Johnny BlazeGhost Rider

A motorcycle stunt driver turned spirit of vengeance after a fateful deal with the demon lord Mephisto, Ghost Rider defies his benefactor and rides his blazing motorcycle, dispensing vengeance to the souls of all those who would do the world harm.

Possessed by a demon named Zarathos, Johnny Blaze constantly craves vengeance against evil and is compelled to seek it out, using his supernatural hellfire and Penance Stare to burn the souls of the wicked. The human inside of Ghost Rider would like nothing more than to be free of his curse, but in the meantime, he's going to make a lot of bad people suffer.

Spirit of Vengeance

Johnny Blaze grew up in a family of stunt drivers. His father, Barton Blaze, raised Johnny and his siblings alone when Johnny's mother, Naomi, left them. Barton later died in a stunt, and Johnny was adopted by fellow stunt drivers Crash and Mona Simpson. Johnny eventually grew to have romantic feelings for his adoptive sister, Roxanne.

When Johnny's stepfather was dying of cancer, Johnny turned to the occult to try and cure the illness. Believing he had summoned the biblical Devil himself, Johnny in fact had summoned the demon lord Mephisto and bargained his soul away in exchange for Crash's life.

The first rule is that the devil always lies. Crash was cured, momentarily, but then died shortly after in a stunt gone wrong. When Mephisto came to collect his soul, it was only the timely intervention of Johnny's love, Roxanne, that temporarily drove Mephisto away.

As a final act of spite before fleeing, Mephisto cursed Johnny by bonding him with the demon Zarathos, transforming Johnny into the blazing spirit of vengeance, Ghost Rider.

Eldritch Powers

Ghost Rider uses numerous mystical abilities to punish the guilty and save innocent lives. His chief weapon is called the Penance Stare, an ability picked up from his brother, Danny Ketch. By gazing into the soul of the guilty, Ghost Rider causes the affected party to relive all the harm they?ve done to anyone else over the years. This stare leaves its victim permanently catatonic.

Another element Blaze incorporates from Ketch as time goes on is a mystical, metal chain bathed in hellfire which can be used as both a weapon and to bind his enemies. Johnny can infuse any motorcycle with hellfire or even conjure up a vehicle from nothing. Whichever approach he takes, Ghost Rider lives up to his name.

Finally, Ghost Rider is supernaturally strong. The demon inside Blaze, Zarathos, is among the upper echelon of demons as far as his power level, meaning Ghost Rider can grapple with the universe?s strongest when necessary. It's only the human host that holds the demon back from full power.

Penance Stare

A mystical being that hates evil is bound to have many enemies among the physical and corporeal world, and Ghost Rider has more than enough for him to handle.

It is Mephisto's manipulations that led to Johnny Blaze first becoming the Ghost Rider and his stepfather's death, on the heels of demonic trickery. For this reason, Johnny and Mephisto are mortal enemies, as this lying demon represents everything Ghost Rider stands against.

Zarathos is the demon inside Johnny Blaze that causes him to turn into Ghost Rider. The curse of this vengeance demon prevents Johnny from living a normal life and compels him to always seek out villains to punish. While he manages to hold back Zarathos' worst instincts, Johnny still wishes he was free of the demon.

A powerful, rival demon named Blackheart has made it his personal mission to snuff out Ghost Rider and his heroic causes.

Midnight Friends

Despite Ghost Rider's curse and unrelenting mission, he does find allies and even friends among the darkness.

Chief among them is the Ghost Rider that followed Blaze?s first time under the curse, Danny Ketch, who is ultimately revealed to be Blaze's brother. They team up many times and while they occasionally find themselves on opposing sides, their family ties are strong. Johnny even adopts Danny's use of a hellfire chain and the Penance Stare after seeing his brother use these tools.

The first super-team that Ghost Rider joins is called the Champions. Johnny becomes close friends with the members of this short-lived group, including Hercules, Black Widow, Angel, and Iceman.

The Midnight Sons are a loose-knit group of anti-heroes who fight supernatural forces. Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch are founding members, and other associates include Morbius, Daimon Hellstrom, Jennifer Kale, Werewolf by Night, Topaz and the Black Cat. Doctor Strange has assisted the Midnight Sons as well, on occasion.

Johnny mentors the newest Ghost Rider, Robbie Reyes, by helping Robbie reconcile his dual nature and make sure the good wins over the darkness within. Johnny gives Robbie an open invitation to come to him whenever Robbie needs it.

Daimon Hellstrom and Ghost Rider have a lot in common, as both are created as agents of the underworld, only to turn against their masters and fight evil, not serve it. Daimon and Johnny act on the same side against demonic threats many times.

Sold his Soul for a Bike

As Ghost Rider, Johnny was forced to do Mephisto's bidding, transforming into Ghost Rider whenever evil was present and punishing evildoers. Sometimes, though, Johnny?s human inner self would prevail, allowing him to save innocent lives in the process.

Ghost Rider became a founding member of the super-team the Champions alongside Angel, Iceman, Black Widow, and Hercules. He also worked alongside similarly macabre anti-heroes like Werewolf by Night, Daimon Hellstrom, Morbius and Man-Thing.

After a long period existing with the curse of the Ghost Rider, Johnny found his soul captured in crystal by immortal mystic and servant of Mephisto, Centurious. Zarathos shattered the crystal with the last of its strength, freeing Johnny's soul and dissolving their bond, and allowing Johnny to live a normal life again.

Johnny continued to wander the earth, helping innocent lives wherever he could. With his curse gone and reunited with his only love, Johnny decided to propose to Roxanne. She accepted, and they were married and had two children, Craig and Emma. They even acquired a circus?though, befitting Blaze's life, it was haunted with many supernatural beings.

Eventually, Johnny encountered the next Ghost Rider, Danny Ketch. His first thought was that Zarathos had merged with a new host, and horrified, Johnny tried to kill Danny. By the end of their skirmish, Johnny learned that Danny was Ghost Rider in a different manner than had been, and the two become allies. This occurred in the nick of time, as it took the both of them to overcome the menace of Blackout.

Johnny and Danny then formed a duo dubbed the Spirits of Vengeance. Though still human, Johnny took to carrying a mystical shotgun filled with hellfire shells and loved to ride a blazing motorcycle, not unlike the one he used as Ghost Rider. More importantly, he learned that Danny was, in fact, his biological brother.

When Roxanne was killed by the demon Hellgate and their children kidnapped, a devastated Blaze took it upon himself to hunt down and destroy all those responsible. He found his children, only to lose them again. They later died under unknown circumstances. Meanwhile, Roxanne was resurrected as the being called the Black Rose by Ghost Rider's nemesis, Blackheart; although, she perished quickly again.

Not one to stay down for long, Zarathos resurrected himself within Johnny, and Blaze was the Ghost Rider once more. This new incarnation was initially mindless and savage, and this weakness allowed demons to capture him and drag him to hell, finally fulfilling the promise he made to Mephisto.

The angel Malachi appeared to Johnny in hell and offered him escape, with his soul included, if he'd hunt down a demon named Kazann. He had to get to Kazaan before the archangel Ruth, who would devastate the Earth should she find Kazaan first.

It was all a trick, though, as Kazaan and Malachi were brothers conspiring with each other across heaven and hell, and Malachi wanted Kazaan back before he could tell Ruth about this conspiracy under duress.

Johnny finally escaped from hell. Unfortunately, Lucifer escaped with him and spread in fragments between hundreds of people, all of whom had to die by Ghost Rider's hand to return the devil to hell.

While tracking down these fragments, Ghost Rider battled the Hulk during the creature's vengeful attack on humanity. The presence of Johnny within Ghost Rider held the demon back, preventing him from defeating the green giant. However, Johnny did eventually find the final fragment and sent Lucifer back to hell.

The angel Zadkiel, having proclaimed himself God on earth, was opposed by Ghost Rider, working with Kid Blackheart, Daimon Hellstrom, and Danny's sister, Sara. In the process, Johnny was visited by the spirits of his dead wife and children and made the ultimate sacrifice to defeat Zadkiel. If not for a plot by the Kingpin to resurrect Johnny, Ghost Rider's soul would be at peace.

Then, Johnny was approached by a mysterious man named Adam who offered to take the curse from Johnny and give it to a random stranger. Johnny accepted, and the curse passed to a girl named Alejandra Jones.

However, Mephisto appeared to Johnny and claimed that Johnny's decision had doomed the world; to preserve his own evil existence, Mephisto implored Johnny to find the new Ghost Rider and re-take his curse.

Johnny was able to convince Alejandra to abandon her quest and took back the mantle of Ghost Rider after a battle in hell, though a sliver of the demon remained within Alejandra. Johnny then met another new Ghost Rider, this one inhabited by two people: the good Robbie Reyes and the evil Eli Morrow. Johnny assisted Robbie in gaining control of himself and not letting the evil half win.