Issue(s): Spirits of Vengeance #4
Cover Date: Nov 92
Title: "Choices"
Credits:
Howard Mackie - Writer
Adam Kubert - Penciler
Art Adams, Joe Kubert, & Tom Mandrake - Inker
Bobbie Chase - Editor

Review/plot:
Johnny Blaze is back with his circus. His mechanic Eli McIntyre is checking out his new bike, but is only able to determine that it's magic.

Meanwhile, it turns out that Hag and Troll have the body of Deathwatch, who we thought was killed. He's actually still alive, but in a inanimate state.

Johnny Blaze leaves the circus to pay a visit to Danny Ketch, who he hasn't seen since he was hospitalized in Ghost Rider #32. But he finds Danny transformed into Ghost Rider, and on the trail of Hag and Troll.

Also on Hag and Troll's trail is Venom, although he's taking his sweet time about avenging the innocent lives they are feeding on. This is just meant as a tease of the upcoming Spirits of Venom crossover, but it's an odd way to do it.

Johnny has been saying that he wants to quit the adventuring stuff. So he helps Ghost Rider with Hag and Troll, but says it's the last time.

During the fight, we see other creatures monitoring, and deciding to retrieve Deathwatch.

They show up and take Deathwatch and Hag and Troll into the sewer.

Blaze doesn't want to follow, but when a homeless person that they saved from Hag and Troll says that there are more victims, Blaze changes his mind.

We're shown again at the end that Venom is still following. Such a polite super-villain, waiting for it to officially be his storyline.

There's nothing inherently wrong with this issue, but it's just overwhelming how much Ghost Rider we have to contend with. This Spirits of Vengeance series has been in constant crossover mode since it first started (this issue may not officially be part of Spirits of Venom, but for all intents and purposes, it is). You can see Mackie trying to stir up interest for Blaze's carnival cast, but we're immediately pulled back into a story with Ghost Rider and a crossover with Spider-Man.

There is a storm going on in this issue, and there's talk from the psychic Clara Menninger about how the storm may be more than just a regular storm. And during the fight with Troll and Hag, it looks like all the lights in New York City are out. I mention this because in Web of Spider-Man #95, the power goes out, and there's a reference to Spirits of Vengeance #3, which i think is a mistaken attempt at a reference to this issue.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Hag and Troll (and Venom) appear here after Web of Spider-Man #94. This issue leads directly into the Spirits of Venom crossover, beginning with Web of Spider-Man #95. This should be the first time that Danny Ketch and Johnny Blaze meet since Ghost Rider #32, and the two stay together through Spirits of Vengeance #10 and then Ghost Rider #39. But that doesn't preclude solo Ghost Rider appearances (including those in Ghost Rider #33-38).

References:

• Deathwatch was seemingly killed in Ghost Rider #24.
  
• Hag and Troll killed Vault Guardsmen in Web of Spider-Man #94.
  
• Johnny Blaze says that he hasn't seen Danny since he got out of the hospital, which i assume is a reference to Ghost Rider #32 (which hadn't been published yet).
  
• Blaze wonders if one of the new demons is Blackout, but Ghost Rider says that he fell with Lilith. That was in Ghost Rider #31.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Curiously, the Deathspawn in this issue come off a bit different than in the rest of the crossover. They speak and they have semi-antagonistic relationship with Hag and Troll. Meanwhile, in the further issues, they become merely the pawns for Hag and Troll to use...

BTW. Of course, Mackie once again fails to explain what Deatchwatch actually is!

On another note - oh, Eli McIntyre. A truly silly Mackie creation: a carny mechanic who, in the coming issues, will turn out to be an inventor / gadgeteer of Forge's level. I know it's the Marvel Universe, but... come on, Mackie.