Issue(s): Ghost Rider #32
Cover Date: Dec 92
Title: "Fight for life"
Credits:
Howard Mackie - Writer
Bret Blevins - Penciler
Bret Blevins - Inker
Matthew Morra - Assistant Editor
Bobbie Chase - Editor

Review/plot:
Bret Blevins replaces the Kuberts as the regular penciler and inker for this title.

This issue is mostly about restoring Danny Ketch, who has been floating around as a spirit since issue #25, and then last issue he was corrupted by Lilith. So it's a lot of Dr. Strange doing this sort of thing.

There's also a real doctor, a surgeon named Frank Brukner with a mysterious connection to Dr. Strange (although this is his first and only appearance), waiting around to repair Danny's body after Strange deals with the mystical side of things.

But during the mystical portion of the surgery, The Firm sends a group of thugs to try to capture Ghost Rider. So Blaze has to fend them off.

To help fight the troops, Ghost Rider risks transforming in the middle of Strange's operation.

The troops are all dispatched, and then Brukner does his work, with Strange saying that things in this book are going to be very different from now on.

Meanwhile, Stern returns to the Firm, and a group of rogue Firm troops help install him as the new leader.

This issue exemplifies the problems that this series has. The majority of this issue is filler, with Dr. Strange doing random mystic stuff to fix Danny. I guess that's necessary, and gives Bret Blevins a chance to show his stuff. But the main turning point of the issue is Stern, a guy that we barely know, overthrowing a mysterious leadership of the Firm without us ever learning anything about them. It was a big deal in an earlier issue that Stern was admonished by the Firm for his failure. Like, ooh, Stern may be invulnerable and powerful, but he's getting bossed around by these other guys, so they must be even more powerful! But now they're just wiped out without a thought. Similarly, we have this Dr. Brukner, with all sorts of hints getting dropped that he's a big deal. But this is his only appearance. Howard Mackie seems to love to create "mysteries" which really means that he's introducing elements without any idea what he's going to do with them. And it becomes increasingly frustrating and tedious.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Continues from last issue, but it's not technically part of the Midnight Sons crossover so i have it in a separate entry.

References:

• Danny Ketch was seemingly killed by Blackout in Ghost Rider #25.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Wait, fnord, we're not done with the contortions to the Firm yet. In a few issues, we'll find out that Centurious is the head of the Firm. So why does Stern think he can take over like this?

I liked 1990s Ghost Rider up to this point, but the establishment of this Midnight Sons line ruins the title.

I shudder to ask, but: did *anything* really change for GR and Danny? Because I've read some of the following issues and I don't remember Mackie doing anything more with the idea...

The whole "Danny gets killed" plot seems to be a waste of time. He gets murdered, he floats around as a spirit for a few issues, then he's back. What was the point?