Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #1! Johnny Blaze has been the primary host of the Spirit of Vengeance since the start of Ghost Rider’s popularity as a Marvel Comics antihero, yet even still, Zarathos has officially abandoned Blaze for a host that – the spirit believes – is a better-suited vessel. Now, with this bold new era in Ghost Rider continuity, the Spirit of Vengeance has chosen a shocking new host: the Hood.
In a preview for Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #1 by Benjamin Percy and Danny Kim, Johnny Blaze is riding towards a tunnel on his motorcycle, as he becomes aware of an ancient evil that lurks within. Throughout the previous Ghost Rider run, Blaze has made it his mission to ride through areas of the country that are often forgotten by the likes of the Avengers to protect the innocent from demonic threats – and this creature is one of them. Little does Johnny know, however, that on this particular mission, he will be betrayed by the Spirit of Vengeance itself.
During the entire preview, Zarathos speaks to how it’s bonded with far more hosts than just Johnny Blaze, essentially admitting that Blaze means nothing to it. The Spirit of Vengeance admits that Blaze has been a suitable host for the time being, but his constant guilt and second guessing is tiresome for Zarathos. So, when the time came to find a new host, the Spirit of Vengeance didn’t hesitate, as it exited Blaze’s body towards its new vessel, while leaving Johnny to presumably die in the demon-infested tunnel.
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Why Ghost Rider is Leaving Johnny Blaze for The Hood
Marvel Comics fans have known the Hood was going to be a new Ghost Rider since Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance was announced, but the details were fuzzy. There was no explanation as to why the Hood was chosen by the Spirit of Vengeance, or whether he would be replacing Johnny Blaze or finding a separate means of becoming a Ghost Rider (like Cosmic Ghost Rider or Robbie Reyes’ Ghost Rider).
This preview clears up a few of those points. After reading it, fans now know that the Hood will, in fact, be replacing Johnny Blaze as Ghost Rider in the literal sense, not just by becoming a separate Ghost Rider somewhere else in the Marvel Universe. Not only that, but readers get to see the moment Zarathos leaves Johnny Blaze’s body, while also gaining insight into what the Spirit of Vengeance really thinks of Blaze. However, as many as this preview answers, one lingering question remains: why the Hood?
The Hood was One of Ghost Rider’s Most Recent Villains
Ghost Rider Annual #1 (2023) by Benjamin Percy and Danny Kim
It’s no coincidence that the Hood is the new Ghost Rider after recently appearing as an antagonist in Ghost Rider Annual #1, as it seems it was during that conflict that the Spirit of Vengeance fingered its next host. While he was a villain, the Hood proved he was someone who was willing to give himself over completely to the darkest corners of the supernatural for the sake of power. No moral qualms, no delusions of heroism, and – most importantly – no desire to be rid of said supernatural power.
Johnny Blaze was constantly calling Ghost Rider a ‘curse’, though someone like the Hood would embrace such power whole-heartedly – something Ghost Rider saw first hand in Ghost Rider Annual #1. That issue along with this preview cleared up a few unanswered questions about Ghost Rider’s new era, and now all that’s left is to see exactly how the Hood will wield the power the Spirit of Vengeance deliberately bestows upon him.
Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #1 by Marvel Comics is available March 13, 2024.
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