Origin
Johnny Blaze was the son of a motorcycle stunt rider named Barton Blaze. Working for a man by the name of Crash Simpson, Barton Blaze and his son Johnny became accustomed to the life of a carnival. When Barton Blaze suddenly died in a stunt accident, Johnny’s world was turned upside down as he lost the last of his family. Not long after his father’s death, Johnny Blaze was adopted by Crash Simpson. Upon his adoption, Johnny lived with Crash, his wife Mona, and his daughter Roxanne.
Johnny and Roxanne became very attached. One day, while Johnny and Roxanne were practicing a motorcycle stunt, the motorcycle caught on fire, about to explode. Roxanne jumped off the motorcycle, but Johnny continued to ride it in an attempt to prevent the tent they were practicing in from burning to the ground. Mona immediately ran over to see if Johnny was alright. However, as she approached Johnny, the motorcycle exploded – putting Mona into the hospital. From her hospital bed, Mona Simpson had one request for Johnny Blaze: that he would never ride in the motorcycle shows ever again. After those words, she passed away – making them the last she would ever speak in this life.
Keeping his promise to Mona, Johnny never rode in a motorcycle show. However, he continued to practice and improve his riding, keeping this a secret. One day as Johnny was practicing, Roxanne stumbled into his tent, discovering Johnny’s riding skills. While practicing continuously, the Crash Simpson Stunt Show continued to prosper. However, not long after the rise in popularity, Crash Simpson discovered that he had cancer and was going to die soon. Johnny felt unable to bear the loss of another fatherly figure in his life, and therefore decided to do whatever was necessary to save Crash Simpson’s life – no matter the cost.
Making a deal with the Devil (who was later revealed to be the arch-demon Mephisto), Johnny Blaze sold his soul to spare Crash Simpson from the disease that was killing him. The Devil agreed to make the pact on one condition: one day, he would return to collect his fee for curing Crash of the disease. Lives continued on, and no one knew of the pact Johnny had made. Crash Simpson, not caring for his life anymore and not knowing of the cure that had ridden the disease from his body, decided to perform an enormous jump over twenty-two cars. When he attempted this, Crash collided into the ground and died.
After Johnny Blaze saw Crash die, his life had fully crumbled. Just as he resigned himself to a world of sorrow, the Devil reappeared. Johnny began yelling at him, telling him that he double-crossed him, but the Devil stated that he had still cured Crash Simpson’s disease, and he wanted to claim his reward. He declared that Johnny Blaze would become his Emissary in the dark hours, and in the light, he would join him in Hades. The pact was made, by day Johnny Blaze would walk among the living, but by night he became the Ghost Rider. During the day, Johnny Blaze performed in his traveling stunt show along with Roxanne Simpson after the death of Crash.
Character Creation
Johnny Blaze as Ghost Rider made his first appearance in Marvel Spotlight #5 in 1972. He was created by Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich, and Mike Ploog.
Major Story Arcs
Stuntmaster
During this time, Johnny would perform his stunts as the Ghost Rider, with the audience’s belief that his hell-powers and flaming skull are exceptional special effects. However, they were the curse of the Mephisto, and his evil demons were continuously sent to ambush the Johnny Blaze and his loved ones. Coming to the decision that he had put Roxanne through too much torment and suffering, Johnny left to allow Roxanne to live a normal, healthy life.
The Champions
During this time, Johnny Blaze became the stuntman for his friend The Stunt Master on his TV show in Los Angeles. He discovered that he could not only turn into Ghost Rider at night, but whenever there was evil around. While in Los Angeles, Ghost Rider joined forces with The Champions of Los Angeles to battle the evil forces of the city. However, after a few months of fighting alongside The Champions, he discovered he was too much of a loner to battle with them, so he left The Champions forever.
Through these years, the villain known as Orb would serve as Blaze’s main villain. Additionally, the demonic half of Ghost Rider was exerting more and more control over his actions and personality, and Johnny found his normal life harder and harder to navigate. He later joined the Quentin Carnival to perform his motorcycle stunts with fellow rider Red Fowler. While traveling with the carnival, Ghost Rider battled Centurious, who managed to stir memories that Johnny desired to forget. The demon Nightmare later revealed that the demon who’d bonded with the soul of Johnny Blaze was called Zarathos.
Johnny and Zarathos battled for dominance within Johnny. Eventually, Roxanne Simpson returned to request the help of the Ghost Rider to battle Centurious once again, and in doing so, Johnny was able to imprison Centurious and Zarathos within the Crystal of Souls. No longer would Johnny Blaze become the Ghost Rider – he was free at last of Mephisto’s curse. He eventually married Roxanne, and together they had two children, Craig and Emma.
Johnny Blaze meets Danny Ketch
Years after fighting Zarathos, Blaze has taken over the Quintin Carnival and has a pleasant life with Roxanne and his kids. One day, he sees the new Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch), believing it to be Zarathos, who has freed himself from the Crystal of Souls. Blaze arrives with only a shotgun and goes after Danny.
After capturing Dan, Blaze gets into a fight with him, who then turned into Ghost Rider. Johnny’s shotgun was transformed, bringing back Johnny’s power over hellfire. After the confrontation with each other, during a fight with Ghost Rider’s enemy Blackout, Johnny realizes that this Ghost Rider wasn’t Zarathos. In the end, both of them stop Blackout, and the two form a bond. At one point, they would fight side by side with Spider-Man against a demonic Hobgoblin. They would also battle with Spider-Man again in the sewer, but this time against Hobgoblin, Demogoblin, Doppelganger, Deathwatch, Hag,Troll, and Venom.
Later on, Doctor Strange sent Johnny with the Ghost Rider on a quest to recruit the members of the Midnight Sons to fight against Lilin. During the search of the members, Blaze would end up fighting the Lilin who attacked his family and carnival as well as Steel Vengeance, the sister of Steel Wind who Blaze defeated years ago. He would then join the Midnight Sons in the fight against the Lilin in Greenland in which they won.
After the battle, the Quintin Carnival would get attacked by Vengeance who sought Ghost Rider in order to kill him. Together, Blaze and Ghost Rider would defeat Vengeance and save the Carnival’s survivors. At one point, Blaze’s fellow Midnight Son member Blade would become possessed by the Demogorge and turned into the demon Switchblade. A demon on a mission to kill all things mystical. During this time, Blaze was actually killed by Switchblade, and Switchblade had gained his power over Hellfire. But he later came back to life after Switchblade was defeated by the Midnight Sons and the Darkhold Redeemer, Louise Hastings.
After this event, Blaze would have to fight the Lilin again but this time his old enemy Centurious was back and in search of the Medallion of Power. At one point, Blaze was captured by Centurious and horribly wounded by being gutted alive but with his hellfire helping him heal to a minimum. He would be rescued by Ghost Rider and sent to be healed by an old friend. Vengeance would come back and attack Ghost Rider, but was stopped again by Blaze who was now fully healed and had part of his body covered in metal. Later on, Vengeance would team up with Blaze and Ghost Rider and end up defeating Lilin and the demon who once controlled Blaze many years ago, Zarathos. After the fight, their mentor Caretaker told Blaze that the Ghost Rider (Daniel Ketch) was his brother.
Return of Johnny Blaze as Ghost Rider
After weeks in hell, Johnny continues to try to escape hell but to no effect, tormenting Ghost Rider became Lucifer‘s favorite pastime. Lucifer taunts Ghost Rider by letting him have a free run at the exit from Hell while being chased by demons, for weeks Ghost Rider would race towards the gates of hell only for Lucifer to snatch it away from him at the last second. It was one time to many for Ghost Rider who proceeds to pound the ground, hidden under the ground a small, short sighted demon called Greexix. Ghost Rider is about to kill the demon but Greexix tells him there is away out of hell but before anything else could be said Lucifer’s men capture Greexix and take him to their master. Ghost Rider decides to rescue Greexix for him to show him the way out but Ghost Rider planed on leaving Greexix behind because frankly he hates demons.
Ghost Rider finds Greexix being escorted back to the pits, Ghost Rider save Greexix and makes a break for the pit, Ghost Rider out runs the demons and then does the impossible, he jumps the pit of hell and lands on the other side safely. Greexix leads Ghost Rider to a cave but this cave had water in it [water in hell] this was the way out of hell, Johnny had planed leave Greexix in Hell but just as we was about to leave Lucifer appeared and grabbed Johnny just as he was escaping. Johnny plummets towards earth with Lucifer clinging onto the back of his motor bike [Ghost Rider is unaware of this] as Ghost Rider plummets to earth on his bike, Lucifer breaks up into 666 different pieces that are known as Shards, The shards then find hosts that have been dead for a small amount of time, by doing this the shards gain some of Lucifer’s powers [super strength, stamina, some fire control] as the shards are destroyed the power possessed by that shard is transferred to the remaining shards until there is one left, it does not matter which shard is left because no matter what it will be Lucifer at his full power. Ghost Rider lands on earth and for the first time in months he transforms into his human form. Due to his stint in Hell Johnny’s bike had no fuel and was forced to walk the long high ways while toeing his bike along with him.
Luckily for him a trucker woman named Dixie spotted him and tried to help, but Johnny thought that she was Lucifer in disguise. When he did not transform into Ghost Rider automatically he released his mistake, but before he can retreat Dixie pulls a gun on him and kicks him in the groin. However, after pleading to not leave him, Dixie has a change of heart gives him a lift to the nearest gas station. There is no room in the truck for Johnny’s bike so he is forced to leave it behind.
At the gas station Ghost Rider comes face to face with his first shard of Lucifer [Ghost Rider does not yet know about the shards] . The shard had possessed a recently dead granddad, who had kidnapped his family and planned to blow them up. Johnny sensed his presence and transformed into Ghost Ride. He takes advantage of Lucifer’s weakened state and defeats. Unknown to Ghost Rider Lucifer had pored gasoline all over the van and had planned to blow it up but the woman inside the van tries to start up the van, which causes the van to explode killing the family and the shard of Lucifer. Before Ghost Rider could react he is teleported to a grave yard.
It is revealed that it was Doctor Strange who had teleported Ghost Rider so that Strange could tell Ghost Rider to stop his path of vengeance against Lucifer.Ghost Rider thinks that it’s Lucifer in disguise and the two begin to fight. Ghost Rider quickly gains the upper hand with his powerful attacks but out of anger Doctor Strange unleashes one of his most powerful spells on Ghost Rider. Doctor Strange thought he killed Ghost Rider, but Blaze rose up out of the crater. With chains coming out of his chest he caught Doctor Strange and Ghost Rider and unleashed his brother’s [Danny Ketch] signature and the most powerful of all the Ghost Rider’s attacks, the Penance Stare, killing Strange.
Ghost Rider realized that Strange was telling the truth about not being Lucifer and tried to revive him, to no avail. The angle known as Numecet was watching the fight, and managed to bring him back to life. She also told Ghost Rider of Lucifer’s plan and that he used Ghost Rider to get to Earth because he is the only being in existence who can travel between Earth to Hell. Numecet also tells him that when they entered are dimension Lucifer split into 666 shards of himself and fell to earth and now he wants to be complete again. She tries to dissuade him from seeking vengeance, but the Rider refuses to abandon his quest. Deep down, she knows he is the only one who can stop Lucifer.
Ghost Rider calls his motor cycle and begins to hunt down the remaining shards. Ghost Rider catches up with four shards of Lucifer riding motorbikes who are causing trouble with the police. Ghost Rider beheads three of them with his chain but the last one says it has something to show him. Ghost Rider follows the shard. The shard leads Johnny to where Johnny was born and raised, the Quentin Carnival. Johnny has mixed feelings about this and is lead to his trailer where he and Roxanne lived with their children, Craig and Emma, all those years ago. The Shard wants to talk to Ghost Rider but Ghost Rider refuses and unleashes a massive hell fire blast destroying the Shard and the Carnival, only leafing an old bible which belonged to Roxanne. Ghost Rider leaves in search for more Shards.
Old Ghosts
Seven miles out Camp Verde, Ghost Rider and Warpath are in the native lands. Ghost Rider had explained that spirit plane and the world of the dead shared an existence together. Ghost Rider said that Warpath has the blood and birth right to connect the forces. Warpath is no shaman and does not know how to un tap these abilities. Ghost Rider will show him lost path lost by death by his ancestors and he will give him access the spirit plane to give him the ability to get in touch with the dead. Ghost Rider explains that a Demon Bear is full of dark magic and they can kill it. As Warpath gets access to the spirit plane open by Ghost Rider, a gigantic red demon bear appears. Ghost Rider and Warpath throw what the have at the demon bear. Warpath is holding the bears by the jaws with his own body. Inside the bear’s mouth they see a demon blade that is corrupting the bear with dark magic. Ghost Rider holds the bears jaws open with his chains, and Warpath is pulling the demon blade out. In pulling out the blade, the spirit bear turned to be good and is revealed to be his spirit guides of nature. The good spirit rush through Warpath, and reveal that Ghost Rider was actually deceased Native American responsible for putting the demon blade into the spirit bear.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Johnny finds himself in Sleepy Hollow, tracking a powerful shard of Lucifer who was on a killing spree of decapitated children. It turned out that the murderer is Jack O’Lantern, who was recently killed by Punisher before while he was attacking Spider-Man, but now was possessed by one of the Lucifer Shards. The local sheriff had thought that Ghost Rider was responsible for the killings but later realized that it was the demon-possessed super villain. The two fought Jack O’Lantern. Jack O’Lantern was no match for Ghost Rider, and Ghost Rider was able to rip out the essence of Lucifer out of his heart and smash’s his pumpkin head to kill him.
Ghost Rider Versus The Hulk
Ghost Rider continues his pursuit of the shards of Lucifer which leads him to an airport where Lucifer has possessed an pilot and planned to crash the plane. He was stopped by Ghost Rider, who ripped the front of the plane off, causing a massive fire, The shard of Lucifer gives Ghost Rider a dilemma: kill him or save all the innocent people on the burning plane. Ghost Rider wanted vengeance to be served but Johnny wanted to save the innocents. Neither was accomplished as the plane exploded and Lucifer escaped.
Johnny wakes up on the high way the next day, on the embankment of a high way. He and Zarathos start talking about how Johnny should not interfere with his vengeance, to which Johnny agrees [Johnny and Ghost Rider now work together very well and accept that they share a body and now say refer to themselves as “we”], Johnny notices a lot of cars coming out of New York and at a nearby café he find out the Hulk and his Warbound have delivered their ultimatum to Manhatten, regarding the Illuminati. Johnny wants to go and stop the Hulk but Ghost Rider says it’s not their affair.Johnny forces the Ghost Rider to transform but because Johnny was in control there was limited power.
Johnny arrives in New York and confronts the Hulk. Johnny doesn’t have the skill or full knowledge of their power to defeat the Hulk and so Ghost Rider offers to take over so they can access all of the power and destroy the Hulk. However, Johnny wants to prove himself and declines the offer. The Hulk jumps off a skyscraper, onto Ghost Rider and lands on Johnny, creating a massive crater with Johnny at the bottom. Overlooking the battle was Doctor Strange and Mr Fantastic [Reed Richards]. Reed asks if Ghost Rider can beat the Hulk, with Strange replying that Ghost Rider is a wonder of mystic design and that Ghost Rider’s powers are boundless and Godlike, with only the human host keeping the powers in check. Because Johnny is fighting the Hulk instead of Zarathos the Ghost Rider’s powers are limited. As the Hulk looks down the crater, Zarathos take control and unleashes a massive hellfire explosion, catching the Hulk in the blast. Ghost Rider comes up out of the crater on his bike but he does not fight the Hulk. This comes as a surprise to Reed, but Doctor Strange explains, “The Ghost Rider avenges the innocent , which we, all of us are not” (referring to the Illuminati).
Revelations & Johnny’s Revenge
As Ghost Rider cranks up the heat on his mission to destroy every shard of Lucifer he could find, he also comes up with a plan to reduce the devil’s power for their final battle. Because every time Ghost Rider destroys a shard of Lucifer the power that shard possessed was passed on to the remaining shards. His idea was that he would try to find a avatar that was brain dead but alive, therefore the other avatars can’t sense it and because it alive it still possesses its power and will still gain power when other avatars are killed. Johnny find the perfect scapegoat for his plan when an avatar and he have a collision and the avatar is impaled through the brain by the gear stick. Ghost Rider took the avatar back to the motel that he and Dixie were staying and put it in the back of her truck.The plan relied on Dixie killing the avatar around the same time Ghost Rider killed the other last remaining avatar.
While this is happening the avatar that escaped the plane crash [see above “Ghost Rider Vs the Hulk] had purchased an American Football team and was going by the name of Jack Daniels. Meanwhile, outside of Heaven, two angelic brothers named Emmael and Vraniel were planning to get back into Heaven and on God’s good side by destroying the rest of the shards of Lucifer themselves.They needed the help of the Ghost Rider. They needed to a woman to bring them into the world as their mother so they picked a woman called Darlene. Coming to her in a dream, they told her that she has been chosen for a great privilege. Jack [the avatar] revels his plan to blow up a full stadium of people on national television, which Johnny and Dixie see. After the press conference, Lucifer asks if there any way around the legal drinking age so that even the children go to Hell. Ghost Rider finds the avatar and starts beating him up but before he can destroy him, the avatar tells him about another shard that has possession of a little league baseball coach and is holding the children hostage.Ghost Rider makes the decision to go and save the innocent children.
Darlene has gives birth to the angels, who are fully-grown within hours, and are now near Ghost Rider, They say good bye to Darlene and go to find Ghost Rider, who fighting two more shards of Lucifer disguised as an old couple. The angels watch on as Ghost Rider destroys one of them with a hellfire blast but the other shard tries to make a deal with Ghost Rider: if he lets it be the last shard to be alive [the shard did not know about the brain dead shard Dixie was keeping] and it will tell him where the little league children are being kept. Ghost Rider agrees and after learning the location, he chains the shard to the underside of a bridge.
Emmael and Vrainel hope to get on Ghost Rider’s good side by rescuing the children. They try to beat Ghost Rider to the barn, but Ghost Rider is already there fighting the shard of Lucifer. Ghost Rider accidentally sets the barn on fire with the children still inside. Ghost Rider has the shard of Lucifer tied down and is about to destroy him when the shard points out the burning barn to him. Ghost Rider believes the children have already died, causing him to cry out in despair. However, the angels reveal themselves and say they have saved the children, The shard recognizes the angels but before he can say anything Vraniel throws an energy spire and destroys the shard.They insist on joining Ghost Rider. Zatharos resists, but Johnny convinces him of the benefits of having angels alongside them against Lucifer.
Ghost Rider travels back to the football arena to destroy Jack Daniels, who believes himself to be the last of two shards of Lucifer.Jack is about to blow up the stadium but before he can the stadium is evacuated due to a fire alarm going off when Ghost Rider entering the building. Ghost Rider finds Jack, who threatens to blow up the building.Ghost Rider points out that everyone has already evacuated because of the fire alarm and that if he blows up the building that he would be committing suicide and he would go to back to Hell , Ghost Rider gets the bomb remote and is about to blow up the stadium himself but the angels arrives and try to fight Lucifer. Vrainel is still weak due to the amount of energy he used to kill the shard at the barn and collapses. Lucifer knows the angels’ secret and Ghost Rider chains the devil and the angel Emmael together, demanding to know the secret.
Insisting they are innocent and being urged by Lucifer, Ghost Rider uses his Penance Stare on Emmael, killing him. Lucifer reveals to Ghost Rider that he is not a demon but in fact an Angel, a piece of God’s wrath. The Shard also tell Ghost Rider that he could never had kept Ghost Rider in Hell for long and that he used him to get out of Hell. He also tells Johnny that it was not him who bound to the Ghost Rider to his sould, but a renegade angle named Zadkiel, who was the boss of the two angels. Vrainel kills himself in remorse and Ghost Rider blows up the building, destroying the Jack Daniels shard.
Now there are only two Shards of Lucifer left, one of them laying brain dead in Dixie’s motel room. However, the owner had called the police, due to a horrible smell coming from the room. He believed she killed someone in there. Meanwhile Johnny arrives at the bridge to face the other Shard, to find he has broken free from the chains. Johnny reveals that the Shard is only half as powerful as it thinks it is due the other shard in Dixie’s hotel room. Johnny finishes the fight with a massive hell fire ball, leaving only one shard. At the same time the police have stormed the hotel room and are about arrest Dixie but then the Shard quickly wakes up and the police start shoot it. They eventually kill the Shard but Dixie is hit by a stray bullet in the gut and is killed. Trusting Dixie to have killed the last shard, Ghost Rider sets out to seek revenge on Zadkiel.
The Last Stand of the Spirits Of Vengeance
In Tibet with Chinese soldiers harassing a village, questioning them about weapons that killed two of his garrison patrols. During the harassment a peasant enters on a donkey. After a few exchange of words and an order to kill given by the General, the peasant changes and kills the General’s men while his back is turned. When the General turns back he sees the Ghost Rider and gets a penance stare for his trouble. After the attack the rider goes back to his sanctuary where he is visited by Danny Ketch. A short while later Sister Sara and Johnny Blaze arrive at the sanctuary to find out how to get back at Zadkiel. After entering, they find the peasant and donkey burnt to husks.
That night the two are visited by Ketch and begins a battle with a show of power. When Blaze does the penance stare to his brother, he sees exactly what has transpired. Ketch has murdered the hosts of numerous riders for their powers. During a show of pity for the fallen, Ketch is able to return the stare on Blaze, and sends Blaze into temporary insanity. Before Ketch is able to take the power of Zarathos, he is stopped by the new caretaker Sister Sara. She rescues Blaze and they go to a safehouse. At the safehouse, during Blaze’s self pity and Sara’s trying to pick him back up, they are visited by two more Ghost Riders, the Arabic Molek and the Chinese Bai Gu Jing, with whom they follow to Japan.
When Blaze’s team arrives in Japan, they learn Ketch has already taken the power of the rider Yoshio Kannabe. After the conquest, Ketch has another talk with Zadkiel via communications link. During the conversation Zadkiel massacres the squad of the Asura who guard the gates of heaven. Zadkiel tells Ketch to wait to attack the riders til the last ones are together. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, former cop Kowalski follows a contact to get a hellfire shotgun for his revenge on Blaze. After acquiring the item he is then driven to the middle of a desert to sit and wait for his chance.
After leaving Japan, Blaze’s team journeys to the City of the Skulls in the Congo where the last stand would be made. There they meet the Lords of the Congo, the Ghost Riders Baron Skullfire and Marinette Bwachech, and their Phantom Riders. During the day Sara tells Molek about her new experience becoming a Caretaker, and her wonders about religion, with which she is given secret information that Molek knows about both.
As the Ghost Riders and their forces get ready for battle, Blaze has his eyes opened back up by kids going to fight. He quickly snaps out of his depression and joins the others for the final battle. During the course of the battle Baron Skullfire dies and the spirit is transferred to one of the Phantom Riders, after which Ketch creates hellfire duplicates of himself to take the powers. A wager is then made by Blaze and Ketch on a race between the brothers around the world for the fates of the powers. During the race, Blaze is critically injured by Kowalski’s shotgun and Ketch takes the rider from him as his duplicates overpower the others.
Moments later Ketch returns the heaven and Zadkiel is then able to take heaven. The sound of the gates falling is enough to be felt by Spider-man’s senses, and loud enough to be heard by people and everywhere including Hell and Asgard. When an injured Blaze returns to the City of the Skulls, Ketch falls from the sky and reveals that the battle for Heaven has already been decided and that he managed to take some of the power back with him, Johnny is also struck by the falling hellfire and is fully healed of his wounds. As more energies fall from the heavens, one strikes Kowalski and changes him into a new Vengeance.
Heaven on Fire
Johnny Blazed figured that he was a pawn of Hell, and he figured out that the Ghost Rider is actually a weapon of Heaven. The one responsible for these actions are due to an angel named Zadkiel. Recently Johnny Blaze’s brother Danny Ketch was manipulated into gathering powers from all the Ghost Riders from around the world. He then used that power to conquer Heaven. During that time Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch had separated ways. The angel Zadkiel is close enough to reach his goal of ultimate power. Johnny is accompanied by Sister Sara, the last of the caretakers. They venture off to stop Zadkiel. They need to go to Heaven and stop Zadkiel. Zadkiel sends possessed people with super strength to stop Johnny and Sister Sara. During this time, Zadkiel and Damion Hellstrom (son of Satan) are on the hunt for a boy that is to become the Anti Christ. Sister Sara figured that without the Anti Christ, then the apocalypse and the book of revelations would not occur and Zadkiel can change history to his will. Ghost Rider’s new mission is to save the Anti Christ boy. They search for the boy in the most sinful places such as Las Vegas, Hollywood, DC and New York City but still searching for him. The Anti Christ boy (Anton Satan aka Kid Blackheart) was New York building and was attacked by Zadkiel possessed warriors, but a girl named Janie Cuttler comes to the rescue and saves the boy. Zadkiel is recruiting more and more villains such as the Orb to stop Johnny from completing his mission.
Danny Ketch gets a baseball bat and beats a henchman named Pandemonium, a man with demons for arms. He want to get in touch with Zadikel. During this time, the Anti Christ boy and Janie is surrouned by Zadkiel possessed army. Daimon Hellstrom shows up and clams that he has come to kill the boy. Janie comes behind Daimon and says that she was his former lover, and killing the boy would throw everything off. Daimon and Janie fought off possessed army. In the heat of the moment, the boy runs out of the room and is greeted by Danny Ketch. As Daimon and Janie are fighting off the possessed army, they get thrown out the building and meet up with Johnny Blaze and Sister Sara. Johnny and Sara start arguing that they need Danny Ketch, but Johnny doesn’t want any part of it. Danny Ketch appears with the boy, and says that it was his fault for giving Zadkiel the throne to Heaven. Danny Ketch says he wants to do right and has a plan to take him down. Damion thought he just wanted to take the boy for himself and leave Johnny and Danny to storm the gates of Heaven. Danny said that the boy was the key and he promised his father that’d he would keep him safe. Danny made a deal with the Devil because he want to see Zadkiel fail. So the deal was to get the keys to Heaven and they get a shot at taking down Zadkiel in Heaven. In doing this, it will cost Danny Ketch’s soul. Zadkiel is gathering an army of villains such as Blackout, Orb, Vengeance and others to take down the Ghost Riders on Earth.
Johnny does not approve of Danny’s actions and punches him in the face. Johnny was angry because he sold his soul for nothing. Danny says he’s able to get to Heaven and seek revenge, but Johnny said it was too dangerous and he’ll get himself killed. Danny gets run over by a villain named Big Wheel. They both transform into Ghost Riders and stand ready to fight. Danny falls off a cliff and at the bottom he gets smashed by Trull the Unhuman a possessed construction vehicle. In Ghost Rider form, Danny is able to lift the possessed vehicle and toss it. Danny picks up a large log and starts beating the possessed vehicle. Meanwhile, Johnny destroys Big Wheel by plowing into it with his fire bike. He takes the villain off the wreckage and gives him the Penance stare. The scene is cut and an army of nuns with guns are locked and loaded to protect themselves from a threat.
Daimon, Sister Sara, Janie and the Anti Christ boy traveled to a cemetery. They’re in search of Satan’s safehouse. Damion loses it and is willing to just end this and kill the boy. Sister Sara does not want a part of it because he’s the only chance of saving Heaven. The safehouse that they were searching had moved. So everyone had to relocate to a small town. Janie steps in to a liquor store, only to get attacked by a Madcap. Daimon enters a carnival and sees a monster attraction, but see a villain the Scarecrow terrorizing innocent people. Johnny and Danny are in the desert bare knuckle brawling each other. Sister Sara and the boy run from possessed people only to find an unholy church. Janie is greeted by the Madcap, and she beats the crap out of him. Madcap takes Janie down when he locks eyes with her. Daimon is fighting the Scarecrow at the carnival. The Scarecrow makes Damion know what his biggest fear, and it was a vision of him turning into his father. Janie is manipulated and shoots Daimon. Sister Sara is looking for a gateway. Sister Sara gets knocked out by a man with demon hands. Meanwhile, the nuns with guns are confronted by Vengeance.
Zadkiel had just conquered Heaven and is standing over the bodies of dead angels. Meanwhile, Vengence along side Orb is rushing his bike with a bunch of zombie bikers to kill the nuns with guns. Janie had shot off Daimon’s ear, but he retaliated and shot her back with Hellfire, and she snaps out of her possession. Daimon and Janie are now fighting the Scarecrow and Madcap, but in the end they defeat them. The Anti Christ boy takes Sister Sara hostage and reveals that Master Pandemonium working for him. Pandemonium had addressed him as Blackheart and is revealing the gateway. The Gateway is actually in Pandemonium chest. Meanwhile, Johnny and Danny help out the nuns with guns to fight off vengeance and the orb with his zombie army. The Anti Christ boy opens another gateway from Sister Sara that leads to Heaven. He uses the gateway from hell to summon demons to enter the gateway to Heaven. After the battle, the nuns allow passage to the Ghost Rides to enter the gates of Heaven. Zadkiel confronts the Johnny and Danny and is ready to fight.
Zadkiel defeats both Ghost Riders with little effort. Johnny and Danny are forced into human form. They claim that he cannot control the power of the Ghost Rider. Back on Earth, Sister Sara is fighting a giant villain with two knives named the Deacon who just murdered all the nuns with guns. As Johnny is laying on the ground defeated he sees Roxanne and his kids. She tells him that he can defeat Zadkiel, but Johnny claims he cannot do it alone. Danny is also on the ground and has given up as well. Johnny gets it together and gets Danny to confront Zadkiel one last time. God can only make a Ghost Rider, so he is the only one that can also destroy one. Zadkiel used the power of the Ghost Rider to leech off powers from the Ghost Riders, but was never able to control it or kill it. Zadkiel could not be God. Meanwhile, the Anti Christ boy leads the charge of demons into Heaven only to see a gigantic army of Ghost Riders from the past. The Ghost Riders stand over the defeated Zadkiel and his army. Various Ghost riders who ride cars, and trucks and come from many different times, gathered in order to defeat the demons that were brought upon on in Heaven. Back on Earth, Sister Sara defeats the murder of nuns with guns. Damion rekindles his only flame Janie. Heaven is secure due to the Ghost Rider army, but the Anti Christ boy named Kid Blackheart has escaped. A flash of Roxxane appears and tells Johnny that God is back into control of Heaven. Johnny wanted Roxxane and the kids to come back to life, and to rid of the Ghost rider curse. Roxxane said he had much more to do back on Earth. Johnny is unhappy with the outcome. At the hospital, the Deacon is total paralyzed and taking to the Orb. Kid Blackheart is a strip club with Blackout planning how to take over the world. The nuns and guns who survived had vengeance on a leash. Zadkiel is brought to Hell. Johnny, Danny and Sarah had just saved Earth and the race for fun out in the desert.
Shadowland
During the event of Shadowland, Daredevil ruled as leader of the Hand. The Kingpin and Lady Bullseye stole the Black Scroll from the Hand. The Black Scroll would summon ZUAIKOTSU the Hand’s ancient enemy. It turns out, ZUAIKOTSU was the Ghost Rider and the Kingpin had ordered to see vengeance upon Daredevil and the Hand. The Kingpin knew of the Black Scroll would summon him and protect himself from the Ghost Rider. The only way for the Ghost rider to be free from the Kingpin and the black magic of the Hand, would be to take out the Hand. Ghost Rider pays a visit to the Snakeroot Gang of the Hand, the ones responsible for source of the black magic. He confronts them as Johnny Blaze, he was killed and sent to Heaven. In a prior event Ghost Rider had just saved Heaven from Zadkiel. Heaven claimed that Johnny work was not finished yet, and they send him back to Earth. On Earth, he was back as the Ghost rider and Heaven sends backup with a Warrior Angels army to help defeat the Snakeroot Gang. In defeating the Hand, the Ghost Rider is free from the Black Magic of the Hand. During the end of Shadowland, Ghost rider had confronted Daredevil in a strong demon form and is defeated.
Heroes For Hire
Ghost Rider was a reserved member in a team called Heroes for Hire. The leader consisted of Misty Knight and members include Paladin, Moon Knight, Iron Fist, Elektra, Falcon, Black Widow, Punisher, Gargoyle, Shroud, Satana, Silver Sable. Silver Sable was working on an undercover run was blown, Misty Knight sends back up of Ghost Rider to help assist. Ghost Rider help cleaned up hoards of gangsters and mobsters to help silver sable escape. Ghost Rider and Silver Sable finish them off and Silver Sable hitches a ride with the Ghost Rider.
Fear Itself
As the events of Fear itself and the Serpent’s wrath engulfs the Marvel Universe, Johnny Blaze is found exhausted and tired of his demonic curse. He recounts the pain and agony he must constantly endure as a result of his daily transformations and laments over the fact that he has never been able to establish any true happiness during his long torturous career as the Ghost Rider. As Blaze is drowning his sorrows in alcohol, he is approached by a mysterious man who calls himself Adam and claims that he wants to help Johnny. Immediately Johnny calls Adam out on either being an angel or demon come to make his life even more tragic and complicated. Johnny passes the events of Fear Itself off as just another typical skirmish between the “superheroes” and the “super villains,” however Adam rebukes him and claims that this time it’s something much bigger than that and that is the reason why he is present. Adam offers to remove the Ghost Rider curse from Johnny and give him the peace and freedom he so eagerly seeks. Thinking that Adam must be working some sort of angle that can only make his life more miserable, Johnny refuses outright. After leaving both the bar and Adam, Johnny goes to deal with some rioters taking advantage of the global situation, but is badly beaten up when he doesn’t take on his Ghost Rider persona. Once Johnny wakes up from his battered state he finds himself even more sick and tired of his curse and honestly believes that no one can truly help someone else without wanting something in return. He calls upon Adam and decides that he does want to take him up on his offer after all. Johnny asks Adam what the catch is on the deal, and Adam simply tells him that there must always be a Ghost Rider and his curse will have to pass on to another. Adam claims that he just wants to help Johnny Blaze, save humanity, and have a new start. He orders Johnny to swallow a piece of tree root and then drive as fast as he can to rip the Ghost Rider from his bones and rid of his curse. Johnny happily obliges and tears off into the desert full speed ahead shedding the the demon Zarathos from his body. Adam watches Johnny and is happy to see the curse removed from the “redneck loser” and claims that the war on sin has officially begun. Johnny lies in the middle of the desert elated because he can feel that the curse is no longer upon him and that Zarathos is truly gone. Johnny Blaze is the Ghost Rider no more. Alejandra became the temporary host of the spirit of vengeance. During the end of Fear Itself, Johnny Blaze returned as the Ghost Rider.
Avengers of the Supernatural
Mojo of Mojoworld had control of the Avengers of the Supernatural which consisted of Ghost Rider, Blade, Satana, Dr Strange, Manphibian and Man-thing. Mojo wanted to put together a new television show for his Mojoworld. Mojo had sent the Avengers of the Supernatural to capture the Uncanny Avengers for his TV show. The Uncanny Avengers consisted of Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Havok, Wonder man, Rogue, Wolverine, Thor, Wasp and Sunfire. Ghost Rider rips thru Avengers mansion with his bike. Wolverine had said he fought Ghost Rider before, but did not win. The Avengers of the Supernatural placed bands over the Uncanny Avengers heads, and they were instantly teleported to Mojoworld. The two teams are fully manipulated by Mojo and are placed into a TV drama called “Martian Transylvania Super Hero Mutant Monster High School”. The show starts off with Captain America and Thor as famous football players; Wasp and Scarlet Witch are the cheerleaders while Rogue, Wolverine, Sunfire and Havok are the unpopular outcasts of the high school with the nerds being Dr Strange, Manphibian, Satana and Blade.
Scarlet Witch had been secretly dating Johnny Blaze, the rebel kid on his bike. Scarlet Witch tells Johnny that she is pregnant. Johnny Blaze freaks out, and the Spirit of Vengeance totally loses it because he wouldn’t have a child with her. The Ghost Rider is in full control and breaks the mental hold of Mojo. The Uncanny Avengers and the Avengers of the Supernatural also break free from the mental control of Mojo. Ghost Rider is wreaking havoc and unleashing a Penance Stare for the entire sinful city of Mojoworld. Dr. Strange provides safety temporarily against the Penance Stare. The Ghost Rider is fighting both the Uncanny Avengers and the Avengers of the Supernatural. Ghost Rider takes out almost everyone by himself. Scarlet Witch distracts the Ghost Rider for Rogue to use her mutant powers to neutralize the Spirit of Vengeance. Rogue becomes the new Ghost Rider, but cannot control it as it burns her soul and begs for it to be taken back. Johnny Blaze returns to human form and claimed that it is his curse. Everyone returns back to Earth at the Avengers mansion. Johnny is contemplating taking the curse back, until he is kicked into the Avengers pool. Everyone else jumps in the pool and they all have a great time.
Joining the Thunderbolts
Johnny Blaze was temporary recruited to help the Thunderbolts. The Thunderbolts team wanted to get rid of an unwanted member named Mercy and send her to Hell. Ghost Rider had accidentally sent the Red Hulk, Venom, Leader, Deadpool and himself to Hell. The team looked to escape from Hell, but finds Mephisto the Ruler of Hell. Mephisto claimed that he had been stripped of his title of Ruler of Hell. It was actually being ruled by Strong Guy The Thunderbolts had struck a deal with Mephisto. The deal was to take out Strong guy and put Mephisto back on the throne. In return, Mephisto would return the Thunderbolts back to Earth and send Mercy to Hell. Ghost Rider and the Thunderbolts had battle many demons of Hell in order to get to Strong Guy. The Thunderbolts win and everything is restored. Johnny Blaze decided that it was good for him and the Spirit of Vengeance if he tagged along as an official Thunderbolt member. Ghost Rider volunteer’s himself to the team and his flaming skull turns to red to follow the Thunderbolts theme.
Thunderbolts vs. Venom
Deadpool had drawn the choice of the mission, but Flash Thompson intervened and asked for the next mission. Flash had requested for the Thunderbolts to take down Venom the symbiote. Once agreed, Flash had lost control of the symbiote and allowed Venom to fully take over his body. The Thunderbolts and Venom are stuck within the Headquarters of the Thunderbolts base. Venom runs and hides to pick off the Thunderbolts individually. The Thunderbolts knows the weakness of the symbiote are sonic sounds and fire. Venom decides to attack Ghost Rider alone. Ghost Rider thought it was odd that he would be singled out due to his fire weakness against Ghost Rider. The Ghost Rider hesitated to use fire because he did not want to kill Flash in the process. Instead Ghost Rider tries to do the Penance Stare on the symbiote but passes out in the process. The Thunderbolts figured that they’re weak alone, so they decided to gang up on Venom. Deadpool had a bright idea of painting spider man on his costume and leaving it on a mannequin. Deadpool hung a trap of a blackbird Jet falling on Venom if he tried to attack the mannequin, but the trap failed and fell on Deadpool. Deadpool goes and taunts Venom, and causes him to eat Deadpool and spits him because he taste terrible. Ghost Rider wraps his fire chains and drags Venom with his bike. In addition, Punisher and Elektra shoot him with flame throwers. The finisher was the Leader with a sonic wave car and the Red Hulk thunder clapping creating a huge sonic blast towards Venom. The Symbiote is detached from the host. Flash believe that he should only live with the Symbiote as a curse. Flash approved of the performance of the Thunderbolts. He let the Symbiote take over, as a test to take him down in the future if needed. Flash decided to leave the Thunderbolts.
Thunderbolts Disbanded
After Thunderbolts captured Doctor Faustus, Punisher left the Thunderbolts because they refused to kill him for his crimes. Frank returned to his Safe House, only to find out that Thunderbolts tried to kill him by planting a bomb. Seeking revenge against Thunderbolts, the Punisher confronted Ghost Rider. Using Ghost Rider’s hellfire chain, Frank removed the Spirit of Vengeance. Being happy and grateful that he can live a normal life, Johnny moved on.
After the remaining members of the Thunderbolts and the Avengers stopped the Leader, Punisher used Ghost Rider’s skull to put Sterns on Penance Stare. However, Mephisto appeared, turning off Penance Stare and sent Sterns to Hell and merged Spirit of Vengeance with Johnny, turning him into Ghost Rider once more.
War at the Gates of Hell
At a diner on Route 66, Blaze is approached by a shot man, who asks Blaze to bring the silver bullet to Hellstrom and then bursts into flames. Hellstrom follows some leads with Blaze, but most of his contacts were scared of something big coming. With Blade as backup, the trio were following a lead at a used bookstore, when demons attacked. A bounty had been put on Blaze and the bullet, and whoever set the bounty needed them by the next night.
This deadline was The Covenant, an ancient rule of engagement in the war between Heaven and Hell. One every thousand years, a portal is opened as a demilitarized zone, where emissaries from both sides air grievances and discuss terms. Hellstrom believes the silver bullet is made from the silver paid to Judas Iscariot and is needed to create a weapon to attack The Covenant.
They needed more intel, so Hellstrom sent Blade into a demon hideout with Satanna to get some answers. While this new team was separated, the demon, Razan, attacked Hellstrom and Blaze and stole the silver. Satanna got the name of a Nidavellir blacksmith, Ragnar, who was making a weapon from the silver for a mortal sorcerer, Necrodamus. According to Hellstrom and Satanna’s father, neither Heaven nor Hell could interfere with The Covenant, but a mortal could. Interference would trigger automatic fail safes that would shut the door to Heaven forever, giving Hell free reign on Earth.
Hellstrom believes Ghost Rider is the key to stopping the Judas Weapon, so when The Covenant starts and Michael the Archangel meets with Beleth the demon, the rest of Blaze’s allies fight off the demon army trying to stop Blaze. Necrodamus fires a silver rocket at Michael, but Blaze steps in front of it, taking no damage and saving The Covenant for another thousand years.
Before he leaves, Michael says each of them has earned a favor from Heaven.
Damnation
During Hydra’s takeover of America, Las Vegas was burned to the ground and sent to Hell. Doctor Strange took it upon himself to resurrect the city with magic, however, he also accidentally manifested Hotel Inferno, the hotel and casino created by Mephisto while Vegas was in Hell. Mephisto was allowing gamblers to bet their very soul and was able to convince Strange to make his own wager. If Strange wins, Mephisto empties his vault of souls and returns to Hell. However, Mephisto wins when he effectively tempts the Avengers with their own wrath. Thus, Strange’s soul now belongs to Mephisto.
To save Strange and Vegas, Wong and Bats collect a new roster of the Midnight Sons made of heroes that are either dead, damned, or carry darkness, including Johnny Blaze. The team journeys to Vegas to do battle with Mephisto’s demon army, which now includes Strange and his Avengers allies as Ghost Rider-like demons. The rest of the team fought them off so Johnny Blaze could take on Mephisto.
Mephisto immediately gets the best of Johnny Blaze by ripping the Spirit of Vengeance from him and throwing him from the top of Hotel Inferno, killing him. Mephisto thinks he has the upper hand now, however, Johnny has been sent to Hell. There, he is able to free the vault of souls and steal the crown and throne of Mephisto. Cut off from his power, Mephisto was easy to defeat. With Blaze on his throne, Mephisto had nowhere to go, so the Strange and the Midnight Sons locked him up in his own hotel, still in Vegas.
Challenge of the Ghost Riders
As Mephisto’s heir, Blaze was being targeted by every two-bit demon and devil there was. In order for him to keep his grip on the throne, he needed more power. Taking advantage of an exorcism being carried out by Hellstorm at Avengers Mountain, Blaze pulled Robbie Reyes, Spirit of Vengeance and active Avenger, to hell to challenge him to a race, a tradition of Ghost Riders from the very beginning. Robbie, who doesn’t even want to be Ghost Rider, volunteers the power, but it must be won in a race.
Reyes finally agreed after Blaze threatened his kid brother. Reyes was off to a good start, but Blaze has no problem cheating. He got his minions to attack Reyes, but all the best Riders defend Reyes since none of them have a very high opinion of Blaze. The Avengers also invaded Hell with the help of the Cosmic Ghost Rider, who had a grudge with Blaze.
With all his new found help, Reyes was able to best Blaze, but Reyes abdicated the throne. Blaze scoffed at him for giving up the throne and leaving Blaze without the power he needed to defend it from less noble rulers.
King of Hell
As King of Hell, Blaze spends most of his time tracking down escaped demons. After the most recent escape, Blaze bumps into his brother, Danny, on Earth, still possessed by a Spirit of Vengeance. Blaze offered him a chance to hunt down the demons with him, but Danny refused. However, after a vision of his dead mother and a visit from his police detective ex-girlfriend, Danny was convinced Hell had changed Blaze.
Blaze was leaving the charred corpses of possessed bodies after sending demons back to hell all over the place, but Danny was convinced Blaze was just hurting civilians. Danny was wrong, but Blaze was being poisoned. Every time he used his new powers as king, a piece of the wickedness of the demons he stared down would stay with him, causing him to become angrier and more violent. The two fought for a while until Blaze lost his patience and stripped Danny of his Spirit of Vengeance.
Back to hunting demons, Blaze tracks them to Las Vegas, which worries Blaze that they were trying to break Mephisto out of his earthbound cage. So, Blaze broke Mephisto out himself to keep him close by. However, according to Mephisto, those demons weren’t working for him. They were working for Lilith, who intended to kill Mephisto as part of her coup for the throne.
Blaze is confronted by Dr. Strange for taking his prisoner, but Blaze had his own bone to pick with Strange. Blaze only took the throne in the first place because Strange said it would be temporary. Blaze expected to be rescued by now. He fought Strange, but their fight was interrupted by Danny, sporting a new look with new powers. As the Spirit of Corruption, Danny has the Bright Blade, a sword that forces people to be consumed by their own corruption if stabbed with it. Danny was able to stab Blaze with it, which luckily only burned out only the recent corruption he had been absorbing from demons. Clear-headed, Blaze still needed Mephisto’s help tracking down Lilith’s army.
Blaze’s search for Lilith and her army is interrupted by Knull‘s invasion. He loses Mephisto during a fight with one of the symbiote dragons. Danny comes to his defense with Caretaker and Black Heart as his partners. Black Heart has a plan, but Blaze isn’t going to like it. The plan is for Blaze to give up the throne and let Mephisto have it again. He has the power to fight off Lilith’s army and lacks her grand ambition to combine the different underworlds. Reluctant and angry, Blaze eventually agrees based on the promise from Danny and Caretaker to fight demons together from now on.
Powers
Abilities/Paraphernalia
Medallion of Power: Johnny has a piece of the medallion of power, when the piece is activated it unlocks the power of the Ghost Rider [Zarathos] inside him but with Johnny’s mother cast spells to stop him being bond to Noble, so Zarathos was bonded to him instead. This gives the Johnny the ability to transform into a mystic being which appears as a flaming skeleton dressed as a motorcyclist, and provides him with superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and durability.
Penance Stare: As the Ghost Rider, Johnny recently has gained powers that are similar if not the same as Danny Ketch, but probably his most notable is the use of the “Penance Stare” â the ability to cause others to experience a level of emotional pain equivalent to that which they have caused others as a result of illegal or immoral activities. When in close combat, he locks eyes with his victim and makes them feel all the pain that that person has ever inflicted on anyone in their lifetime. However, this has several weaknesses: If high on drugs like cocaine, or if the person is blind, or if eye contact cannot be made due to the victim having more than two eyes, then Ghost Rider’s Penance Stare cannot function. Another example of a weakness was when an attempt to use the Penance Stare on the symbiotic being known as Venom resulted in Ghost Rider being knocked unconscious.
Chains: As the Ghost Rider, Johnny uses a length of heavy chain approximately 3 feet long which possesses magical properties. For instance, when it is thrown it is able to separate into individual links which behave like shuriken, later reintegrating and returning to the Ghost Rider’s hand. The chain can grow in length, is supernaturally strong, and can transform into other weapons such as a spear. He can also spin it fast to be used as a drill.
Motorcycle: The common theme of the Ghost Rider is When riding their bikes, the vehicles can travel faster than conventional motorcycles and can maneuver impossible feats such as riding straight up a vertical surface or across water. When empowered, the host undergoes a more radical transformation. It changes from a conventional looking motorcycle to one that appears both powerful and high-tech. Along with flaming wheels, the bike includes a shield-like battering ram on the front. Like the Blaze/Zarathos version, this Ghost Rider’s bike was capable of incredible stunts, such as driving up sheer walls, across water, and in at least two known instances, through the very air itself. Ghost Rider also created two other bikes that he could utilize in the same manner as the one he normally rode, one out of necessity when Blackheart stole the original in a crossover graphic novel that brought together Ghost Rider, Wolverine, and the Punisher, and again in the regular series as a spare in case something made him unable to get to his regular cycle. The latter would wind up in the hands of Johnny Blaze. Ghost Rider can also give his fiery ability to his motorcycle and other vehicles.
Hellfire: After two years in Hell, John had learned a few tricks such as spitting fire and vomiting his chain. He possessed complete control over Hellfire and normal fire, he can generate and project hellfire in massive amounts and manipulate it in anyway he likes, an good example of this is when Danny raises a wall of hellfire. Ghost Rider also had the ability to destroy the undead, and Noble Kale is Marvel’s incarnation of the Angel of Death/Judgment, which detailed the supposed origins of the Noble Kale version of the Ghost Rider.
Blaze and Zarathos often battle for dominance and control over their shared body. Kale had a compassionate side and while there were times that he seemed tempted to simply take over completely, he refused to do so, though he felt anger at condemning Daniel to only being able to live his life out half the time, while he dominated the other half. Kale and Ketch, like Blaze and Zarathos, could sometimes communicate through dreams, and in at least one issue communicated via messages written on a mirror in lipstick.
King of Hell: As King of Hell, Johnny had use of “The Damnation Stare.” Like The Penance Stare, Johnny was able to cause great pain by locking eyes with his combatants. He can look deep into a possessed human and determine if the supernatural entity inside had already been judged and sent to Hell. If they are, the demon will be violently sent back, burning up the body it had been possessing. Unfortunately, this makes Blaze a conduit for the demon, and pieces of their wickedness would stay behind, causing Blaze to be angrier and more violent. He also showed the ability to strip power from designated Spirits of Vengeance.
Former
Hellfire Shotgun: At one point, Blaze carried a Hellfire Shotgun which allowed him access to his Hellfire powers without turning into Ghost Rider. Originally, it was just a regular shotgun until it was transformed during a confrontation between Blaze and Ghost Rider (Ketch). The Hellfire Shotgun was unlike any ordinary weapon because it never ran out of ammunition and could be fired repeatedly for an indeterminate amount of time.
Characteristics/Status
- Gender: Male
- Height: 5′ 10″ (as Blaze), 6’2″ (as Ghost Rider)
- Weight: 180 lbs. (as Blaze), 220 lbs. (as Ghost Rider)
- Eyes: Blue (as Blaze), Flaming Red (as Ghost Rider)
- Hair: Reddish Blond (as Blaze), none (as Ghost Rider)
- Place of Birth: Waukegan, Illinois
- identity: Secret identity
- Citizenship: American
- Marital status: Widowed
- Occupation: Demon hunter; formerly stunt rider, adventurer; carnival owner, movie stuntman, drifter, King of Hell
- Education: High-school graduate
- Base of Operations: Mobile; formerly the Quentin Carnival, the American Southwest and New York City, New York
Alternate Earths
Earth-1610
In the Ultimate Universe, John Blaze was killed in a satanic ritual by a biker gang. They killed Blaze as a sacrifice to Mephisto, who they made a deal with for success and wealth. Blaze also made a deal with Mephisto while he was dying for the free passage of his girlfriend Roxanne. In Hell, Blaze was trained to be a demonic bounty hunter, the Ghost Rider. Mephisto let him lose to get his vengeance on the biker gang, all now in positions of power. One such biker was the Vice President of the United States, which brought Blaze into confrontation with Nick Fury and the Avengers.
Upon learning his history, The Punisher (acting as Captain America) killed the Vice President himself and let Blaze go free. To stay on Earth, Blaze had to continue sending souls to Hell to ensure Roxanne’s security.
Squadron Supreme of America
When Coulson re-made America in the name of Mephisto, the Squadron Supreme of America were Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Blaze was re-imagining as the “Ghost Runner,” archrival of Squadron member, The Blur. He seemingly had the same appearance and powers, however, he had no motorcycle. Instead, he simply ran but with super speed, just like The Blur.
Other Media
Film
Ghost Rider (2007)
On February 16, 2007, the film Ghost Rider was released in theatres. Nicholas Cage starred as Johnny Blaze and the film instantly took off in the box office. For weeks, Ghost Rider was #1 at the box office. However, film critics did not share the enthusiasm of the public. Although the plot and acting were looked down upon slightly, none could argue that the special effects were absolutely stunning. The cast included such roles as Eva Mendes staring as Roxanne Simpson, Sam Elliot as the Caretaker, Peter Fonda as Mephistopheles, and Wes Bentley as Blackheart.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)
On February 17, 2012, the sequel to Ghost Rider, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance was released in theaters. Nicholas Cage returns as the main character Johnny Blaze. Set several years after the first film, Johnny is hiding out in Eastern Europe trying to free himself from his curse. That is, until a monk played by Idris Elba approaches him because he needs his help in stopping the Devil from possessing a young child by the name of Danny Ketch.
Video Games
Marvel Ultimate Alliance (2006) The Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider appeared as a playable character in Marvel Ultimate Alliance. You unlock him in Mephisto’s Realm. In order to do so, one of your characters must take Ghost Rider’s place as a prisoner of Mephisto. The majority of his abilities, as one would expect, revolve around his use of Hellfire and his trademark chain. His motorcycle does not appear. |
Ghost Rider (2007)
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Marvel Super Hero Squad Online (2011)
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Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 (2011)
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Marvel: Avengers Alliance (2012)
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LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (2013) |
Marvel Heroes (2014)
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Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (2017)
- Ghost Rider returns as a playable character, voiced by Fred Tatasciore. In the game’s story mode, he encounters Morrigan in the Dark Kingdom while seeking vengeance for the theft of a million human souls. Morrigan attempts to seduce him, but is rebuffed, leading to a fight. Later, on Earth, he confronts Jedah, the one who sacrificed the souls to create a giant symbiote monster.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order (2019)
Ghost Rider returns as a playable character in the third Ultimate Alliance game, voiced by Fred Tatasciore.
Fortnite (2020)
Ghost Rider was added to Fortnite in November 2020 as part of the ongoing crossover with Marvel. The character’s arrival was announced with a promotional event called the Ghost Rider Cup.
Television
Hulk and The Agents of S.M.A.S.H.
Ghost Rider appears in the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. episode “Spirit of Vengeance”, voiced by Fred Tatasciore.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Johnny Blaze makes his MCU debut in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode “The Good Samaritan,” played by an unknown actor. It is shown in a flashback that Johnny is the one who transformed Robbie Reyes into a Spirit of Vengeance after the youth’s death.
Merchandise
- ToyBiz released a line of Ghost Rider figures in the 90s, which included a Johnny Blaze figure.
- ToyBiz released a Ghost Rider figure for series 7 of Marvel Legends line.
- Diamond released a Ghost Rider figure for Marvel Select.
- Ghost Rider was featured in the HeroClix figure game.
- Hasbro released a line of action figures for the first Ghost Rider movie, including characters who weren’t actually in the film, like Vengeance and Scarecrow.
- Ghost Rider has been featured in Diamond Select’s Minimates line.
- Ghost Rider was featured in Hasbro’s Super Hero Squad line.
- Ghost Rider was featured in Hasbro’s Marvel Universe line.
- Various companies like Gentle Giant Studios, Bowen Designs, Diamond Select, Iron Studios and Eaglemoss Publications have done Ghost Rider statues, busts and figurines.
- Hot Toys released a Ghost Rider figure with Hell Cycle for the first Ghost Rider movie.
- Hasbro released a Ghost Rider figure for Marvel Legends Rhino Build-A-Figure wave.
- Ghost Rider was featured in a Lego kit with Spider-Man and Hobgoblin.
- Sideshow Collectibles produced a Ghost Rider figure.
- Hasbro released a Ghost Rider figure with his Hell Cycle as part of the Marvel Legends Ultimate Riders line.
- Ghost Rider was featured in Mezco’s One:12 Collective line of figures as part of a special set that included the Hell Cycle.
- Ghost Rider was featured in Funko’s Pop! line of bobbleheads.
Novels
Ghost Rider
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