VENOM versus GHOST RIDER

Spirits of Venom Part 4 of 4: Last Rites (Marvel)
Where: Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #6 When: January 1993 Why: Howard Mackie How: Adam Kubert

The Story So Far...
Supernatural forces conspire in the night as New York City plays host to a bizarre gathering of occult entities! While Spider-man scrambles to protect Hobgoblin from the evil Demogoblin and Doppelganger -- the progeny of Deathwatch prepares for his resurrection below, drawing Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, and Venom!

The forces of darkness threaten to consume the heroes when they converge in the underground of Manhattan's sewers. Against overwhelming odds, the heroes prevail over endless hordes of Deathspawn, but when Venom's hatred for Spider-man gets the better of him, Ghost Rider steps into the line of fire!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Venom 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Draw 2 (Average)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Ghost Rider 6 (Generator)
Agility: Venom 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Ghost Rider 5 (Lasers)
Total: Ghost Rider 25 (Champion)

You only need to look at the character mugshots above to see the elephant in the room! Venom has two well known weaknesses - and one of them is fire!

Ghost Rider may have a burning skull for a head, but that's no ordinary flame! When Danny Ketch touched a gas cap sigil on a mystic motorcycle, he was transformed into a demonic spirit of vengeance! Among his occult arsenal of infernal powers is hellfire, which scorches the soul, but not necessarily the flesh!

Hellfire has sometimes been described as being cold upon contact, which is a simple distinction from the burning that usually sends the Venom symbiote into pained frenzy! We saw Venom go relatively unbothered by hellfire when he went up against Demogoblin in Venom: The Enemy Within #3.

If fire isn't going to send Venom running, then we can at least expect this to be a pretty even fight! We're giving Venom a slight strength advantage, as Danny Ketch was often shown to be a little weaker in practice than Johnny Blaze was.

Blaze isn't irrelevant in this encounter! The previous spirit of vengeance, now stripped of his powers save for a hellfire shotgun, is in the midst of partnering with the new Ghost Rider. He's still in the vicinity, as the trio were, until this point, part of a team-up against the deathspawn cult of Deathwatch!

Symbiote tendrils and Ghost Rider's chain roughly cancel each other out, but in close quarters, could give Venom a slight edge. If he tries to pull the rider in, however, he runs the risk of gazing into the abyss of the penance stare!

Venom is two entities in one: Eddie Brock and the alien symbiote. It's unclear how the penance stare would interact with their unique dual psyche, or if it would even matter. Venom has done terrible things, but he acts in accordance with the twisted morality of a self-proclaimed lethal protector. The symbiote found Brock praying in a church, and penance may not be something he fears!

Dan Ketch's stare proved powerful enough to overwhelm Johnny Blaze, when he served the angel Zadkiel many years after this, in Ghost Rider #29! Will it be a factor? Halloween's coming up quick! Let's see what went down!

The Tape: Ghost Rider Ranking: Venom (#67)

What Went Down...
Halted from pursuing his bitter vendetta with Spider-man; Venom turns his hatred toward the binding chains of Ghost Rider! For allowing Spider-man to escape, the spirit of vengeance who was briefly Venom's ally has earned death!

Venom leaps at Ghost Rider, extending a massive alien-enhanced arm as he does. His fist only narrowly misses its target, smashing through the sewer wall immediately behind Ghost Rider's flaming skull!

The Rider attempts to talk reason into Venom, reminding him of the true threat of Deathwatch's deathspawn, but the mutual hatred shared by Eddie Brock and his alien costume will allow nothing else! So intense is their hatred for Spider-man that they dare question the demon spirit's grasp of true vengeance!

Venom clamps his massive teeth around Ghost Rider's wrist and swings his head around to toss him across the sewer!

The throw separates Ghost Rider from his mystic chain. Venom picks it up and launches himself at the struggling spirit, flexing mighty muscle driven by a mad, misdirected lust for revenge against Spider-man!

Ghost Rider finds his back to the ground as Venom bares down over him, pulling the chain ever tighter around his neck! Venom makes a crazed vow to use his own weapon to rip his head off, if Ghost Rider insists on getting in his way.

With his head still in tact, Ghost Rider glares up at his opponent and invites him to meet the searing gaze of his penance stare!

Fire streams from Ghost Rider's eye sockets and licks at the alien costume's wide white eyes! The flame engulfs Venom as the demon challenges him to face the very pain and suffering he has inflicted upon others!

Venom is surprised to find the fire doesn't burn, but he is never the less wracked with pain! He snares and grunts, but his isn't the only discomfort! The fire begins to burn more intensely as Ghost Rider realizes Venom's alien costume is a living sentient entity! A factor that causes an unknown reaction!

An explosion of hellfire breaks the penance stare - throwing the two combatants in opposite directions!

Flames flicker across the battlefield, but only one combatant lies motionless: Ghost Rider! Venom rises to continue his misguided grudge against the demon of vengeance, but a shotgun barrel pressing against his head warrants a stay of execution. Johnny Blaze arrives just in time to stop the finishing blow!

The Hammer...
So, what have we learned today?..

Apparently if Ghost Rider tries to use the penance stare on Venom: it causes some kind of explosive feedback-loop that spares symbiote & host the full effect!

Why exactly is that? There doesn't seem to be any explanation offered here, but it might have had something to do with the alien's vast cosmic experience prior to being brought to Earth.

Two decades later, the symbiote was described as having "too much sin" in Thunderbolts (Vol.2) #23, when Johnny Blaze tried to use the penance stare on Agent Venom. The end result was similar, shorting out the Rider's powers.

Being too guilty for penance is a slightly ridiculous way of framing the unusual exception, but perhaps there's a more satisfying way of looking at it...

Spirits of Vengeance are derived from the realms of Heaven & Hell. Their penance stare weaponizes the esoteric power of an individual's sins.

High-ranking devils and demons are also frequently seen to draw their power from evil & sin. If Ghost Rider is an agent of these higher demons (or angels), unable to dominate them, it stands to reason within the internal logic of the mythology, that there is a threshold for sin being greater than Ghost Rider's ability to utilize it.

This all presumes the Venom symbiote has a staggering history of evil, which may be more difficult to accept, particularly with expansions and revisions to the symbiote backstory. Personally, I think some ambiguity is for best, so I'm happy not to go too deep into the world of "Klyntar". Not yet, at least.

It's fun to think about the chemistry of how unique characters interact, but I'm not sure this much handwringing is really necessary. Spirits of Venom is liquid 1993, crossing over two of Marvel's most visual characters, in the hands of one of their emerging popular artists. It's all about spectacle!

Adam Kubert shows moments of brilliance, leading with a full page POV from the back of Venom's throat on Page 1! You can see part of the image included above, sans credits. It's a great way to exploit Venom's ever-gaping mouth and makes for an awesome open!

Things get a little sketchy from there as the action, initiated by the end of Web of Spider-man #96, gets going, but it soon delivers another great moment. The fire pouring out of Ghost Rider and enveloping Venom [also pictured above] is an example of the really exciting, inventive layouts Kubert cranked out here!

Inker Bill Reinhold and colorist Greg Wright deserve a lot of credit for adding to the look of the issue! A lot of these early nineties Midnight Sons superhero-horror series had a similar look. It's a mistake to think of them as dark. Actually, they frequently had vivid colours and bright light reference! These were the supernatural glows that created the dark shadows people remember.

I really love the glowing purples and greens, and the way they pop against dark blues, greys, and blacks. The stories themselves could get pretty dodgy, but the finished artwork, particularly in the first couple of years, always seemed to have a high gloss that evoked a signature style and standard of quality.

All the interiors arguably pale compared to the Spirits of Venom Part 4 cover by Kubert and Ken Steacy! The image [page top] of an upside down Venom holding Ghost Rider's flaming skull in a chain was recreated in different mediums throughout the early nineties. I particularly recall a brighter version used in the first series of Marvel Flair trading cards - memorable for the thickness of their cardstock, and premium price. It sure helped mythologize the crossover!

Spirits of Venom plays up supernatural plotlines of Jason Macendale and the excised Demogoblin, creating a fairly natural crossover between the third string Spider-man series and secondary Ghost Rider title. It all feels a little gratuitous, but the concerns and motivations of the lead characters are actually pretty well represented. Even if its four issues of everyone raging incoherently through the sewers against each other, generic demons, and low rent villains.

The four-issue "event" really pales in comparison to Maximum Carnage from the same year, but it's an interesting artefact of its time, and I imagine we'll be back to pick apart some of the other conflicts that unfolded. As noted: Johnny Blaze stepped in to follow-up simmering tensions between he and Venom.

If you'd like to follow-up on more Spirits of Venom, or other stories, dive into the Secret Archive for a full index of featured fights organized by publisher, series, and issue number!

You can also find more battles by following links throughout this post, or following Secret Wars on Infinite Earths on Twitter and Facebook! Sharing and liking your favourite fights is a great way to support the site! October is Halloween, so stay tuned for more horrors!

Winner: Venom
#16 (+1) Venom (Symbiote)
#42 (+25) Venom (Eddie Brock)
#362 (-44) Ghost Rider (Dan Ketch)

HERO OF THE WEEK: GHOST RIDER (Marvel)
Real Name: Johnny Blaze
First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight #5 (August, 1972)
Fight Club Ranking: #102

Featured Fights:
- vs TRAPSTER: Marvel Team-Up #58 (Jun 1977)
- vs AVENGERS: Avengers #214 (Dec 1981)
- vs GHOST RIDER: Ghost Rider #29 (Jan 2009)

Last week we talked about the return of Hawkman, so it's with extra gusto that today's Hero of the Week puts out a plea to modern comic book writers and editors: Please! Stop the killing!

The wheel of death falls on Ghost Rider this week, who admittedly always looks a little like death warmed over, but took a fresh plunge to his demise in Doctor Strange: Damnation #3. CBR featured the "shocking" moment, where Mephisto lifted the curse that grants Johnny Blaze his infernal durability, only to push his frail mortal body from the top of a high-rise.

Even though Marvel does presently have another Ghost Rider on the books -- I don't really believe this is the end for Johnny Blaze. Which is arguably a problem unto itself. Marvel (and DC) kill their characters so routinely: death has lost all meaning. These characters are becoming meat for the grinder, and the whole place is starting to stink of decay. These stories have lost their flavor. Even the short-term thinking that a major death can spike sales is losing its power. Time to stop!

I've ignored a couple of major deaths over the last year or so of Hero of the Week entries. I'll probably be ignoring a few more. HOTW is here to be a little topical, but there's no joy in talking about superhero deaths. It's gotten tired, and there are bound to be better things to talk about -- even if it means digging deeper into the past, and forsaking the meager mistakes of the present.

Doctor Strange: Damnation might be an interesting series, but at best it's a victim of the times - because I never want to read another book -- or solicitation -- about a superhero dying. Enough. Stop screwing around. Stop selling your own death. Just tell me a fun story with an iconic character. Yeesh!

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HERO OF THE WEEK: GHOST RIDER (Marvel)
Real Name: Johnny Blaze
First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight #5 (August, 1972)
Fight Club Ranking: #99

Featured Fights:
- vs TRAPSTER: Marvel Team-Up #58 (Jun 1977)
- vs AVENGERS: Avengers #214 (Dec 1981)
- vs GHOST RIDER: Ghost Rider #29 (Jan 2009)

We've been talking a lot about Injustice 2 in this year's Hero of the Week, but we mustn't forget that there's another superhero fighting game sequel doing the promo rounds! Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite is bringing back the hyper-kinetic action Capcom is famous for, and the latest fighter confirmed in a report by Game Informer is Ghost Rider!

A game themed variant cover for Defenders #4 confirms the spirit of vengeance's return to the MVC series. He battles Darkstalkers' Lilith on the cover -- not to be mistaken with Marvel's Lilith, who caused problems for Dan Ketch and others in the Midnight Sons corner.

Through various fighting game themed HOTW entries I've talked about my preference for visually and functionally unique characters. Fire tends to be a common element in fighting games, see; Street Fighter, where a fighter's spirit often manifests in spectacular fireball attacks. Yet, Ghost Rider's flaming skull and additional gimmicks -- namely enchanted chains -- give some nice variety.

Edit: A new trailer confirms everything you'd like to see in an MVC Ghost Rider. The voice is pretty strange casting. I'm not quite sure what happened there.

The trailer also shows off another returning character from MVC3 -- the former boss level threat of Dormammu. A non-essential, but nice enough reprisal that should give Doctor Strange somebody to spar with. No real complaints, but I'm looking forward to seeing more new additions to the series!

<< Hero of the Week 08/28: Hawkman     [Home]     Hero of the Week 08/14: Domino >>

HERO OF THE WEEK: GHOST RIDER (Marvel)
Real Name: Johnny Blaze
First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight #5 (August, 1972)
Fight Club Ranking: #97

Featured Fights:
- vs TRAPSTER: Marvel Team-Up #58 (Jun 1977)
- vs AVENGERS: Avengers #214 (Dec 1981)
- vs GHOST RIDER: Ghost Rider #29 (Jan 2009)

The way I see it, Marvel Entertainment has a real bittersweet problem on its hands. They have a pretty good Ghost Rider show trapped in the body of a pretty terrible Agents of SHIELD show!

The addition of all-new Ghost Rider Robbie Reyes has been a bright spark in an otherwise abysmal run of TV; now in its fourth season. The visual alone has been a rare incentive to sit through weeks of meandering! Alas; as they stretch their plots across an entire season, and clumsily dangle Ghost Rider at every commercial break, the novelty begins to wear increasingly thin!

Fortunately for the show they still have another ace in the hole! In recent weeks, eagle-eyed (or very bored) fans have spotted one or two background elements alluding to another Ghost Rider. Carnival posters and motorcycles have built up to this week's flaming backstory cameo by: Johnny Blaze!

You can always count on the image of the Ghost Rider to provide an instant thrill. Flaming skulls and motorcycles are cool! The details of the story - a little less pleasing...

Gone is the unique Robbie Reyes origin we praised in comic books. Instead, gang violence strikes like happenstance, throwing Reyes from the driver's seat of a late night cruise with his younger brother. As he flies through the air, Reyes fears for his brother's life, praying to 'anyone who would listen' to ensure his safety. The arrival of a motorcycle signals the now crippled boy's rescue from the overturned car. The price paid by Robbie Reyes is resurrection at the hands of the Ghost Rider.

It's worth noting it's never explicitly stated that this is Johnny Blaze - a get-out-of-jail should they ever decide to do more with the character(s).

Much of the brief scene is obscured by scenery as it's told from different perspectives: an exercise in killing time (and interest). The flaming skull of the motorcyclist is only on screen for a few seconds. Perhaps it's Dan Ketch - perhaps it doesn't really matter.

You don't get the overwhelming sense the character is coming back in any meaningful way. Even with the bad taste of the Nicholas Cage movies still in people's mouths, the "real" Ghost Rider has to be considered a viable property for something bigger than this. A rousing ride of the Ghost Riders in the season finale might be a possibility. Another cameo by a CG visage alleviating the pressure of casting Marvel Entertainment's version of this important character.

It would be great if all of this was building to the launch of something better. Ghost Rider would be at home on the streets of Netflix, especially once  Iron Fist escalates the martial mysticism found in early episodes of Daredevil. Not that they've got the magic touch to do everything right. Cinema is still an obvious outlet for the character, whose Hell stained world could benefit from bigger budgets, even if Agents of SHIELD is proof positive of how well the character can be made for TV.

So far ABC has only shown interest in some of the least remarkable extensions of the Marvel Universe. Agent Carter, while sweet and earnest, put the blandness of Agents of SHIELD in a period dress and called it a day. Mockingbird should've remained incorporated into other projects. Ditching bland secret agents for a Ghost Rider series with Reyes, Blaze and characters like cop turned skullhead Michael Badilino (aka; Vengeance), would be a breath of fresh air. I'm not sure if ABC, Disney and America is ready to put Hell in prime time, but stranger things are happening.

It's been fun to see the flaming wheels in motion. That's enough to make Johnny Blaze our Hero of the Week! The dark magic of the character is an extension of Marvel's Doctor Strange - now in theatres! You can find plenty more mystic mayhem with him in November updates on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths, and by diving into the records of the Issue Index!

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GHOST RIDER versus GHOST RIDER

Last Stand of The Spirits of Vengeance (Marvel)
Where: Ghost Rider #29 When: January 2009
Why: Jason Aaron How: Tan Eng Huat

The Story So Far...
When Johnny Blaze vexed the demon Mephisto he was cursed to wander the Earth as a spirit of vengeance - or so he thought. New revelations reveal his fire burns by the will of the renegade angel Zadkiel!

Drawing from the strength of his army of Ghost Riders, Zadkiel plans to harness enough power to overthrow the Heavens!

Charged to gather the might of other riders is Dan Ketch -- himself a mortal who was once a spirit of vengeance! Hungry to again taste the power he once held, he accepts a mission to free all Ghost Riders from the burden of their vengeance. A quest that inevitably brings him face to face with his long lost brother Johnny Blaze! Now the former allies must burn

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Johnny Blaze 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Draw 2 (Average)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Draw 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Johnny Blaze 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Draw 5 (Lasers)


Not a hoax! Not a dream! Not an imaginary story! It's a serious case of seeing double as the classic Ghost Rider finds himself challenged by his edgy new nineties replacement! Can't tell who's who? It's real simple...

Dan Ketch became the Ghost Rider one Halloween night when he and his sister travelled to Cypress Hill Cemetery. They were there to watch psychics commune with the spirit of legendary escapist Harry Houdini - but instead were caught in the crossfire between gangs working for Kingpin and Deathwatch! With his sister wounded, Dan tries to hide in a nearby wrecking yard, where he discovered a pristine motorcycle with a cursed petrol cap. Contact forever changes him as he becomes a spirit of vengeance - Ghost Rider!

We've only seen Danny Ketch in action a couple of times on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths, neither of them flattering. He got himself strung up and impaled while fighting Demogoblin and a demonically possessed Blade in Ghost Rider #40. Then in the rematch, the Demogorge transformed Blade finished Ghost Rider off in a brutal battle seen in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #13!

Johnny Blaze was a travelling circus stunt performer when he became the skull faced spirit of vengeance. Dabbling in the occult for personal gain brought him into the presence of the devil Mephisto. The love of his girlfriend Roxanne helped drive Mephisto away, but ignited a feud for Johnny's tainted soul - now bonded to the demon Zarathos!

Blaze has a couple of wins to his name in our records: He tortured The Trapster in a team-up with Spider-man [Marvel Team-Up #58], and got the best of Captain America, Iron Man and Thor in Avengers #214!

Even though their fight records thus far are mirrored opposites, the two Ghost Riders share overwhelming similarities. They both ride infernal motorcycles, they both wield dangerous hellfire, they can both invoke the power of penance, and they both possess varied degrees of super-human strength and durability!

In the brute strength stakes, I tend to think of Blaze as the more powerful of the two. He's gone blow for blow with the likes of The Thing - no mean feat! On the flip side, Ketch is the quintessential 'new and improved' model. Trademark moves like the Penance Stare and those ever present chains are a part of Ketch's repertoire right from the start. His tricks don't end there, though.

At this stage of their careers, Ketch burns with the blue flame of the fallen angel Zadkiel. He's an archangel of vengeance, pulling Dan's strings to seek out other spirits of vengeance and absorb their powers! A temptation for Ketch, who didn't enjoy life when he'd lost the Ghost Rider's power. Because he's been sucking up spirits for a while, he's pretty juiced up. Bad news for Johnny Blaze!

Dan may have a lot of flashy tricks, but Blaze has experience - and that's gotta be his strength. Over the years he's picked up a lot of Ketch's moves, and has a long history of blazing his own trail. That makes these guys hard to separate, so we may as well just dive in and answer the fanboy question: Who would win a fight between the two Ghost Riders? Let's go!

The Tape: Johnny Blaze Ranking: Johnny Blaze (#78)

What Went Down...
On a mountain somewhere in Tibet, cold wind blows the snow top frost around two men. The gust has no effect on infernal sparks that dance around one of their heads -- igniting into the burning visage of Johnny Blaze: Ghost Rider!

Standing opposite Blaze is his one-time successor - the now blue flamed spirit of vengeance: Dan Ketch! Hungry for the power he once possessed, Ketch sold his soul to the fallen angel Zadkiel. Now his mission is to consume Johnny's power!

Ketch justifies his mission with vague allusions to a higher understanding. Blaze challenges him to demonstrate and is sent hurtling across miles of snowy landscape!

Blaze crash lands hard in the snow, making a large crater with his impact.

Ketch is right behind, to hoist the Ghost Rider out of his pit - only to launch him again through the mountains! As Blaze struggles on his hands a knees, Ketch lifts a massive boulder above his head and sends it smashing over his target!

Again, the blue flamed Ghost Rider yanks his opponent from the ground - this time unearthing his limp body from its resting place beneath the broken bedrock. He professes to be working for his brother's own good. Blaze snaps defiantly back to life, snatches his "brother" by the throat and literally explodes!

When the flames clear, this time it's Dan Ketch flat on his back! Blaze mockingly prescribes repeated stomps to the skull and body for Ketch's own good. Then he squats down over him, clutches his skull with both hands, and inflicts the agony of all the pain and suffering Ketch has caused with the dreaded penance stare!

The blue Ghost Rider roars as the memories turn in on him. Baring witness to the demise of all the other riders, Johnny Blaze stumbles backward in shock. It's enough to give Ketch an opening to throw his boot into Blaze's burning face!

Ketch seeks understanding for his role in "freeing" the spirits from their burden. Johnny Blaze cracks his fist against the murderous Ghost Rider's jaw in decisive response: "They're dead!"

Righteous to the end, Ketch clubs his predecessor with a closed fist and turns the tables. This time Johnny Blaze will face his past under the terrifying gaze of the penance stare!

Confronted by the memories of loved ones who suffered for his occult existence, Johnny Blaze howls in agony! He drops to the ground, the flames of the Rider leaving him to reveal the mortal beneath. Tearfully, he accepts Dan's offer.

Zadkiel's spirit of vengeance starts sucking the power from Johnny Blaze's willing form. Only the intervention of a Caretaker saves him from being stripped of the Ghost Rider's power -- and his mortal existence!

She pops the front wheel of her motorcycle into the air, knocking Ketch clear of Blaze's prone body.

Weakly Johnny tries to tell her to leave, but she won't take no for an answer! She hoists the exhausted man onto her bike and faces front for a quick getaway! He reaches for the blue flames behind them, begging for his curse to be lifted as they escape.

The Hammer...
It's only by the intervention of Sara that Johnny Blaze is rescued from his own self-determined submission. With that in mind, we acknowledge Ghost Rider Dan Ketch as the winner of this fight!

If you find that outcome (or assessment) just a little disappointing, you're well within your rights. It's not quite the dream match it was hyped up to be, but it suffers from more than a lacklustre brawl...

In our last featured fight we talked about the introduction of Robbie Reyes as the "All-New" Ghost Rider of 2014. In that example, Marvel were very successful in balancing old and new elements to create a fresh take on a classic brand.

Key to its success is its individuality: All-New Ghost Rider sources contemporary LA car culture, a signature art style, and a completely new origin story!

It was a risky proposition to separate the new Ghost Rider so completely from his popular predecessors, but by leading with well executed new material, Marvel reaped the benefits of catching lightning in a bottle all over again! A fully realized new take established before it was thrust into a domain of comparison.

In 2008-09, the approach to expanding the Ghost Rider mythos took a very different tact. Johnny Blaze was the traditional central figure, riding us into an unfurling reality over populated with other skull-headed spirits of vengeance.

The return of Dan Ketch almost functions as written permission to follow the Ghost Rider myth to its logical end. After all, Johnny Blaze's circumstances were unusual, but not unique. Dan Ketch had appropriated a lot of Blaze's identity as a 1990 relaunch of the concept. In '92, another active Rider was established as Ketch's dark rival: Michael Badalino, better known as Vengeance.

Under Jason Aaron, this history of purposeful expansion becomes license to create a league of Ghost Riders from different times and places. It's an opening of the floodgates reminiscent of loathsome action figure variants, insufficiently supported by attempts to rapidly build a retroactive history.

The comparison of the era would be DC's rainbow colored explosion of counterpart Corps to the Green Lantern. The hugely successful GL expansion remains a shining example of the fine line between color coded monotony, and nuanced hero generator.

The modern Green Lantern premise is pre-conditioned for expansion, but in the case of the Sinestro Corps and everything beyond, it was the nested distinction of well designed characters within each Corps that made it work. The discipline to resist broad strokes based on team color alone made it work. It was also what was missing from damned adaptations like the Ryan Reynolds movie, or the disappointing CG animated series.

That isn't the only time Green Lantern has been at the centre of a successful venture into expanded mythology. The earliest impactful example goes back to the mid 1950s, where the introduction of Hal Jordan and Barry Allen as new versions of Green Lantern and The Flash began the Silver Age of superheroes! As replacement heroes adopting an existing identity, they weren't worlds apart from Robbie Reyes, even if they had the luxury of their predecessors being out of print quite a while. [For more, see: Old Comics Weds: Substitute Heroes!]

The range of 2009 Ghost Riders only exist in the periphery of the dream match presented by Ghost Rider #29, but it's a central pre-occupation that prevents this from being the balls to the wall throwdown 90s fans might've imagined.

The popularity of Dan Ketch in his day cannot be over stated! Johnny Blaze had served the seventies well, marrying motorcycle wanderlust and stunts to the boom of resurgent horror comics. The eighties explored the character more, but he seemed to get lost in the shuffle. The time was right to update Ghost Rider with new motorcycle aesthetic and cult, gothic horror of the time! A chain laden nineties reinvention that squeezed more out of the character, whilst capturing the imagination through the simple power of the visual!

Like his predecessor, Dan Ketch was perceived to be connected to the fad of the times. As comics withdrew from the booming period of the early nineties and the comics got lost in excess, the character was swept aside. Introspective comics of the 2000s chose Johnny Blaze for post-modern reinvention, but even that was a tough sell to fashionable readers.

The battle that finally brings the two Ghost Riders together in 2009 ultimately courts dissatisfaction by presenting the popular, classic Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze) as weak and submissive to the tarnished newer model.

Granted, there are narrative reasons for Ketch's power, not unlike the plot of Spirits of Vengeance #13. The difference between the two being the quality of the fight, and the quantity of content. There doesn't seem to be any need for a clear winner in this early chapter, so a hard hitting stalemate would've sufficed.

I quite like the line work of artist Tan Eng Huat, but his layouts are very hit and miss. When the action gets going, it can be very difficult to see exactly what's happening at times. On some pages, it's painfully clear, as minor movements are documented over pages of repeating staging. I sense a script stretching its material too thin, or making vague suggestions. Stronger art direction could have elevated the material, either way.

Colorist Jose Villarrubia doesn't have a lot to work with to create variation in images, but he services the art well. A deep cool palette contrasts with bright, hot flames. Mauves and purples bridge the gap well when scenes allow for it.

Ultimately, this isn't a bad issue. The ideas aren't critically flawed. Choices on and off the page just ask a bit too much, and are hampered by a lot of little issues that nag the more it goes on. It's a case of a lot of things not quite coming together, the way so much went right when editorial took another shot at it for All-New Ghost Rider!

Got a different take? Want to see for yourself? Hit up the Amazon link provided to pick up a collected edition! Doing so helps support the site at no extra charge, which means you can keep your soul and read your book!

You can find lots more superhero smackdown and review by following links throughout this post, or diving in to the Issue Index! There you'll find all past feature fights organized by publisher and series.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has really gone to Hell this month, but up next we're travelling to a universe that really bites! Be here to find out exactly what that means very soon!

Winner: Ghost Rider (Dan Ketch)
#302 (+200) Ghost Rider (Dan Ketch)
#502 (new) Caretaker (Sara) [+1 assist]
#97 (-19) Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)

GHOST RIDER versus THE AVENGERS
Three Angels Fallen! (Marvel comics)
Where: Avengers #214 When: December 1981
Why: Jim Shooter How: Bob Hall

The story so far...
Johnny Blaze is a man both cursed and privileged with the power to become a demonic spirit of vengeance called the Ghost Rider. As Ghost Rider his whim is unpredictable, and it's this volatile nature that has led him into isolation as a wandering soul without a home.

When he spots billionaire playboy Warren Worthington III speeding through the desert, the Ghost Rider takes over and challenges his former Champions teammate to a race which sees the winged mutant hospitalized with severe injury.

The Avengers are alerted of the demon's warpath, and thus they arrive in the desert area of Alakali Flats to investigate and bring the Ghost Rider to justice.
But the Ghost Rider is busy looking for Warren Worthington, and he intends to take anyone who would protect him to justice. Will the Avengers find him in time, or will he find them?!...

Previous Form:
Ghost Rider (#55): Ghost Rider earned his first victory teaming with Spidey against The Trapster.
Capain America (#6): Cap has victories against characters like MODOK, Baron Zemo, Bane, Wolverine & The Punisher.
Thor (#19): Recently suffered a defeat by way of the Symbiote and Avengers.
Iron Man (#4): Iron Man has victories over Diablo, Hulk, Captain America & She-Hulk.
The Avengers [#2]: The Avengers recently beat the Venom symbiote and She-Hulk.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Thor 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Iron Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Tigra 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Thor 6 (Generator)
Agility: Tigra 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting Ability: Captain America 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Iron Man 5 (Lasers)

I think I've always had a tendency to underestimate the Ghost Rider's abilities, perhaps because of my slant toward the street bound Dan Ketch host of the nineties. I think around this period of the seventies and eighties Ghost Rider was probably a more hopeful A-lister in waiting, and packed the power to match it.

His powers are certainly versatile, but then you have to take a look at the assemblage of heroes who are representing the Avengers on this occasion; Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and Tigra.

Thor and Iron Man are two heavy hitters here, and certainly each has a pretty hefty statistical advantage over Ghost Rider. As the tape shows, they outweigh him in terms of brute strength, and the bredth of their energy related powers dwarf even Ghost Rider's hellflame.

Iron Man as a man in machine is more vulnerable, particularly to the vengeful aspects of the character. Lord knows by now Tony Stark has enough sins to bury him, if Ghost Rider were to turn his penance stare on him today.

Thor, as a God, is presumably less vulnerable to Ghost Rider's attacks, assuming there would even be things to be capitalized on like the weighing guilt of sins.
Even if the Rider were able to roll through the more vulnerable tagerts of Captain America and Tigra, it may come down to Thor, if not the double team of Thor and Iron Man. Two guys who've gone head to head with the Hulk.

The Math: Avengers (Total) Ghost Rider (Average)
The Pick: The Avengers

What went down...
The menace of the hero presents itself long before the Civil War as a child dangles helplessly from a watertower dressed in a red cape in imitation of the mighty Thor! Fortunately Johnny Blaze is on the scene and gives in to the fantastic power of the Ghost Rider in order to save him!

Unfortunately... the indepedent will of the Ghost Rider demon isn't terribly interested in saving the foolish child, leaving the job to the red and gold visage of Iron Man, who happens to show on the scene just in the nick of time!
[Planting the seeds for the need for registration? I DIGRESS! -- Muckraking Mike]
Miles away on a freeway, a motorcycle riding Captain America (with Tigra entow) happens upon the Ghost Rider's flaming hellcycle!
Ghost Rider employs his daredevil riding skills to navigate the narrow gap between a semi-trailer and on-coming traffic, as he dares the Captain to pursue.

Tigra and he follow the Rider into to the desert, but find themselves facing rock in a box canyon as Ghost Rider defies gravity, driving vertically up the cliff face.
The two avengers spill onto the dirt, bailing from the crashing cycle, leaping out of the pan into the hellfire. They suffer the hellish freeze of Ghost Rider's vengeful burn.

The action of the flames alerts Iron Mans' sensors, and he sweeps in to investigate. The Ghost Rider is none too pleased to suffer another fool. He surfs his speeding hellcycle and uses it to launch himself into the air at the golden Avenger.

Though shielded from principle attack, Tony Stark does not have the foresight to seal the gaps on his helmet, allowing him to succum to the unrelenting fire of Ghost Rider's fury.

He plummets to the ground as Thor arrives on the scene.

Thor talks a big game and Ghost Rider isn't buying into it, impatiently spraying the Norse god of thunder with fire from his eyes. The magical pyre does little to the hull of the mighty Thor of Asgard, who attacks in kind with the tossing of his worthy hammer -- Mjolnir!

Ghost Rider, aware of the threat, leaps atop his hellcycle and flees from the airborne hammer. As he builds momentum he finds himself putting distance between he and the hammer, until it appears to reach the apex of it's flight.

As the enchanted hammer turns to reach he summon of it's possessor, the cunning demon snatches the handle and allows himself and his cycle to be dragged behind!

Unable to control the hammer himself, he pops his wheel, riding the flaming bike up into the face of the waiting Thor. The two heroes spill into the air, but Ghost Rider is the one nimble enough to land in stride on his cycle, leaving the thunder god to suffer his bruises.

The Avengers regroup from the attack as Ghost Rider rides into the desert.
Captain America inspires the troops, lending support to Tigra and Iron Man, each fearful of the Rider's touch, having felt first hand the effects of his flames.

The team cuts the spirit of vengeance off at the pass, and Iron Man springs the attack with an uncompromising repulsor ray to the face that dismounts the demon from his hellish vehicle.

Shaken but not stirred, Ghost Rider hurls flame at the fearful Tigra, but Captain America is ready, anticipating the attack to the weakest link!
He defends the feline heroine, and collides with the fiend in a thunderous exchange!

Furious, Ghost Rider pursues the attack, but an unlikely individual steps into the battlefield. Bandaged and in a sling, Warren Worthington approaches his former teammate from the short-lived Champions.

He supposes that the Ghost Rider's lust for vengeance becomes lest caring as Johnny Blaze finds himself increasingly depressed and dissatisfied with his life.
The Angel reaches out to the demon, and pleads for the courage of the man inside to reemerge and quell the demon's rage.

And once again, Johnny Blaze returns.

The hammer...
Despite the peaceful resolution, I'm going to give this one to Ghost Rider based on points. He pretty well manhandled each member of the Avengers, including Thor -- a god!
The assist goes to Angel too, for his participation in ending the fray.

Well, if you've been with us at the time on the site you'll know I've been unwell, and then blogspot ate my Wednesday post.
I'm going to endeavor to rewrite the exciting entry from What If Wednesday, but I'm still a bit under the weather, so if it doesn't get done before the Punch-Up, my sincerest apologies.

I have to admit to mixed feelings about this particular issue. It's almost the perfect action comic for this site, and yet, it lacks the charm of some of the other unauspicious superhero fights we've had previously.

I guess part of what's awful about it is that it centers around highlighting the fact that the Angel is utterly hopeless when it comes to a fight.

When writers were handing out secondary mutations in the X-Men books, how this guy got healing blood over some sort of offensive attack completely escapes me. I guess it's kinda fitting.
Put aside any clever Angel/pacifist-martyr connections for a moment, and just think about the fact that his body is continuing to go with what it knows.

The worse he gets injured, the more the team around him benefits!
'Wow, open up an artery Warren! The Beast just got a concussion! If we heal him, we might still stand a chance!'
Way to send a positive message to the kids, guys.

Jokes aside, this is one of the few encounters I've actually had with Jim Shooter as a writer. Somehow, despite his alleged reign of terror, I've run afoul the guy's writing very rarely. It's safe to say you would believe he started writing as a kid... I joke, I joke!

It's a simple comic from a simpler time, and it shouldn't be judged too harsh.
This was a time when Ghost Rider was hopping around the place like a pseudo-Wolverine. A nomadic character without a home, who was popular, and was inherently capable of being thrown into a fight with just about anyone!

In the seventies and eighties, Ghost Rider made even Namor look level-headed!

This book comes amidst the infamous story about the divorce of Hank Pym and his wife, the Wasp, after he assaulted her.
I've never actually read the story in any kind of complete capacity, and as hokey and out of place as it seems in a universe of fisticuffs, I still think it's fairly regarded as a key moment in Avengers history.

So, with something that heavy going on, maybe it was a good time for an issue like this. Maybe contemporary comics could benefit from the odd issue like this!

Or not...

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 3.5

THE TRAPSTER versus SPIDER-MAN & GHOST RIDER
Panic On Pier One! (Marvel comics)
Where: Marvel Team-Up #58 When: June 1977
Why: Chris Claremont How: Sal Buscema & P. Marcos

The story so far...
Whilst heading home, Peter Parker and Mary-Jane Watson find themselves in for a treat when they discover a film crew rolling outside of Peter's Chelsea residence.

Amongst the film crew is Johnny Blaze, playing the role of Stunt-Master.Blaze, stunt cyclist extraordinaire, is of course the alter ego of the demon spawn dark hero known as Ghost Rider, the spirit of vengeance!

Filming begins, but a routine stunt goes wrong when Blaze's front tyre is ensnared by an unseen adhesive shot atop one of the cars he's bunnyhopping.
The force of his momentum tears the front tyre from the cycle, and Johnny Blaze makes the change from man, to Ghost Rider!

Webbing comes to the demon's aid at the last second, but when Spidey finds himself snared by thick paste, will the spirit of vengeance return the favour?

Previous Form:
The Trapster (#64): The Trapster has both a victory and defeat as member of the Frightful Four.
Spider-man (#2): Spider-man has victories of Scorpion, Kraven, Tombstone and others.
Ghost Rider: Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze) has not yet been featured.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Spider-man 5 (Super Strength)
Intelligence: Spider-man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Ghost Rider 5 (Marathon)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting Ability: Ghost Rider 3 (Street Wise)
Energy Powers: Ghost Rider 5 (Lasers)

When you break it down, this is a hilariously one-sided fight.
The Trapster doesn't even break a twenty overall, which makes him one of the few feature characters to fall into the Human Class. Which is bad news bears when you're up against not one, but TWO superhero studs.

Like various more street level characters, Trapster certainly has the ability to play above his stats. Granted he isn't a Tombstone, but the versatility provided by his super-durable adhesive paste is a fairly hefty tool.
Along with various offensive applications, it comes in pretty handy for your run of the mill incapacitation through bondage, and can even throw up defensives like a super sturdy quick-dry wall.

Of course, even with that said, if we take a look at the opposing keys to victory you have a smorgasboard of ways for Ghost Rider and/or Spidey to take him apart. Webbing, hellfire, super strength, nearby sea, flaming hellcycle... That isn't even breaking it down to measure how each talent can beat him.

Honestly, The Trapster is in deep water in this one, which is probably the reason he never gets any respect. Aim low, Pete. Aim low.

The Math: Spider-man & Ghost Rider
The Pick: Spider-man & Ghost Rider

What went down...
Having saved Ghost Rider from a messy crash, Spider-man finds himself entangled in the sticky paste of The Trapster!

Ghost Rider summons his hellcycle so that he might pursue the villain, while he recounts the tale of his arrival to Spider-man from atop his Anti-Grav Platform.

During a daring escape from custody, the Wizard freed his Frightful Four friends with the use of one of his many crafty contingencies, concealed within a dummy tooth.
As they left, The Trapster spied a newspaper that featured an article on the Johnny Blaze film, and decided to stretch his legs with some payback for a previous meeting.

While Trapster blows his own trumpet, Spidey makes his move, shooting a web line to the front of Trapster's floating platform.
With a safe anchor he puts his weight into applying pressure on the long strand of hardened paste, and manages to break it!

Though his arms remain bound, Spidey uses his web-line to swing up onto the platform, and delivers a devestating kick to the face of the villain formerly known as Paste-Pot Pete.

Staring down the barrel of the paste gun, Spidey tries to swat it away with his pinned arms. He proves unsuccessful, and the Trapster shows some developing enginuity, using a magnesium flare in his belt to blind the web-slinger.

Blinded, Spider-man is left a sitting target to even the Trapster, not known for his bruising.

The punch sends Spider-man hurtling off the Anti-Grav platform, toward the streets below, but fortunately the Ghost Rider was still entow.

Imitating a move he picked up from the Human Torch, Ghost Rider drives his cycle in a tight circle, creating a vortex of hot air that slows Spider-man's descent, and allows him the chance to catch the falling hero!

The Trapster comes around for a second shot, but Ghost Rider blasts a vengeful burst of hellfire toward the villain. It damages the platform heavily, but not enough to prevent Trapster steering toward refuge aboard a docked Navy carrier.

Spidey breaks free of his shackles, and leaps into action with the Ghost Rider.
GR is first onboard the boat, jumping from an elevated highway atop his hellcycle.

[Paste-Pot] Pete is waiting with his paste gun ready, building himself a hardened wall directly in the path of the netherworldly rider!
Any ordinary biker may be thrashed, but the Ghost Rider is able to leap from his flaming hellcycle as explodes in a burst of flame, before summoning it once more so that he may land directly on it!

Trapster so perturbed by being outmatched, doesn't even notice that he flees right into the waiting fist of the amazing Spider-man! The victory, however, is brief, as finely tuned spider-senses warn Spidey of an incoming attack from one of the sailors aboard the ship.

Ghost Rider once more comes to the web-slinger's aid as the seamen open fire.

Meanwhile, The Trapster seeks to commandeer a jet as means of distraction to facilitate his escape. He starts the F-14 rolling toward the West Side Highway, and only Spider-man's fantastic leaping prevents certain disaster.
Using his webbing and some quick thinking, he pulls the plane harmlessly into a nose dive off the bow of the carrier.

Ghost Rider corners the fleeing Trapster aboard the ship, and prepares to deliver unbridled vengeance, but Spider-man is forced to intervene at the last second!

With his prey pinned against barrels of fuel, Ghost Rider could be endangering the entire crew with his flaming retribution. Or so Spidey believes!

The Ghost Rider, unrelenting, blasts jets of hellfire at the villain with little regard for the surroundings. Trapster collapses to the ground, gripped in a figurative hell in his mind.

Ghost Rider callously reminds Spider-man that his hellfire has more poperties than merely the physical. Spider-man is unable to subscribe to his vicious means of penance, thus the two part ways, with Ghost Rider bitterly reminding his ally that he is what he is. A demon spawn spirit of vengeance.

The hammer...
Despite their uneasy resolution, Ghost Rider and Spider-man emerge victorious! What a team!

A rare milestone on the site comes with this entry!
This is officially the one hundredth post on the website, which is a pretty big deal by anyone's book! Traffic's slowed down a little, but we've come a long way from the first post, so a big shoutout goes to all of you coming back regularly! Cheers!

Now, as far as reasoning for this post, I'm going to admit this was purely a grab at scoring some hits off the feature film. I haven't seen it, but I know it's got a lot of new readers interested in the character, and hopefully this can add to the experience of discovering the character on the page!

I personally don't think the character really came into his own until the Ghost Rider mantle was passed to Dan Ketch, as opposed to Johnny Blaze, who's the GR featured here and in the movie.

At this point in the character's history he sort of feels like a weird superhero, with a very non-chalant reference to an infernal backstory, and off-the-cuff throws to Satan. By the eighties and nineties I think we start to see the character falling into a more unique niche, and finding weight on the nature of his character, as opposed to just being a superhero guest star.

You'll notice the threat of hellfire is fairly regular here. It's not until the nineties that he develops trademark moves like the penance stare, and diversifies into the chains and flame attacks.

You probably see some of that in the movie, but being a PG-13 film, it really doesn't root the character in the same scene I like to think of him as appearing in. This is a character that inhabits the seedier side of the Marvel universe, mingling with similar characters like Morbius and Dr. Strange and Blade.

Of course, during that period of the Dan Ketch Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze still gets a look in, albeit as a man. Although, as you may have discovered if you've begun investigating the character in the comics, Johnny Blaze has again taken up the curse of the Ghost Rider. And I'm not about to pretend I'm above movie tie-ins [hello!], but it will be very interesting to see the Dan Ketch character breached within the pages of those books.

Of course, the vehicle for this Ghost Rider feature was the original secondary Spider-man title; Marvel Team-Up. I don't have a great collection of Ghost Rider books, but this is one that's been on the pile for a while, so it seemed like an opportune moment to throw it up there.

As has been discussed in the Punch-Ups, 2007 is really fixing to be a Spider-man month here on the site, I think. That's probably a trend that will continue, and hopefully you can forgive me! I'm trying to reserve Friday for some versatility, but there's just so much still to come!

Keep the hits coming folks!
If you've played the Ultimate Alliance video game, you'll know Monday is all about Bullseye, and it's one we've been waiting to see since the beginning of the site! Stick around for it! Cheers!

The Fight: 5 The Issue: 4