Issue(s): Marvel Comics Presents #147, Marvel Comics Presents #148 (Vengeance story only)
Cover Date: Feb 94
Title: "Tower of Blood" / "Vengeance forsaken!"
Credits:
Chris Cooper - Writer
Reggie Jones - Penciler
Fred Harper - Inker
Michael Kraiger - Assistant Editor
Richard Ashford - Editor

Review/plot:

Sadly, the villain's name is actually Psiphon, not P-ship-on. I was going to make a joke insisting that you pronounce the P, because if Marvel didn't want you to, they would have just named the character Siphon. But the character is actually very clear on this point.

Psiphon is the leader of a terrorist organization which has just murdered an office building's worth of people. And he did it just as a lure to attract Vengeance.

Psiphon moves his terrorist group and Vengeance to the top of the Statue of Liberty, taking all the tourists there hostage and demanding a ransom. Vengeance breaks free...

...but Psiphon feeds on negative energy, and what could be more negative than a 1990s violent-emo derivative character?

But all Vengeance has to do is transform back into Michael Badilino.

Which is lame as hell! And as if Badilino was such a chipper dude with a positive attitude prior to getting transformed into Vengeance. As is demonstrated by the fact that Badilino straight-up murders the villain in the final panel. (I mean, Psiphon will return, believe it or not, but that was clearly the intent.)

The final page of this story shows that former Darkhold Redeemer Sam Buchanan is now working for a US agency (not Interpol), and he's being sent after Vengeance.

I love that panel where the guy who looks uncomfortably like Hitler is saying, "We know you've dealt with the supernatural before. As proof, here's some generic pictures of you posing for the camera.".

Statement of Ownership Total Paid Circulation: Average of Past 12 months = 133,492. Single issue closest to filing date = 97,400.

Quality Rating: D

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Takes place while Ghost Rider is "dead", between Siege of Darkness and Ghost Rider #49-50.

References:

• Sam Buchanan apparently blames Vengeance for the death of Victoria Montesi, who sort-of died in Doctor Strange #61 (although she weirdly lingered on for the two remaining issues of Siege of Darkness).

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Since are two "p"s in psiphon, I'm going to assume that it's the second p that's the silent one. ;)

Psiphon follows the lead of the '80s Teen Titans villain, Psimon.

But they all follow Psyklop.

IIRC, Marvel Boy used to drive a motorbike called "Psy-cle". Psyklop's legacy is boundless.