Johnny Blaze (Marvel)

Latest revision as of 05:13, 27 January 2025

Johnny Blaze as the Ghost Rider in Thunderbolts v2 #20.

Johnny Blaze is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.

Biography

Origin

Jonathan Blaze

Ghost Rider

Later on, Johnny Blaze angered the Ghost Rider when he tried to save several people and allowed the Lucifer fragment they were currently fighting to escape. Afterwards, Blaze was watching a broadcast on TV when he decided to go to New York and fight the Hulk once again against the Ghost Rider's will. This saw Ghost Rider coming to a halt on his motorcycle in front of the Hulk ready to begin their battle. (Ghost Rider v6 #12) After attempting to urge the Hulk to stop, Ghost Rider engages the Hulk. Their battle was monitored by Doctor Strange and Mister Fantastic. Doctor Strange believed that the entity that supplied Ghost Rider's mystic power was possibly capable of defeating the Hulk. In fact, according to Strange this powers was infact limitless, and only inhibited by the human side of the Ghost Rider, even going as far as to call his powers 'godlike'. However, as it was Johnny Blaze, it not the fully powered demon Zarathos who was engaging the Hulk. Thus, the Hulk was able to easily defeats Ghost Rider. After Johnny was knocked out, Zarathos himself emerged and rode off because as Doctor Strange said the Ghost Rider only protected the innocent, which none of the Illuminati were at the time. (Ghost Rider v6 #13)

Johnny eventually manages to defeat Lucifer by 'killing' one host by shoving a truck's gear-stick through its head and breaking its spine, leaving the host biologically alive but incapacitated. While the host is kept alive by Dixie, a trucker Johnny had encountered, Blaze tracks down what Lucifer believes is his final host and defeats it, exploiting the fact that Lucifer is only at half-strength. As soon as Johnny kills this host, Dixie and a group of local police are able to kill the brain-damaged Lucifer fragment – who now possesses the full soul of the devil but is in no condition to use that power – and send him back to Hell. (Ghost Rider v6 #19)

Revelations

Give Up the Ghost

King of Hell

The King of Hell in Avengers v8 #22.

When Doctor Strange used magic to restore Las Vegas after its devastation, he accidentally opened a magical doorway which Mephisto used to invade Earth. (Doctor Strange v1 #389) Wong devised a plan to help him, and to this end assembled the Midnight Sons, among which was the Ghost Rider. (Doctor Strange: Damnation v1 #1) As part of Wong's plan to defeat Mephisto, the Ghost Rider confronted him head-on. Just as they expected, Mephisto lifted Zarathos' curse from Johnny and killed him. (Doctor Strange: Damnation v1 #3) With his death, he was transported to Hell where he and the Spirit of Vengeance were separated as the Ghost Rider sought to be free of its human host and punish the denizens of the afterlife. However, Blaze managed to convince it to join him as they went to target the throne of Hell that was empty now that Mephisto was on Earth. This led to Blaze as Ghost Rider claiming the mantle leading to him being declared the new king of Hell. (Damnation: Johnny Blaze - Ghost Rider v1 #1) 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 times. Blaze then sent Mephisto back to Earth, where he was held captive. (Doctor Strange: Damnation v1 #3) Wanting to gather more power, Johnny dragged Robbie Reyes down in Hell during his exorcism. (Avengers v8 #22) They challenged him to a race for his power, while sending the 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. (Avengers v8 #23) 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. (Avengers v8 #24) The Cosmic Ghost Rider betrayed Blaze, led the Avengers to Hell, and helped Robbie in his race. Following the victory of Robbie and his abdication to the throne, Blaze had had enough and left. (Avengers v8 #25)

He came to learn that Carnage was targeting the remote village in Nicaruaga that was being protected by Alejandra Jones. Blaze then used astral projection to speak to Danny Ketch to convince him to travel to the village to save her. Danny reluctantly agreed and battled Carnage but despite his efforts Alejandra was killed with her soul consigned to Hell. Johnny met with her where he apologised to her for failing her though she wanted him to send her back to save the village. However, Johnny lacked the power or knowledge to do so but was convinced to try to help her possess someone in the village. Thus, Alejandra took over the body of a girl named Imara who helped rally the villagers in defence of the village thus forcing Carnage to depart as he had no further need to fight after acquiring the codex in Alejandra's body. The possession of a human host was only temporary with Alejandra's soul returning to Hell where she was content at saving the villagers. Blaze then had her join the other Spirits of Vengeance that was the fate of all slain Ghost Riders. (Absolute Carnage: Symbiote of Vengeance v1 #1)

Whilst hunting down renegades in Hell, Blaze pursued a number of escapees back onto Earth where he sought to hunt them down. He attempted to recruit Danny Ketch to his side but his brother refused as he had hated his existence with the Spirit of Vengeance. (Ghost Rider v9 #1) Blaze then started tracking down demons that had taken hosts and began killing them with these being reported by the media as murders of ordinary humans. This culminated in Ketch confronting his half-brother and the two battling one another. Johnny then decided to use his powers to strip the Spirit of Vengeance from Danny so that he would not interfere in his efforts at capturing all the escaped demons. (Ghost Rider v9 #2) He then went to Hotel Inferno and broke Mephisto out in order to have more control over his demons. (Ghost Rider v9 #4) While on their way, Mephisto informed Blaze about Lilith's intention to unite the Underworlds and become its ruler. However, they were then faced by Doctor Strange. (Ghost Rider v9 #5) Strange tried to reason with Blaze, but Johnny did not listen and forced Strange to transport them to Manhattan. (Ghost Rider v9 #6) In the battle against Strange, he nearly killed the Sorcerer Supreme until aid arrived from Danny Ketch, Wolverine, and the Punisher. This led to a fight between Johnny and Danny where the latter manifested his new powers as the host to the Spirit of Corruption. Blaze looked to kill Ketch but Danny managed to stab him with his sword that removed the corruption in his body. The Spirit of Corruption then looked to kill its foe but the other heroes stopped Danny from murdering Johnny. Taking a moment to recover, Johnny revealed he was freed from the corruption that was tainting his spirit and thanked the other heroes. He then decided to deal with Lilith who was making a move to claim leadership of Hell. (Ghost Rider v9 #7)

Blaze was then interrupted by a symbiote invasion on Earth, where he was reunited with his brother who was accompanied by Blackheart. Danny revealed to Johnny that he needed to let Mephisto take back his throne in Hell in order to stop Lilith, to which Blaze reluctantly agreed, saying that he was not happy with choosing one devil over another one. (King in Black: Ghost Rider v1 #1)

Shadow Country

Overview

Personality and attributes

As the Ghost Rider, he was sometimes referred to as the Brimstone Avenger. (Ghost Rider v2 #64) In one instance, he was referred to as the Burning Man on account of his fiery form. (Ghost Rider v6 #35)

Despite ruling Hell, initially he lacked full knowledge of his powers and thus could not achieve many things such as leaving his domain to appear on the mortal plane. To speak to others, he learnt to use astral projection to make him appear to others. He also had the power to have the dead possess the soul of a living person temporarily in order for them to interact with people on Earth. (Absolute Carnage: Symbiote of Vengeance v1 #1) His ability to sense sin was only amplified during his time in Hell where he could see it on every mortal when he was back on Earth. (Ghost Rider v9 #1)

Johnny Blaze was noted to had been the son of Barton Blaze who was said to had been a brave man. He had raised Johnny by himself with his mother not being there whilst he was growing up. (Marvel Spotlight v1 #5)

After the death of Barton Blaze, he came to be adopted by Crash Simpson and raised as his son. (Marvel Spotlight v1 #5)

From a young age, he was attracted to Roxanne Simpson who came to share his affections when they were grown up. (Marvel Spotlight v1 #5)

Powers and abilities

The Spirit of Vengeance in Ghost Rider v5 #1.

Originally, Johnny Blaze was an ordinary human being with his special powers though was a talented biker who was capable in riding bikes for stunt performances. (Marvel Spotlight v1 #5)

This changed when he was empowered by the mystical forces of Hell and seemingly became a servant of Satan. (Marvel Spotlight v1 #5)

Blaze was shown to have supernatural senses allowing him to sense mystical occurrences near him. (Ghost Rider v9 #6)

He was shown to have the ability to manipulate mystical Hellfire and use it to achieve a number of feats. Among these included the ability to create a barrier of fire with but a gesture. (Marvel Spotlight v1 #5)

A more widespread of his hellfire power was the ability to cause it to rain down as a firestorm over a landscape allowing it to fall directly onto surrounding enemies and devastating them in the process. (Ghost Rider v6 #35)

As stated by Doctor Strange, Johnny Blaze was simply a mortal who acted as a built in safety system for Spirit of Vengeance and severely limited the power of the Ghost Rider. Doctor Strange also stated, that when Zarathos took possession of the Ghost Rider, the Ghost Rider's powers were, for most intents and purposes, boundless and 'God Like'. (Ghost Rider v6 #13)

He could manifest fiery chains that he could send to attack his enemies. A further ability he gained as the King of Hell was the Damnation Stare with those guilty being sent straight to Hell. (Ghost Rider v9 #2) It was said that use of the stare led to a piece of the demons being absorbed into his body. Their essence and wickedness joined with him thus affecting Blaze and changing him as a result. The end result of this was his corruption by those demons and by their sins with anything left of Johnny being lost in the process. (Ghost Rider v9 #7)

It was shown that as the King of Hell that he had the ability to exorcise a Spirit of Vengeance from their host. (Ghost Rider v9 #2)

Notes

• The Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider was created by Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich and Mike Ploog where he made his first appearance in Marvel Spotlight v1 #5 (August, 1972).
• In Comic Book Artist v1 #13 (2001), Roy Thomas commented in an in interview about his time as editor-in-chief at Marvel when the character of Ghost Rider was created where he said, "I had made up a character as a villain in Daredevil—a very lackluster character—called Stunt-Master... a motorcyclist. Anyway, when Gary Friedrich started writing Daredevil, he said, "Instead of Stunt-Master, I'd like to make the villain a really weird motorcycle-riding character called Ghost Rider." He didn't describe him. I said, "Yeah, Gary, there's only one thing wrong with it," and he kind of looked at me weird, because we were old friends from Missouri, and I said, "That's too good an idea to be just a villain in Daredevil. He should start out right away in his own book." When Gary wasn't there the day we were going to design it, Mike Ploog, who was going to be the artist, and I designed the character. I had this idea for the skull-head, something like Elvis' 1968 Special jumpsuit, and so forth, and Ploog put the fire on the head, just because he thought it looked nice. Gary liked it, so they went off and did it.
• In Comic Book Artist (2001), Friedrich commented on Thomas's interview stating, "Well, there's some disagreement between Roy, Mike, and I over that. I threatened on more than one occasion that if Marvel gets in a position where they are gonna make a movie or make a lot of money off of it, I'm gonna sue them, and I probably will. ... It was my idea. It was always my idea from the first time we talked about it, it turned out to be a guy with a flaming skull and rode a motorcycle. Ploog seems to think the flaming skull was his idea. But, to tell you the truth, it was my idea."

Alternate Versions

• In Ultimate Avengers v1 #8 (2010), an alternate version of the character named John Blaze appeared in the world of Ultimate Marvel set on Earth-1610 in the Multiverse. John Blaze and his girlfriend Roxanne Simpson decided to go on a cross-country trip across the United States. One day they came across a bar where they befriended a biker gang, who kept buying them beer. The friendship was a ruse as they killed an intoxicated Blaze as part of a satanic ritual. During the ritual they bartered their souls with Mephisto in exchange for wealth and power. Mephisto granted their request, but kept the upper hand. The deceased Blaze also made a deal, Mephisto will get his soul in exchange for the assured safety of Roxanne. For twenty years, Blaze was trained to become the Ghost Rider and was sent into the world to get his revenge. He tracked down and killed the members of the motorcycle gang - now rich and in positions of power - individually. Due to these deaths, the leader of the bikers, Robert Blackthorne now Vice-President of the United States, made an executive order to kill the Ghost Rider to protect his own life. Nick Fury's Avengers were called and failed in stopping the Ghost Rider from killing his next target, but not before learning of the Spirit of Vengeance's history and his reasons for killing the people who wronged him and Roxanne. Blaze arrived in Washington and witnessed Blackthorne inadvertently becoming another version of the Spirit of Vengeance, who made a deal with the devil, seeking Blaze. Blaze transformed into the Ghost Rider and fought Blackthorne with ease. Blaze then took their battle inside a Christian church where both him and Blackthorne reverted back to their human forms. Though Blackthorne had briefly overpower Johnny, it was the Punisher who finally killed Blackthorne. After this, the Punisher allowed Blaze to escape from the authorities as learning from Blaze's intentions is no different from the Punisher's. Blaze later observed a still living Roxanne with a new life as he had fulfilled his contract with Mephisto. Though, the demon still possessed Blaze's soul and must continue sending souls to ensure the life of Roxanne, in which Blaze didn't mind as long as his former lover was happy.

In other media

Television

• In Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., the Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider appeared in the animated television series in the episode "Spirit of Vengeance" where he was voiced by actor Fred Tatasciore. This version is able to possess and take control of vehicles of all sizes, generate electricity from blue fire, and create a vortex of lightning capable of turning the Abomination back into his human form.
• In Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Johnny Blaze made a non-speaking cameo appearance in the setting of the live-action television series in the episode "The Good Samaritan" where he was portrayed by uncredited stunt actor Tom McComas.

Films

• In Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze appeared in the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Nicholas Cage who played him as an adult whilst actor Matt Long portrayed him as a teenager. As a teenager, Johnny worked with his father as a stunt motorcycle rider and had a crush on Roxanne Simpson, who he wanted to flee away with. When he discovered his father's lung cancer, Johnny felt ashamed for his plans of leaving, but that very night a stranger proposed him to sell his soul, in exchange of Barton's health. Skeptical, Johnny accepted, and the next morning Barton was healed from cancer and gave Johnny his favourite motorcycle and blessing and let him go away with his beloved Roxanne. Just a moment before he actually fled, Johnny heard Barton's death in an incident during the show. Being tricked by Mephistopheles, he realized he'll never be free of his curse and left everything behind, including Roxanne. Years later, Johnny had become a stunt rider known for his dynamic stunts and for his uncanny ability to walk away from life-threatening crashes. His manager and best friend Mack speculated that Johnny must have a guardian angel protecting him. Johnny, however, speculated that it could be "something else". Johnny was driven straight to the station on his "first ride" where he transformed fully into the Ghost Rider and a fight ensued. In the process, Johnny acquired a heavy chain, which he used to kill Gressil while the others escape. While searching for the quarry, Ghost Rider hears a woman being mugged. He stopped the mugger and used his most powerful weapon on him, the Penance Stare; a power by which a person is subjected to all the pain they have ever caused others. As the mugger ended up in a catatonic state, worse than death, implied to be the "burning" of his soul. The next day, Johnny woke up in a cemetery chapel where his father was buried, where he meets a man called the Caretaker, who seemed to know all the history of the Ghost Rider. When he arrived home, Johnny found Roxanne and revealed himself as the Devil's bounty hunter. She left in anger and disbelief at his tale. As Roxanne left, the police arrived and took Johnny into custody for his connection to the damage done to the city and the deaths caused by Blackheart. He was put in a holding cell with some other prisoners, who mock Johnny and beat him before he assumed his Ghost Rider form, knocking the prisoners down before taking one of their jackets and leaving, after recognizing the only one who made no attempt to harm him as "innocent", to hunt down Blackheart. That night, Roxanne recognized Johnny, while he as the Ghost Rider was fighting Abigor, in full view of the city and a large police force. Johnny destroyed Abigor, faced the police, and then left. Observing the scene after obtaining the location of the contract, Blackheart realized that Roxanne was Johnny's weakness.
• In Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Johnny Blaze appeared in the live-action film sequel where he was once again portrayed by actor Nicholos Cage as an adult whilst the younger version of the character was not portrayed by actor Ionut Cristian Lefter.

Video games

• In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, the Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider appeared as an unlockable character in the video game where he was voiced by actor Nolan North.
• In Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, the Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider appeared in a cameo role in Dante's ending in the fighting video game.
• In Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, the Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider appeared as a playable character in the fighting video game where he was voiced again by actor Richard Grieco.
• In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, the Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider appeared as a character in the Facebook video game with his own Dossier.
• In Marvel: Future Fight, the Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider appeared as a playable character in the mobile video game.
• In Marvel: Contest of Champions, the Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider appeared as a playable character in the mobile video game.
• In Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, the Jonny Blaze Ghost Rider appeared in the fighting video game where actor Fred Tatasciore once more played the role.

Appearances

• Marvel Spotlight v1: (1972)
• Ghost Rider v2:
• Ghost Rider v6:
• Thunderbolts v3:
• Damnation v1:
• Absolute Carnage: Symbiote of Vengeance v1:
• Avengers v8:
• Ghost Rider v9:

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Marvel.com Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.