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Parker Robinson AKA The Hood continues his quest to conquer the Chicago Underground using the Spirit of Vengeance. Johhny Blaze and Zebadiah get closer and closer to facing Parker and taking back the Spirit, facing resistance along the way. Zebadiah seeks balance, but does Johnny have another end goal in mind? Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance inches closer to its conclusion!
- Written by Benjamin Percy
- Illustrated by Danny Kim
- Colors by Bryan Valenza
- Letters by Travis Lanham
- Published by MARVEL Entertainment
Ghost Rider Final Vengeance Breathes New Life Into The Series
This series has been surprisingly good so far. I won’t lie, when first announced I was disappointed. I really enjoyed the previous Ghost Rider run and I didn’t want it to end! However, I was optimistic about continuity with the same writer, Benjamin Percy. I wasn’t so sure what to expect though, Johnny losing the Spirit of Vengeance to a low level, almost forgotten villain, The Hood?
More of a Robbie Reyes Fan?!
It pays to keep an open mind. I mean, a Ghost Rider dual wielding magical pistols?! Still, I went into issue one with no expectations and came away not sure how to feel. I stuck with it though and the story has developed quite nicely. Issue 4 in my opinion, continues to climb the ladder. Each issue gets a little better than the last and I think that’s a great compliment for a comic book series.
The Spirit of Vengeance Does Double Duty
So The Hood continues taking out Chicago bosses looking to gain knowledge on how to increase his own influence and gain power over the underground. Seems like a basic villain thing to do, but in Parker Robinsons case, he’s doing it for his family. He wants to provide a better life for them. A home, money, good schools, the perfect life.
Its interesting top watch him achieve that with the Spirit of Vengeance. You wouldn’t think they would have the same goals, but he is taking out mob bosses and low level street criminals on his path. His leverage of a hive of Vampires to do his bidding is a great angle as well. Of course the longer you play in the mud with the pigs, the dirtier you’re gonna get. Not only that but eventually, Vampires are gonna succumb to their unquenchable thirst, and they take out some valuable targets to The Hood. This sets up a confrontation in the future between himself and the Vampire leaders.
I’ve also enjoyed following Johnny and Zebadiah on their journey to Chicago to face The Hood and reclaim The Spirit of Vengeance. Mephisto is obvious using humans as pawns to slow them down at every stop on their trip. Zebediah seeks to reinstate a sort of balance of the supernatural world with the Ghost Rider, where as Johnny isn’t really sure he want’s it back. As a matter fact, he contemplates destroying it instead!
Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance is a Balanced Art
The art work has been good throughout. Everything is clean and simple in the best way. Kim focuses on characters and doesn’t over complicate the settings. The violence in this issue is key. There are some gruesome scenes that are paramount to a good horror book like Ghost Rider. There are a few panels memorable enough that they will stick with me.
The colors in this book have been a high point. Lighting and shading can often be either under utilized or overly saturated, but here, it’s in that sweet spot. Panels have great depth to them. I mean, you can’t have the Spirit of Vengeance throwing around flames without proper lighting, can you?
What’s going on with the Midnight Sons?
Everything Point to 8.5/10
Issue 4 is another building block on the way to a confrontation between The Hood and Johnny Blaze. There are some awesome kills in this issue, as well as some fantastic art panels that really stood out to me. Benjamin Percy is a great writer for Ghost Rider, as I feel he really understands to the wants and needs of these characters. The confrontations continue for Parker and the chance that he could lose everything he’s worked for thus far is on the table. The stakes are high with his family involved. I’m ready to see and endgame to all of this, and I hope it lives up to the story that’s been built so far.
