Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)

== History ==
: Prepare to suffer the sting of Ghost Rider's power! Prepare to know the true meaning of hell! 
: -- Ghost Rider
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=== Origins ===
Long ago, the demon Zarathos began building a tremendous power base for himself. His penchant for human souls led him into conflicts with foes such as the Blood cult and the vile Mephisto, who saw Zarathos as a rival. Mephisto ultimately tricked and enslaved Zarathos, rendering the demon amnesiac and trapping him in various mortal forms over many years. This torture eventually dovetailed with another pastime of Mephisto's - the search for the Medallion of Power, a mystical artifact crafted by the Blood that housed the essence of the original Spirits of Vengeance.[citation needed]
The Medallion had been broken into shards and embedded into the spiritual bloodline of two families. One of these bloodlines, the Kales, attracted Mephisto's attention in the 18th century when Noble Kale's shard of the Medallion transformed him into a Spirit of Vengeance, the Ghost Rider. Mephisto failed to corrupt Noble at this time, but he kept track of the Kale clan from then on, watching as Noble manifested in the firstborn of every generation.[citation needed]
=== Early Life ===
John Blaze was born into a world of motorcycle grease and cheering crowds. The son of Barton Blaze and Naomi Kale, Johnny spent his early years in the Quentin Carnival, where his parents starred in a stunt show with Craig "Crash" Simpson. His idyllic home life ended abruptly, however, when Naomi abandoned John, taking his younger siblings - Barbara and Daniel - with her. Naomi's decision to leave had been difficult, but she felt it was necessary because of the family curse. She feared that her own firstborn would suffer in the same way that she had, so she left him behind and placed her other children in the care of a woman named Francis Ketch.[6]
The pain of losing his mother caused John to repress many of his memories of Naomi and his siblings. When Barton died in a stunt shortly thereafter, John was adopted by Crash and Mona Simpson, who helped fabricate a past for Johnny, one that they hoped would be less painful than the truth. Believing that his real mother - "Clara Blaze" - had passed away, Johnny became an enthusiastic member of the Simpson clan, growing close to their daughter, Roxanne. The two became inseparable and, as they grew older, their love for one another moved beyond familial.[7]
Naomi Kale returned to spy on John; while glad to see him grow into a happy young man, she still feared he might eventually succumb to the family curse. Naomi bargained with Mephisto to spare John, hoping this might end the curse. Unfortunately, Mephisto betrayed her in the final moments of her life, swearing that even though Johnny would not become the true Ghost Rider, he still could become "a" Ghost Rider.[6]
=== Stunt Performer ===
Unaware of the mystical forces swirling around him, John followed the Simpsons into their own traveling stunt show - the Crash Simpson Stunt Cycle Extravaganza. Crash had become a true father figure to Johnny by this time, teaching him how to ride in the hopes that the younger man might eventually succeed him as the star of the show. This dream came to a fiery end when Johnny was fifteen. While practicing a dangerous stunt, Johnny was nearly killed and Mona Simpson was mortally wounded. When Mona asked John on her deathbed to quit riding, he swore to her that he would.[citation needed]
Over the next five years, Johnny's relationship with Crash deteriorated as John refused to take part in the show. Not understanding John's motivations, Crash grew increasingly frustrated, even accusing his adopted son of cowardice; however, John continued to practice at night, honing his skills until he surpassed his mentor. He had another secret, too: he and Roxanne had become lovers. When Crash revealed he was dying of cancer, he asked Johnny once more to take over the show, but Johnny refused despite Roxanne's disappointment. Distraught, John turned to the occult in search of answers. His studies ultimately led to a spell that supposedly could summon Satan himself. John didn't realize it, but the entity he summoned was actually the same Mephisto who had cheated Naomi Kale years before. [citation needed]
Mephisto then cured Crash of his cancer in return for Johnny's promise of servitude. Crash died almost immediately afterwards, however, in a failed attempt to set a world's record by jumping over 22 cars. Despairing over the loss of his adopted father, Johnny attempted - and made - the jump himself, seeking to honor Crash's memory. Johnny was still at Mephisto's mercy, though, and would have lost his soul outright if not for the heroic intervention of Roxanne, who proclaimed her love for Johnny and drove the demon away with the purity of her emotion (though Mephisto would return)
=== Becoming the Ghost Rider ===
One night after Crash's death, Johnny found himself transformed into a skeletal being with a flaming skull. Fearing at first that this demonic form was a manifestation of his own evil side, he soon realized that he had bonded with some wholly separate entity. This merger of Johnny Blaze and a demonic force became known as the Ghost Rider, which amused Mephisto greatly. Transforming nightly into the Ghost Rider, John became involved with a local motorcycle gang, Satan's Servants. Their leader, Curly Samuels, had gained the Ghost Rider's trust, until a shocked John discovered that the soul of Crash Simpson lurked within Curly's form. Mephisto had offered Crash a new life in exchange for betraying his adopted son, and Crash had eagerly accepted. The Ghost Rider's spirit was cast into Hell, where he managed to reawaken Crash's sense of honor and love. The older man sacrificed himself to help Johnny escape, making Ghost Rider promise to protect Roxanne.[citation needed]
John and Roxanne then journeyed into the American Southwest, where Ghost Rider battled the Satanist known as Witch Woman, Linda Littletrees. Remaining for a time near Copperhead Canyon, Ghost Rider also fought Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan. This began a long period of roaming the West, as John sought to avoid Mephisto and protect Roxanne. While in San Francisco, Roxanne was tricked into renouncing her love for John, and Mephisto nearly claimed John's soul in full; however, a long-haired stranger saved the day, driving Mephisto away at the last minute. This bearded mystery man identified himself only as "a friend," and Blaze came to view him as a heavenly figure, offering hope and salvation. This stranger would appear several more times before finally being revealed as another falsehood of Mephisto. Discouraged over the revelations about the "friend" and fearing his growing lack of control over the Ghost Rider, John left Roxanne and spent years wandering on his own.[citation needed]
=== Champions of L.A. ===
He teamed up with the Black Widow, Angel, Iceman and Hercules to foil one of Pluto's plots to invade Olympus, and the five heroes founded the Champions.[8] Though billed as "super heroes for the ordinary man," the Champions were beset by internal tensions and never truly gelled as a team. After a few months, Ghost Rider realized that he was too much of a loner to remain with the group and he bid them farewell when the Champions disbanded.[9] During the same time, he unwillingly became a member of the Legion of Monsters who fought and killed Starseed.[5]
=== Leaving Stunt Riding ===
By this time, the demonic half of the Ghost Rider was exerting more and more control over his actions and personality. John found it increasingly difficult to continue his stunt rider career, surrendering the title of World Champion Stunt Rider after losing a series of grueling challenges to Flagg Fargo. A demoralized John found a sense of peace by joining the Quentin Carnival, a place he did not remember from his childhood, but which nevertheless felt like home. Blaze forged a friendly rivalry with fellow rider Red Fowler and engaged in harmless flirtation with Cynthia Randolph, a journalist for Woman Magazine assigned to follow the Carnival. While traveling with the Carnival, John also ran afoul of the mad Centurious, who fed off imprisoned souls using an ancient artifact called the Crystal of Souls; this encounter stirred dark memories in the Ghost Rider. Shortly thereafter, the demonic Nightmare captured John and revealed the name of the demon within Blaze: Zarathos.[citation needed]
Blaze and Zarathos continued to struggle with each other for dominance until Roxanne Simpson returned, seeking aid for a town overrun by Centurious and his agent, the Sin-Eater (Ethan Domblue). Ghost Rider clashed once more with Centurious, learning that he and Zarathos had a feud going back centuries. In the end, Zarathos and Centurious were bound within the Crystal of Souls and John Blaze was free at last. With a gracious donation from his old friend the Angel, John was able to purchase the Carnival and marry Roxanne, with whom he had two children, Craig and Emma.[citation needed]
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=== Meeting Dan Ketch ===
Years later, John heard about a new Ghost Rider in New York. Fearing Zarathos was free, Blaze captured the Dan Ketch Ghost Rider, but soon realized the entity within Dan was not Zarathos. During their clash, a burst of Ghost Rider's Hellfire was conducted through Blaze's shotgun into John himself, who discovered he could now discharge Hellfire from the weapon. Armed with this shotgun and a mystical motorcycle, John became a mentor of sorts to the new Ghost Rider, trying to guard Dan against evil forces. [citation needed]
Against his wife's wishes, John was immersed in the supernatural again. When he allied himself with the Midnight Sons against Lilith, Mother of Demons, the Carnival became a target for John's enemies. It was attacked by Vengeance, who blamed John for having ruined his father's career. John and the Midnight Sons later thwarted an alliance between Centurious and Lilith, though their schemes led to the return of Zarathos. When Centurious' agent Carver tried to remove a Medallion of Power fragment from Blaze by slashing him, Blaze's wounds burnt with Hellfire, and he was encased in a cybernetic shell to save his life. Shortly thereafter, the Blood known as Caretaker revealed that John and Dan were brothers, strengthening their bond further. Together, they helped destroy Zarathos' physical form, though Dan was temporarily lost.[citation needed]
While one side of John's family grew closer, the other began coming apart. When Emma and Craig were kidnapped by rogue Blood member Regent, John rescued them, but was shocked to learn that Roxanne had bargained the children away years earlier in hopes that Regent could remove the Kale curse. John and Roxanne were just moving past this painful revelation when she was killed by Anton Hellgate, one of Ketch's foes, and their children were kidnapped again. After slaying Centurious, Blaze swore on Roxanne's grave that he would rebuild the Carnival and find their children. After shedding his cybernetic shell, Blaze confronted undead serial killer Icebox Bob, who revealed that the kids were being held by the Mesopotamian god-turned-demon Ba'al. In a dimension-spanning adventure involving the mystic Wendigo spirit and the angelic Uri-El, Blaze was reunited with his children; but within months, the children went missing yet again.[citation needed]
While helping Dan Ketch learn the full origins of his Ghost Rider spirit, John discovered that the sorceress Jennifer Kale was their cousin. She helped Blaze seek his missing children, but they were ultimately forced to admit defeat, calling off the search. During this time, Roxanne was revived as a demonic servant of Blackheart's, bearing the name Black Rose. Though she had no memory of her past self initially, Noble Kale restored her memories during his time as Ruler of Hell. Apparently feeling that John had moved on, Roxanne decided to let John continue believing that she was dead.[citation needed]
Blaze once again became bonded to the Ghost Rider, and ended up in Hell. Due to the machinations of Satan, he was set free, and now chases Satan. This led to a confrontation with Doctor Strange.[citation needed]
Starting over, John found a new job as an accountant and a new girlfriend, Chloe; but he was still linked to Zarathos, and the demon began to reconstitute within him. Regularly transforming into Ghost Rider again, John quit his job and hit the road. However, the reborn Ghost Rider's personality was different than before, less talkative and more indifferent to the welfare of innocent bystanders. Desperate to escape this renewed curse, John hired mercenary Gunmetal Gray to kill Ghost Rider, whom Gray pursued with malicious glee. Finally cornered at the Sturgis biker convention, John Blaze and Zarathos seemed to make peace with one another and merged in a new way, defeating Gray.[10]
=== Civil War ===
During the superhero Civil War, Johnny ended up in Sleepy Hollow, Illinois where a serial killer was decapitating local children and soon learned his identity: the supervillain known as Jack O'Lantern. Killed by the Punisher, Stevie Levins' body was occupied by one of the several aspects of Lucifer. The local sheriff thought Blaze was to blame but soon realized the truth. Ghost Rider and the sheriff confronted Jack O'Lantern/Lucifer at the door of a preacher's house, and after a short fight Ghost Rider tore out Lucifer's heart and smashed his head.[11]
Blaze angered the Ghost Rider when he tried to save several people and allowed the Lucifer fragment they were currently fighting to escape. Later after watching a broadcast on TV, Blaze decides to go to New York and fight the Hulk, against the Ghost Rider's will. After attempting to urge the Hulk to stop, Ghost Rider engages the Hulk. Their battle is monitored by Doctor Strange and Mister Fantastic. Dr. Strange believes that the entity that supplies Ghost Rider's mystic power is possibly capable of defeating the Hulk, stating that his powers are 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 is Johnny Blaze, not the fully powered demon Zarathos who is engaging the Hulk, the Hulk easily defeats Ghost Rider. After Johnny is knocked out, Zarathos himself emerges and rides off because, as Dr. Strange says in the end of the issue, Ghost Rider protects only the innocent, which none of the Illuminati are.[12]
Johnny Blaze had devised a plan to destroy Lucifer while engaging the help of his current girlfriend, Dixie. He left her guarding a hotel room while he leaves and Ghost Rider engages Lucifer in the guise of a sports team owner. While Lucifer is secretly planning to blow up a packed stadium, he distracts Johnny by telling him that one of his other avatars has possessed a Little League coach and is holding his entire team hostage. Ghost Rider arrives and attacks Lucifer, inhabiting his coach's avatar, but in his zeal, fails to realize that the barn holding the children has been set ablaze. Luckily, the children had been saved by would-be allies, Emmael and his brother Vraniel, two angels that had been cast out of the highest levels of heaven and who were recently reborn on Earth in an attempt to stop the machinations of Zadkiel as a means to atone for their past mistakes.[citation needed]
Ghost Rider and the two angels returned to the stadium to prevent Lucifer from detonating his explosions and when the Ghost Rider learned that the angels harbor a secret, he used his penance stare on Emmael, destroying him. He then learned that the Ghost Rider was actually an entity of Heaven that was bonded to him by the fallen angel, Zadkiel, in answer to Roxanne's prayers to save Johnny's soul. He also realized that Lucifer actually helped orchestrate Johnny's escape from Hell so that he could be also be freed. Lucifer then tried to form an alliance with Ghost Rider since he, too, hates Zadkiel who had turned on him during his war against Heaven. Ghost Rider responds to his offer by blowing up the building with both of them in it.[13]
Ghost Rider next fought the final avatar of Lucifer. He was able to destroy it because it was not as powerful as Lucifer thought. Two weeks earlier, Ghost Rider had kept a brain-dead avatar alive, thus draining half of Lucifer's power. When the brain-dead avatar gained full power in the hotel room with Dixie, it was shot dead by some gun-happy cops, but Dixie is killed by a stray bullet. Lucifer has been defeated and returned to Hell and as Johnny laments all the things he's cared about, including Dixie, being taken from him, he decides to turn his Spirit of Vengeance on Zadkiel.[14]
=== Zadkiel ===
Later, Daniel Ketch returns with a new mission: to collect the powers of all the Ghost Riders for the angel Zadkiel to prevent the corruption of the powers with their human hosts. Zadkiel has other motives he keeps to himself, what he needs the powers of the Riders for: to tear down the walls of New Jerusalem and wage war on Heaven. The story begins in Tibet with Chinese soldiers harassing a village, questioning them about weapons that killed two of his garrison patrols. During the harassment a peasant enters on a donkey. After an exchange of words and an order to kill given by the General, the peasant changes and kills the General's men while his back is turned. When the General turns back he sees the Ghost Rider and gets a penance stare for his trouble. After the attack the Rider goes back to his sanctuary where he is visited by Danny Ketch. A short while later Sister Sara and Johnny Blaze arrive at the sanctuary to find out how to get back at Zadkiel. After entering, they find the peasant and donkey burnt to husks.[15]
That night the two are visited by Ketch and begins a battle with a show of power. When Blaze does the penance stare to his brother, he sees exactly what has transpired. Ketch has murdered the hosts of numerous Riders for their powers. During a show of pity for the fallen, Ketch is able to return the stare on Blaze, and sends Blaze into temporary insanity. Before Ketch is able to take the power of Zarathos, he is stopped by the new caretaker Sister Sara. She rescues Blaze and they go to a safehouse. At the safehouse, during Blaze's episode of self pity and Sara's trying to pick him back up, they are visited by two more Ghost Riders, the Arabic Molek and the Chinese Bai Gu Jing, whom they follow to Japan.[16]
When Blaze's team arrives in Japan, they learn Ketch has already taken the power of the Rider Yoshio Kannabe. After the conquest, Ketch has another talk with Zadkiel via a communications link. During the conversation, Zadkiel massacres the squad of the Asura who guard the Gates of Heaven. Zadkiel tells Ketch to wait to attack the Riders til the last ones are together. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, former cop Kowalski follows a contact to get a hellfire shotgun for his revenge on Blaze.[17]
After acquiring the item he is then driven to the middle of a desert to sit and wait for his chance. After leaving Japan, Blaze's team journeys to the City of the Skulls in the Congo where the last stand would be made. There they meet the Lords of the Congo, the Ghost Riders Baron Skullfire and Marinette Bwachech, and their Phantom Riders. During the day Sara tells Molek about her new experience becoming a Caretaker, and her wonders about religion, with which she is given secret information that Molek knows about both. As the Ghost Riders and their forces ready for battle, Blaze has his eyes opened back up by two children who go to participate in the fight. He quickly snaps out of his depression and joins the others for the final battle.[18]
During the course of the battle Baron Skullfire dies and the spirit is transferred to one of the Phantom Riders, after which Ketch creates hellfire duplicates of himself to take the on the warriors. A wager is then made by Blaze and Ketch on a race between the brothers around the world for the fates of the powers. During the race, Blaze is critically injured by Kowalski's shotgun and Ketch takes the rider from him as his duplicates overpower the others. Moments later, Ketch relinquishes the power of the Spirits of Vengeance to Heaven, with Zadkiel now able to storm it. The sound of the gates falling is enough to be felt by Spider-Man's senses, and loud enough to be heard even in Hell and Asgard. When an injured Blaze returns to the City of the Skulls, Ketch falls from the sky, revealing that the battle for Heaven has already been decided. As more energies fall from the heavens, one strikes Kowalski and changes him into a new rider that looks a lot like Vengeance.[19]
After the battle with Zadkiel and his Black Host, Johnny Blaze parts ways with Ketch and Sara. He eventually wanders to a Japanese village, living in the nearby temple. The villagers are suddenly invaded by demons and their flesh is transformed into heinous forms by a creature called the Skin-Bender. Blaze's attempt to fight back result in her trying to morph his flesh, but finds his skin burns to the touch due to his power, prompting her to demand he transform into Ghost Rider. When he does, she breaks down crying, claiming he is the most beautiful thing she had ever seen and begged for him to speak. He simply responded with "Burn," leading a storm of fire to rain onto the village, incinerating the demons and restoring the villagers to their normal states. At the same time, Sara arrives in the village to reunite with Blaze to continue their quest against Zadkiel. She finds him in the process of grinding up the Skin-Bender, before tossing her into the sea. Sara then consoles Blaze, asking him to think of his family and asks where they are. He replies, saying that they are in heaven. They then depart from the village to continue their journey.[20]
The Antichrist, Kid Blackheart, after being hunted down by Zadkiel's agents on Earth, is saved by occult terrorist Jaine Cutter, despite Daimon Hellstorm's efforts to slay him. Eventually, the three encounter Johnny, Danny and Sara, and are forced to join forces in a desperate attempt to defeat Zadkiel in Paradise. Eventually, after reaching Heaven with Danny, he and Danny both attack Zadkiel, but are quickly overwhelmed; however, the spirits of Blaze's deceased wife and children encourage him to rise and continue to fight Zadkiel, rallying the combined forces of the Spirits of Vengeance (whom Ketch had been tricked into returning to Heaven by Zadkiel) against the renegade Archangel. After Zadkiel realizes that he was not, and never would be, the one true God, as Blaze tells him, "Only God can make a Ghost Rider, Zadkiel. You should know that. And only God can destroy one. You may have been able to shift that power around, to even leech it from its hosts. But you were never really able to control it. And you certainly couldn't kill it. You're not God, Zadkiel. You're just another power-mad wannabe who desperately needs his ass kicked. And that's exactly what the Ghost Riders are for", he is defeated and banished to Hell, with God, revealed to have never perished at all, reclaiming Heaven and thanking Blaze for all he did for Paradise and its billions of souls.[10]
During the Shadowland, Kingpin and Lady Bullseye perform a ritual which brings back Ghost Rider in a plot to attack the Hand. After Ghost Rider returns to Kingpin, he is forced to travel to Japan to confront the ancient ninja clan the Hand, and, unable to directly combat them due to the Hand magic binding him, provokes them into killing him. Blaze's soul emerges in an white void, and God, after telling him he is needed still, sends him back to the mortal realm, and, in gratitude for his role in defeating Zadkiel, aiding him by reinforcing him with a battalion force of Black Host warrior angels who are able to quickly slaughter the Hand ninjas with ease. Freed from the curse, Blaze rides off into the distance on his motorcycle.
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=== Fear Itself ===
During the Fear Itself event, Johnny Blaze becomes more agitated about his curse and is then approached by a mysterious figure known as Adam who claims he can help Blaze be rid of the Ghost Rider once and for all. Blaze was ambiguous about the man's gesture thinking there was a catch to his offer, but Sam simply put as that the curse will be passed to someone he never met. Blaze accepts the offer and was told to drive the Rider out of his soul. Blaze was finally rid of the Rider for good from then on while Adam went about his way to find a new host for the Ghost Rider.[22]
In Dayton, Ohio when Sin (in the form of Skadi) attacks the city and fights a new female Ghost Rider. After the female Ghost Rider was defeated, Johnny Blaze learned from Mephisto that the new Ghost Rider is cursed with Adam, whose ultimate goal is to wipe all sin from humanity, effectively turning humanity into mindless, emotionless beings. Blaze, feeling guilty for selfishly giving up the curse, agreed to help him separate the Ghost Rider from Adam.[23]
Shortly after Alejandra and Adam returned to the temple, he ordered her to extinguish the sin from her fellow students. When she refused, Adam enslaved her.[24] When Blaze arrived, he and the Seeker, who disagreed with Adam's plans, joined sides to stop him. Adam turned Alejandra into a bomb of sorts that, after exploding, wiped the sin out of everyone in Nicaragua, save for Blaze and the Seeker, who grabbed Blaze and used his ability to nullify the Ghost Rider's power to protect him from the blast.[25]
Adam then took the Ghost Rider to Cape Canaveral to board a space shuttle and fly to a space station.[25] Onboard, Adams told her that he wants her to focus all her power and magnify it through the space station's camera lens so that it reaches across the Earth.[26]
Johnny Blaze, having made a deal with Mephisto for a bike he could fly into space, took the Seeker up with him to the space station. But, realizing he was going to use her as a weapon, jettisoned him from the bike, sending him back to Earth. [26]
Blaze was too late to stop Adam from forcing Alejandra to release all of her power but tried to get her to take control of it. His words touched her and she was able to overcome Adam's influence and blew up the space station. Alejandra saved Blaze, and they returned to Earth. Seeking to give the Nicaraguans back their souls, Alejandra drove off without Blaze, not wanting another person telling her what to do.[26]
After working solo for a while, Alejandra asked the Seeker for help in finding a way to restore the Nicaraguan souls. He told her that their sin can be found in Hell and that Blaze could help her since he is in contact with Mephisto. [27]
But Adam had survived the space station explosion and called on Steel Wind and her dead sister Steel Vengeance for help in bringing the Ghost Rider to him. [27]
While tracking Blaze down, Alejandra found that he was being hunted by Hawkeye, who thought that Blaze was to blame for the situation in Nicaragua. Alejandra came to his aid but they were both transported to Japan via a portal. Steel Wind and Steel Vengeance came after them but instead of grabbing the Ghost Rider, they made off with Blaze, wanting vengeance. As Alejandra prepared to chase after them, Hawkeye struck her in the chest with an arrow with an amulet attached to it that neutralizes magic.[27] Hawkeye went after the sisters to help Blaze but only ended up getting captured by them as well. Alejandra was able to pull the arrow out of her chest and defeated them both. [28]
Blaze decided to join Alejandra and teach her how to handle being the Ghost Rider, taking the amulet that paralyzed her with him just in case.[28]
=== Circle of Four ===
After Alejandra was betrayed by Blackheart, when he offered her to restore the souls of the innocents Alejandra destroyed in exchange of helping her to spread Hell in Earth, she hit the road once again with a new quest: to drag those souls out of Hell by any means necessary.[citation needed]
Blaze followed a powered-up Alejandra to Hell, where she was about to annihilate it by destroying Mephisto's heart. Using his contract with Mephisto turned into a bullet, Blaze stopped Alejandra, but made her fall over an edge. Johnny managed to hold her hand, but after realizing she used the Spirit for selfish purposes, she allowed herself to fall into the lava, thus returning the Spirit of Vengeance back to Blaze. Johnny, now as the Ghost Rider, saved a burning Alejandra, who survived by having still a part of the Spirit in her. After going to Nicaragua and showing what she had achieved, Alejandra stated that she was still angry at him for everything he put her through, declaring that his actions deserved vengeance. They both rode off in separate directions.[29]
=== Thunderbolts ===
After a failed attempt to become an actor, Johnny Blaze retook his career as a stunt rider. He then joined the Thunderbolts providing his services to help them bring down their former teammate Mercy.[30]
During the mission, the Leader incites a spell that momentarily removes the Ghost Rider from Johnny Blaze. In that brief moment with his powers gone, Blaze is suddenly ripped apart and killed by a swamp demon.[31]
However, at the end of the mission, time was reset by a new god and Blaze was alive again with the rest of the Thunderbolts.[32]
Following several other missions, the Punisher quit the Thunderbolts, only to find that his safehouse had been boobytrapped. Setting out for revenge on the Thunderbolts, Punisher manages to remove the Spirit of Vengeance from Johnny using Mephisto's sword. Johnny, grateful, leaves to go live his life.[citation needed]
After the Thunderbolts and Avengers captured the Leader, Punisher used the Rider's skull to put Sterns under permanent Penance Stare. Mephisto appeared to bring Sterns to Hell, as well as returned the Ghost Rider back to Johnny.[33]
=== Avengers of the Supernatural ===
The Avengers of the Supernatural were a group of supernatural heroes chosen by Mojo for his newest reality show. They were mind-controlled into abducting the Avengers Unity Division from the Avengers Mansion. Ghost Rider begun submitting the inhabitants of Mojoworld to his Penace Stare both Avengers team fought Ghost Rider in order to distract him, and let Satana pry the Spirit of Vengeance from Blaze and temper it. Satana failed to attack Ghost Rider, but Rogue managed to sneak up on him and touch him to absorb his powers. This way, she became the new Ghost Rider and tempered the Spirit of Vengeance, but as it begun taking control over her, Blaze reabsorbed the spirit into him, becoming the Ghost Rider once more. Having saved Mojoworld and having controlled the Spirit of Vengeance, the Avengers of the Supernatural and the Unity Divison returned to their universe, where they quickly started a pool party.
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