Issue(s): Spirits of Vengeance #18
Cover Date: Jan 94
Title: "Spirit of death"
Credits:
Howard Mackie - Writer
Henry Martinez - Penciler
Bud LaRosa - Inker
Bobbie Chase - Editor

Review/plot:
The unwieldy Midnight Sons rush the Cypress Hill Cemetary.

Note that the new Dr. Strange is "known only as Strange" despite not having said a word yet (he will start talking later in the issue). And there's Victoria Montesi, so whatever happened on the Wikihow page didn't affect her in real life. And there's Stacy Dolan. Can always use another non-powered character with a handgun. I mean you can't really complain when the likes of Sam Buchanan are on the team already.

At this point even Ghost Rider doesn't care about people's motivations. It's time to just end this thing already.

Since this is the Spirits of Vengeance book, a magical force prevents all of the Midnight Sons except Ghost Rider, Blaze, and Vengeance from entering Zarathos' tomb. But Dolan manages to follow as well. Zarathos teleports Ghost Rider somewhere (Glastonbury, England) where they can do battle. Dolan manages to follow yet again. Zarathos lets Ghost Rider try to get rid of her.

Then the Fallen show up to watch the fight.

Zarathos is a powerful wizard with control of the elements, and he outmatches Ghost Rider.

Zarathos still doesn't have all his memories and he was hoping Ghost Rider might fill him in on some details. But Ghost Rider doesn't know anything either. So there's a lot of talking a lot while saying nothing. And of course the continued stringing along of Howard Mackie mysteries. Although at this point we've had so many revelations about Zarathos i'm not even sure what the mystery is anymore.

Ghost Rider is "killed" in the fight.

And as he's dying, Stacy learns that he's really Dan Ketch.

This would be impactful if Dan and Stacy's romance had been developed at all over the course of the 40+ issues of Ghost Rider's series, but as it stands she's been more prop than supporting character.

After Ghost Rider's death the other Midnight Sons show up.

Quality Rating: D+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This is part sixteen of Siege of Darkness. Part seventeen is in Midnight Sons Unlimited #4. Note that the cover of this issue incorrectly identifies it as part 13 (not really visible on the GCD scan, though).

References: N/A

Crossover: Siege of Darkness

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

"And there's Victoria Montesi, so whatever happened on the Wikihow page didn't affect her in real life"
Except that we'll see later that she's in stasis and Sam Buchanan has no idea what happened to her.

What was the point of killing Ghost Rider just to bring him back five months later?

Victoria's appearance here is probably an error by either Mackie or Martinez. So, yeah, that's yet more poor coordination for this crossover.

For what it's worth, Victoria and Sam get a scene in the next chapter of this crossover (Midnight Sons Unlimited #4) sitting in a diner together, still debating whether or not the supernatural is real. So if the idea was that Victoria was supposed to disappear after Doctor Strange #61, it didn't get communicated to at least two of the writers.

The Marvel Appendix tries to pretend that's Sam and Stacy Dolan.
In Marvel Comics Presents 148, Sam Buchanan's next appearance, which came out just a month after this, Sam talks about Victoria being lost as a result of the supernatural. It does seem like the idea was that Vicki would disappear in Doctor Strange 61 and then Sam would show up in Marvel Comics Presents not knowing what happened to her but it wasn't communicated to a couple of the writers.