Appearing in "Circle of Four: Part Two"
Featured Characters:
- Venom (Flash Thompson)
- Red Hulk (Thunderbolt Ross)
- X-23 (Laura Kinney)
- Ghost Rider (Alejandra) (Possessed by the Spirit of Vengeance)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Blackheart
- Gari Oyle
- Antitheses
- X-666
- The Evangelist
- Ichor (Last appearance) (Leaves)
- Encephalon
- Symbiote Warriors
Other Characters:
- Jerry
- Hawkeye (Clint Barton) (Mentioned)
- Satan (Marduk Kurios) (Referenced)
- Mephisto (Referenced)
- U.S. Army (Named only)
- Harrison Thompson (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Wolverine (Logan) (Mentioned)
- God (Invoked)
- Imara (Only in recap) (Unnamed)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth (Main story and recap)
- United States of America
- Nevada
- Las Vegas
- Blackheart's Hell Centrifuge (Name revealed)
- Tower Blackheart
- Las Vegas
- Nevada
- Nicaragua (Only in recap)
- Nueva Segovia (Only in recap)
- Murra (Only in recap)
- Nueva Segovia (Only in recap)
- United States of America
- Hell
Items:
- Hellstorm's Trident
- Hell-Mark (Unnamed)
- Venom Symbiote
- X-Uniform
- Adamantium (on X-23's claws)
- H'elian's Mirror Cauldron (Mentioned)
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Circle of Four: Part Two"
Doctor Strange and Daimon Hellstrom arrive at the border to Las Vegas, but Strange says neither are able to pass through the barrier created by the amulet.
Inside the black tower Blackheart sends his girlfriend Gari Oyle to investigate what is stopping Hell from spreading. Blackheart then orders the Antitheses he created to kill everyone but the Ghost Rider, as he wants the Spirit of Vengeance for himself. The Antitheses throw the group out of the tower, and while they fight them, Red Hulk orders the Ghost Rider to stop Gari Oyle. But her antithesis Ichor, an angel, follows after her.
Venom's antithesis is the Evangelist, a pastor who uses his bible to rip the symbiote away from him and manipulates his emotions by bringing up his battle with alcoholism and his issues with his father.
Meanwhile, X-23 realizes that she is in Hell and wonders how this is possible if you don't have a soul. Her antithesis, a cheerleader named X-666, mocks her for caring about this, but X-23 says she doesn't care and is going after Blackheart. However, X-666 is unimpressed and sees X-23 as nothing but a killer while she considers herself and others more nuanced than that. Regardless, X-23 brushes her off and begins her ascension up the tower.
Mad that no one is following his orders, Red Hulk finds that his antithesis Encephalon, a brain, has the ability to force him to do as he says.
Hoping to get the Ghost Rider to join him, Blackheart offers to restore the Nicaraguan souls, but her antithesis throws her off her bike before she can make her decision. He attempts to play on her weaknesses by making her realize how bad she is, but Ghost Rider already knows this and says that he has no power over her. She then makes quick work of him and continues her search for the gargoyle after Ichor changes back into a human. Blackheart is impressed by this display and tells her his offer still stands so long as she performs a favor for him. As she contemplates this, Doctor Strange on the other side of the barrier tells Daimon they might not be able to stop Hell from spreading.
Solicit Synopsis
• Hell is spreading across the Earth from out of Las Vegas.
• Ghost Rider is responsible but what price is she willing to pay to save mankind?!
• X-23, Venom & Hulk must defeat their worst enemies, buying Ghost Rider time to stop hell’s march across the globe!
• As a clone, X-23 has often wondered if she has a soul. This is where she gets her answer!
• Who is Ichor and why has he targeted Venom for Death?!