Savage Avengers #21: Review

Jun 2021

Gerry Duggan, Patrick Zircher

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Story Name:

Chapter 21: Dream warriors

Review & Comments

Rating:

Savage Avengers #21 Review by Rob Johnson (June 5, 2021)

While Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes) has been an Avenger, Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze) has been King of Hell. That plotline was coming to a head in the 2019 GR series but it was prematurely cancelled, and recently concluded in the King In Black: Ghost Rider 1-shot where he ceded the throne back to Mephisto to stop Lilith getting it. So now here he's just an ordinary Spirit Of Vengeance.

Next issue it seems like we'll get to meet the Hyborian Age GR.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Savage Avengers #21 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

Conan wakes from a dream where Kulan Gath kills him and all his recent allies. He's sharing some furs with 2 females before a blazing fire in the Hellfire Club. A portrait of Sebastian Shaw seems to look down disapprovingly so he throws it in the grate. Emma Frost enters and announces herself as the White Queen of the Club. She tells him that Wolverine asked as a favour that Conan be allowed to live here until the wizard is vanquished. Taking a swig from the remains of a bottle of wine she says she'll agree to him looking after the place for the duration. The Cimmerian doesn't take kindly to her tone but she mentally prevents him from attacking her and leaves.

Conan too leaves in a bad mood looking for a distraction. He finds it in a group of people killing themselves or each other under the influence of Gath in their dreams. He wakes up the rest of the building but is attacked by Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze) who can 'smell' the taint of KG on him (well Conan has fought Gath many times, and has been poisoned by him). GR rides up the side of the building on his flaming motorbike with the Barbarian hanging from his chain. Conan yanks him off the bike and they both prevent themselves from falling to the ground, Blaze with his hooked chain and Conan with his tame Klyntar symbiote. Then the bike falls on its master.

Conan remembers meeting a Ghost Rider in the Hyborian Age riding a giant spider. The Cimmerian had been hired to assassinate a despotic king, but the GR saved him the job.

Now this GR says that KG has invaded *his* waking nightmare and he's seen Conan serving the wizard in his dreams. So they clash again and the Barbarian stabs his foe through the chest with the symbiote as a sword. That can't kill a Spirit Of Vengeance who responds with his Penance Stare which does rock his enemy (who is guilty of many things). Conan's reply is to smash GR's head with a symbiote-mace and then try to gouge his eyes out to stop the Stare. But this just makes it explode with extreme violence ...

... and when Conan's eyes recover he's back in his own Age in Aquilonia.

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