Black JuJu

Origin

Johnny Blaze is at a food stand in Chicago when a robbery takes place less than a block away. Two men steal a bunch of dynamite and one starts to run away from the cops. The thug steals Johnny’s bike and drives off. Johhny transforms into Ghost Rider and catches up to the crook. He then throws the criminal through a church window where Reverand Joshua was doing choir rehearsal. Reverand Joshua looks through the window and sees the Ghost Rider as a darksome demon. After the church members left, Reverand Joshua puts on a tribal costume and a mystical amulet to become the Destroyer of Demons.   

Reverand Joshua is a descendant of the Yoruba tribe where his ancient forefathers were demon slayers. Their weapon was a mystic amulet handed down to a witch doctor from the Leopard God located in the heart of a sacred mountain cave. The amulet would be passed down from father to son for centuries until Reverand Joshua received the tribal costume and amulet from his father many years ago. He sees Ghost Rider as a demon that can cause great harm and must be destroyed.

Black Juju stands on a building rooftop and sees Johnny Blaze walking by. He attacks Johnny and tells him he can see past his mortal masquerade. Johnny doesn’t understand why he is being attacked but chooses to transform into Ghost Rider. He realizes that Black Juju’s magic is very powerful and escapes on his bike. Reverand Joshua returns to the church and see his daughter Gloria interacting with a gangster named Ron. He pleads with her not to go but she tells her father he is too rigid and stubborn. She enters the car and they drive away. Ron tells Gloria their plan to blow up a train and his wishes to demand ten million dollars from City Hall. Gloria is appalled by Ron’s plans and tries to escape. Johnny Blaze sees Gloria in trouble and helps her. She tells Johnny that the gangsters plan to blow up a train in transit and that hundreds will be killed and hurt. Johnny transforms into Ghost Rider and starts to ride on the train tracks to search for the bomb. Suddenly he is attacked by Black Juju and the two begin to fight. Ghost Rider dodges a mystic blast and falls on the bridge tracks. He then sees the bomb attached to the train tracks and removes it. He throws the bomb into the air where it explodes and the train is safe. Reverand Joshua sees the heroic action of the Ghost Rider and feels he may have misjudged him. The following day, Reverand Joshua thanks Johnny and tells him that a man is a fool when he becomes so preoccupied with own sense of purpose that he becomes blind  to the goodness that can exist in his fellow man.    

Creation

The Destroyer of Demons was created by Michael Fleisher, Herb Trimpe and Don Perlin in 1981 and first appeared in Ghost Rider # 60. 

The Destroyer of Demons is listed as a potential recruit for the Fifty State Initiative in the Civil War files.

Powers & Abilities

The mystic amulet from the Yoruba tribe provides Reverand Joshua with powerful magic. He can fire mystic bolts from his hands and the amulet makes him impervious to various forms of dark magic. Reverand Joshua took no damage from Ghost Rider’s hellfire when he was wearing the amulet.