Issue(s): Marvel Spotlight #12
Cover Date: Oct 73
Title: "When Satan stalked the Earth!"
Credits:
Gary Friedrich - Writer
Herb Trimpe - Penciler
Frank Chiaramonte - Inker

Review/plot:
Herb Trimpe is a fine artist, but he should not be drawing... what do we call this genre? Satanic heroism? Anyway, he shouldn't be drawing Daimon Hellstrom.

Hellstrom's awesome Demon-Drawn Chariot of Satan, sure.

Anyway, this story takes a few steps back from where Ghost Rider #2 left off and goes into more detail into how Hellstrom wound up in Hell to save Ghost Rider. That's used for a power-demonstration scene.

We're also told that Hellstrom is actually two personalities. In the daytime he is "the puny, religious weakling, Daimon Hellstrom". At night, he is his "father's son".

At night, he also likes blondes.

More power demonstration as Hellstrom confronts the bikers from Ghost Rider #2...

...but he doesn't actually help Rocky get away from the bikers that have been threatening to rape her, though. He's really just on the trail of his father. And that leads to his confrontation with Satan in Hell.

Ugh:

There's a lot of confusion about whether this is really Satan or Mephisto, but the MCP lists it as Mephisto, so this whole fight isn't as momentous as it may seem, although either way it seems that Hellstrom's trident is made of "netheranium" which can sap "Satan's" powers.

Daimon also has some things to say about his old man's virility.

Hellstrom is unable to defeat Satan, so he settles for rescuing Ghost Rider and Linda Littletree from Hell. When he arrives back on Earth, however, he's not very friendly.

The pretty serious Herb Trimpe mismatch aside, the issue serves as a decent introduction to the character. It seems insane that Marvel was able to publish a comic featuring the "Son of Satan" but i guess after the relative success of Ghost Rider it was only natural?

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - first Daimon Hellstrom in his own series

Chronological Placement Considerations: Continues directly from Ghost Rider #2 and continues directly in Ghost Rider #3.

References:

• Hellstrom first appeared in Ghost Rider #1-2, and will next appear in Ghost Rider #3, where we'll also learn the fate of Rocky Simpson.
  
• A passing reference is made to Hellstrom's mother, and his sister, who we can get a "fleeting glimpse" of in Vampire Tales #2.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Original Ghost Rider #10

Not just Ghost Rider, but more specifically "The Exorcist". Not only was that movie extremely profitable, but it also penetrated contemporary pop culture and the national consciousness in a (ahem)Hell of a big way. Marvel even had its own exorcist character(whose name I can't recall right now) in "Haunt of Horror". HoH is worth getting the original issues for, if no other reason, reading the round-table discussion article in which an overly sensitive Chris Claremont calls the Exorcist "pornography".

The exorcist was named Gabriel the Devil Hunter. He later appeared in FF 222-223, which were notable for the Reed-slaps-Sue scene.

You're spot-on regarding Trimpe's art here, fnord. Hellstrom's hell horses look more like sea horses, and that one panel where Daimon has his fist in the air makes him look like a heavy metal singer screaming to the audience "HOUSTON, ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?!?!" I do wonder if it's not just a mismsatch between artist and character, but inker to penciler as well?

Correction: Mismatch. Guess the art is so distracting it causes everyone to have spelling problems!