: either Danny was not a good boyfriend, or Stacy was all cop. The confused Ghost Rider eventually stops Ralphie, largely because he ran out of road, after a sick jump onto the ferry. Danny and Stacy later visit Ralphie in the hospital, although were they friends? Well, I suppose it's a nice thought. Read more!

More of this sounds dirtier than anything actually there...I think.

I keep grabbing random issues of Marvel Comics Presents from the quarter bins, and we saw the previous issue a couple years back, but I read the series for quite a while: I know I read all through the Black Panther serial, and that was like 25 parts? (It ended with MCP #37; and I would've kept going for the Excalibur serial, which...enh.) Picking this up, I almost thought I messed up the numbering, though. From 1993, Marvel Comics Presents #133.

In "Alone Against the Coven," a vacation isn't in the cards for Wolverine, as the Coven plans on sacrificing him to maybe bring an age of enlightenment. Or darkness. Maybe enlightened darkness? Vex, Satyr, and Fetish don't give Wolvie too much trouble, but Blood Shadow puts him down for the count; and he wakes up, manacled to a recurring foe in that book: Cyber! (Written by Dan Slott, art by Steve Lightle.) I don't know if I've ever known Cyber's origin, or if he was ever given much more characterization than "dick who's pretty cocky Wolverine can't immediately kill him."

The previous issue featured the conclusion of an Iron Fist serial, so I wasn't expecting to see another one start for him here! He's not on top of his game, but manages to step it up after his recent return from the dead. Still, coming up, a rematch with Sabretooth! Who didn't seem as ridiculously swole as he would usually be around then, this was after Jim Lee redesigned him. ("Depths of Despair, part 1 of 4: Opening Gambit" Written by Tony Matias, pencils by Fred Haynes, inks by Jeff Albrecht.)

Ghost Rider and Cage would probably agree, they don't seem like a good match; but their serial continues with "Heart and Soul, part 3 of 6: Emotional Rescue" Written by Karl Bollers, pencils by Freddy Mendez, inks by Malcolm Jones. The killer Darklove is seemingly in both of their heads; with Ghost Rider seemingly unable to change back into Danny Ketch. There's also an odd sequence where Cage is talking to the press, and a guy shoots him; seemingly just another excuse for his shirt to get shredded. Did I miss a lot in the one chapter of this I haven't read?

Lastly, it's Cloak & Dagger vs. a vampire, in "Nocturnal Cravings" (Written by Chuck Kim, pencils by Walter McDaniels, inks by Greg Adams.) The vampire pushes Cloak too far, to the point that Dagger has to defend her...why, though? She gets him to leave her to Doctor Strange--yeah, 'cause he'd done a bang-up job there--and as usual, Cloak wonders if he might go bad. Read more!

Shockin' kills me Marvel hasn't done more with this character.

I maybe bought this before, but got it with five issues of recent, modern Ghost Rider: from 2020, Ghost Rider 2099 #1, written by Ed Brisson, art by Damian Couceiro.

Part of the reason I maybe don't recollect reading this one before, is that it's mostly a reboot of the classic 1994 series, which had cyberpunk elements that were probably dated when it was on the stands, but was still a solid hook. In what used to be Detroit now stands the roads of Transverse City, which most strongly resembles the mopads from Judge Dredd. (It's a homage! Shh!) Hacker Kenshiro "Zero" Cochrane was part of street crew the Hotwire Martyrs, and what should have been a routine heist of some power cells turns out to be something else, when they find "a big, ugly droid" instead. (One member of his crew went by "2600," which is a dated reference now, by 2099 it would be like picking "Ogg" as your alias.) Said droid was the property of the D/Monix corporation, and their security specialist was getting an earful here, since Zero was his son: not any more, as he still opts to activate the truck's self-destruct. In cyberspace, Zero tries to warn his crew, but they don't get out in time, and Zero isn't able to disengage himself...

This sequence might be new, as Zero wakes up, in digital hell; but is offered an out by Blaze, "king of Ghostworks." Blaze is rocking a look close to his old mini-series, and shows Zero footage of his dad ordering his death; but he could maybe go back to earth, if he agrees to do the occasional "odd job" for Ghostworks. Zero agrees, and wakes up, in the big ugly droid; which survived the explosion untouched and was recovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on D/Monix's payroll. I don't know if the droid was always intended to have the flaming skull, or if that was an aftermarket feature added by Blaze, but Zero fights his way out, stealing a hoverbike to complete the Ghost Rider package.

Zero makes his way to his girlfriend Kylie's shop, and she's unconvinced; but the rival gang Artificial Kidz believes him. Still, they don't care, since they were also hired by D/Monix to recover the droid. Although they're easily killed, Zero realizes D/Monix was going to keep after him, unless he did something, like crash his dad's inquest: D/Monix was going to come down on him, but Zero wants that pleasure for himself. He warns D/Monix to stay off his turf, or the Ghost Rider would be back... 

We've mentioned before how Spider-Man 2099 has always maintained some visibility even when not in a comic, since the costume was often an option in video games. Ghost Rider 2099 has never been able to have that sort of tie-in with his present versions; but this maybe was an attempt for them to be more than merely tangentially related. Why Transverse City was "an ode to motivation, to technology and transportation" is a mystery to me, though. Maybe mobile domiciles, to avoid the effects of climate change, probably by causing more climate change...

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A random pickup with a variant cover, although an earlier chapter of this one is way better known: from 2019, Punisher #15 (#243), "War on the Streets, part four" Written by Matthew Rosenberg, art by Szymon Kuoranski.

Post-Secret Empire, even though Baron Zemo has like 400 soldiers (many disguised as United Nations troops) and his own Thunderbolts team, while he talks a big game, it feels like he knows he's boned, since the Punisher is coming. And somewhat surprisingly, Frank's not coming alone, as he grudgingly accepts the help largely organized by the Black Widow: Moon Knight, Night Thrasher, Ghost Rider, and Rachel Cole-Alves. (She was from the previous Punisher series--or maybe the one before it? Or before that? Marvel numbering is a nightmare.) Also, who has Ghost Rider's phone number? Or does he just show up for these things? I don't think anybody here had their own series right this minute...(At a glance, Moon Knight had an annual that same month!)

Somehow, Zemo still has Moonstone and Radioactive Man on his T-Bolts, even though Moonstone belittles him constantly, and I don't think Radioactive Man has any particular motivation to work with Zemo and/or get shot at by the Punisher. In the same vein, the Widow and Moon Knight both know Frank will inevitably go off-mission, which he does when he won't retreat from Zemo (as Citizen V) on a tank. Frank does gun down one particularly gung-ho masked type, that I think might've been the new Jigsaw? His kid or something? Ah, Frank doesn't care, neither do I.

Even though he would've been killed without his T-Bolts, Zemo still feels like they're raining on his day; so he catches Rachel to use to lure Frank into a final showdown alone. He really wants Frank dead, not for revenge or bloodlust, but just because god, Frank's a hassle. This run is probably best known for the Frank/Moon Knight "little bit" banter, but some good stuff in there. Read more!

I wasn't expecting Betty/Veronica style dating hijinks in today's book.

But, this is arguably near the peak of his popularity, before Marvel maybe started really overusing him. From 1992, Ghost Rider #22, "Death's Eyes" Written by Howard Mackie, art by Mark Texeira.

Current GR Danny Ketch has taken his predecessor Johnny Blaze's advice to heart, and is trying to use the Ghost Rider "to do some good." Most of the villains he had faced had been taken care of, except for Deathwatch, whom Danny knows is really entrepreneur Stephan Lords. Lords has a big new building downtown and allegedly does a lot of charity stuff, but also has a sub-basement full of ninjas. I am not 100% what, if anything, Deathwatch can actually do; but he kills a poorly-performing ninja and seemingly gets something out of it.

At Deathwatch's building, which has "387" on it, probably a reference Marvel's old offices at 387 Park Avenue South; Danny decides to try and get some info from a receptionist, Renee. Who's into him: he gets her number instantly, although he already had a girlfriend, cop Stacy Dolan, who pulls them over on Danny's motorcycle! That's not an abuse of power or anything, even if she doesn't ticket him or anything. Still, while Danny is able to get another date with Renee, Deathwatch's staff has noticed her talking, and some ninjas are sent to her apartment. Renee's roommate is killed, but Danny gets there in time to save her, and takes her to his friend Jack. (Russell?) But, the ninjas have followed them there, so now Renee, Jack, and Stacy are in danger. Oh, and another girl died; get in the game, Ghost Rider!

The Rider tears through the ninjas, then shrugs off Stacy's attempt to arrest him and Jack's attempt to help. Lt. Badilino arrives at the scene, somewhat steamed that Stacy 'let' him go: we'll see him again later. Ghost Rider storms the building, riding through more ninjas like they were nothing; but Deathwatch had already left. He had a life outside of Ghost Rider, other fires in the iron and so forth; and no longer had time to play with him. Deathwatch blows up the building, whatever ninjas and staff happen to be there, and buries the Rider in it! 

I thought Lords was darker-skinned, in some parts of the issue than others? It seemed a little inconsistent; but let's be honest, he's not really given the same attention Renee is.

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"Do the Disney people know about this?" Honestly, you should always be asking yourself that.

Sometimes I grab these Marvel Comics Presents as I find them, to set up posts in reserve in case I'm busy or something. This issue was thrust upon me at a toy show when I bought something else; maybe we'll see why! From 1993, Marvel Comics Presents #132.

Technically, the Ghost Rider/Cage cover is the front, since it has the barcode, right? So we start with "Heart and Soul, part 2 of 6: Love Connection" Written by Karl Bollers, pencils by Freddy Mendez, inks by Chris Ivy and Ken Branch. (I always feel like the biweekly serials burned through a lot of story titles!) This was the 90's post-Power Man & Iron Fist Cage in Chicago, where he and GR are not doing great against Darklove. Um, that's the bad guy's name. This serial may have been Cage's first run-in with the Rider, as he indicates he previously thought he was a hoax. 

 Next, Iron Fist, in "The Book of Changes, part 8 of 8: All Debts Forgotten, All Sins Forgiven." I feel like that title is longer than anything I have to say about this one? Oh, all right: this may have been trying to build a new supporting cast for Danny, as the Contemplator had been manipulating him, his Rand Corporation, and HYDRA; in an effort to get him to step up and "become the superior man" and somehow bootstrap the rest of humanity up with him. The Contemplator leaves a triangular prism with which to contact him, which I'm not sure I ever would? Little jerk...

On the flip side, yay, Steve Lightle cover and art! "Brothers in Arms, part one: Trouble in Paradise" starts yet another Wolverine serial, this time written by Dan Slott. Logan's in Hawaii, working on his game, but can't hit on this island girl yet; she's on the run from cultists and smells like Cyber! Later, with a batch called the Coven, Cyber is just as unthrilled to realize Wolvie was there, "a little piece of grit stuck between the teeth of my life!" Cyber also finds the Coven to be creepy weirdos, but work's work.

Lastly, an Iron Man short, "Novel Approach," written by Glenn Greenburg, pencils by Paris Karounos, inks by Tim Tuohy. Ol' Shellhead--in the 90's modular armor--is attacked by an armored foe calling himself "Techno-Killer." A terrible name, which also happens to be that of the latest novel of a Tom Clancy-type. What's his connection? Is he responsible? Eh, maybe? It's not the worst short I've seen in MCP, even though Techno-Killer is an awful name for a book or a villain, and his armor is a solid orange like a traffic cone.

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He was based in Montana? I call shenanigans, nothing has ever happened there...

I don't even know if Hasbro is doing more Legendary Riders figures, but I had been hoping for western themed ones, with horses. There's probably a dozen reasons not to do the Ghost Night Phantom Rider, though. Ghost Rider #50, "Manitou's Anger...Tarantula's Sting!" Written by Michael Fleisher, art by Don Perlin.

Last month, the Ghost Rider was caught in a dam explosion, and the ensuing floodwaters would wipe out a Commanche burial ground and a small town. It doesn't wash away Johnny Blaze, as he's confronted by a medicine woman, who seems to dial from old to young as she sends him back to western times, where Johnny promptly catches two arrows from the local tribe. For the first of multiple times this issue, Johnny uses his surprisingly effective stuntman training, to dismount a Commanche and then try to escape on his horse, but gets trapped in a box canyon. He is saved by the sudden appearance, as if from nowhere, of the Night Rider--that's kind of his gimmick, sure, but what was he doing out there? We then get a recap and possibly modernization (slightly, if so) of Carter Slade's origin: shot by outlaws and left for dead, saved by a medicine man who had a vision of a shooting star, that he used to trick out Carter as a masked hero. While Johnny recuperates, Carter leans into his cover story, that there's no such thing as the Night Rider, it was your imagination.

Later, when Johnny is well enough to visit the local cafe, Carter starts to ask about his odd clothes--mislettered as old there! But they're interrupted by the Tarantula and his gang blowing up the bank! (An unplanned theme this week!) The Tarantula looks like another Marvel western character, the Black Rider, except with a spider on his hat and a cat-of-nine-tails whip. Oh, and a Mexican accent that strikes me as phony. Johnny uses that stuntman training to rescue a child from a burning building in ludicriously acrobatic fashion: maybe he trained with Cirque de whatever, too.

Together Night Rider and Ghost Rider stop Tarantula, which includes foiling his on-the-fly kidnapping attempt of an Indian girl--the medicine woman from before, when she was young. Johnny warns her and the Commanche medicine man, that in a hundred years or so, some jerks were going to blow up a dam; they remedy that by sending Johnny back just before the explosion, so the Ghost Rider can stop it and hellfire-blast the perps. This is probably a time paradox, but they had magic and the Great Spirit on their side, so it's probably not jacking up the timeline.

Not only has "Phantom Rider" gone through a few names--first to differentiate him from the more popular Ghost Rider, then after somebody realized 'Night Rider' could have a very negative association in some parts of the country. No, not the one from Mad Max, that was Australia, I swear...The Phantom Rider legacy was also badly bemirched by the later version, Carter's brother Lincoln, who sexually assaulted Mockingbird There's been another Phantom Rider since, but like Hank Pym slapping Janet, the stain has stuck. Oh, and while the later versions of the Rider were more closely associated with the Initiative team for Texas, the Rangers; the original was based out of Bison Bend, Montana! Both it and the dam in this book seem to have been drawn with absolutely no reference to anything actually in Montana, a state that's only in the Marvel Database as it refers to the lariat-wielding member of the Enforcers. (He worked his way up to being the Kingpin's right hand man? I again call shenanigans.) And now I just killed a bunch of time reading about Montana's Initiative team, Freedom Force? Neat they had a seemingly reformed Equinox, since I've been a fan forever, but that's a secondhand name... Read more!

With no dialog, you would've thought that was the Punisher, wouldn't you?

For reasons I won't go into yet, I'm trying to knock a bunch of posts out in a hurry: I use my blog to get to other sites, and don't like to see it stuck on the same post for too long. So without further ado, from 1994, Ghost Rider #49, "Darkness Within" Written by Howard Mackie, pencils by Ron Garney, inks by Tom Palmer. 

This felt a lot like that Simpsons episode with the Critic, a bit of a sell-out to try and give another property a little more credibility than it probably deserved. With the Ghost Rider M.I.A, the new Vengeance is administering the street justice today, although his alter-ego Michael Badilino is starting to wonder what he's becoming. Frustrated, he decides to try and take some personal time off; which we all know isn't going to happen. Starting his vacation at the Cypress Hills cemetery probably wasn't a great choice either, but he realizes he's being watched--by the Hulk?

In classic Marvel-misunderstanding fashion, Vengeance assumes the Hulk was working for his bad guy, Hellgate--oh, come on, that's just being willfully obtuse--and starts a fight. Hulk was just kind of looking for his former FF teammate Ghost Rider, and anyway had a bachelor party to go to later, and too bad, we're doing this thing. Without looking, I'm going to say...four page fight, after the initial shot?

Oh, so close: including a surprising kick to the Hulk's crotch from Vengeance, it's four pages only if you count an interlude page with two armored goons, who actually did work for Hellgate, discussing how they have to capture Vengeance. Fearing the Hulk was going to kill their target, one of the goons takes a shot at him, while his companion yells the Hulk was "just posturing!" They nearly capture Vengeance, before the Hulk bats them over the horizon line with a lamp post; in a shot that looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again! Wait, the fight with the goons goes two more pages after that; and presumably ends with...it's not clear if the goons ran off, were beaten into compost, recanted their evil ways and joined a monastery, or what? Maybe the lamppost bit should've been later. 

Hulk and Vengeance have a pleasant chat afterwards, recapping what maybe happened to the Ghost Rider, who was currently having his skull reignited or something. Hulk asks if Vengeance wants to join him for the bachelor party, and Vengeance declines, which means he missed out on Incredible Hulk #417! His loss.

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