Cosmic Ghost Rider #5 Review

Written by: Stephanie Phillips
Art by: Guiu Vilanova
Colors by: K.J. Díaz
Letters by: VC’s Travis Lanham
Cover art by: Valerio Giangiordano, Morry Hollowell
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: July 26, 2023

Cosmic Ghost Rider #5 concludes the mini-series with a desperate plot by Frank Castle to split from his fractured selves before the Shi-ar can haul him away for good.

Is It Good?

Cosmic Ghost Rider #5 brings the odd adventure to a close with action, lots of snarky humor, a (sorta) happy ending, and an all-too-predictable development that’s representative of modern Marvel for all the wrong reasons.

When last we left the Old Man Castle, he wound up on a planetoid on the other side of a black hole where he found a number of Cosmic Ghost Riders, each representing shards of his personality split from the original. Borrowing heavily from the Teen Titans GO! episode, “Colors of Raven,” each Cosmic Ghost Rider (CGR) represents a different emotional state – fear, humor, etc. Now, Frank hatches a plan to retrieve the CGR captured by Monark Starstalker before it can be turned over to the Shi’ar and separate the CGRs forever until they eventually die from dwindling power.

At a high level, CGR is a weird character, but his weirdness and future setting are ripe for endless storytelling possibilities. You can do whatever you want because the continuity field of the future is wide open. That said, Stephanie Phillips takes the script in oddly predictable directions.
First, the mini-series started off as a deadly serious mystery, but once the mystery surrounding the second CGR was made plain, the story lapsed into Whendon-style snark and non-serious behavior from every character, including Frank Castle.

Next, the plot in this series and the “Colors of Raven” episode from Teen Titans GO! are eerily similar when you see how the situation is resolved. The characters and mechanisms are different, but the general plot is the same. Sure, Phillips could argue parallel thinking, but color-coding the CGRs is a step too far to ignore.

Last but not least, this is current year Marvel, so of course, Marvel editorial and the writer have to inject a mantle swap for Cosmic Ghost Rider. The oddest part about having a random side character take over is that it’s become so commonplace that it’s not a surprise anymore. Why would a barely-developed, seldom-seen character like Cosmic Ghost Rider need a mantle swap, especially when Frank still has the Cosmic Ghost Rider powers? The world may never know.

How’s the art? Vilanova’s art is very good. The character designs are distinctive, except for the plethora of CGRs, and the panel compositions are solid. The story is too predictable to be blown away by the art, but Vilanova made the most of it.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Cosmic Ghost Rider #5 ends the mini-series in a shocking fashion by being as predictable as possible. Vilanova’s art makes the most of a serviceable script, but even perfect art can’t compensate for Whedon-style snark, telegraphed endings, and a completely unnecessary mantle swap.