Ghost Rider, Marvel’s Spirit of Vengeance, has collected souls, destroyed demons, and passed judgment on all sinners for more than 50 years. The Ghost Rider, AKA the entity known as Zarathos, is the demon Mephisto’s most feared bounty hunter, with the cursed mantle being passed down to numerous human hosts. But just how powerful is the Ghost Rider, and what exactly is the truth behind the Spirits of Vengeance?
Ghost Rider officially debuted in 1972’s Marvel Spotlight #5 by Gary Friedrich and Mike Ploog. The first Ghost Rider to appear in Marvel Comics is stuntman Johnny Blaze, who cuts a deal with Mephisto to save the life of his adopted father, Crash Simpson. But Mephisto curses Johnny to become his eternal servant by having the mad demon, Zarathos, possess Johnny’s body and soul. Johnny Blaze, now bonded to Zarathos and damned to Hell, becomes Ghost Rider, a flaming-headed bounty hunter of sinners and souls who must fight against Mephisto and Zarathos’ hold over him. But Johnny is more than just cursed with a violent spirit.
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The History Of The Spirits Of Vengeance And Zarathos
How Ghost Rider Was Created
At first glance, the Spirits of Vengeance look like every other demon of Hell, but there is so much more Biblical lore behind them. The term “Spirit of Vengeance” dates back to prehistoric times. When God’s plan to flood the world to wash away mankind’s sins failed, He released fragments of his power to protect the world from evil. These fragments were called the Spirits of Vengeance, angelic beings who would purge Satanic demons that tried to harm the innocent. For millennia, the Spirits would inhabit various human hosts and teach them to follow God’s path as Ghost Riders. However, that’s where the demon Zarathos comes in.
Mistakenly believed to be a Spirit of Vengeance, Zarathos is a painful reminder of how cruel and petty Mephisto can be. A demon who fought against the lawful good Spirits of Vengeance, Zarathos obtains the mystic Medallion of Power to overpower the Spirits, increase his demonic abilities, and rule over humanity. After gaining a cult-like following on Earth, Zarathos challenges Mephisto over the ownership of Hell itself. Mephisto defeats the mad demon and forces Zarathos to bond with other humans to mock the benevolent Spirits of Vengeance’s practices. As a reverse Spirit of Vengeance, Zarathos is obsessed with breaking free from Mephisto and will use his form as Ghost Rider to become even stronger than Marvel’s version of the Devil.
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Ghost Rider’s Full Arsenal of Abilities
The Perfect Powers For A Collector Of Souls
Once becoming the Ghost Rider, a human host like Johnny Blaze gains all the powers of the immortal and destructive demon Zarathos. Ghost Riders can control Hellfire, which can burn and absorb any universal substance, especially souls. Each Ghost Rider can use a “Hell Vehicle” to ride at godly speeds and can take the form of any vehicle from motorcycles, cars, or even animals. They have regenerative healing, mystic chains of Hellfire, and demonic magic skills like the Penance Stare, which can obliterate the soul of any being by making them relive their sins until they are mindless husks.
Over the years, other hosts like Danny Ketch, Alejandra Jones, and the current Ghost Rider, Robbie Reyes, have added new Ghost Rider abilities. Danny Ketch had a much more friendly bond with the Angel of Death and gained the ability to cleanse and heal souls with his Penance Stare. Alejandra Jones also had similar soul-healing abilities as Ghost Rider, as well as the power to summon Biblical plagues like locusts to cleanse souls. Robbie Reyes expanded Ghost Rider’s abilities the most with his new powers of teleportation, getting stronger with rage, and his ride, the Hell Charger, which bonded with his Satanic uncle, Eli Reyes. But soon, Robbie Reyes would become the most powerful Ghost Rider in existence, the multiversal being known as the All-Rider.
The All-Rider Is The Final Form of Ghost Rider
The Ultimate Judge, Jury, And Executioner Of Life
Robbie Reyes achieves a brand-new form as the ultimate Ghost Rider, known as the All-Rider, in 2022’s Avengers Forever #9 by Jason Aaron and Aaron Kuder. After Johnny Blaze becomes King of Hell and the spirit of Robbie’s Uncle Eli is exorcised from his Hell Charger, Robbie embraces his role as the most powerful Ghost Rider. The All-Rider is a Ghost Rider that can transcend life and death itself and could even rival the almighty gods above. To have this much power as a Ghost Rider has never been accomplished before in the history of the character. Now this soul collector can bend the rules of reality.
As the All-Rider, Robbie Reyes is now on another plane of existence compared to the other Ghost Riders. Other Ghost RIders have been able to unlock the Power Cosmic and travel through dimensions. These powerful riders include Frank Castle’s future form as the Cosmic Ghost Rider, as well as the Spirit Rider, a Spirit of Vengeance who was also her era’s Sorcerer Supreme. However, Robbie is still more powerful than them. In addition to his arsenal of magic, the All-Rider can use Hellfire to burn eternal beings like the Celestials, and he can travel through time and space. Robbie even saves the entire multiverse by sealing an entire universe, the First Cosmos, away in a pocket dimension. Even though he was believed to be lost forever as a result, Robbie simply rebuilt his Hell Charger and drove back across the realms to return home.
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Ghost Rider Is An Eternal Curse And A Great Responsibility
The Spirit Of Vengeance’s Legend Continues To Grow
Ghost Rider began as an eternal damnation sentence for poor, desperate souls and is now a full-blown cosmic entity that exceeds the gods of the Marvel Universe. Similar to the Venom symbiote’s relationships with its hosts, the Ghost Rider’s hosts have to fight against their demonic spirits and eventually learn to trust them. The Riders have gotten stronger from taking on new hosts and facing mystic enemies like Lilith, the archangel Zadkiel, and Mephisto. From the original superhero Johnny Blaze to the All-Rider Robbie Reyes, the mantle of Ghost Rider can withstand anything Mephisto or the Marvel Universe can throw at it.
