The Best Cover You've Never Seen--Ghost Rider #6 (1951)

No, I have no idea why I'm hung up on the Western Ghost Rider this week...

...but Dick Ayers could draw the hell out of him!!

No wonder he brought the concept to Marvel with him a few years later...

The Day Doom Won!!

We all remember the day Doctor Doom conquered the world, right? Right?

Seriously? You don't remember that?

Well it went a little something like this...

See, Doom won!!

Well, that was a fun post. Now to...

What? You want an explanation?!?

Sigh, you youngsters.

Fortunately, someone chose this very minute to burst into Castle Doom:

Well, the book IS called Super-Villain Team-Up, after all!

But Doom doesn't need your stinkin' help!

How?!?

Yup. We were all Doom's slaves that day.

But Doom is not satisfied, because as he monologued above, it was all too easy. So, he proposes a contest!

Dude, you roofied Magneto!!

OK, it was the cure, too, so I guess it's OK.

Maggy takes the logical first step of going to the Avengers for help...

...they don't believe him--because who could ever believe that magneto would become a good guy? (cough. cough).

But after some pointless fisticuffs (the best kind), they agree to listen:

But they don't believe...

Until:

OK, so that didn't go well.

Well, magneto chooses a) the guy he knows, and b) the guy with connections to other teams.

And after some highly improbable science...

Well, the Beast is on board. But it turns out...

...no one is home!!

So they fly all the way out to the west coast, where some of Hank's old buddies have joined a new team:

Well, more pointless fisticuffs ensue, and Doom doesn't even need to assert control over the heroes, because everyone knows that Magneto could never, ever be a good guy! (cough. cough.)

Until we get a radio broadcast:

And it turns out...

...that even Jimmy Carter can't resist Doom!!

Damn, Doom, you're soooo picky.

Anyway, the Champions followed Magneto and Hank to DC, and Doom asserts control...

Except one of the Champions is apparently immune to the gas:

So...the Vision was vulnerable, but Ghost Rider wasn't? Magic, I guess...?

Maggy decides to go mano a mano with Von Doom...

...until Beast and Ghost Rider settle the match!

Uh-oh...

Oh, yeah, Hulk showed up, too.

Anyway, yeah, with Doom a victim of his own gas, he can't control anyone anymore. No, I'm not sure how that works, either.

Magneto wins...

...but when he leaves...

Hank forgets everything that happened...because the gas wipes his memory? Wait, does this even begin to make sense?

Well, I guess it's because everyone still has to obey Doom, but now Doom has to obey himself, and it all gets very dazed and confused:

So...OK, that still makes no sense.

Still, that was the 70s, man...Victor Von Doom took over the world, and no one remembers--not even him!!

From Super-Villain Team-Up #14 & Champions #16 (1977)

When In Doubt...90s!

OK, exhausted/full agenda. So I'm calling mental/physical health day.

In the meantime, please enjoy this cover of Ghost Rider, Wolverine and Gambit fighting the Brood.

Man. 1995, you know?

Manic Monday Bonus--An Excuse To Put Marvel's WWI Heroes On TV!!

The good news is that, if Ghost Rider is joining Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. next season, maybe, just maybe, we'll get to see this:

Yes, yes, I know, it's apparently going to be a different Ghost Rider than Johnny Blaze. But really, you know you want to see this:

Plus, you bring in Phantom Eagle (or at least his ghost). Which means you're only a step from bringing in Union Jack. And I think we can all agree that would be a good thing.

From Ghost Rider #12 (1975)

The Best Cover You've Never Seen--Ghost Rider #73 (1982)

Cover by Bob Budiansky (pencils) and Dave Simons (inks)

Friday Night Fights--SPTANG Style!!

Back in the mid-70s, Marvel tried to make Ghost Rider into a super-hero.

For most of his existence, he was a supernatural character--he fought Satan and demons, demons and Satan fought him, he hung around with Jesus (no, really....well, sort of).

Eventually the horror craze began to die off, and no doubt Marvel began to feel some pressure about featuring so much Satan and Hell in a comic book for kids (reminder: Walt Disney owns Satan!!)

So Marvel began to transition Ghost Rider away from supernatural stories to more mainstream heroism. He saw lots more crossovers with regular old Marvel heroes and villains, he joined the Champions, his foes were (mostly) of a non-hellspawn variety.

Like this week's Friday Night Fights.

A number of super-villains are having a bit of a donnybrook over a scientific gizmo that can eventually be turned into a death ray. The Eel was the last to have it, but someone murdered him and took it. And when Johnny Blaze stumbles across the Eel's corpse, Gladiator is there, and assumes that Blaze has the gizmo.

Fisticuffs result...

SPTANG!!!!

Spacebooger is kinda curious why Blaze didn't just spritz Gladiator with a bit of the old hellfire...

SPTANG was brought to you by Gerry Conway, Gil Kane and Sam Grainger in Ghost Rider #21 (1976)

Now is the time for you to go and vote for my fight. Why? SPTANG!!!! So go and vote!!