Issue(s): Ghost Rider #55
Cover Date: Nov 94
Title: "Skin games"
Credits:
Warren Ellis - Writer
Salvador Larroca - Penciler
Sergio Melia-Borras - Inker
James Felder - Assistant Editor
Bobbie Chase - Editor

Review/plot:
Between this issue and this year's annual, it looks like Warren Ellis was being tried out as a writer for something Ghost Rider related. Mackie doesn't leave the book until issue #70. But it's announced in the lettercol for issue #57 that Ellis will be writing a Vengeance miniseries. That miniseries never happened, but maybe this issue and the annual were a way to test Ellis as a writer for the Ghost Rider family. This particular plot guest-stars Werewolf By Night, and therefore might have begun as a Midnight Sons Unlimited story or maybe a back-up for the annual. As someone who got critical acclaim for the canceled Hellstorm series, it makes sense to consider him for the Midnight Sons books, but the truth is that i have a hard time imagine him fitting in there. That may just be because i have a hard time at this point imagining the Midnight Sons books being good, but i think it's more that the Midnight Sons books were more like super-hero books that happened to have monster characters rather than true horror books. (It's also the case that i don't necessarily think of Ellis as needing to exclusively be a horror writer, but that's only with the benefit of hindsight.)

Danny Ketch has apparently been working as a bartender, and he gets an offer to work a special event for four times his usual pay in a shady area.

Also at the event is Dr. Calvin Zabo, aka Mr. Hyde.

Jack Russel (the Werewolf) is also at the event. Which turns out to be more than just shady.

Jack transforms first, trying to stop the butchering. But Hyde is able to subdue him.

So Danny has to save him as Ghost Rider.

However, Hyde flees. Ghost Rider chases him. Werewolf By Night stays behind and to torture the club owner (whose name was Morphine, but he never appears again and doesn't seem to be powered).

Ghost Rider seems to catch up with Mr. Hyde but we don't see what happens.

It's not much of a story (definitely feels like back-up filler material to me) but Ellis' narration is at least well written and i like seeing Werewolf By Night and Mr. Hyde. I do feel like there are two competing versions of Mr. Hyde in the Marvel universe: the creepy horror version that appears in this title (and maybe Hulk #368) and the more traditional super-villain version who happens to be (more or less) concurrently appearing in Captain America. It's understandable that Mr. Hyde might be used in both ways, but i wish it wasn't at almost the exact same time.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Since it's not shown exactly what happens to Hyde, i guess it doesn't matter if he appears here before or after Captain America #434.

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A