A filler issue before J.M. DeMatteis, known for writing the original Moon Knight (aka Batman), will come aboard to try to revive the title. It suffered (a little unjustly) from low readership under Chuck Dixon.
I’m sure Marvel thought Ghost Rider would bring some readers in, and I’m sure it did. But stunt casting will only take you so far. Moon Knight is a character who requires a visionary writer–he’s tough to “get” and write for.
This one’s got Ghost Rider and a vigilante cult called Knights of the Moon. Moon Knight rides bitch, which makes sense since Ghost Rider is doing him a huge favor by appearing in this issue.
They storm the cult’s base.
Working for the cult is a new super-villain named Plasma, who literally blows Ghost Rider up into a pile of ash.
Moon Knight is all broken up about it.
In fact, Moon Knight jokes about Ghost Rider’s death.
But we learn Ghost Rider can’t be killed, as he fwooshes back to life.
As a living spirit of vengeance, this power set makes sense (but why wasn’t it introduced in his own book–or was it and I missed it?), but as the character being developed by Howard Mackie in the rebooted Ghost Rider main book, it doesn’t make sense. When he’s not all fiery bones, Ghost Rider reverts to human form and his bike reverts to a regular motorcycle. Whatever. I guess it makes the same amount of sense as a guy who can transform into a giant green brute or a kid who gets bit by a spider and gets power. I guess.
This is much more a book about Ghost Rider than Moon Knight.
Plasma never reappears after accidentally exploding at the end of this story. Unlike Ghost Rider, Plasma can’t come back from the dead, I guess.
I’m grading as a “C.” Story isn’t great, but it really does add to Ghost Rider’s power set (I think), so it’s kind of important.