The Spirits of Vengeance stand between the armies of heaven and hell, holding each at arm’s length in an attempt to save all Earthly life—and the afterlife—from destruction.

On January 17, writer Victor Gischler and artist David Baldeón present the penultimate chapter of their epic tale with SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE #4! As Necrodamus forges a pathway to war, Ghost Rider, Satana, Blade, and Hellstorm unite again to arbitrate the conflict between darkness and light.

We spoke with Mr. Gischler about the otherworldly battle ahead of issue #4.

Marvel.com: What makes Necrodamus such a great villain?

Victor Gischler: He’s exactly the sort of villain I like. Because he’s all powerful? Nope; because he’s third rate in every way and has been reminded of that every day of his life. “I’ll show you” is his mantra.

He does have some legit magical powers, but compared to somebody like Doctor Strange, he’s something of a nobody. And he knows it. It’s eaten him up all his life, and the only way he can accomplish anything is to punch above his weight. And then along comes the Judas silver…

Marvel.com: How do you get into the head of a character like that?

Victor Gischler: We’ve all had those times we feel we’ve been treated unfairly. So just take that to its darkest possible place…and there you go. It’s easy to put ourselves in the shoes of the hero. But we should be able to see the world from the villain’s point of view too—otherwise he’s just a cardboard cutout.

Marvel.com: Can you tell us about his endgame in SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE? Why all the angel-killing?

Victor Gischler: Hmm…that’s begging for a spoiler. I’ll answer like this: for once in his sad life, he feels he’s concocted a way to come out on top. The angel-killing acts as a test for him to hone his new weapon. Let them laugh at Necrodamus now!

Marvel.com: How will the Spirits of Vengeance hope to stop the mad sorcerer?

Victor Gischler: When you put the four of them together you have everything…brains, muscle, cunning, sass…and lots and lots of fire.

Marvel.com: It’s pretty cool to see Ghost Rider fighting alongside Blade. What proved to be the most exciting aspect about putting those two heroes together?

Victor Gischler: They really are cool in the actions scenes…but the bonus for me ends up being when Blade and Johnny Blaze are just talking. I feel like, in another reality, they’d hang out and get beers and be buds.

Hear the drums of war in SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE #4, by Victor Gischler and artist David Baldeón, on January 17!