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GHOST RIDER ORIGIN THEORIES
The Spirits of Vengeance – As established in Ghost Rider # 33 (vol. 5), the Spirits of Vengeance were created by God to be Heaven's weapon on Earth. The Spirits would inhabit the bodies of mortals and were watched over by the angel Zadkiel. The Caretakers/The Blood – To assist Zadkiel, the angel gave power to certain humans and made them the Spirits' “Caretakers”. Their mission was to keep each Spirit of Vengeance under control by guiding and manipulating the human hosts, including providing false “origins” for each Spirit. As the centuries went on, many of the Caretakers (also referred to as the Blood) turned away from Zadkiel's mission, some even joining with Zarathos to become the Fallen. Zarathos – Though many think that Zarathos was a demon from Satan's realm, he is actually a Spirit of Vengeance gone rogue. As established in Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch # 3, the more power a Spirit taps into, the more they risk going insane. Zarathos turned against the Spirits of Vengeance and the Caretakers, but was eventually defeated and trapped within a stone statue prison. He was released centuries later and once again began devouring souls until he was noticed by Satan. Satan defeated Zarathos and imprisoned him in Hell until the time came for him to become bonded to Johnny Blaze as a Spirit of Vengeance once more. The Medallion of Power – The Caretaker of Danny Ketch lied about the Ghost Rider's origins by claiming the Medallion of Power (also called the Amulet of Zarathos, from The Storms # 3) to be the source of the Spirits' powers. The power of the Spirits comes from Heaven, and the Medallion of Power was likely just a conduit to help focus this power. During the “Siege of Darkness”, three Spirits of Vengeance (Ketch, Blaze, and Vengeance) used the Medallion for the final time, shattering it – were it truly the source of their power, would their power not have faded once the Medallion was destroyed?
Noble Kale – Kale was an 18 th century Ghost Rider that destroyed witches and overzealous witch-hunters alike in Colonial America. He became a Spirit of Vengeance in a manner similar to Blaze – his father, a sorcerer, sold Noble's soul to Satan and used the stolen power of the Ghost Riders to create a Spirit of Vengeance. An angel named Uriel intervened and forced Satan to a compromise: neither realm would claim Kale's soul, but he would remain a Ghost Rider. When one of his descendants became host to a Spirit of Vengeance, it would be the same Spirit that inhabited Noble Kale (as happened to Naomi Kale and her son, Daniel Ketch). Danny Ketch – Daniel Ketch was never intended to be a Spirit of Vengeance, that curse instead meant for his sister Barbara. When she was mortally wounded, however, the power passed to Daniel and he found himself transformed into a Ghost Rider. Like his mother, Naomi, Daniel was possessed by the Spirit of Vengeance that had inhabited his ancestor Noble Kale. After many years, Daniel successfully exorcised the Spirit of Vengeance (and the ghost of his ancestor) from his soul. Both he and his brother, Johnny Blaze, have since become Ghost Riders once again. THE GHOST RIDER TIMELINE In every era of human history, there rode a Spirit of Vengeance. This is the beginnings of a comprehensive list of each known Ghost Rider, past and present. The Spirits of Vengeance were created by God as a weapon of Heaven with human hosts all over the world bearing the curse of the Ghost Rider while knowledge of their true origins remained shrouded in secrecy via the work of the angel Zadkiel.
Ghost Riders appeared throughout history, all over the world, and included such hosts as Puritan Noble Kale. At one point, Civil War soldier Travis Parham was given a glimpse of the Spirits' realm when he touched the skull of his friend Caleb's ancestor. In this realm, Parham saw representations of all the Ghost Riders throughout history. In the modern era, all of the current Ghost Riders were killed and their power stolen by former Ghost Rider Danny Ketch. Used as a weapon by renegade angel Zadkiel, the power of the Spirits of Vengeance was used to destroy the gates of Heaven itself. As a result, only three Ghost Riders remain on Earth today (John Blaze, Daniel Ketch, and Kowalski/Vengeance). Information: [Ghost Rider # 42 (vol. 2)], [Ghost Rider # 43 (vol. 2)], [Spirits of Vengeance # 16], [Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears # 1], [Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears # 6], [Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch # 3], [Ghost Rider # 33 (vol. 5)]
Zarathos' actions on Earth attracted the attention of Mephisto, who came to see Zarathos as a potential rival. Empowering the mortal later known as Centurious, Mephisto defeated Zarathos in battle and claimed the hellfire that housed his spirit. Enslaved to Mephisto's realm, Zarathos was sent to Earth several times to possess Mephisto's followers. He was eventually bonded with a man named Johnny Blaze and become one of the modern-day Ghost Riders. Information: [Ghost Rider # 43 (vol. 2)], [Ghost Rider # 77 (vol. 1)] Mephisto and the angel Uriel came to a decision regarding Noble, that he would rest in the interdimensional Void until called to Earth to seek vengeance for the spilling of innocent blood. Mephisto secretly added to this compromise, cursing the first born of each Kale generation to be the human host for the Ghost Rider. Each time he was called forth, Noble would have no memory of his true identity. Most recently he was the Spirit of Vengeance bound to descendant Daniel Ketch, but was eventually exorcised from Ketch's soul by a technomancer named Mary LeBow. Information: [Ghost Rider # 78 (vol. 2)], [Ghost Rider # 79 (vol. 2)], [Ghost Rider # 92 (vol. 2)], [Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch # 1]
After Parham's departure, Caleb and his family were murdered by a band of marauders led by George Reagan. Parham returned years later and swore to kill Reagan and his band, unaware that a mysterious cloaked rider was already on their trail. This Ghost Rider killed each of Reagan's men and finally Reagan himself, but the killers returned after having made a deal with a demon. In a final showdown between Reagan's band and the Ghost Rider, Parham discovered that the Rider was actually his former friend Caleb, powered by the Spirit of Vengeance that Travis had envisioned years before. Caleb gave Parham another vision of Ghost Riders throughout history, including ones from future eras, before departing to whereabouts unknown. Information: [Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears # 1], [Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears # 6]
While fighting in Europe, this Ghost Rider came into conflict with Verminous Rex, a rat-like creature from Germany that fed his cannibalistic urges by eating the flesh of fallen soldiers. Rex was killed by the Ghost Rider, and when he encountered Rex in the modern day Noble Kale remembered their World War I encounter. Information: [Ghost Rider # 89 (vol. 2)]
Though connections between the two have been made, it has never been substantiated whether or not Todd was the Ghost Rider of his time. There are amazing coincidences in his story, particularly the flaming skull and the race of "Skull Men" that could have actually been the Spirits of Vengeance of old. The Blazing Skull remains as an adventurer in the modern era alongside his teammates in the Invaders. Information: [Midnight Sons Unlimited # 9]
Through numerous spells (which unfortunately shortened her life span considerably) and demonic deals, Naomi thought she had freed her oldest child Johnny from the Ghost Rider curse. Naomi was finally caught by the demon lord Mephisto, who forced her to transform into the Ghost Rider one last time, an act which she could not survive. As she lay dying, Mephisto's proxy Pastor Kale informed her that the Kale curse had skipped to the second oldest child - Barbara - and that while Johnny would not become "the" Ghost Rider he could still become "a" Ghost Rider. Naomi died and was buried in an unmarked grave in Cypress Hills Cemetary. Years later, her disembodied spirit guided her son Daniel into recovering the lost memories of their ancestor, Noble, and she was finally allowed to pass on to the next world. Information: [Ghost Rider # -1], [Ghost Rider # 93 (vol. 2)], [Ghost Rider: Finale]
While on the run from the Comte, the Amulet of Z began to speak to Parrish and Johnny Storm, appearing as a ghostly apparition consumed by flames. The Amulet was in truth the fabled Medallion of Power, and the spirit was that of Zarathos. When Zarathos offered to possess young Storm to save them, Parrish stood in his place and was transformed into the Ghost Rider. After defeating the Comte, Zarathos was set to ride off with the body of Parrish, but was stopped by Johnny Storm when the boy ripped the Medallion of Power free from the front of the demon's motorcycle (actually a car mystically transformed into a bike). Parrish was freed from Zarathos' possession and the remains of the destroyed car - along with the Medallion - was placed in a junkyard adjacent to Cypress Hills Cemetary. Information: [Before the 4: The Storms # 3]
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Origin Stories: Ghost Rider # 1 (vol. 4) Ghost Rider # 5 (vol. 5) |