Ghost Rider (1973) 27-A

"At the Mercy of the Manticore!"

You are Johnny Blaze. And for the first time in a long while you feel completely free. Free of cloying constraints of relationships with co-workers and competitive female rivals. The desert roads open up like Utopia, and you feel the brotherhood of other bikers. You are Johnny Blaze, and your engine is about to sputter out.

A handy tip from and old store owner leads Blaze to Cherry-O's Dude Ranch, where Clint Barton and his time-lost friend, the Two-Gun Kid are living up the cowboy life. Johnny's bike barely manages to get him to the ranch, where he is quickly accepted by like-minded transient folks.

As always Johnny doesn't take to acceptance very well. By nightfall, the skeletal sentinel is streaking away into the desert for some much needed solitude.

Clint puts on his Hawkeye costume out of a mixture of nostalgia and homesickness, pining for the of the Avengers once more. His maudlin musing is violently cut short when an intruder pounces in the form of mythic beast, Manticore.

Two-Gun is pinned under the rubble left in the Manticore's wake. Hawkeye is carried off like a rag doll. Ghost Rider returns to the ranch to rescue Two-Gun, who points the Spirit Cyclist in the direction his partner was manhandled away.

Manticore occurs to be in the service of Brand Corporation, who feel aggrieved that one of their assets, the Cat's costume now worn by Patsy Walker needs to be reclaimed. An Avenger's life for the loss of inventory. Fair swap? Not in Hawkeye's reckoning.

Hellfire formed wheels spirit the Brimstone Biker, tout de suite. Yet another foe that resists the effects of Hellfire, Ghost Rider has to grapple with the tech-enhanced monster. Two-Gun valiantly charges in on Blaze's borrowed bike, but only becomes a hostage.

Blaze employs his own eerie theatrics. Hoping to convince the man-monster that he could care less about the fate of "mortals". This causes the Manticore to pause long enough for the Avenger bowman to shoot one arrow incisively. Johnny insists that he was only bluffing to unnerve the Manticore, but the two heroes aren't consoled.

Yep, the old "Spook act" once again alienates potential compatriots. Just like always. You are Johnny Blaze and your destiny is to ride alone.