Ghost #9
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The good
Elisa uses her powers in exciting ways. Potential story lines with her full memories back.
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The bad
Unsure what roles her friends will play or why Tommy felt need to record her
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The ugly
- Total score
Ghost #9 begins a new story arc for Elisa as she struggles with all the memories of her former life returning to her. It opens up with her having a recurring nightmare but from before she was Ghost so her old nightmares have returned along with her old memories. However this time it’s interrupted when her friends break down the door to her room because she hasn’t left it in 2 weeks. Well, considering she doesn’t need to use doors, they’re concerned that she hasn’t come out to talk to them in 2 weeks. She finally tells them that she got all her memories back so she remembers her entire family, her life growing up, all her relationships and even after she died and was yanked to hell. And those battles she had to fight in hell now haunt her because they forced her to become the one that she tries to hold back now when she’s fighting as Ghost. She explains why she hasn’t contacted her family yet but she doesn’t tell them that she’s been watching her family and knows their entire routine. And one night while she’s watching her sister head to work 3 men in a car pull alongside her and attempt to kidnap her before Elisa stops them. This isn’t enough for her and she wants to know who the kidnappers are working for so her sister’s life is never in danger again from them. But what organization is behind this attempted kidnapping and is Elise in the right state of mind to go after a violent organization and not lose herself?
Elisa’s memories are back! When I read that my mind raced with the possibilities regarding story lines as well as the complex situations that this could create seeing she’s been dead for years. And the start of this issue touched on the latter very well with Elisa explaining to her friends why she hasn’t reached out to her family directly including the potential danger they could face. However the revelation of her battles in hell and how that twisted her was also intriguing because of her recent bouts with losing control over Ghost and the struggle with her identity. So her course of action after her sister’s life was threatened was entertaining not just because it would lead to her focus shifting to uncovering those in the higher ranks in organized crime but her use of her abilities in ways she wasn’t using them before. There was something special about her phasing the entire floor after being lead to one of the base of operations and causing all the criminals to fall through. And that wasn’t even her most impressive feat this issue either. The villains in the last story arc were interesting to me, and the angle taken so far in this new story arc is that Ghost could actually be her own worst villain. Now, it’s clear that she’s a hero and saved the city, and her new course of action would also focus on doing so but her propensity to go even further than that has a much better context this story arc because of its connection to her battles in hell. I am hoping that it’s not just her friends that will give her a speech about her powers at the end of this struggle and there’s no substantial change to her life that will either help her or make her go down that path further. But for now, this story arc is off to a fantastic start.
SUMMARY
Ghost #9 is an exciting start to the new story arc as Elisa’s memories returning has not only left her torn about approaching her family but put her in a precarious situation when it comes to abusing her powers. The revelation of her battles in hell and all that did to her opened up a fascinating new angle to understand her character and give clarification about her struggles in the last story arc. It was good to see her use her powers in some creative ways, and I am curious to see how far she will go in her new course of action to protect the city. I don’t know what role her friends will play in shaping her at this point but I do hope it’s not something superficial that waters down what is needed for her in this new situation. But I’m excited to see how things unfold for her.
Release Date: 11/5/14
Writer: Chris Sebela
Artist: Harvey Tolibao
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