Review: The Light And The Grimdark Battle It Out In ‘Space Ghost’ #5

The tension between the more traditional “sunnier” heroism of classic Space Ghost and the more grimdark “take me seriously” actions of this more modern take on the character is put front and center in Space Ghost #5. With Space Ghost cowed by his wards being held hostage even as Zorak works to execute a plan that threatens all life in the galaxy, the question of how far is too far when it comes to defeating a villain becomes central to the issue. The end result is another strong outing for the series. 

With Jan and Jace in the clutches of the (now) murderous Zorak, Space Ghost’s blood is up as he blasts into the Hadron Collider facility where they’re being held, only to be immediately cowed by Zorak. This sets the stage for a tension-filled issue, as Space Ghost has to find a way to free Jan and Jace while also preventing Zorak from accomplishing his goal of unleashing Lokar, the god-like bug alien Zorak worships, on the galaxy.

At the same time, the captive Jan and Jace work to free themselves, in the hopes of freeing Space Ghost to act directly against Zorak. Their relative isolation and the fact that Space Ghost can’t help them is underscored by artist Jonathan Lau, who places them in a series of long, narrow panels (like the bars of a cell) surrounded by a lot of white space. 

With Jan and Jace at Zorak’s mercy, Space Ghost must restrain himself. As much as he wants to tear him limb from limb, acting more like his darker self from issue #1, as evidenced by the way he storms into the collider facility, he can’t. Instead, he struggles with the classic hero’s dilemma of wear to draw the line between the needs of the many and the needs of the few. Does he help Zorak summon Lokar and threaten the galaxy, or does he allow his young charges to die?

The grimdark Space Ghost of the series’ launch would simply let the kids die. But their interactions over the subsequent four issues have pushed him closer to a more traditional ethos. Thus, writer David Pepose is able to have his cake and eat it too: Zorak is a more extreme villain than the annoyance he is on Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast, but Space Ghost himself doesn’t get so dark he becomes parodic in response. 

*Spoilers Ahead*

In the end, it falls to Jace (after he and Jan are freed by Blip — the goofy monkey being the key to victory itself another data point in the issue’s ongoing conversation between the grimdark and the classic) to end the threat of Zorak. In trying to save Space Ghost, he blasts the bug into the portal created by the collider, seemingly killing him. But rather than celebrate this more direct offensive act by someone who is, on paper, a goofy character, it leads to Jace throwing in the towel, upset that he’s killed someone (however inadvertently). Clearly, the complex morality of his actions are something the series wants to grapple with in the future, rather than simply celebrating a coming-of-age “badass” act by one of its young characters. 

Thus Space Ghost #5 succeeds by leaning directly into the tension between the more traditional heroism of its classic iterations and the darker, more mature storytelling beats of modern stories. By constraining Space Ghost while allowing Zorak to “go dark”, and then ending the issue by putting Jace at the center of the tension, the story is asking questions about what it takes to be a hero and the cost of doing so. That kind of exploration is the kind of thing that will bring Space Ghost into modern, more serious storytelling without resorting to over-the-top displays of teeth-gritting toughness.