Team Up’s Comic Corner
Cosmic Ghost Rider: Baby Thanos Must Die/ Destroys the Marvel History
Hi and welcome to Team Up’s Comic Corner, where each week I highlight a comic issue or series, past or present, that everyone should check out to make the most of nerd culture going on around us. Last week we talked time travel and the hope filled hero Flash. This week we are continuing with time travel but with a much darker “hero”. I want to introduce many of our readers to one of the newest marvel creations: The Cosmic Ghost Rider!
Introduced in the series Thanos (2016) #13-#18 by Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw, the identity of this version of the ghost rider remained a mystery for a while. Part wildly overpowered cosmic entity, part crazy person who would give Deadpool a run for his marbles, all wrapped up nicely with that signature flaming skull and crazy motorcycle; The Cosmic Ghost Rider is one of the most entertaining characters with the craziest back story.
In the future, Thanos is successful in killing most sentient life in the universe when he turns his sights to the last and most bothersome planet: Earth. Thanos kills everyone on Earth, but with his dying breath - Frank Castle, otherwise known as the Punisher, curses Thanos and swears revenge. Hearing this, Mephiosto (Marvels version of the Devil at the Crossroads) gives Frank the Spirit of Vengeance turning him into the Ghost Rider, only it’s too late and Thanos has already destroyed everything and everyone on earth. Driven crazy by his immortality, loneliness, and lack of purpose, Frank is the only one around when Galactus appears on Earth. Striking his second deal, the Ghost Rider becomes the Harold of Galactus to replace the fallen Silver Surfer. Thus the Cosmic Ghost Rider is born, though he still has one more deal to make as Thanos also successfully kills Galactus and makes the Ghost Rider his herald.
In the Thanos (2016) run, something happens that sends the Ghost Rider back in time and that’s where the first of our suggested series picks up, as Frank finds himself face to face with baby Thanos. Given the choice to kill Thanos as a baby and save the world, he chooses to instead adopt baby Thanos and raise him to be the greatest hero instead of the greatest villain. Obviously, things don’t go the way they should and Frank realizes that no matter what Thanos will always be what he is, a Mad Titan, and returns him to his crib to live out his days as history intended. Now stuck in the past and realizing that stopping Thanos was out of the question, Frank heads to Earth to kill time while he waits for a moment he always regretted and wants to change: The day he took his family to the park and the Punisher was born.
This brings us to the second series featuring our off-his-rocker Anti-Hero, Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History. While killing time waiting for the moment to prevent his family’s death, Frank interjects himself into some of the biggest moments of the Marvel Universe.
Just look at that artwork!
Each of the 6 issues tackles a different set of characters who’s history he messes with, from Spider-Man to the X-Men and Fantastic 4, the Cosmic Ghost Rider is present for all the big moments, but when the time comes to finally save his family, he comes up on a pretty large roadblock in the form of Uatu The Watcher. I won’t ruin the ending, but know that it’s filled with the same zany action as one would expect from a series like this. In the epilogue everything gets wrapped up in a way which leads to his introduction as a Guardian of The Galaxy and a main-stay on the cosmic space of the Marvel Universe.
Part Deadpool comic, part crazy space adventure, part warning about the perils of time travel - I highly recommend you read both of these series if you’re looking for something lighthearted and, at times, overly violent. See you next week, and remember, don’t be afraid to crease the corners on a good panel!
