Story 1: Trick or Treat or Defeat
The story is split across two parts as printed.
Characters
Samhain, animated Halloween novelty items, New York City residents, a dragon and its driver, Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman, Winston Zeddemore, Ray Stantz, Janine Melnitz, Slimer.
Equipment and Vehicles
Proton Pack, P.K.E. Meter, Ecto Goggles, Ghost Trap, Ecto-1.
Locations
The Firehouse, the Omniverse (mentioned only), Samhain's Castle.
Plot
Samhain returns to New York disguised as a wealthy old man, distributing Halloween novelty items to children throughout the city. Once he moves far enough from each location he reverts to his pumpkin form, riding a dragon. Back at the Firehouse, the Ghostbusters are preparing for Halloween when Egon detects rising mystical energy. He determines that the focused energy could shatter the barrier separating the realms of the living and the dead, and notes that on Halloween the barrier is already at its thinnest. The team heads out to find the source.
The Halloween items Samhain distributed suddenly animate, terrifying children across the city. Samhain feeds on the resulting fear. The Ghostbusters engage the manifestations but are overwhelmed. Egon traces the energy to a single focal point: Samhain's castle, where Samhain is waiting for the moment the barrier reaches its weakest point before striking. The Ghostbusters arrive and blast Samhain with their proton streams, apparently trapping him in the beams. Just as Samhain begins to plan his counterattack he realizes he has been tricked, and then he detonates in an ectoplasmic overload. Ray explains that the crossing proton streams created an improvised energy trap; Egon notes that the buildup caused the overload that destroyed Samhain. With Samhain gone, the energy animating the objects across the city dissipates.1
Story 2: Pandora's Box
This story continues directly from "Poltergeist at the Pentagon," the second story in the NOW Comics Annual 1992.1
Characters
Ray Stantz, Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler, Winston Zeddemore, U.S. Government Agency personnel, Slimer, the One-Eyed Poltergeist, the Peoplebusters.
Equipment
Interdimensional Portal, Ghost Trap, Ecto Goggles, Interdimensional Suit, P.K.E. Meter, Peoplebusters' Packs, Particle Thrower. Environmental phenomenon: Vortex Twister.
Locations
The Firehouse, the Flip Side (the mirror dimension home of the Peoplebusters).
Plot
Egon and Peter enter the dimension into which Ian Epimetheus supposedly vanished. In doing so they accidentally release the Peoplebusters into the regular world.1 Because NOW Comics cancelled the Real Ghostbusters run before this storyline could resolve, the comic ends without showing how the Ghostbusters defeated the Peoplebusters, leaving the story unfinished.
Notes
- Despite Samhain having been contained as of NOW Comics Vol. 1 Issue 17,2 the "Trick or Treat or Defeat" story presents him at large again with no explanation offered.
- "Pandora's Box" is an unresolved cliffhanger: the cancellation of the NOW Comics series cut the story short before the Peoplebusters could be defeated. This makes the Annual 1993 the last chapter of an incomplete arc as well as the final original-content issue of the NOW Comics Real Ghostbusters run.
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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NOW Comics, The Real Ghostbusters Annual 1993 (cover date 1993; released December 1992). Now Comics. Chief Editor: Tony Caputo; Editor: Joan M. Weis. Cover art: Norm Dwyer, John Stangeland, Suzanne Dechnik.
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NOW Comics, The Real Ghostbusters Vol. 1 #17 "Samhain Chanted Evening" (Now Comics, January 1990). Issue in which Samhain uses chanting to escape the Containment Unit and is subsequently recaptured, establishing his imprisoned status immediately prior to the 1993 Annual.
