Ghost Rider

Real Name
Johnathon "Johnny" Blaze

Occupation
Unemployed; former stunt cyclist, accountant and various other odd jobs

Citizenship
U.S.A.

Place of Birth
Waukegan, Illinois

Known Relatives
Roxanne Simpson Blaze (wife), Craig Blaze (son, presumed dead), Emma Blaze (daughter, presumed dead), Barton Blaze (father, deceased), Naomi Kale (mother, deceased), Craig "Crash" Simpson (adopted father, deceased), Mona Simpson (adopted mother, deceased), Barbara Ketch (sister, deceased), Dan Ketch (half brother), Andrew Kale (cousin, deceased), Jennifer Kale (cousin), Joshua Kale (grandfather, deceased), Illyana Kale, Noble and Pastor Kale, Magdalena (ancestors)

Group Affiliation
None; Formerly the Midnight Sons, Nine, Champions, Legion of Monsters

Education
High-school graduate

Height
5'10" (Blaze), 6'2" (Ghost Rider)

Weight
180 lbs. (Blaze), 220 lbs. (Ghost Rider)

Eyes
Blue (Blaze), flaming red (Ghost Rider)

Hair
Reddish-blond (Blaze), none (Ghost Rider)

Powers
Ghost Rider has superhuman strength and durability, as well as the ability to project and control Hellfire, which can sear the soul as well as burn the flesh. He can shape his Hellfire into a mystical motorcycle capable of traveling over water and up vertical surfaces. He is also immune to any mystical attacks that are specific to beings with living souls.

Abilities
Blaze is a world-class cyclist capable of seemingly impossible stunts. He is also an excellent shot with pistols and shotguns and has limited knowledge of the occult.

Other Info
Long ago, the demon Zarathos began building a tremendous power base for himself which led him into conflicts with Mephisto. Mephisto saw Zarathos as a rival. Mephisto ultimately tricked and enslaved Zarathos. Then at one point, a powerful mystical artifact known as the Medallion of Power was broken into shards and embedded itself in the spiritual bloodlines of two families, one of which was the Kales. One of the shards transformed Noble Kale into the Ghost Rider in the 18th century. Mephisto failed to corrupt Noble at this time, but he kept track of the Kale clan from then on, watching as Noble was manifested in the firstborn of every generation. (To learn about the people and object that have affected Johnny Blaze's life, click on their names above.)

John "Johnny" Blaze was born to Barton Blaze and Naomi Kale. Johnny spent his early years in the Quentin Carnival, where his parents starred in a stunt show with Craig "Crash" Simpson. One day his mother, Naomi, abandoned Johnny and his father by taking his younger siblings (Barbara and Daniel) with her. Naomi's decision to leave was difficult, but she felt it was necessary because of the family curse. She feared that her own firstborn would suffer in the same way that she had, so she left him behind and placed her other children in the care of a woman named Francis Ketch. (To learn about Johnny's family and others, including the Carnival, click on their names above.)

The pain of losing his mother caused Johnny to repress many of his memories of Naomi and his siblings. Soon after, his dad, Barton, died during a stunt and Johnny was adopted by Crash and Mona Simpson, who helped fabricate a past for Johnny, one that they hoped would be less painful than the truth. Believing that his real mother, "Clara Blaze," had passed away, Johnny became an enthusiastic member of the Simpson clan, growing close to their daughter, Roxanne. Johnny and Roxanne became good friends and, as they grew older, eventually fell in love. (Click on Johnny's loved ones to learn more about them.)

Johnny followed the Simpsons into their own traveling stunt show: the Crash Simpson Stunt Cycle Extravaganza. Crash had become a true father figure to Johnny by this time, teaching him how to ride in the hopes that the younger man might eventually succeed him as the star of the show. This dream ended when Johnny was fifteen years old. While practicing a dangerous stunt, Johnny was nearly killed and Mona Simpson was mortally wounded. When Mona asked John on her deathbed to quit riding, he swore to her that he would. Then over the next five years, Johnny's relationship with Crash began to fall apart as Johnny refused to take part in the show. Not understanding Johnny's motivations, Crash grew increasingly frustrated. However, John continued to practice at night until his skills surpassed those of Crash's. When Crash revealed he was dying of cancer, Johnny studying random books. He eventually found a spell that supposedly could summon Satan himself. Johnny didn't realize it, but the entity he summoned was actually Mephisto. Mephisto cured Crash of his cancer in return for Johnny's promise of servitude. But, Crash died almost immediately afterwards, however, in a failed attempt to set a world's record by jumping over 22 cars. Johnny later attempted the same jump in honor of Crash's memory and made it. Johnny was now serving Mephisto's and would have lost his soul outright if it were not for Roxanne; she proclaimed her love for Johnny and drove the demon away with the purity of her emotion. (Talk about the power of love!) (This is pretty close to what happened in the Ghost Rider movie, except it was his dad that got cancer in the movie. To learn about Satan, click on his name above. Also, the third picture posted is of Johnny not in Ghost Rider form.)

One night after Crash's death, Johnny found himself transformed into the Ghost Rider. He soon realized that he had bonded with some separate entity (which he later found out was Zarathos). Johnny Blaze began transforming into the Ghost Rider every night. Blaze and Roxanne traveled much of the West after this. In the West, Blaze was battling enemies, trying to avoid Mephisto, and trying to protect Roxanne. However, after some time, Johnny began to fear his growing lack of control over the Ghost Rider, and he left Roxanne and spent years wandering on his own.

During this time, he teamed with the Black Widow, Angel, Iceman and Hercules. The five heroes founded the Champions. But, the Champions had some internal tensions and never truly became a "team." After a few months, Ghost Rider realized that he was too much of a loner to remain with the group, and the Champions were disbanded. (To learn about the characters and their team, click on their names above. Note: Black Widow's outfits are usually form-fitting so watch out.)

Blaze found it increasingly difficult to continue his stunt rider career. He eventually lost the title of World Champion Stunt Rider to Flagg Fargo. Later, Blaze joined the Quentin Carnival again (except he didn't remember it from his childhood, but the Carnival strangley felt like home to him). Blaze forged a friendly rivalry with fellow rider Red Fowler and started liking a journalist named Cynthia Randolph, who was assigned to the write about the Carnival. (Click on the people above to learn more about them.)

Shortly thereafter, the demonic Nightmare captured Johnny and revealed that Zarathos was the demon within Blaze. Blaze and Zarathos continued to struggle with each other for dominance until Roxanne Simpson returned, seeking aid for a town overrun by Centurious and his agent, the Sin-Eater (Ethan Domblue). Ghost Rider clashed with Centurious, learning that he and Zarathos had a feud going back centuries. In the end, Zarathos and Centurious were bound within the Crystal of Souls and Johnny Blaze was free at last. With a gracious donation from his old friend the Angel, Johnny was able to purchase the Quentin Carnival and marry Roxanne, with whom he had two children, Craig and Emma. (To learn more about the characters and object above, including Johnny's children, click on their names above.)

Years later, Johnny heard about a new Ghost Rider in New York. Fearing that Zarathos was free, Blaze went and captured the Ghost Rider who ended up being Dan Ketch. However, Blaze soon realized the entity within Ketch was not Zarathos. During their clash, a burst of Ghost Rider's Hellfire was conducted through Blaze's shotgun into Johnny himself, who discovered he could now discharge Hellfire from the weapon. Armed with this shotgun and a mystical motorcycle, Blaze kind of became a mentor to the new Ghost Rider, trying to guard Dan against evil forces. (Along with his shotgun that discharges Hellfire, the "Johnny Blaze" Ghost Rider has complete control over a Hellfire Enchanted Chain which is pretty much indestructible. He has also used a variety of modified motorcycles in his career.) (If you would like to learn about the "Dan Ketch" Ghost Rider, click on the highlighted "Ghost Rider" above.)

Against his wife's wishes, Blaze was immersed in the supernatural again. He later allied himself with the Midnight Sons. Blaze and the Midnight Sons thwarted an alliance between Centurious and Lilith. Unfortunately, their schemes led to the return of Zarathos. When one of Centurious's agents tried to remove a Medallion of Power shard from Blaze by slashing him, Blaze's wounds burnt with Hellfire, and he was encased in a cybernetic shell to save his life. Shortly thereafter, the Caretaker (a guardian of the family line connected to the Medallion of Power) revealed that Johnny and Dan were brothers, strengthening their bond further. Together, Blaze and Ketch helped destroy Zarathos' physical form. (Click on the characters and group above to learn more about them.)

While one side of Johnny's family grew closer, the other began falling apart. When Blaze's children, Emma and Craig, were kidnapped by Regent, Blaze rescued them, but was shocked to learn that Roxanne had bargained the children away years earlier in hopes that Regent could remove the Kale curse. Johnny and Roxanne were just moving past this painful revelation when she was killed by Anton Hellgate and their children were kidnapped again. Blaze swore on Roxanne's grave that he would find their children. After shedding his cybernetic shell, Blaze went out to find his kids. While helping Dan Ketch learn the full origins of his Ghost Rider spirit, Johnny discovered that the sorceress Jennifer Kale was their cousin. She helped Blaze seek his missing children, however, they were ultimately forced to admit defeat, calling off the search. (To learn about the characters above, just click on their names. Note: Jennifer Kale's bio page has her in a revealing outfit.)

After this, Blaze decided to start his life over by becoming an accountant. However, Johnny was still linked to Zarathos, and the demon began to reconstitute within him and turning into the Ghost Rider again. Johnny quit his job and hit the road.

Evntually, Ghost Rider was cast into Hell where Lucifer plotted to allow Blaze to escape and unknowingly pull the devil out into the mortal world with him. Once there, Lucifer's body was separated into 666 pieces, and those slivers of his essence would reanimate random corpses of the recently deceased. Each time Ghost Rider destroyed one avatar, its power would be divided to the rest. It was Lucifer's hope that Blaze would destroy every piece of him until only one remained with enough power to bring Hell to Earth. During this hunt, Blaze forced the Ghost Rider entity to go to New York and help other heroes when he heard about the Hulk and the Hulk's war on Manhattan (aka World War Hulk). With Blaze in control, the Hulk had no trouble defending himself, but once Zarathos took over, the Ghost Rider had supreme powers. However, Ghost Rider only avenges the innocent, and he did not deem the members of the Illuminati (those that Hulk was angry with) blameless for what they did to the Hulk. Ghost Rider left Manhattan immediately, without battling the Hulk, and resumed his search for the last remaining avatars of Lucifer. Blaze eventually did drive the devil back to Hell, but the effort cost him the life of a friend and lover, Dixie. (To learn about the above characters, places, groups, etc. click on their highlighted names above. Note: Watch out for Namor in his tiny speedo-like outfit on the Illuminati bio page.)

Just because Lucifer was conquered, didn't mean life would get any easier for the Ghost Rider. With the devil's defeat, came the revelation of who was really behind Blaze’s suffering. The devil had help in the form of an angel – a rogue angel by the name of Zadkiel. Zadkiel and his minions waged war in Heaven because Zadkiel thought he could prevail where Lucifer had lost. However, Zadkiel bonded Heaven’s greatest weapon to the soul of Johnny Blaze which also became Johnny’s curse. Now, Blaze began a mission to hunt Zadkiel, and pay him back for ruining his life. But, he didn’t know about the one person from his past that would come back into his life as a possible enemy: his brother, Daniel Ketch (the other Ghost Rider and now a servant of Zadkiel).
(To learn about Zadkiel and Heaven, click on their names above.)

Ketch was now hunting other Spirits of Vengeance (Ghost Riders) throughout the world. He was hunting and killing them, so Zadkiel could have their power as his own. Blaze caught up with Ketch in Tibet, but not before Ketch could take the life of another Ghost Rider. Johnny confronted Daniel, and the resulting fight left Blaze begging Ketch to end his burden and take away the curse of the Ghost Rider. Much to Daniel's frustration, the Caretaker would not let this happen. Later, two more Spirits of Vengeance, Molek and Bai Gu Jing, came to Blaze and forced him to take a trip with them. The first stop was Tokyo, Japan where another Ghost Rider, Yoshio Kannabe, was stationed. The group arrived too late to help their mystical brother-in-arms, however, for they found Yoshio terrified and defeated, the Ghost Rider entity no longer within his body. Blaze then accompanied his associates to the Congo where Baron Skullfire and Marinette Bwa Chech were waiting. These were the last two remaining Ghost Riders, and they were eager to bring Zadkiel to his knees. Unfortunately, Ketch and the Black Host proved to be too strong for even their combined might. Ketch stole all the Ghost Rider powers from everyone, including Blaze, and delivered them to his master. However, Zadkiel revealed that he tricdked Ketch and cast him out of Heaven. In response, Daniel took back as much power as he could: keeping some for himself and giving some back to Johnny. Blaze, with his returned power, decided to renew his war with Zadkiel and retake Heaven. (To learn about many of the different Ghost Riders and the Black Host, just click on their names above.)

To learn more concerning Johnny Blaze, and him as the Ghost Rider, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Ghost_Rider.