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.
I don’t about anyone else, but I definitely enjoyed the brief series that was Over the Edge. I didn’t buy every single issue, but the ones I did have I liked. I also liked how each issue was split, one has was the Over the Edge issue, then when you flipped it to the other side, it was an issue of Professor X & the X-Men, which was basically a modern retelling of old X-Men stories, which lasted a little longer than this one did. I also liked the artist here, Robert Brown, even though he wasn’t hiding his Todd McFarlane influence. Like a lot! Not sure if it was intentional due to suggestions by his Marvel editors or just his own style back then.
ReplyDeleteIt’s been a long time since I’ve kept up on Danny’s ex, but it was probably a combination of her being more devoted to her cop buddies and however her & Danny broke up that was the reason why she wasn’t always pleasant to him. I know #50 & the aftermath of that anniversary issue added tension to their relationship because GR was Hunted by the cops for accidentally killing a cop or something like that, I can’t remember.