# Cosmic Ghost Rider

Cosmic Ghost Rider (Francis David "Frank" Castle) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. His physical appearance and origin are an amalgam of Punisher, Ghost Rider, and Silver Surfer, with his personality inspired by Deadpool.

## Publication history

Cosmic Ghost Rider was created by Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw, and first appeared in Thanos #13 (January 2018). His backstory was revealed in Thanos #16.
In 2019, Cosmic Ghost Rider starred in the miniseries Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History, written by Paul Scheer.

## Fictional character biography
### Origin

In the alternate reality where Thanos conquered all the Universe, Frank Castle's early life is seemingly similar to that of the Frank Castle of Earth-616. However, when Thanos comes to Earth, the Punisher is one of the last casualties during the last stand of the heroes, and his soul is sent to Hell. Willing to give anything to punish Thanos for slaughtering his planet, the Punisher signs a demonic deal with Mephisto and becomes Ghost Rider. When he returns to Earth, Thanos is already gone and everything on the planet is dead. He roams Earth for years until a badly injured Galactus arrives and makes him his herald to help battle Thanos.
Alongside Galactus, Cosmic Ghost Rider travels across the cosmos to stop Thanos, which leads them to become legends. Centuries later, Thanos kills Galactus and Cosmic Ghost Rider is killed by the Fallen One.

### Arrival on Earth-616

Odin from the main reality retrieves Cosmic Ghost Rider's soul from the dead reality and rewards him with Valhalla, though Cosmic Ghost Rider was unsatisfied. Odin returns his powers and offers to revive him in any time period of his choosing. Cosmic Ghost Rider chooses the day Thanos was born, enabling him to adopt Thanos and prevent him from becoming a villain. However, this inadvertently creates a new timeline where Thanos becomes a dictator, forcing Cosmic Ghost Rider to leave Thanos alone to restore the timeline.
In the aftermath of the "Infinity Wars" storyline, Cosmic Ghost Rider is revealed to be stranded on Earth-616 and attends Thanos' funeral. The funeral is attacked by the Black Order, who steals Thanos's body and rip open a hole in space, sending everyone into the rip. Everyone is saved by the arrival of Gladiator and the Shi'ar. Starfox begins to recruit warriors to find Gamora, the most likely candidate to be Thanos's new body, as they form the Dark Guardians, which causes Cosmic Ghost Rider to side with them. Wraith brings up the issue of the Black Order, but Starfox assures they are searching for them and Nebula states that the team should track down Nova to find Gamora's location. Cosmic Ghost Rider and the Dark Guardians track down Nova and clash with the Guardians of the Galaxy to take Gamora. Hela and the Black Order crash the battle, with Hela taking control of Cosmic Ghost Rider and having Thanos' consciousness possess Starfox. Cosmic Ghost Rider's body later falls apart, after which he arrives in Hell and meets with Johnny Blaze.
Cosmic Ghost Rider later leaves Earth and begins a campaign in the cosmos punishing villains for their sins. This attracts the Shi'ar, who have the Imperial Guard imprison him on an asteroid. While there, a demonic parasite drains Cosmic Ghost Rider's energy, destroying his body and only leaving his skull intact. Months later, space pirates recover the skull, enabling Cosmic Ghost Rider to rebuild his body.

## Powers and abilities

Cosmic Ghost Rider had the same abilities as the Ghost Rider as well as Hellfire manipulation and wielding the Power Cosmic. He additionally wields chains made from the bones of Cyttorak.

## In other media

* Cosmic Ghost Rider appears as a playable character in Marvel Contest of Champions.
* Cosmic Ghost Rider appears as an alternate costume for Punisher in Marvel Future Fight.

## Collected editions

| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
| Cosmic Ghost Rider: Baby Thanos Must Die | Cosmic Ghost Rider (2018–2019) #1–5, material from Thanos Legacy #1 | February 2019 | 978-1302913533 |
| Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History | Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History #1–6 | October 2019 | 978-1302917456 |
| Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider | Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider #1–5 | September 2020 | 978-1302921705 |
| Cosmic Ghost Rider Omnibus | Thanos (vol. 2) #13–18, Thanos Annual #1, Cosmic Ghost Rider #1–5, Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History #1–6, Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 5) #1–6, Avengers (vol. 8) #22–25, Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider #1–5, material from Thanos Legacy #1, Wolverine: Black, White & Blood #3 | October 2021 | 978-1302929633 |
| Cosmic Ghost Rider: Duel Identity | Cosmic Ghost Rider (2023) #1–5 | October 2023 | 978-1302948122 |