Ghost Rider #28-32 (2008-2009): Last Stand of the Spirits of Vengeance; 1st appearance of many Spirits

Johnny Blaze and Sister Sara chase Danny Ketch to Tibet, where Ketch is stalking a spirit of vengeance called the Blood Drinker.  Sara, who absorbed the now-destroyed library of her father (Caretaker) tells Blaze that there are Spirits of Vengeance all over the world, but Ketch is killing them one by one.  Eventually, that means Ketch will come for his brother Johnny.

Ketch’s new Ghost Rider spirit is blue–which makes for a very cool look by the way.

You see where this is going.  We get to meet a whole bunch of spirits, many of whom die in their first appearance, but they all look cool as Hell (pun intended).  Ketch believes he’s acting on behalf of God, but Blaze wants to stop him because as he kills these spirits, he also kills humans.  In their first battle, though, Danny’s penance stare causes Johnny to want his time as Ghost Rider to be over.  He invites Danny to kill him…

…but Sister Sara saves him.  Sara reminds Johnny they it is them, not Ketch, who are truly doing God’s will.  As readers, we know that’s true: Zadkiel is preparing to take over Heaven by force and needs its protectors, the spirits of vengeance, out of the way.  And every time Danny kills one, their powers are transferred to Zadkiel.

While Johnny heals from the attack, more spirits show up and together they go after Danny.

Along the way, more spirits join up–guys with names like Baron Skullfire and the Phantom Riders of the Congo.  It’s all quite awesome.  For the big finale, the gang take on Danny Ketch and the other servants of Zadkiel.  As I said, most die in this story but a few don’t.  They’ll get tags.  Like Molek the Muslim Ghost Rider and Bai Gu Jing, China’s Spirit of the White Skeleton.

Others from the past Ghost Rider mythology are pulled in as well.  In a great subplot, we learn that Michael “Vengeance” Badilino is the current owner of Johnny Blaze’s hellfire shotgun but for some reason he’s unable to use it.  An ex-police deputy named Kowalski buys it from him.

His goal is to kill Ghost Rider.  In the past, Danny Ketch gave him the penance stare and chopped off his hand.  Of course, the only Ghost Rider who has been seen in public is Johnny Blaze, but Kowalski can’t tell the difference.

He’s the new vengeance, and he joins up with Zadkiel’s growing army who are storming heaven.

Of course we get a huge final battle where we see a bunch of the Spirits in action.

Like Marinette Bwa Chech, Baron Skullfire’s lover and queen of “Skull City” in Africa.  She’s the Spirit of Vengeance for sound effects, apparently.

Her BF Skullfire gets killed in the siege on Heaven, and Danny Ketch saps Chech’s powers–but doesn’t kill her.

In a twist, the heroes lose at the end of the story.  When it does, the reverberation is felt around the world–and we get one of those classic ’70s-style reaction pages…

I love that.  This story is extremely modern, and told with complexity and maturity, but Aaron and Eng still find space to tribute the parts of comics they loved back when the medium was more … Fun.

Danny, by the end, realizes what he has done.

And that concludes this amazing story arc–one of the best in this character’s spotty history.  We leave with the power of the Spirits having been absorbed by Zadkiel, and the spirits’ hosts powerless, waiting for the consequences of the war to spread to Earth.