Ghost Rider (Jonathan "Johnny" Blaze) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the second Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following Carter Slade (the Western comics hero later known as the Phantom Rider) and preceding Daniel Ketch, Alejandra Jones, and Robbie Reyes. The character's story begins when motorcycle stuntman Johnny Blaze becomes bound to the Spirit of Vengeance Zarathos after making a deal with Mephisto to spare his surrogate father. With his supernatural powers, Johnny seeks vengeance as the "Ghost Rider".
The character has been featured in various media adaptations, such as television series, feature films, and video games. The character was portrayed by Nicolas Cage in the films Ghost Rider (2007) and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011), and Ryan Gosling will portray the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Avengers: Secret Wars (2027) and Ghost Rider (2028).
Publication history Following the western comics character who originally used the name, the first superhero Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, debuted in Marvel Spotlight #5 (August 1972), created by writer Gary Friedrich, Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Roy Thomas,Sanderson, Peter, "1970s", in Gilbert (2008), p. 156: "Co-created by editor Roy Thomas, writer Gary Friedrich, and artist Mike Ploog, the new Ghost Rider was Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stunt performer." and artist Mike Ploog, with the name Johnny Blaze coming from Stan Lee.<ref>Spirit of Vengeance: The Making of 'Ghost Rider</ref> After a seven-issue tryout run in Marvel Spotlight, the character starred in a self-titled Ghost Rider series in 1973, with penciller Jim Mooney handling most of the first nine issues. Several different creative teams mixed-and-matched until penciller Don Perlin began a long stint with issue #26, eventually joined by writer Michael Fleisher through issue #58.
Thomas, Marvel's editor-in-chief at the time, described the character's genesis:
Friedrich on the above, in 2001:
Ploog recalled, in a 2008 interview:
Tony Isabella wrote a two-year story arc in which Blaze occasionally encountered an unnamed character referred to as "the Friend" who helped Blaze stay protected from Satan. Isabella said that with editorial approval he had introduced the character, who "looked sort of like a hippie Jesus Christ and that's exactly who He was, though I never actually called Him that...." At the story arc's climax, Isabella had planned that Blaze "accepts Jesus Christ into his life. This gives him the strength to overcome Satan, though with more pyrotechnics than most of us can muster. He retains the Ghost Rider powers he had been given by Satan, but they are his to use as his new faith directs him." However, Isabella said, Jim Shooter, then an assistant editor, "took offense at my story. The issue was ready to go to the printer when he pulled it back and ripped it to pieces. He had some of the art redrawn and a lot of the copy rewritten to change the ending of a story two years in the making. 'The Friend' was revealed to be, not Jesus, but a demon in disguise. To this day, I consider what he did to my story one of the three most arrogant and wrongheaded actions I've ever seen from an editor." In 2020, Shooter said he had been concerned that this "basically established the Marvel universe is a Christian universe" and could alienate some portion of the readership by suggesting "that all other religions are false." He said after consulting with editor Marv Wolfman, he made the changes.Shooter, Jim, in Alt URL
During his run on Ghost Rider, Isabella put Blaze in the lineup of his new superteam series, The Champions, in order to fulfill an editorial mandate that the team include at least one character with their own series. Bob Hall, who pencilled four issues of the series, later commented that "Ghost Rider never seemed to fit. Why on Earth would the ultimate loner be in a group? It must have been difficult to write and to me he always seemed like a different character than the Friedrich-and-Ploog guy." Ghost Rider remained with the series throughout its short run (October 1975 – January 1978).
Blaze's Ghost Rider's career ends when the demon Zarathos, who inhabited Blaze's body as Ghost Rider, flees in issue #81 (June 1983), the finale, in order to pursue the villain named Centurious. Now free of his curse, Blaze goes off to live with Roxanne. Blaze occasionally appeared in the subsequent 1990–1998 series, Ghost Rider, which featured a related character, Daniel Ketch. This series revealed Blaze and Roxanne eventually got married and had two children.
Blaze returned as Ghost Rider in a 2001 six-issue miniseries written by Devin Grayson; a second miniseries written by Garth Ennis in 2005; and an ongoing monthly series that began publication in July 2006.
Ownership contention On April 4, 2007, Friedrich filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Marvel Enterprises, Sony Pictures, Columbia TriStar Motion Pictures, Relativity Media, Crystal Sky Pictures, Michael De Luca Productions, Hasbro and Take-Two Interactive, alleging his copyrights to the Ghost Rider character have been exploited and utilized in a "joint venture and conspiracy". The lawsuit states that the film rights and merchandising reverted from Marvel to him in 2001. He amended the complaint on March 25, 2011. The case was transferred to the federal New York State Southern District Court on February 14, 2008.
The suit concluded on December 28, 2011, with Marvel prevailing on all but one count. U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest ruled that Marvel Entertainment owned the character, saying Friedrich gave up any ownership claim when he signed checks containing language relinquishing all rights. She said Friedrich had also signed a 1978 agreement with Marvel relinquishing rights. Marvel countersued with the parties reaching a settlement in which Marvel dropped the suit in exchange for Friedrich paying $17,000 in damages, ceasing to sell Ghost Rider-related items of his own creation and ceasing to promote himself as the creator of the character for financial gain. Friedrich was allowed to sell his autograph on officially licensed Ghost Rider merchandise.
On June 11, 2013, Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Denny Chin overturned the original decision, calling the contract language "ambiguous" and sending the case back to trial. set for November. On September 6, Friedrich's attorney told the court both parties "have amicably agreed to resolve all claims."
Fictional character biography
Stunt cyclist Johnathon "Johnny" Blaze is the son of Barton Blaze and Naomi Kale. He spent his early years in the Quentin Carnival where his parents starred in a stunt show with Craig "Crash" Simpson. Johnny's mother walked out on Barton and Johnny and took the family's remaining two children, Barbara and Danny, with her.
Losing his mother caused Johnny to repress many of his memories of her and his siblings. When his father died in a stunt, Johnny was adopted by Crash and Mona Simpson. The Simpsons helped Johnny by fabricating his past with the hope that it would be less painful than the truth. Now believing that his real mother was Clara Blaze, who had died, Johnny became an enthusiastic member of the Simpson clan, growing closer to their daughter, Roxanne. The two soon became inseparable and, as they grew older, their fondness for one another moved beyond familial.
Blaze would eventually join the Simpsons in their own traveling stunt show, the Crash Simpson Stunt Cycle Extravaganza. Crash had become a father figure for Blaze and, on learning of Crash's life-threatening cancer, Blaze turned to the occult. His studies led him to a spell which supposedly could summon Satan himself. Johnny was unaware that he had, in fact, summoned Mephisto. Desperate to save Crash, Blaze sold his soul to Mephisto in return for Crash's cancer to be cured.Marvel Spotlight #5 (cover date Aug. 1972). Marvel Comics.
Crash Simpson's cancer was cured, but he was subsequently killed in a stunt trying to jump over 22 cars. Mephisto, when confronted by Blaze over Crash's death, declared that he had kept his end of the bargain. Johnny's exact words in the bargain had been for Crash to be spared the cancer which was killing him, not for him to live. Blaze was saved by Roxanne when she proclaimed her love for Blaze, driving Mephisto away with the purity of her emotion.
Blaze was unaware that Mephisto had bonded him with the demon Zarathos as an act of revenge, and was transformed into a Ghost Rider, a leather-clad skeleton with a flaming head. While Johnny still had his soul, he was forced to punish the wicked and evil upon Mephisto's demands whenever needed. Whenever he was in the presence of evil he would transform into the Ghost Rider, to exact the devil's revenge, returning the evil to Hell. Blaze was not completely lost in the transformation however, and would also help the innocent when they were in danger.Various scenes in Marvel Spotlight #5–11 and early issues of the 1973-83 Ghost Rider (vol. 2) series. Marvel Comics.
Eventually, Zarathos would gain control of Johnny Blaze and the Ghost Rider would become the spirit of Zarathos unleashed. Johnny himself was becoming stronger as well, and the conflicting personalities led to a battle over Blaze's physical body.As evidenced since Ghost Rider vol. 2 #25 (cover date Aug. 1977) and resolved in Ghost Rider vol. 2 #81 (cover date June 1983). Marvel Comics. Centurious appeared, trapping Blaze's soul in his soul crystal. Zarathos, weakened from the ordeal used the last of his strength to shatter the crystal, freeing Blaze's soul and many others contained inside of the crystal. Before the crystal was reformed, Centurious was absorbed into the crystal. Zarathos followed him into the crystal, freeing Blaze from the curse, restoring his soul and ending his time as the Ghost Rider.Ghost Rider vol. 2 #81. Marvel Comics.
For a while, Johnny became a drifter and then an adventurer. He eventually became the owner of the carnival. In time, he learned of the existence of Daniel Ketch as the Ghost Rider. Believing the new Ghost Rider to be Zarathos, Johnny traveled to New York City to kill him.Ghost Rider vol. 3 #10. Marvel Comics. Johnny abducted Ketch and battled the Ghost Rider. Johnny became convinced that Ketch was not Zarathos and aided him against Blackout.Ghost Rider vol. 3 #14–15. Marvel Comics. Alongside the Ghost Rider and Spider-Man, Blaze then fought the Hobgoblin.Ghost Rider vol. 3 #16. Marvel Comics. He also helped Ghost Rider and the X-Men battle the Brood Queen.Ghost Rider vol. 3 #27. Marvel Comics.
He later teamed up with the new Ghost Rider to form the "Spirits of Vengeance". During this time Blaze would again ride a bike with wheels of fire and would sling a hellfire-spitting pump gun. Their mentor Caretaker would later reveal that Blaze and Ketch were brothers. In the team's first appearance, they battled Lilith and her Lilin.Spirits of Vengeance #1. Marvel Comics.
A later confrontation with the forces of evil would lead to Roxanne's death. Blaze would later become a demon hunter, hunt down the demons responsible for her death and kill them all. Roxanne was later discovered to have been resurrected as, or simply transformed into, the being named the Black Rose. She was later returned to Johnny, despite memory loss, in the final issue of the Dan Ketch series of Ghost Rider.