SPIRITS OF VENOM (1992-1993)

Venom wants Spider-Man dead and he'll also kill anyone who gets in his path to the web-slinger. Even if it's a flame-headed Spirit of Vengeance! Unfortunately for Venom, Ghost Rider comes with a reluctant buddy ever since Doctor Strange paired him up with the Spirit of Vengeance's previous host with the most, Johnny Blaze. As if that wasn't enough of a match up, Ghost Rider and Blaze are already hunting Hag and Troll who are trying to resurrect their master, Deathwatch. 

Add the ongoing feud between Hobgoblin and the demon who once shared his body, Demogoblin, to the mix and it's going to get messy! Sprinkle it with Demogoblin's pet Spider-Man Doppelganger and the brand new threat of the Deathspawn and you've got a recipe for a tale that's almost impossible to follow. But at least Wolverine and the Punisher were too busy for this one to make it the ultimate '90s crossover cliche.

This one doesn't exactly come recommended, but those of you who just have to read or reread the story might get a better understanding of it once you've added those prequel issues to the reading order...

[INFERNO - Hobgoblin gets demonic powers]
[THE FALL OF THE KINGPIN - Demogoblin separates from Hobgoblin]

[RISE OF THE MIDNIGHT SONS - Ghost Rider & Johnny Blaze join forces]

[GOBLIN KNIGHT - Demogoblin discovers the Doppelganger]

• Web of Spider-Man #93-94 (tie-in) (also see GOBLIN KNIGHT)
• Ghost Rider & Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #4 (tie-in)
• Web of Spider-Man #95
• Ghost Rider & Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #5
• Web of Spider-Man #96
• Ghost Rider & Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #6

Web of Spider-Man #93 (tie-in)
Free of the demon he's been sharing his body with (since THE FALL OF THE KINGPIN), Jason Macendale hones his skills as a killer to earn the right to wear the Hobgoblin costume once again. But he's in debt with the Foreigner for having Ned Leeds killed and obtaining the identity years earlier (during THE HOBGOBLIN REVEALED). He now has to kill Moon Knight and Daily Bugle photographer Nick Katzenberg to pay off his debt. The Foreigner alerts Spider-Man to make things more interesting and the web-slinger soon comes to Moon Knight's aid when his journey to Four Freedom's Plaza is interrupted. When Hobgoblin believes he's killed Moon Knight, he moves on to his next target. Meanwhile, the incarcerated Demogoblin mentally resurrects the Spider-Man Doppelganger and calls on him for help...

Web of Spider-Man #94 (tie-in)
Moon Knight rejoins Spider-Man to seek out the Hobgoblin who pursues Nick Katzenberg. The two heroes save Katzenburg who goes into cardiac arrest. Moon Knight goes off to find the cure he needs to give to Mister Fantastic while Spider-Man takes Hobgoblin into custody. Elsewhere, the vampiric Hag and Troll accidentally help Venom escape from his prison transport on the way to the Vault. And the Doppelganger breaks Demogoblin out of jail...

Ghost Rider & Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #4 (tie-in)
Hag and Troll find their master, Deathwatch, in a state of living death after his last encounter with the Ghost Rider. The Ghost Rider seeks out Hag and Troll when they start kidnapping homeless people. The reluctant Johnny Blaze allies with Ghost Rider against them, only for the teleporting Deathspawn to take the supernatural villains and their shared master, Deathwatch, out of the fray and into the sewers. Little do they realise, Venom is also coming to play hero in his own violent way...

Web of Spider-Man #95
Spider-Man comes under attack from the Demogoblin and Doppelganger again on his way to the police station with the webbed-up Hobgoblin. Spidey escapes them and takes Hobgoblin to a church to hide out, only for Demogoblin to arrive and take a priest hostage. Ghost Rider and Blaze find themselves on the same side as Venom when they find Hag and Troll in the sewers. Both battles soon collide as Venom emerges from beneath the church having captured Hag and Troll. The four-way clash ends up dragging everyone back down into the sewers, including the priest who is grabbed by the Deathspawn with Spider-Man rushing to his aid...

Ghost Rider & Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #5
Venom drops Hag & Troll in favour of pursuing the Deathspawn who drag Spider-Man away from the battle. Ghost Rider and Blaze lose Deathwatch to another batch of Deathspawn and pursue them deeper into the sewers where they discover homeless people who have been gathered for the Deathspawn's consumption. They free Spider-Man who takes the priest to relative safety, leaving Demogoblin and the Doppelganger strung up for the Deathspawn to eat...

Web of Spider-Man #96
Spidey and the priest lose the Deathspawn and start searching for the missing homeless people. Demogoblin and Doppleganger have broken free and plan to kill the captive Hobgoblin for his sins, only for him to be rescued by Venom. Spider-Man arrives and sides with Venom until the two of them start fighting each other. Ghost Rider stops Venom from killing Spider-Man, angering him and gaining his full attention...

Ghost Rider & Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #6
Venom and Ghost Rider battle it out until Ghost Rider's Penance Stare has an explosive reaction to Venom's alien Symbiote costume. Blaze stabs Venom before the three of them are dragged away by the Deathspawn again. The Deathspawn enter the body of their master, Deathwatch, and reanimate him to the point where he can feed of the Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze and Venom to fully return. Spider-Man hands an unconscious Hobgoblin over to a Guardsman from the Vault, then returns to the sewers to free his captured allies. Ghost Rider uses his hellfire to burn Deathwatch, Blaze captures Hag & Troll and a team of Guardsmen arrive and subdue Venom.

Marc Spector: Moon Knight #44 (1992)

Moon Knight visits Mister Fantastic between his team-ups with Spider-Man and learns he's been infected by the Demogoblin during THE INFINITY WAR / GOBLIN KNIGHT.

Marc Spector: Moon Knight #45-46 (1992)
Following his defeat at the hands of Spider-Man and the 'Spirits of Vengeance', Demogoblin is locked up in Brinkstone Prison where Moon Knight learns why he infected him; Demogoblin escapes prison again during GOBLIN KNIGHT.

Ghost Rider & Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #7-8 (1993)

Ghost Rider and Blaze fail to find Doctor Strange and don't make it to the Quentin Carnival before the heavy snowfall; Clara Menninger's prophecy comes too late when Steel Wind, Steel Vengeance and the Reverend Styge's demons attack the Quentin Carnival.

Ghost Rider & Blaze Spirits of Vengeance #9-10 (1993)

A new 'ghost rider' called Vengeance joins the attack on the Quentin Carnival; Hag & Troll end up in the hands of Carver of the Lilin who plans to cut them up for spare parts during VENGEANCE!

Amazing Spider-Man #373-375 (1993)
Venom is sent to a secret prison for super-humans in New York, rather than the Vault; Venom escapes the new prison and clashes with Spider-Man again; Spider-Man and Venom part on oddly amicable terms, agreeing to stay out of each other's way during LETHAL PROTECTOR.

Web of Spider-Man #98 (1993)
Doppelganger is revealed to have escaped the Deathspawn) except for two who briefly lived inside him.

Spider-Man #35 (1993)

Spider-Man and Venom join forces against Carnag eagain; Demogoblin is reunited with the Doppelganger during MAXIMUM CARNAGE.

Spider-Man #37 (1993)
Carnage kills the Doppelgänger by stabbing him and throwing him off a building during MAXIMUM CARNAGE.

Sleepwalker #20-22 (1993)
Hobgoblin escapes incarceration and clashes with the Sleepwalker.

Amazing Spider-Man #385 (1994)
When Peter Parker next catches up with Nick Katzenburg, he and Mary Jane Parker learn he has cancer; seeing the state Katzenburg is in convinces Mary Jane to stop smoking.

Ghost Rider #42-43 (1993)

Deathwatch is reanimated; Ghost Rider learns he's not Zarathos during ROAD TO VENGEANCE: THE MISSING LINK.

Midnight Sons Unlimited #4 (1994)

Lilith is defeated by the combined power of the 'Midnight Sons' during SIEGE OF DARKNESS.

Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #23 (1994)
Johnny Blaze locates the missing Timmy Woods.

Spider-Man #48 (1994)
Hobgoblin and Demogoblin's feud ends with the death of Demogoblin during THE ENEMY WITHIN.

Amazing Spider-Man #398 (1995)
Nick Katzenburg is revealed to have died of cancer during WEB OF DEATH.

Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives #1-3 (1997)
Roderick Kingsley is revealed to have been the real original Hobgoblin, having used the brain-washed Ned Leeds to cover his illegal activities; Kingsley kills Jason Macendale to fully reclaim the Hobgoblin name.

Ghost Rider #1 (2001)
Johnny Blaze does end up becoming the Ghost Rider again during THE HAMMER LANE.

New Avengers: Most Wanted Files #1 (2005)

Deathwatch is revealed to have been fully resurrected and among the villains who escaped the Raft during Electro's efforts to free Sauron.

Carnage #1 (2010)
Doppelgänger is revealed to have survived Carnage's attempt on his life and even aids in breaking him out of a prison transport.

Amazing Spider-Man #23 (2017)
Nick Katzenburg is among those who are resurrected by New U Technologies during DEAD NO MORE: THE CLONE CONSPIRACY.

Spirits of Vengeance: Rise of the Midnight Sons
Collects Ghost Rider & Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #4-6 and Web of Spider-Man #95-96.

Spider-Man vs Venom Omnibus
Collects Ghost Rider & Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #5-6 and Web of Spider-Man #95-96.