Ghost Rider, one of Marvel’s most visually intriguing characters, has gone through various transformations in his story before passing the legacy of being Zerithos’ vessel to Johnny Blaze, the guy with the super sleek motorcycle. And while fire is scorching, Johnny Blaze’s burning skull is the coolest. Indeed, the surname Blaze is most likely a pun on blazing hellfire.
In the series, Johnny Blaze has a skeletal physique and fights his adversaries on his motorcycle while wielding fire. He works as a motorbike stuntman throughout the day. He is the Spirit of Vengeance at night. However, how did Johnny Blaze come to be known as the Ghost Rider? There is a fascinating backstory behind this, and this video delves into it. Johnny Blaze has a lot going on at the same time, from his origins to his powers to his live-action film appearances.
Before we get started with the programming, we have a tiny request for our viewers. Please consider being a Marvelous Videos subscriber. Like and comment on our videos, and click the bell button to get notified when we add new ones. We would be grateful, and we hope to provide you with the greatest nerdy stuff possible. So, without further ado, let us get started with this video.
How Did The Series Start Out?
Ghost Rider is an American comic strip superhero. In Marvel Spotlight no. 5, writer Gary Friedrich created an incarnation of Ghost Rider for Marvel Comics, which was released in August 1972.
During its run as a comic strip superhero, the Ghost Rider was a western antihero. Writer Ray Krank had collaborated with artist Dick Ayers to bring this character to life. However, the reins shifted to Marvel Comics after the trademark on the character expired, causing Ayers to join forces with writers Gary Friedrick and Roy Thomas. This gave birth to Carter Slade, a teacher from the 19th century, known for wearing a ghostlike disguise while fighting lawbreakers.
However, Carter Slade did not find much success in popular media, which called for some additional changes to be made. The character was reimagined. He was given a blue leather costume, a cool motorcycle to spice up his person, a blazing skull instead of a hot one, and a hell of a lot of swag! And this super cool character design went on to become the trademark face of the Ghost Rider called Johnny Blaze.
Johnny Blaze is a motorcycle stuntman. His foster father was suffering from cancer. Desperate to find a cure, Johnny sold his soul to Mephisto, a demon, in return for a cure. That works out but only temporarily. His father soon dies in a motorcycle accident.
Mephisto bonds Blaze’s soul with Zarathos, a lesser demon, to get revenge on Johnny Blaze for thwarting his plans of collecting Johnny’s soul. In the Ghost Rider series, Blaze undergoes both internal and external battles. He fights the forces of evil and he also fights Zarathos who is bonded to his soul. With the supernatural power of hellfire by his side, Blaze fights his enemies but he also has to execute the biddings of Mephisto on several occasions.
Ghost Rider: Origin
Johnny Blaze was exposed to the wonders of being a motorcycle stuntman from a tender age, thanks to his father Barton Blaze who was a motorcycle stuntman. The father and son duo were accustomed to the life of a carnival as Barton worked for another stuntman, Crash Simpson. Unfortunately, Barton died early as a result of a stunt-based accident and Johnny did not have anyone else in his family. With his world taking a 180-degree turn for the worse, Crash Simpson went on to become a father figure for Johnny after adopting him. Johnny then began to live with Crash and Crash’s wife and daughter Mona and Roxanne.
Johnny and Roxanne grew to become very close to one another. Johnny’s misfortunes were far from being over though. As he practiced a stunt with Roxanne, the motorcycle caught on fire and was on the verge of exploding. Roxanne jumped off but Johnny did not, as he wanted to prevent the bike from exploding near their practice area. Roxanne’s mother, Mona, rushed towards Johnny to check on him but the motorcycle exploded then and there. Mona was hospitalized and later died as a result of the accident. She had one final wish – one where Johnny would never participate in motorcycle shows again.
Johnny kept his promise but could not let go of his love for motorcycle stunts. He kept on practicing and trying to improve in secret. Roxanne found out about this after stumbling into his tent. Meanwhile, his foster father Crash Simpson had a stunt show called the Crash Simpson Stunt Show. It gained a lot of popularity but not long after, Crash Simpson was diagnosed with cancer and he was nearing his death. Having lost his biological father before, Johnny could not emotionally handle losing Crash as well and went on to take an extreme route to save his life.
He made a deal with the arch-demon Mephisto where he sold his soul ‘to the Devil’ in exchange for Crash getting a cure of cancer. Mephisto agreed but laid down one condition – one day, he would return to extract his fee from Johnny. Crash got cured with no idea about what caused him to live. One day, he decided to perform an extreme motorcycle stunt where he would jump over twenty-two cars. However, that failed and he Crashed (pun intended) into the ground.
As Crash died, despite Johnny having to pull such severe strings in the past to prevent this very thing from happening, Johnny found himself in a terrible spot once again. Mephisto reappeared and demanded Johnny’s soul as he had cured Crash’s disease. In the end, Johnny went on to join him in Hades in light hours and be his Emissary in the dark. As a result, he lived among the living in the morning, performing as a traveling stuntman with Roxanne, and at night, he became the Ghost Rider.
As Mephisto had bonded Johnny’s soul with the demon Zarathos, Johnny developed an arsenal of superpowers as the Ghost Rider. Zarathos was tricked into being enslaved inside Johnny by Mephisto and Johnny found himself being stuck in a constant battle with the demonic entity within him, as he tried not to succumb to it. However, Zarathos also became the root of Johnny’s powers.
Medallion of Power
It was coveted by Zarathos during a time when humans relied on the supernatural for protection. As Zarathos’ vessel, Johnny Blaze has a piece of the medallion. As it is activated, the power of Zarathos, or the Ghost Rider is unleashed inside Johnny. This is the source of Johnny’s Ghost Rider appearance with the flaming skull. He boasts superhuman strength, durability, stamina, and speed.
Penance Stare
The Penance Stare allows Johnny Blaze to inflict a level of emotional pain to others. It works depending on how much pain the person has inflicted upon their victims resulting from their immoral activities. Johnny Blaze locks eyes with his opponents during combat. The opponent then experiences the pain they have inflicted on others throughout their life.
As broken as this may sound, the Penance Stare has some weaknesses. If the opponent is blind, has more than two eyes, or happens to be high on drugs such as cocaine, the Penance Stare does not work. Also, when the Ghost Rider had used this feature on the symbiote Venom, Ghost Rider himself was knocked unconscious.
Chains
When Johnny becomes the Ghost Rider at night, he uses a 3 feet heavy chain in combat. The chain has several magical properties. It can separate into individual links on being thrown, similar to the shurikens used by ninjas. And then, returns to the clasp of the Ghost Rider after reintegrating into one single link. It can also grow in length, transform into other weapons, be used as a drill by spinning it fast, and possess supernatural strength.
Motorcycle
The Ghost Rider rides a back which is statistically a lot faster than a regular motorcycle. It can perform impossible feats such as running across water or riding up vertical surfaces. Its appearance changes after being empowered. Normally, it looks like a regular motorcycle but it transforms into a high-tech and powerful vehicle. It acquires flaming wheels, has a shield-like battering ram protecting the front, and can also drive through the air (which has been seen in two instances).
Later, Johnny Blaze created two other bikes that functioned in a similar manner. One of them was created when his original bike was stolen by Lockhart in a crossover comic where the Ghost Rider encountered The Punisher and Wolverine. The other bike was created in the regular series as a safety measure as Johnny Blaze wanted to have another high-tech spare vehicle if something were to happen to his original. The vehicle can also be wrapped around in fire like the Ghost Rider’s skull.
Hellfire
Johnny Blaze had spent two years in Hell. This experience helped him acquire a few tricks up his sleeve. He could spit fire and vomit his chain. With this new hobby for pyrotechnics, Johnny could control both normal fires as well as Hellfire, manipulate it the way he likes, and basically become a full-fledged firebender. He could also destroy the undead.
King of Hell
Johnny sported another powerful feat with his stare called The Damnation Stare, which he used as the King of Hell. Similar to the Penance Stare, it was activated on locking eyes with an opponent. Johnny could look into the soul of a human who has been possessed and determine whether the soul of the entity that possessed the human has been sent to Hell already or not. If the entity has been judged and sent to Hell, the demon will be sent back and the body it had possessed will burn. However, it had a major drawback. This ability made Johnny a conduit for the demonic entities, causing their wickedness to stick to him, making him more violent and angry.
Johnny could also strip the power away from the Spirits of Vengeance as the King of Hell.
Hellfire Shotgun
Johnny Blaze wielded the Hellfire Shotgun at one point. This device allowed him to access his powers pertaining to Hellfire without having to transform into the Ghost Rider. The gun came into being following a battle between Blaze and the Ghost Rider Ketch, who was also his long-lost brother. Unlike regular weapons, the Hellfire Shotgun never ran out of ammunition or juice. It could be fired constantly without any breaks and without worrying about it running out of fire.
Other Versions of Johnny Blaze as the Ghost Rider
Johnny Blaze has appeared and reappeared as the Ghost Rider time and again but often, within premises that are not the same as the canon in his own series. Some of them are –
Heroes Reborn
The 2021 miniseries Heroes Reborn dived into an alternate reality where Johnny Blaze becomes Ghost Runner, who is a speedster. He races Blur twice. One of those races took place on the Penance Stairs.
Marvel Mangaverse
Johnny Blaze appears in the Marvel Mangaverse as the brother of Daimon Hellstrom, who is the Son of Satan and a mortal woman. They have an evil sister by the name of Satana Hellstrom. In this verse, Johnny and Daimon join forces to take down Satana.
Ultimate Marvel
Johnny Blaze first appears in the Ultimate Comics: Avengers Volume 2 when he makes his entry into the Ultimate Marvel Universe. We see a young Johnny Blaze going on a cross-country trip with his girlfriend Roxanne Simpson. They befriend a biker gang but Johnny is killed by them as part of a sacrificial ritual for Satan. In exchange, the biker gang is supposed to acquire power and money.
Johnny makes a deal with Satan himself where he gives his soul in exchange for Roxanne’s safety. He then trains for twenty years to become the Ghost Rider and is then sent back into the world of the living to get revenge on the biker gang. The members of the gang were now rich and powerful, due to the ritual they had performed.
Johnny Blaze goes on a killing spree, urging the White House to issue an order that demands the death of the Ghost Rider. The Avengers get caught in the crossfire but fail to defeat the Ghost Rider. They learn the truth about the situation with reference to the biker gang and their leader, Bobby Blackthorne, who was now the Vice President.
Blackthorne is dragged into a church by Johnny while the Punisher waits to kill him before meeting Satan. They also observe a Roxanne, now revived and with no memory of the things that have been done for her. In the end, Satan allows Roxanne to live in exchange for Johnny working for him as the Ghost Rider.
Live-Action Adaptation
A lot of people who are in their late teens or early 20s were introduced to the Ghost Rider on the television screen. Ghost Rider has had two live-action adaptations so far. 2007’s Ghost Rider and 2011’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.
Ghost Rider (2007)
This film was written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson, who has worked on 2003’s Daredevil. Nicholas Cage appears as Johnny Blaze, Eva Mendes as Roxanne Simpson, Wes Bentley as Blackheart, and Peter Fonda as Mephistopheles or The Devil.
San Venganza had a contract that Mephistopheles wanted to retrieve to control a thousand corrupt souls. Mephistopheles had sent the Ghost Rider to retrieve it but Rider refused to do so, as he realized that the contract would allow the demon to bring hell on Earth. He then escapes with it.
Cut to 1986, the demon reaches out to Johnny Blaze, a 17-year-old boy who offers him his soul in exchange for his father being cured of cancer. Similar to the original story, Crash Simpson later dies from a motorcycle stunt accident and Johnny Blaze blames Mephisto for causing it while Mephisto considers the deal fulfilled as he had cured Crash Simpson’s cancer.
Mephisto had a son, Blackheart, who came to Earth to find the contract of San Venganza. She seeks the Hidden who were three fallen angels, bonded with air, water, and earth for aid.
Johnny becomes a famous stuntman in 2007 and asks Roxanne Simspn out on a dinner date. Johnny also becomes the new Ghost Rider and Mephistopheles offers to return Johnny’s soul back to him if he succeeds at defeating Blackheart.
Johnny kills Gressil, the Earth Angel. He uses his Penance Stare on a street thug, making him feel the pain he has inflicted upon others. He learns from the Caretaker that he will transform into the Ghost Rider every night.
Meanwhile, Roxanne is a television reporter who reports the events of last night on the news. Johnny tries to control his new firepower and reveals himself as the Devil’s bounty hunter to Roxanne. He faces imprisonment for a brief period, that too for murderers committed by Blackheart, and then kills Abigor, the Air Angel. He escapes from the police and seeks out the Caretaker, who tells Johnny about Carter Slade, his predecessor, and about Slade hiding the contract of San Venganza from Mephisto.
Johnny learns about Blackheart killing his friend Max and taking Roxanne hostage in exchange for the contract. Johnny uses his Penance Stare to defeat Blackheart but it results in nothing because Blackheart has no soul. Blackheart then orders Johnny to bring him the contract after Johnny fails to defeat him.
Johnny goes back to the Caretaker and learns that the contract is hidden in a spade. After the Caretaker gives Johnny the contract, he transforms and is revealed to be Carter Slade. He takes Johnny to San Venganza, gives him a shotgun, and fades into dust after shaking off the curse.
Johnny kills the water angel Wallow and gives Blackheart the contract. He then transforms into the Ghost Rider to fight him but as the sun rises, is rendered powerless. Blackheart absorbs a thousand souls using the contract but fails at killing Johnny due to Roxanne’s interference. Johnny uses the shotgun to shoot Blackheart. He transforms into the Ghost Rider again after retreating to the shadows.
Now that Blackheart has a thousand souls, Johnny uses the Penance Stare on him. Blackheart is rendered catatonic and all the corrupt souls within him burn. Mephisto appears and offers to take back the Ghost Rider’s curse as the contract is now complete. However, Johnny declines to prevent others from making the deal with the Devil. He then dedicates himself to protecting the innocent and fighting the demon.
Mephisto swears vengeance on Johnny and disappears. Johnny reconciles with Roxanne and embraces his new life as the Ghost Rider.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
This movie was directed by Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine. Nicholas Cage reprises his role as the Ghost Rider once again.
The movie features a young gypsy named Nadya wanting to let go of the gypsy lifestyle. To do so, she hooks up with a drug and gun runner named Ray Carrigan. But, Nadya has to jump from a three-story window and die as the result of an unsuccessful gun deal. While on the verge of death, the Devil appears in front of her as Roarke and agrees to restore her body in exchange for her giving him a son.
Their son Danny is born. After 13 years, the devil needs a new body as Roarke, as a vessel, could not contain his power. Due to Danny’s physical superiority as a half-human, he becomes the candidate for being the Devil’s vessel. But this ritual can only be performed at sunrise on his 13th birthday. The Devil hires Carrigan to kidnap Danny but the Frenchman Moreau leads a group of monks to rescue Danny.
As the alcoholic Frenchman Moreau tries to rescue Danny, Nadya shoots him out of distrust. Moreau goes to Johnny Blaze and asks for his help in protecting Danny. Johnny had been in Eastern Europe, in hiding, after making a deal with Roarke as he needed to deal with the evil spirits within him. They get into another deal as Moreau promises to remove the demons in Johnny’s body in exchange for the child getting protection from the Ghost Rider.
Carrigan captures the boy, the Rider rescues him, Carrigan dies in battle, and Roarke resurrects him as Blackout, who is a demon who decays everything with a touch. Danny is taken to the Methoties by Johnny. Nadya, Moreau, and the monks remove the demons from within Johnny. He learns about Zerithos, who was once an angel, and the spirit of justice who was sent to protect a man. But he was corrupted in hell and he turned into the Spirit of Vengeance.
The monks decide to kill Danny as he was born with the Devil’s power, making him dangerous. Carrigan, who is now Blackout, shows up, kills the monks, and kidnaps Danny. He delivers Danny to the Devil and the ritual to shift vessels begins.
Meanwhile, Johnny, Nadya, and Moreau try to stop this from happening. As Johnny is about to be killed, Danny, who has all of Roarke’s powers, puts the power of Zerithos back into Johnny, allowing him to turn into the Ghost Rider once again. Johnny kills Blackout and chases Roarke down the road. He crashes into Roarke’s car and sends him back to hell. But, Danny dies in the crash. However, Zerithos still had his angelic powers and used them to restore the boy’s life. In the end, Johnny rides into the night as the Ghost Rider but this time, as the Spirit of Justice and not as the Spirit of Vengeance.
Is There Going To Be Another Ghost Rider Movie?
Marvel Studios is reportedly developing a third Ghost Rider project. 2007’s Ghost Rider and 2011’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance was done under Sony so the character could not be introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But with the rights moving back to Marvel, Ghost Rider was reintroduced in the third season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D with Gabriel Luna playing the character.
Kevin Feige wishes for Ghost Rider to return to the silver screen. However, despite Gabriel Luna’s brilliant performance, he will not be reprising his role as the Ghost Rider and it is unlikely for Nicholas Cage to do the same. Feige might reboot the character as a whole and restart with its origin for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
If matching up with the comics is taken into consideration, then Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness could create an opening for the Ghost Rider to reintroduce himself. In the comics, Stephen Strange and Ghost Rider have gone against Nightmare together, who is set to be the main antagonist in the Doctor Strange sequel.