Ghost Rider Vol 3 1

"Innocent blood has been spilled tonight -- awakening me from my long sleep. Vengeance must be delivered."

- Ghost Rider

Plot
Danny Ketch and his older sister Barbara stroll through Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn on Halloween eve looking to find the grave of Harry Houdini. They come upon a low-level street gang known as the Cypress Pool Jokers who are dressed in masks and itching to start some trouble. They antagonize Dan and Barbara for a bit, forcing them to run off towards Gallagher's Junkyard. Moments later, they hear a gunshot and the cries of someone in pain. They peer over a pile of debris and see a masked criminal named Deathwatch squaring off against three armed combatants. The armed men are in possession of a silver briefcase that they recently liberated from Deathwatch and his cronies. Deathwatch snaps his fingers and his lieutenants appear from within the shadows and begin taking down the armed men. Barbara lets out a cry of shock and Deathwatch takes note of her. He orders his men to kill all witnesses and one of them fires a crossbow bolt that strikes Barbara in the chest. Fearful, Dann drags her down behind the junkyard debris for some cover. Deathwatch's men recover the stolen briefcase and converge on Dan and Barbara's position, hoping to ferret them out.

Dan pulls Barbara into a ditch and props her up against an abandoned motorcycle. As Barbara's blood spills upon the gas tank, Dan cries that he would do anything to save her. Suddenly, the motorcycle begins to glow and light begins bursting out of Danny Ketch's body. Within seconds he finds himself transformed into the Spirit of Vengeance known as the Ghost Rider. The Ghost Rider sits Barbara's prone body upon the cycle, which is now bathed in a halo of Hellfire and rides out into the open. Deathwatch's masked underlings confront him, but the Ghost Rider produces a length of chain and uses it to batter down his opponents. The police arrive, but the Ghost Rider will not be deterred. He leaves Barbara with the police then rides off. Several squad cars follow him through Queens, but the Ghost Rider easily outmaneuvers them. Once he reaches a safe distance, he dismounts the cycle and transforms back into Danny Ketch.

Later, Deathwatch's goons return to their master's Wall Street penthouse office. They tell their boss that they failed to recover the briefcase. Deathwatch uses his psychic powers on one of his underlings and sees visions of their fight against the Ghost Rider. He sees that the briefcase came into the possession of one of the female members of the Cypress Pool Jokers. Angered by their incompetence, he kills the one responsible for losing the case and instructs the others to find the girl and the case.

Meanwhile, the true owner of the briefcase and it's contents, Wilson Fisk, works out in his private dojo. Wilson Fisk is one of the most powerful underworld figures in New York and has earned himself the nickname of the Kingpin of Crime. One of his men interrupts his workout to tell him that the briefcase had been stolen from his courier by a group of masked men. In an uncharacteristic display of nervousness, Fisk stresses the importance of recovering that case at all costs.

As the evening wears on, the young woman who now possesses the case, Paulie, meets up with the other Cypress Pool Jokers at Salem Fields in Cypress Hills Cemetery. She shows the case to her friends, suspecting that it might be filled with money or drugs. When they open it however, all they find are three metal canisters.

The following day, Danny Ketch goes to St. John's Hospital to see his sister. Police detective Captain Arthur Dolan is present with his daughter Stacy. Danny's mother is present as well and they tell him that Barbara is in critical, but stable condition. He visits her room and solemnly blames himself for what has happened. He recalls becoming the Ghost Rider, but is scared and confused as to how and why it happened.

Elsewhere, the Kingpin's men track down Paulie and the other Cypress Pool Jokers. Deathwatch's men arrive on the scene as well and a firefight breaks out between the three gangs. One of Deathwatch's brood hurls a dagger that strikes the Joker known as Ralphie in the chest. Paulie rushes to his side and tries to help him.

From out of nowhere, the Ghost Rider roars up on his cycle and dives into the fray. He first attacks Deathwatch's brood, slinging his chain, which fires its own links as projectile weapons then mystically reconstitutes itself. The leader of Fisk's group produces a rocket launcher and fires it at Ghost Rider, but the demonic leather-clad figure emerges from the blast unscathed. The thug then gets the drop on Paulie and forces her at gunpoint to tell him where the canisters are. She reveals that the canisters were hidden in three separate locations in the cemetery, but she only knows the location of one of them. Ghost Rider approaches and knocks the goon out with his chain. He picks up the dying Ralphie and carries him to St. John's Hospital. Paulie elects to go with him. Nobody knows what to make of him as he lays the boy's body down on a gurney.

The following day, Captain Dolan reads the Daily Bugle report concerning last evening's incident. He brands the Ghost Rider as a vigilante and blames him for putting Barbara Ketch in the hospital. Danny tries to explain to Dolan that Ghost Rider was fighting to protect the innocent, but he is careful not to reveal how he knows so much about the mysterious skull-faced hero.

Independently, both the Kingpin and Deathwatch consolidate their efforts towards locating the elusive silver canisters.

Appearances
Featured Characters:
 * Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch)

Supporting Characters:
 * Arthur Dolan
 * Barbara Ketch
 * Stacy Dolan

Villains:
 * Deathwatch
 * Wilson Fisk
 * Carl

Other Characters:
 * Cypress Pool Jokers
 * Angel
 * Johnny
 * Pauline Stratton
 * Ralphie D'Amato


 * Francis Ketch
 * Jimmy
 * Chapman
 * Kenji

Locations:
 * New York City
 * Brooklyn
 * Cypress Hills Cemetery
 * Gallagher's Junkyard
 * Salem Fields
 * Manhattan

Items:
 * Crossbows
 * Medallion of Power

Vehicles:
 * Ghost Rider's Motorcycle

Notes & Trivia

 * Double-size, 48-page premier issue.


 * This issue went to second printing.


 * The events from this issue take place on October 30th.


 * First appearance of all characters. This the first time that any variation of the Ghost Rider character has been seen since 1983. The previous Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, was rendered inactive in Ghost Rider, Volume 2 #80. Johnny Blaze was once bonded to the demon known as Zarathos. Initially, it is implied that Zarathos is the same demon that now bonds to Danny Ketch, but future issues will reveal that the demonic essence is actually that of Noble Kale, a former human and a Spirit of Vengeance.


 * Cypress Hills Cemetery is a fictional location. The real Harry Houdini was buried at Machpelah Cemetery in Queens.


 * The catalyst for Danny Ketch transforming into the Ghost Rider is due to an item called the Medallion of Power, which was affixed to the gas tank lid that Danny touched when he first encoutered the motorcyle in Gallagher's Junkyard.

Reprints
The story from this issue is reprinted in the following:
 * Ghost Rider: Resurrected (trade paperback)
 * Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch Classic (trade paperback)
 * Ghost Rider: The Complete Collection (DVD-ROM)