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Quote1 Prepare to suffer the sting of Ghost Rider's power! Prepare to know the true meaning of hell! Quote2
Ghost Rider

Johnathon "Johnny" Blaze[21] a.k.a Ghost Rider[22] is an American motorcycle stunt performer, and entertainer turned Spirit of Vengeance.[14][15] He was the son of famed stuntman Barton Blaze who tragically died during a stunt. He became bound to Zarathos the Spirit of Vengeance after making a deal with the Demon Mephisto to spare the life of his surrogate father Crash Simpson.[1] Now with the power to control Hellfire and to inflict pain on those he deemed evil with his Penance Stare, Blaze seeks vengeance riding his Hell Cycle as the Ghost Rider.[23]

History

Origins[]

Zarathos the demon had built a power base for himself many years ago. Zarathos had a penchant for human souls which led him into many conflicts, including against the Blood cult and his fellow demon Mephisto, who felt that Zarathos was one of his rivals. Because of these conflicts, and Mephisto's belief about their rivalry, he tricked Zarathos and enslaved him, trapping him in the bodies of various mortals throughout the years while keeping him amnesiac. The torture of Zarathos combined with Mephisto's search for a mystical artifact, known as the Medallion of Power which had been crafted by another of Zarathos' foes, the Blood, to house the essences of the original Spirits of Vengeance.[15]

This medallion had become embedded into the spiritual bloodline of two families after it was broken. The Kale family were one of these bloodlines who drew the attention of Mephisto in the 18th century after the shard of the medallion within Noble Kale transformed him into a Spirit of Vengeance known as the Ghost Rider. Mephisto tried and failed to corrupt Noble and set his sights on rest of the Kale clan, watching them from then on the firstborn Noble of every generation manifest their power.[15]

Early Life[]

Johnathon Blaze (Earth-616) from Marvel Spotlight Vol 1 5 001

Earlier appearance

Johnny Blaze was born the son of Barton Blaze and Naomi Kale and spent his formative years growing up among the Quentin Carnival. Both of Blaze's parents starred alongside Craig "Crash" Simpson in a motorcycle show. This life seemed idyllic for a time, until Blaze's mother left him and took his siblings Barbara and Daniel with her and left him behind. Naomi was aware of her family curse and was afraid of the suffering that would come to Johnny as it had to her, she chose to leave him and to place his siblings into the care of Francis Ketch whose name they would take.[15][24]

Johnny was deeply affected by the abandonment of his mother to the point that it caused him to repress many memories he had of both her and his siblings. Shortly after the loss of his mother, Johnny would also lose his father Barton to a stun accident and came to be adopted by their friend Crash and his wife Mona Simpson. The couple hoped to hide the truth of Johnny's painful past from him and instead fabricated a less tragic backstory for him, including that his mother 'Clara Blaze' had died. Johnny grew up happy among the Simpson family and grew ever closer to his foster sister Roxanne, leading to their relationship growing beyond a familial sibling bond as they fell in love.[15][1]

Johnny's true mother would return to watch over him, pleased to discover that he was growing up happily while also remaining afraid that the Kale family curse would affect him. This drove Naomi Kale to make a bargain with Mephisto to spare Johnny from the family curse and hopefully put an end to it altogether. Naomi was betrayed by Mephisto though, the demon swore in the last moments of Naomi's life that Johnny wouldn't become the true Ghost Rider he was supposed to become, but that he would still become 'a' Ghost Rider.[15][24]

Stunt Performer[]

Johnny remained blissfully unaware of his connections to multiple mystical forces and grew to follow his parents and the Simpsons into the family business, joining the Simpsons travelling stunt show, the Crash Simpson Stunt Cycle Extravaganza. During this time Johnny had come to see Crash as a father and had been taught to ride and perform stunts on motorcycles by Crash who hoped that his foster son would follow his legacy. When Johnny was fifteen this dream came to an end, when Mona Simpson was killed while practicing a stunt which also nearly claimed Johnny's life. On her deathbed Mona asked Johnny to quit riding and Johnny promised her that he would.[15]

Johnny would continue refusing to take part in the Simpson families shows for the next five years, placing a strain on his relationship with Crash who remained unaware of the reasons behind Johnny's refusals. Crash also remained unaware that Johnny had been keeping up his practicing at night and had honed his skills to the point of surpassing his foster father. Unbeknownst to Crash, who had accused his son of cowardice, Johnny was also keeping other secrets, such as the nature of his relationship with Roxanne. Johnny would come to learn that Crash had developed cancer and was going to die from it, which drove Crash to once again ask Johnny to take over the family show, Johnny continued to refuse which disappointed Roxanne. Johnny was unable to live with the idea of Crash dying and ultimately chose to study the occult, hoping to find a mystical way to save his foster father. The magic that Johnny discovered including a spell to supposedly summon Satan, the demon that Johnny raised though was in fact Mephisto.[15]

Mephisto and Johnny made a deal which cured Crash of his cancer, as long as Johnny promised to serve the demon, and spend eternity in Hell. Despite their deal, Crash would die almost instantly after, while attempting to set a new world record with a 22 car jump. Johnny was devastated by Crash's loss and while seeking to honor the memory of his foster father, attempted and made the jump himself. Johnny then came close to losing his soul to Mephisto, had it not been for the timely intervention of Roxanne proclaiming her love for him and temporarily driving Mephisto away by the purity of her love.[15]

Becoming the Ghost Rider[]

After Crash's death Johnny transformed into Ghost Rider for the first time, causing him to believe that the flaming skulled skeletal being was a demonic manifestation of the evil within him. Johnny soon realized that this was not true and that the being he became at night was an entirely different entity which had become bonded to him. Johnny would then become involved with a local motorcycle gang who called themselves Satan's Servants during his nightly transformations. Their leader, a man named Curly Samuels gained the Ghost Rider's trust up until Johnny learned that within Curly's body was the soul of Crash Simpson. Mephisto had enlisted Crash in his efforts to gain hold of Johnny and offered him new life as long as he betrayed his adopted son, a bargain that Crash accepted. After being cast into Hell the Ghost Rider was able to reason with Crash, reawakening his love for his son and his sense of honor. Crash would then sacrifice himself to allow Johnny to escape from hell, while also making the Ghost Rider promise to protect his daughter Roxanne.[15]

Johnny would begin a journey through the American Southwest alongside Roxanne where he would first battle a Satanist known as Witch Woman while transformed into Ghost Rider. Johnny stayed near Copperhead Canyon for a time and came across Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan who he would also fight. Johnny and Roxanne would continue travelling the West seeking to escape Mephisto and stay safe. After making their way to San Francisco, Roxanne was tricked and renounced for love for Johnny, allowing Mephisto to seemingly almost claim Johnny's soul. At the last moment they were saved by a mysterious long-haired and bearded mystery man who would only tell them that he was 'a friend'. Johnny believed this man to be a heavenly figure, someone helping them and offering hope and salvation. There would come several more run-in with this man before he would come to be revealed as a trick of Mephisto's. Johnny became discouraged when he learned the truth about his 'friend' and when combined with his fear of the growing difficulty in controlling the Ghost Rider, he came to the decision to leave Roxanne and strike out on his own, which he would continue to do for the following years.[15]

Champions of L.A.[]

Johnny would come to team up with the Black Widow, Angel, Iceman and Hercules to help stop Pluto's attempts to invade Olympus. This group of five heroes then founded the superhero team known as the Champions.[25] The champions attempted to be "super heroes for the ordinary man," but suffered through too many tensions amongst themselves to truly work together as a group. After working with the Champions for a few months, Johnny came to realize that as Ghost Rider he had become too much of a lone wolf to work as part of a team and bid the group farewell as they disbanded.[26] Ghost Rider would also unwillingly become a member of the Legion of Monsters during this time, fighting and killing Starseed alongside them.[18][15]

Leaving Stunt Riding[]

Ghost Rider Vol 5 6 Textless

Ghost Rider on his cycle

Johnny came to find that his demonic half, Ghost Rider, was able to exert more and more control over both his actions and his personality. Because of this Johnny was unable to keep up with his career as a professional stunt rider, losing his title as 'World Champion Stunt Rider' to Flagg Fargo after a series of losses. Johnny would then go on to join the Quentin Carnival, although he didn't remember it from his childhood it felt like home to him in his demoralized state. While Johnny was a member of the Carnival he formed a friendly rival with Red Fowler, a fellow rider, and flirted with Cynthia Randolph, a journalist for Woman Magazine who had been assigned to follow the Carnival. Johnny would also come up against Centurious who fed off souls imprisoned by an ancient artifact known as the Crystal of Souls; an encounter that would bring up dark memories within the Ghost Rider. Johnny would also be captured being the being known as Nightmare who revealed to him the name of the demon bonded to him to be Zarathos.[15]

Johnny and Zarathos' struggle for control of his body would continue until the return of Roxanne Simpson. Roxanne sought Johnny out for aid when a small town had been overrun by Centurious and Ethan Domblue known as Sin-Eater. Johnny became Ghost Rider to fight Centurious one again and learned through him that he had a feud with Zarathos that had been going on for centuries. Their fight ended when the demon Zarathos and Centurious became bound within the Crystal of Souls, freeing Johnny Blaze from the Ghost Rider. Johnny bought the Carnival and settled down with Roxanne, who he married and had two children with, Craig and Emma.[15]

Meeting Dan Ketch[]

Years after becoming free of the Ghost Rider, Johnny would learn of a new Ghost Rider operating in New York. Johnny was afraid that the demon Zarathos had become free of the Crystal and become bound to a new Rider. Johnny was so concerned that he captured the new Ghost Rider, Danny Ketch but quickly learned that Zarathos wasn't within Danny. During their fight, Hellfire passed through Johnny's Hellfire Shotgun into him, revealing to Johnny that he was still able to discharge Hellfire from his gun. Johnny took the shotgun and a mystical motorcycle and went on to become a mentor to Danny, teaching him about his Ghost Rider powers and guarding him against those evil forces which would target him.[15]

Johnny had once again become involved in the world of the supernatural, entirely against the wishes of his wife. After Johnny joined with the Midnight Sons to fight against the Mother of Demons Lilith, their Carnival became targeting by the enemies that Johnny was accruing. Vengeance, blaming Johnny for the downfall of his father's career, went on to target the Carnival. Johnny continued to team-up with the Midnight Sons to stop an alliance between Centurious and Lilith who were aiming to free Zarathos. Carver, an agent of Centurious, aimed to cut a fragment of the Medallion of Power from Johnny. The wounds that Johnny earned were burned with Hellfire and he had to be encased in a cybernetic shell to save him. A member of the Blood, known as the Caretaker would then reveal to Johnny and Danny that they were in fact brothers, a fact that would further strengthen their bond. Johnny and Danny worked together to destroy the physical form of Zarathos, causing the temporary loss of Danny.[15]

Johnny grew closer to Danny but at the same time life with his family was falling apart. Johnny's children were taken from by a rogue Blood known as Regent. After Johnny rescued his children he learned that Roxanne had made a bargain with Regent to remove the Kale family curse from them. Just as Johnny and Roxanne had begun moving past this, Roxanne was killed by a foe of Danny's, Anton Hellgate, and his children were once again kidnapped. Johnny killed Centurious and swore ON Roxanne's grave that he would rescue their children and rebuild their Carnival home. Johnny removed his cybernetic shell and went to confront Icebox Bob, an undead skiller killer who would reveal to Johnny that Emma and Craig were being held by Ba'al a Mesopotamian God who had become a demon. Johnny crossed dimensions to free his children on a mission with a mystic Wendigo spirit and the Angel Uri-El. Johnny was reunited with his children but this would prove temporary as they would yet again go missing, just a few months later.[15]

Johnathon Blaze (Earth-616) from Deadpool Vol 4 26 001

Johnny Blaze's human form

Johnny went on to help his brother Danny to learn the origins behind his Ghost Rider spirit and discovered that Jennifer Kale, a sorceress, was their cousin. Jennifer would help Johnny to search for his children but even together they were unable to return them to their father and ultimately had to admit they had been defeated. Roxanne was returned to Earth during this time to serve as a demonic servant to Blackheart, going by Black Rose. Roxanne initially had no memory of her past life on Earth and after Noble Kale, the current Ruler of Hell, gave her back her memories and decided she would let Johnny continue believing she was dead as she felt he had moved on.[15]

Johnny decided to start over and found himself a new job working as an accountant as well as a new girlfriend, Chloe. Johnny still had a connection to the demon Zarathos, allowing Zarathos to begin reconstituting itself within him. This would cause Johnny to again begin transforming into Ghost Rider, leading Johnny hit the road and quit his job. The reborn Ghost Rider was different than it had been before, with a less talkative and more indifferent personality, caring less for the safety of innocent bystanders. Johnny again became desperate to escape the curse of the Ghost Rider and went as far as hiring Gunmetal Gray, a mercenary, to kill Ghost Rider. Gray enjoyed the pursuit of the Ghost Rider in a particularly malicious way and finally had him cornered at a biker convention. Despite Johnny's previous attempts against Zarathos' life the two of them made peace and truly merged together, defeating Gray.[27][15]

Damnation[]

Once again became bonded to the Ghost Rider, Johnny ended up in Hell as part of the bargain. There, he endures excruciating torment by hordes of demons every night, and is made whole again by dawn. He attempts to escape through the Gates of Hell but couldn't outrace the horde. One day, he was met by the angel Malachi, and was offered a deal of freedom and redemption if he captures the demon Kazann loose on Earth and bring him back to Hell. Malachi also advised Johnny that both Heaven and Hell have sent out their own agents, Hoss and Ruth, to hunt the demon. Johnny agrees, and is on Earth again.[28]

Johnny encountered Hoss while on the road and fought him. However, the ongoing conflict led them to Ruth. In an attempt to "narrow down the opposition", she attacked both of them, and took Johnny's bike. Johnny and Hoss decided to team up, and make their way to Kazann's location. Ruth, however, beaten them, but to their surprise, hordes of demons have exploded unto the Earth. Kazann was summoned by Earl Gustav, the owner of Gustav Petroleum, and had been planning to raise a new Hell, away from the old customs of the original. Gustav was loyal to Kazann, and had been building a special drill, with the assistance of his secretary, Miss Catmint, designed to punch a hole to the spiritual realm. Ghost Rider and Hoss repel through the carnage and goes after Kazann while telling Hoss to distract Ruth. He confronted Kazann and as they battle, the demon horde returned back to the Pit after Miss Catmint forced Hoss to recite the hymn of recall. Ghost Rider relishes in his victory but was shot by a magical bullet from Father Adam, an ex-army ranger turned priest that was tasked from Hell to assassinate Johnny, sending him back to the Pit again. Malachi revealed that his deal with Johnny was a lie, and that no one can save a soul from damnation. As Malachi was explaining, Ruth suddenly ripped his wings out. Hoss then revealed that Malachi and Kazann, who was named Micah then, were actually brothers and have exchanged information in secret granting both of them higher ranks in their respective realms. Malachi tasked Johnny so their secret would remain unchecked before Ruth could apprehend Kazann and that Heaven would torture him revealing their covert partnership. Hoss escorted Ruth to their promotion while Johnny, enraged and furious, spends the rest of his time in Hell but with Malachi chained behind him.[29]

At some point afterwards, due to the machinations of Lucifer, Johnny was set free once again. This has led to a confrontation with Doctor Strange. Ghost Rider fought Strange thinking it's one of Lucifer's tricks, and used the Penance Stare against him realizing too late that it was actually him. Numecet, Stange's friend, arrived and while she cannot have herself involved, she informed that Johnny's escape was all according to Lucifer's plan. Lucifer was behind him when he traversed from the celestial plane, and disintegrated into six hundred sixty-six fragments. Each piece fell into the bodies of the deceased, and reawakened them. If each possessed body were to be destroyed, the last form would be powerful enough to be Lucifer's one true being and would have reign on Earth. Ghost Rider decided to pursue his quest for vengeance, and vowed to returned every fragment back to Hell.[30]

Fragments of Lucifer[]

Johnny continued his search for the fragments of Lucifer in Sleepy Hollow, Illinois during the first Superhuman Civil War. Johnny discovered that a local serial killer, who had been decapitating children, was in fact Lucifer within the recently dead body of the supervillain Jack O'Lantern, who had been murdered by the Punisher and had his body returned to his home town for burial. Johnny was initially suspected of being the killer by the towns sheriff but the truth quickly came out and Sheriff Harry O'Connor worked alongside him to defeat the Lucifer possessed Jack O'Lantern.[31]

Johnny attempted to save the lives of innocent passengers aboard a plane while Ghost Rider fought the fragment of Lucifer within the pilot. Johnny agreed to go after Lucifer when his indecision led to the possessed pilot getting away but soon changed his mind after seeing that the Hulk was in New York City. Johnny exerted control over Ghost Rider, fighting against Zarathos' will and engaged the Hulk in Battle. Their fight was monitored by both Dr. Strange and Reed Richards, who witnessed Johnny fall to the Hulk. Dr. Strange knew that residing within a human host tempered the power of the Ghost Rider and that without Johnny Blaze conscious to hold him back, the Riders 'godlike' power might defeat the Hulk. Once Zarathos was fully in control of Johnny's unconscious body though he chose to leave New York and continue his hunt for Lucifer, as the Ghost Rider only protects the innocent and in this situation the Illuminati, who the Hulk was seeking vengeance upon, were not innocent.[32]

Johnny continued his fight against Lucifer, engaging help from his then girlfriend, Dixie. Johnny tracked down another of Lucifer's fragments, this time residing within the body of a man who owned a sports team and was planning to blow up a packed stadium. Johnny was forced to leave this fragment though when he was told that another person possessed by Lucifer was a little league coach holding his team hostage. Johnny arrived at the barn where the children were being held and fought Lucifer as Ghost Rider, realizing that the barn had accidentally been set alight during their battle. The children Johnny had come to protect were saved by two Angel brothers of the Malakim, Emmael and Vraniel, who had been reborn on Earth for atonement and to fight against the evil fallen angel Zadkiel who they'd previously been aligned with.[33]

Ghost Rider brought the two Angels with him when he returned to the sports stadium to stop Lucifer from destroying it. After learning that the two Angels were harboring a secret the Ghost Rider used his penance stare on Emmael, destroying him. Johnny also learned that the Ghost Rider was in fact an agent of Heaven, created by God, who had been bonded to him by Zadkiel after Roxanne prayed for Johnny's soul to be saved and that Lucifer had aided in his escape from Hell so that he could also be freed. After learning this, Lucifer attempting to ally himself with the Ghost Rider, as he was also an enemy of Zadkiel, having been betrayed by Zadkiel during his war against Heaven. The Ghost Rider responded to this offer by blowing up the building with both himself and Lucifer still inside.[34]

Johnny was down to two avatars of Lucifer and was able to defeat the 'final' Avatar as he had kept the second to last brain-dead but alive,[5] which split Lucifer's power in two. The now truly final avatar of Lucifer was killed shortly after when it was shot dead by incompetent cops in the hotel room where Johnny had Dixie keeping it alive. Before the shootout happened Dixie tried to explain everything when the cops entered the room they found the story to hard to believe until the avatar started moving. During the shooting Dixie was also shot and died as she was heading to the door trying to leave the room. Johnny had defeated Lucifer, stopping his rise to power on Earth and returning him to Hell where he belonged but had also lost the few things he had to care about once again, causing him to decide to turn the Ghost Rider loose on Zadkiel next.[35]

Zadkiel[]

Johnny learned of a young man, Lucas Collier, who had briefly died and gone to Heaven, only to return afraid of Angels. After tracking him down to the cursed town of New Beulah in the hope of learning a way into Heaven from him, he instead learned that Zadkiel was enslaving souls as part of his attempt to siege Heaven and that Zadkiel had agents on Earth to ensure no one living stopped him or spread word about what he was doing.[36] Unbeknownst to Johnny, Danny Ketch was one of those servants, having been convinced of the need to hunt down every Ghost Rider and remove the Spirit bonded to them so as to prevent their 'corruption'. Danny was unaware of Zadkiel's other motives, including the fact that the fallen angel was using the gathered power of the Rider to wage war on Heaven by tearing down the walls of New Jerusalem. The direction Johnny's brother had taken would pit them against one another as Johnny was working alongside Sister Sara to take down Zadkiel. Together they travelled to Tibet and discovered the body of Nima, a Ghost Rider killed by Ketch.[37]

Sara and Johnny were visited by his brother that night and a battle erupted. During the fighting Johnny used the penance stare on his brother and learned what had become of him, including the fact that Danny had already murdered numerous other Riders for their power. Johnny ended up on the other side of a penance stare from Danny which left him temporarily broken in spirit. Danny would have taken the power of Zarathos from his brother if it wasn't for the timely intervention of Sara who saved Johnny and was able to get him to a safehouse. At this safehouse they met two other Ghost Riders, the Chinese Bai Gu Jing and the muslim Ghost Rider Molek who they agreed to follow to Japan.[38]

After arriving in Japan, Johnny and his team learned that Danny had already murdered another Rider, Yoshio Kannabe, for his power. Unbeknownst to Johnny, while this was happening Vengeance, a former deputy whom Johnny had used the Penance Stare on, had come into possession of a Hellfire Shotgun, which he was planning on using against him.[39] Johnny and his team carried on to the City of the Skulls in the Congo where they planning on making their last stand against Danny and Zadkiel. There they were met by the two Ghost Riders of the Congo, Baron Skullfire and Marinette Bwa Chech alongside their Phantom Riders, with Johnny snapping out of the depression his fight with Danny and the penance stare had left him in.[40]

During the ensuing battle Baron Skullfire was lost but the Ghost Rider within was transferred to a Phantom Rider before Danny Ketch could claim it. Ketch created duplicates of himself from Hellfire to fight for him and made a wager with his brother, that they would race around the world to decide their fates. During this race Johnny was badly injured by the Hellfire Shotgun that Vengeance had retrieved, allowing Danny to take his Spirit from and then release the power of all Spirits he had gathered to Heaven. When Johnny returned to the City of the Skulls, his brother fell from the sky and revealed that he now knew he had been used and that the battle for Heaven was decided as energies and Spirits rained down.[41]

Johnny briefly parted ways with his brother and the others after their battle with Zadkiel and his Black Host, finding his way to a village in Japan and taking up residence in a nearby temple. The village was invaded by demons and its people transformed by a creature calling itself the Skin-Bender. She and Johnny fought, during which she attempted to use her powers to manipulate his flesh but was unable to as his body burned her. Johnny then transformed into the Ghost Rider at her request and used its power to kill her and the demons within the village, with his fire returning the villagers to normal. Sara arrived in the village as Johnny was in the process of cleaning up the Skin-Benders body and he agreed to go with her and continue their fight against Zadkiel.[10]

Kid Blackheart, the Antichrist, was hunted down by agents of Zadkiel but was saved by an occult terrorist named Jaine Cutter, despite Daimon Hellstrom's attempts to kill him. These three encountered Johnny, Danny and Sara and joined forces to defeat Zadkiel in Heaven. Once they were able to reach Heaven, Johnny and Danny both attacked Zadkiel but were quickly defeated, causing the souls of Johnny's dead wife Roxanne and their two children to encourage him to continue his fight. Johnny rallied the Spirits of Vengeance who Danny had been tricked into returning to Heaven to fight alongside them. During this fight Zadkiel finally realized that he was, nor could he ever become, the God he wanted to be. Zadkiel was defeated and banished to Hell, leading God to return to Heaven and thank Johnny for saving Heaven and the billions of souls who reside there.[42]

During Shadowland, Kingpin and Lady Bullseye were able to perform a mystical ritual to summon and control the Ghost Rider as part of a plot against the Hand. While under the Kingpin's control, Ghost Rider was forced to travel to Japan and confront the Hand, who he found he was unable to directly combat due to magic the Hand employ to bind him before he provoked them into killing him. Johnny's soul travelled to a white void where he spoke to God, who told him that he was being returned to Earth as he was still needed there. God also sent along a battalion of Black Host warrior angels to fight alongside him, as gratitude for Johnny's role in the defeat of the rogue fallen angel Zadkiel. With the Black Host to back him up, Johnny was able to defeat the Hand with ease and was freed from the Kingpins control.[43]

Alejandra Jones[]

Johnny had once again become concerned about the curse of the Ghost Rider, when he happened to be approached by a man calling himself 'Adam' who claimed he could Johnny to rid himself of Ghost Rider forever. Johnny believed it to all be too good to be true but ultimately decided to agree to Adam's offer, after learning that the Ghost Rider would pass to someone else.[44] Johnny was present in Dayton, Ohio when Sin, having become Skadi during Fear Itself, was attacking the city and fighting off against a new Ghost Rider, Alejandra Jones. This Ghost Rider was defeated by Sin and Johnny learned from Mephisto that Adam had cursed her with Zarathos to serve his goal of wiping all sin from the Earth, which would turn everyone into emotionless and mindless drones. Johnny felt responsible for Alejandra being used by Adam and vowed to help free her and the Ghost Rider from Adam.[45]

Alejandra and Adam would then return to the Nicaraguan temple where she was trained and where he wanted her to 'extinguish' the sin from the other students. After Alejandra refused she was enslaved by Adam.[46] Shortly after this Johnny would arrive and team up with the Seeker, who also wanted to stop Adam. Alejandra had been turned into a kind of bomb, which wiped all sin from Nicaragua after she blew. Only Johnny and the Seeker were spared as the Seeker had used his power to nullify a Ghost Rider's abilities to protect them.[47]

Alejandra was then taken to Cape Canaveral by Adam who made her board a space shuttle heading to a space station in orbit.[47] Adam planned for her to use the stations observation equipment to focus her power to hit the entire planet and wipe it free from sin. Johnny was able to get aboard by using a motorcycle Mephisto provided which was capable of space travel. Johnny was able to get through to Alejandra who released her power into the station instead, destroying it. Johnny was saved by Alejandra who returned them to Earth but refused his help in returning the people of Nicaragua to normal, as she did not want another person telling her what to do again.[48]

Alejandra learned that the sin she had removed from the Nicaraguans was in Hell and that as Johnny was in contact with Mephisto, he would be able to get them there. Having survived the destruction of the space station, Adam had called upon Steel Wind and her dead sister Steel Vengeance to aid him in getting the Ghost Rider back under his control. Alejandra discovered that Hawkeye believed Johnny to be responsible for the situation in Nicaragua and was hunting him. Alejandra arrived to help him but they were transported to Japan and targeted by Steel Wind and Steel Vengeance who attacked Johnny instead of Alejandra, as they were also seeking vengeance against him. Hawkeye attempted to help Johnny but was captured himself, leading Alejandra to have to defeat the sisters and free the captured men. Johnny again offered Alejandra his help and this time she accepted.[49]

Circle of Four[]

Alejandra was betrayed by Blackheart and became even more determined to get to Hell and do whatever was necessary to reverse what she had done.[50] Johnny was able to follow Alejandra to Hell and discovered her attempting to destroy the entire dimension by destroying Mephisto's heart. Johnny was able to stop her but had to catch Alejandra as she fell off a ledge over a pit of lava. Johnny attempted to hold onto Alejandra but she let go of her hand as felt she had used the Ghost Rider for selfish reasons. Zarathos then returned to Johnny who used the power of the Ghost Rider to save a burning Alejandra, who had herself survived as part of the Spirit was still within her. Johnny returned Alejandra to Nicaragua to show her the good she had done in restoring its people, Alejandra was angry at everything she had been put through and believed that Johnny's actions were deserving of vengeance, causing the two to go their separate ways.

Thunderbolts[]

Johnny made a brief attempt to start a career as an actor before deciding to retake his stunt riding career instead. At this time he would come to join a team of Thunderbolts and helped them in taking down a former member known as Mercy.[51] While on a mission the Red Leader temporarily removed Zarathos from Johnny who was then killed by a swamp demon. At the completion of this mission time was reset and Johnny was once again alive and the Ghost Rider.[52]

Punisher would go on to leave the Thunderbolts, as well as seeking revenge upon them. Punisher was able to remove the Spirit of Vengeance from Johnny by using his mystical chain against him. Johnny was grateful to him for this and left the Thunderbolts to live a life free of the Ghost Rider. The Punisher used Ghost Rider's skull against the Red Leader, seemingly locking him into a permanent Penance Stare. Mephisto also apparently took Red Leader to Hell and returned the Ghost Rider to Johnny.[53]

King of Hell[]

Johnathon Blaze (Earth-616) from Doctor Strange Damnation Vol 1 4 001

King of Hell

When Doctor Strange used magic to restore Las Vegas after its devastation, he accidentally opened a magical doorway which Mephisto used to invade Earth.[54] Wong devised a plan to help him, and to this end assembled the Midnight Sons, among which was Ghost Rider.[55] As part of Wong's plan to defeat Mephisto, Ghost Rider confronting him head-on. Just as they expected, Mephisto lifted Zarathos' curse from Johnny and killed him.[19] Johnny's soul was sent to Hell, and he convinced Zarathos to help him in a journey to Mephisto's throne. Since it was vacant due to Mephisto's venture in Las Vegas, Johnny effortlessly usurped it and became the new king of Hell.[56]

Using his new authority, Blaze turned Mephisto's minions against him, and freed the souls that were imprisoned. He additionally empowered Doctor Strange so that he could defeat Mephisto one-on-one. Even though Mephisto managed to escape and returned to Hell, Johnny defeated him with the help of an army of Spirits of Vengeance from across the time. Blaze then sent Mephisto back to Earth, where he was held captive.[19]

Challenge of the Ghost Riders[]

Wanting to gather more power, Johnny dragged Robbie Reyes down in Hell during his exorcism,[57] and challenged him to a race for his power, while sending Cosmic Ghost Rider to deal with the Avengers. At first Robbie disagreed, but after Johnny threatened him with the life of Robbie's brother, Gabe, the two started racing. However, during the race, Blaze ordered his demons to deter Reyes.[12] As Johnny kept racing, the other Spirits of Vengeance helped Robbie to surpass Blaze, but Johnny eventually summoned Eli Morrow, possessing Callus the Void, along with the souls of Robbie's parents. This allowed Johnny to surpass Robbie, while Eli destroyed Reyes' Hell Charger.[58] Thankfully, Cosmic Ghost Rider betrayed Blaze, and led the Avengers to Hell, and helped Robbie in his race. Following the victory of Robbie and his abdication to the throne, Blaze had enough and left.[59]

Degeneration[]

Johnathon Blaze (Earth-616) from Ghost Rider Vol 9 1 001

Johnny then began capturing the various demons who were still roaming the Earth and tried to recruit his brother Danny to his cause. However, Danny declined and tried to convince Johnny to leave his position as King of Hell, due to his soul was beginning to be corrupted by the demons he banished.[20] Johnny, not thinking right, stripped Danny off him his Spirit of Vengeance, and threw him off the Manhattan Bridge, leaving him to drown.[60] He then went to Hotel Inferno and broke Mephisto out in order to have more control over his demons.[61] While on their way, Mephisto informed Blaze about Lilith intention to unite the underworlds and become its ruler. However, they were then faced by Doctor Strange.[62]

Strange tried to reason with Blaze, but Johnny didn't listen and forced Strange to go transport them to Manhattan.[63] He was then approached by Wolverine, Punisher, Sara, and Danny who bonded to the Spirit of Corruption. During their confrontation, different demons arrived for Mephisto's head. Danny stabbed Johnny with his blade consuming his corruption and then Strange exorcised the remaining demonic corruption off Johnny. Following this, Johnny fully regained his mind and thanked his brother for freeing him before taking Mephisto to his next location.[64] Blaze was then interrupted by a Symbiote Invasion on Earth, where he was reunited with his brother who was accompanied by Blackheart. Ketch revealed to Johnny that he needed to let Mephisto take back his throne in hell to stop Lilith, to which Blaze reluctantly agreed, saying that he wasn't happy with choosing one devil over another one.[65]

New Status Quo[]

Having returned to his normal life, Johnny was trapped in Hayden's Falls by a number of demons disguising themselves as residents of the town. Wanting the Ghost Rider to never emerge again, the demons made him believe he was living his ideal life with his family. Fortunately for him, a mysterious individual known as Zeb intervened, slaying the demons and showing Johnny the truth of this fabricated life. The two collaborated in fighting the demons and after the fight was over Zeb quickly left Johnny confused.[66] Suffering from memory loss, Johnny went on a journey to find answers. He reunited with his Spirit of Vengeance, but as he thought of how the Spirit took control of him when turning into the Ghost Rider, Johnny sought to find himself while fighting the demons that had arrived on Earth during his absence.[67]

With the assistance of Zeb and FBI agent Talia Warroad, Johnny fought a number of demons plaguing Earth. Following the clues his Spirit of Vengeance left for him, Johnny stumbled in a massive race held by the demons with the winner being granted one wish. Despite all odds, Johnny succeeded in surpassing the other racers and winning the race. However, instead of his wish being granted Johnny was confronted by Blackheart. Blackheart wanted to get his revenge on Ghost Rider by trapping him and his Spirit of Vengeance, and seeing that their relationship was fractured and Johnny was suffering from a infernal infection the demon took the opportunity to take him down. Thankfully, Wolverine helped Johnny by using his claws to cut down on him and exorcise the unwanted demon in him, allowing Ghost Rider to return to his former self and fight Blackheart.[68]

Working alongside his new girlfriend Talia, the duo began going after the Cult of Mephisto which Talia used to be a member of when she was a teenager.[69] Seeing that the cult's leader, Stefan Skaar was indoctrinating rebellious children into joining,[70] Johnny and Talia tracked the cult to the Rocky Mountains School for Troubled Youth which to their dismay was surrounded by a wall of blood through which only children could pass. The couple then decided to combine their powers to form a homunculus acting as an extension of themselves, which they named Moonchild, in order to infiltrate the school.[71]

They were soon attacked by the Warding Trees, while they lost their connection to the Moonchild. Despite this, Talia managed to enter the school and as she went to confront Skaar, Johnny dealt with the brainwashed children. Johnny was able to free the children by absorbing all of their sins and rendering them innocent once again, thwarting Skaar's plan of unleashing Hell on Earth. Sadly, as he himself arrived to help Talia he saw that she had opened a portal to Hell in order to bring down Skaar but sacrificing herself in the process. He attempted to save her, but was unable to do anything as Talia was taken away by the damned souls before the portal shut in front of him. Having lost another person dear to him, Johnny was left with returning the freed children back to their homes and advise their families to look after them. As he drove through the night, Johnny came to the belief he was destined to remain forever alone, but was unable to shake off the feeling that his days as the Ghost Rider were coming to an end.[72]

Johnny went to confront a giant spider monster in a tunnel, but as he was about to battle it, Mephisto recalled Zarathos from him, ordering the demon to leave Blaze for another host. Zarathos did as he was ordered and left Johnny at the mercy of the spider, going around the world before bonding to the Hood.[73]

Attributes

Power Grid[95]
:Category:Power Grid/Fighting Skills/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Energy Projection/Single Type: Medium Range:Category:Power Grid/Durability/Bulletproof:Category:Power Grid/Speed/Superhuman:Category:Power Grid/Speed/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Strength/Superhuman (800 lbs-25 ton):Category:Power Grid/Intelligence/Normal

Powers

Abilities

  • Expert Stunt Rider: Blaze is an expert motorcycle stunt rider.
  • Skilled Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Although he's had no proper training, Blaze is a formidable hand to hand combatant and has become quite adept at using his powers in combat situations.
  • Occult Knowledge: Ghost Rider possesses knowledge of the occult and supernatural.

Weaknesses

All Ghost Riders possessing the Spirit of Vengeance have common disadvantages:

  • Corruption: A very dangerous side effect of using the "Damnation Stare" on demonic entities is that their moral bankruptcy contaminates the rider bit by bit. Making Blaze susceptible to Mephisto's direct control the more he uses it on the escaped condemned.[64]
  • Heavenly Weapons: Any weapon crafted from Heaven or blessed can mutilate the Ghost Rider. This is the only way to decapitate a Spirit of Vengeance.
  • Host Separation: Though killing with a Heavenly weapons is one way, another way to defeat the Ghost Rider is to separate the Spirit away from the host. This makes the host return to be mortal but the Spirit will remain in its current state until it finds a new body to inhabit.

Paraphernalia

Weapons

Currently a mystic chain. Formerly a Hellfire Shotgun, pistols, and knives.

Transportation

A motorcycle which can be transformed by his hellfire.

Notes

Trivia

  • Johnny claims to hate Daredevil because he believes himself more suitable for that particular alias.[92]
  • At one point in time Johnny held nine Guinness World Records, presumably related to his stunt career.[93]

See Also

Links and References

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Marvel Spotlight #5
  2. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #9
  3. Giant-Size Hulk (Vol. 2) #1
  4. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #27
  5. 5.0 5.1 Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #14
  6. Ghost Riders: Heaven's on Fire #3
  7. 7.0 7.1 Ghost Riders: Heaven's on Fire #1
  8. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #24
  9. 9.0 9.1 Ghost Rider (Vol. 2) #64
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #35
  11. Ghost Rider (Vol. 9) #3
  12. 12.0 12.1 Avengers (Vol. 8) #23
  13. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #3
  14. 14.0 14.1 Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #23
  15. 15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 15.10 15.11 15.12 15.13 15.14 15.15 15.16 15.17 15.18 15.19 15.20 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Marvel Knights 2005 #1
  16. Savage Avengers #26
  17. Ghost Rider (Vol. 3) #28
  18. 18.0 18.1 Marvel Premiere #28
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 Doctor Strange: Damnation #3
  20. 20.0 20.1 Ghost Rider (Vol. 9) #1
  21. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #4
  22. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #5
  23. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #15
  24. 24.0 24.1 Ghost Rider (Vol. 3) #-1
  25. Champions #13
  26. Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #17
  27. Ghost Rider (Vol. 4) #16
  28. [[2|[[Ghost Rider (Vol. 5) #1|2]]]]
  29. Ghost Rider (Vol. 5) #36
  30. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #14
  31. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #811
  32. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #1213
  33. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #1417
  34. 34.0 34.1 Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #18
  35. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #19
  36. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #2023
  37. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #2728
  38. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #2830
  39. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #30
  40. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #3031
  41. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #32
  42. Ghost Riders: Heaven's on Fire #16
  43. Shadowland: Ghost Rider #1
  44. Ghost Rider (Vol. 7) #0.1
  45. Ghost Rider (Vol. 7) #1
  46. Ghost Rider (Vol. 7) #2
  47. 47.0 47.1 Ghost Rider (Vol. 7) #3
  48. Ghost Rider (Vol. 7) #4
  49. Ghost Rider (Vol. 7) #78
  50. Venom (Vol. 2) #13
  51. Thunderbolts (Vol. 2) #20.NOW22
  52. Thunderbolts (Vol. 2) #2526
  53. Thunderbolts (Vol. 2) #2729
  54. Doctor Strange #389
  55. Doctor Strange: Damnation #1
  56. Damnation: Johnny Blaze - Ghost Rider #1
  57. Avengers (Vol. 8) #22
  58. Avengers (Vol. 8) #24
  59. 59.0 59.1 Avengers (Vol. 8) #25
  60. 60.0 60.1 60.2 60.3 Ghost Rider (Vol. 9) #2
  61. Ghost Rider (Vol. 9) #34
  62. Ghost Rider (Vol. 9) #5
  63. 63.0 63.1 Ghost Rider (Vol. 9) #6
  64. 64.0 64.1 64.2 Ghost Rider (Vol. 9) #7
  65. King in Black: Ghost Rider #1
  66. Ghost Rider (Vol. 10) #1
  67. 67.0 67.1 Ghost Rider (Vol. 10) #2
  68. Ghost Rider (Vol. 10) #5
  69. Ghost Rider (Vol. 10) #18
  70. Ghost Rider (Vol. 10) #19
  71. Ghost Rider (Vol. 10) #20
  72. Ghost Rider (Vol. 10) #21
  73. Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #1
  74. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #13
  75. Heroes for Hire (Vol. 3) #2
  76. 76.0 76.1 Ghost Rider (Vol. 5) #5
  77. Avengers #214
  78. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #25
  79. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #7
  80. 80.0 80.1 Thunderbolts (Vol. 2) #22
  81. Marvel Super-Heroes (Vol. 2) #11
  82. 82.0 82.1 Ghost Rider (Vol. 10) #4
  83. Thunderbolts (Vol. 2) #20.NOW
  84. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #3
  85. Ghost Rider Annual (Vol. 2) #1
  86. 86.0 86.1 Uncanny Avengers Annual #1
  87. Ghost Rider (Vol. 10) #17
  88. Deadpool (Vol. 4) #26
  89. Thunderbolts (Vol. 2) #23
  90. Savage Avengers #21
  91. Ghost Rider (Vol. 2) #71
  92. Thunderbolts (Vol. 2) #21
  93. Ghost Rider (Vol. 6) #12
  94. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #4
  95. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 4
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