#johnny x zarathos

[artvann]

im unwell about them

[council--board]

I don't remember who requested this but!

Zarathos x Johnny Blaze from Ghost Rider [comics] stimboard

Requested by: an anon. they're gonna be called the ghost rider anon now

x | x | x - | x | - x | x | x

[battlevann]

pspspsppsps Johnny/Zarathos shippers

[joanathedummy]

WE NEED MORE GHOSTRIDER/JOHNNY BLAZE X TALIA WARROAD CONTENT!!!!

[ewzzy]

I was reminded that the 1993 Topps Marvel trading cards had Unsolved Mysteries of the Marvel Universe and I just had to check if we've solved them in the intervening 30 years.

Starting off we’ve got the longest running mystery, but as with all of these the big question is “what were you hoping to find out?” We’ve seen Doom’s unscarred face in flashbacks and healed in the 1980s Secret Wars, but it was only in 2015’s reimagining of Secret Wars that we see what really lives under the mask. It’s nasty! A real “dead dove do not eat” moment.

This one I’m surprised was a mystery since it’s so well known now. When Cable first showed up he was a warrior from the future, but it wasn’t until 1994’s The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix that it was revealed that he was the time traveling son of Scott Summers and Jean Grey. Well, kinda... you see he’s actually the son of Scott and Jean’s clone Madeline and… go ask Jay and Miles if you want the X-Men X-Plained.

This is the one that got me started on this mess. Darkhawk wasn’t a huge character so this sort of went unresolved but also who cared? Basically when Chris Powell turns into Darkhawk his whole body is replaced by a drone robot from these space hawk warriors. Turns out the whole thing that freaked him out was that underneath the helmet it revealed that he wasn’t even human in that form. And yet, as far as I know we’ve never got a clear look at what he saw.

Hoo boy was this a mystery in 1993? So for background in 1990 we got Danny Ketch as the new Ghost Rider. He was more chains and leather than Johnny Blaze, the Evel Knievel-esque original. The mystery in question is “where did he get his powers and are they from the same demon Zarathos as the original?" After spending time too many wiki pages, I can now say that Danny was revealed to be Johnny Blaze’s secret brother and not powered by Zarathos. Looks like Danny at some point swapped his bike for a buster sword and started calling himself Death Rider. lol

This one is easy! It’s Thanos! Thanos is the sixth member! It got revealed in The Warlock Chronicles during Infinity Crusade. This mystery didn’t make it out of 1993.

Oh hey it’s my least favorite Spider-Man topic! That his parents were killed by the fake communist Red Skull is pointless at best. That they were seemingly brought back only to be revealed as Spider-Slayer robots is somehow worse. That whole mess got resolved in 1994 as a plot from The Chameleon. It’s right before the Clone Saga. Ugh!

This one is a case of dragging it out so long that no answer would be good enough. In 2001’s “Origin” we finally found out that Logan’s real name is James Howlett and he was born in late-19th-century Canada. The Logan name comes from James’ maybereal father from an affair and definite first bone claw stabbing victim Thomas Logan. This is all fine but I 100% of the time confuse “James Howlett” with “Jamie Hewlett” the artist who draws The Gorillaz.

A major thread in 90s X-Men was that Bishop came from a future where an X-Man had betrayed the team and ruined the future. He was pretty suspicious of Gambit in particular and there were hints based on this guy named The Witness that seemed to be Gambit from the future. All that got dropped when Charles Xavier became Onslaught and turned on everyone. Bishop even kind of got to save the day in that story. I guess it all worked out.

It’s our final X-Men mystery and the answer lies in one of the worst received X-Men stories of ALL-TIME! So your first thought should be “he’s a mutant what do you mean origin?” Okay, so starting in 1981 there were hints that Mystique was Nightcrawler’s mom. That started because people say they look the same. That’s a pretty wild thing to say since she has blue skin and he has blue fur and also she’s a shapeshifter so the idea of her real form is iffy at best. Well, it turns out Claremont wanted Mystique to have shapeshifted into a fella and been the father not the mother. Biologically speaking. He didn’t get to write that story, so instead Chuck Austen wrote The Draco…

I can’t believe this is going to a 2nd paragraph but here goes. Mystique in disguise as the wife of a German baron named Christian Wagner, but got pregnant by a mysterious Herr Azazel. The kid comes out blue and her charade is exposed. Flash forward to present day and Nightcrawler is investigating Isla des Demonas and he finally meets dear old dad. Azazel reveals himself to be a literal satan from the Brimstone Dimension. This very nearly broke Nightcrawler’s whole character. Instead of a kind man who is hated because of his appearance, he is a literal son of a demon. Don’t get me started on the woman who adopted Kurt. She’s green and has horns.

That's all the mysteries! If you think I got something wrong about X-Men then yes you're probably right. If there's a secret Darkhawk reveal I couldn't find them please please share it.

[sigh8squid]

Welp, I finished Benjamin Percy's Ghost Rider and I have a couple comments:

Cracking opening issues. The one-and-done tales of Johnny stumbling upon different Supernatural monsters while Talia and Zeb work in the background is great.

Talia is great. The romance (if it can even be called that because at points they seemed more like friends with benefits) was a little sudden but having such a ridiculously grim and pessimistic character to make Johnny appear, comparatively, almost optimistic was a brilliant decision and it's a brilliant dynamic.

Issue 5 was a bit of a tone jump going from closed-off, seedy dark magic to a motorcycle race with Man-Thing, Doctor Doom, Wolverine , etc. I was mostly fine with it but the little caption box explaining everyone's presence was just... not enough to fully justify it.

Exhaust is a great hench villain. Conceptually, he's a more standard "dark mirror" but the presentation and design does a lot to make him shine (also the fact that he was a literal tumour cut out of him)

An unfortunate (but thankfully not deal breaking) part of the run is that... sometimes caption narrations do a bit more heavy lifting than they should, telling rather than showing (some stuff just happens like Talia's romance and Exhaust being a bike that felt a little too skimmed over).

The Danny Ketch arc was great if a little predictable. You could tell from a mile away what was going to happen to Infernal Labs' head scientist but that didn't make it any less thrilling. The introduction with the town left in ruins was a hell of a tone setter (especially the Rider using a cross on a gravestone as a sword) and it didn't slow down.

The parallels between sibling love of the antagonist to Johnny was great. Despite Johnny and Danny not really interacting much, you really got a sense of how much they care about one another.

Hitch-hiker issue with the parallel stories was delightfully creepy with the skin stealing body horror.

All that you love will be turned into an x-Mem crossover... Seriously though, the Spirits of Vengeance was pretty good and at least had a bit of set-up. It laid the parallels between Johnny and Logan on a little too thick and continued the annoying trend of trying to verbalise very important moments at the last second (Bram explaining his feelings and motivations to his own demon was jarring) but still a fun concept with the demon being an 'artist.'

The Halloween annual was fun and mostly inoffensive but considering that it's the only set-up for the final arc of the run... I can't say it really does its job.

The Rider only being able to come out when innocent life was in danger was... interesting but could be a little inconsistent sometimes (especially in the final arc). I did enjoy how it made Johnny and Talia feel more vulnerable while also making the Rider's appearances feel more special.

Talia's final arc was for the most part, really good. It plays on themes of teenage rebelliousness and isolation, with the cult of Mephisto preying on young Talia's insecurities and loneliness. The Children of Men-esque town was a great representation of this and gave the Ghost Rider something he couldn't just punch his way through.

As for Talia's sacrifice? I dunno, it feels like an unnecessary reset to Johnny being alone once more. I feel like their relationship had a lot of potential that went unexplored just because the series was ending.

Annnnnd Final Vengeance... wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. The scene of Zadathos jumping from host to host is written incredibly from his perspective but... doesn't make much sense from a plot standpoint? If the Hood's deal with mephisto to take Zarathos from Johnny is what caused the separation then why did he spend so much time looking for different hosts?

Parker makes for a suitably pathetic protagonist. Despite taking Ghost Rider's power, he still feels pathetic which works with the arc centring on this moral tale of greed and overambition.

Man, Zeb was just... not spectacular, was he? A morally ambiguous wizard seems like a great fit but his design is kind of just Johnny with sunglasses and he just buggered off after the Shadow Country was dealt with, showing up here as a bit of a deus ex machina.

The genre shift from Supernatural horror to Supernatural crime works in the context of The Hood's ambitions but as the finale? Too much of a shift.

It is a shame how Johnny and Parker don't even meet until the end. The sub-plot of Zeb and Johnny travelling to Chicago was just... not altogether very interesting.

Hood's downfall was fitting and his short-sightedness around his ex and his daughter showed his selfishness and short sightedness well. Again though, why is the emotional core of the final arc centred on him and not Johnny?

Overall, despite feeling a little rushed in some places (especially the end), Percy's Ghost Rider was damn good, with some spectacularly creepy and cool visuals and suitably macabre writing style.

[negraxmagia-blog]

@youusedme x

★— THOSE ARE THE TYPE OF ISSUES that Steve attempts not to near, even with a long pole, so to speak. He’d seen the effects of alcohol, good and bad, and had witnessed how it can quite easily destroy a person rather than provide a little Dutch courage in situations of danger. But given the mood was somewhat light-hearted at that moment in time, he saw it best not to delve into the darkness of what couldhave been.

As he wrapped her arm up in the makeshift bandage of his torn shirt sleeve to stop the bleeding, kneeling down just next to her as he tended to the wound from her rather RECKLESS ( but apparently, normal in consideration ) actions, he couldn’t help but breathe out a laugh.   ❛  The difference is though, this time, you coulda gotten hurt. But I know, you’re not one to listen to me of all people. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you about drinking responsibly, despite how you may be when you’re sober.. ❜ Keeping a low cautious tone, he wrapped her arm up properly and stared at the shattered beer bottle that wasn’t too far from them, then at the pile of undercover agents that were quite obviously trailing her, that she’d dealt with whilst intoxicated. It was pretty impressive, to say the least. Reckless – but still impressive.

Alejandra let herself get bandaged up. The pain wasn’t bad, neither was the bleeding, but if Steve decided it was important enough, so be it. Ever since she’d got the news about Johnny’s death from Elsa, she’d lived her life in a state of numbness and put herself back on the autopilot that Adam had taught her. There wasn’t exactly a reason left to live a life of partial nonviolence anymore now she didn’t have anybody left. Instead, she looked at the people stupid enough to follow her. She needed to get her aggression out anyway. Killing Mephisto would have those fucking consequences of making Hell collapse. 

“I could take them out like that since I was ten. No Zarathos needed. I wasn’t going to get hurt by some cheap hires. Adam would send us out to take care of any troops or stupid ecologists that got close to the temple.” She let out a shuddering sigh. “When did you find out about Johnny?”

[multiverseforger]

Learn more

This section's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed.

Stunt cyclist Johnny Blaze is the son of Barton Blaze and Naomi Kale. He spent his early years in the Quentin Carnival where his parents starred in a stunt show with Craig "Crash" Simpson. Johnny's mother walked out on Barton and Johnny and took the family's remaining two children, Barbara and Danny, with her.

Losing his mother caused Johnny to repress many of his memories of her and his siblings. When his father died in a stunt, Johnny was adopted by Crash and Mona Simpson. The Simpsons helped Johnny by fabricating his past with the hope that it would be less painful than the truth. Now believing that his real mother was Clara Blaze, who had died, Johnny became an enthusiastic member of the Simpson clan, growing closer to their daughter, Roxanne. The two soon became inseparable and, as they grew older, their fondness for one another moved beyond familial.

Blaze would eventually join the Simpsons in their own traveling stunt show, the Crash Simpson Stunt Cycle Extravaganza. Crash had become a father figure for Blaze and, on learning of Crash's life-threatening cancer, Blaze turned to the occult. His studies led him to a spell which supposedly could summon Satan himself. Johnny was unaware that he had, in fact, summoned Mephisto. Desperate to save Crash, Blaze sold his soul to Mephisto in return for Crash's cancer to be cured.[24]

Crash Simpson's cancer was cured, but he was subsequently killed in a stunt trying to jump over 22 cars. Mephisto, when confronted by Blaze over Crash's death, declared that he had kept his end of the bargain. Johnny's exact words in the bargain had been for Crash to be spared the cancer which was killing him, not for him to live. Blaze was saved by Roxanne when she proclaimed her love for Blaze, driving Mephisto away with the purity of her emotion.[24]

Blaze was unaware that Mephisto had bonded him with the demon Zarathos as an act of revenge, and was transformed into a Ghost Rider, a leather-clad skeleton with a flaming head. While Johnny still had his soul, he was forced to punish the wicked and evil upon Mephisto's demands whenever needed.[24] Whenever he was in the presence of evil he would transform into the Ghost Rider, to exact the devil's revenge, returning the evil to Hell. Blaze was not completely lost in the transformation however, and would also help the innocent when they were in danger.[25]

As the Ghost Rider, he encountered Daimon Hellstrom.[26] Johnny later came to work as a movie stuntman for Delazny Studios.[27] As the Ghost Rider, he became a member of the Champions[28] and met Morbius the Living Vampire, the Man-Thing and the Werewolf by Night.[29] He lost a motorcycle stunt riding championship to Flagg Fargo[30] and later came to work as a stunt rider for the Quentin Carnival.[31]

Eventually, Zarathos would gain control of Johnny Blaze and the Ghost Rider would become the spirit of Zarathos unleashed. Johnny himself was becoming stronger as well, and the conflicting personalities led to a battle over Blaze's physical body.[32] Centurious appeared, trapping Blaze's soul in his soul crystal. Zarathos, weakened from the ordeal used the last of his strength to shatter the crystal, freeing Blaze's soul and many others contained inside of the crystal. Before the crystal was reformed, Centurious was absorbed into the crystal. Zarathos followed him into the crystal, freeing Blaze from the curse, restoring his soul and ending his time as the Ghost Rider.[33]

For a while, Johnny became a drifter and then an adventurer. He eventually became the owner of the carnival. In time, he learned of the existence of Daniel Ketch as the Ghost Rider. Believing the new Ghost Rider to be Zarathos, Johnny traveled to New York City to kill him.[34] Johnny abducted Ketch and battled the Ghost Rider. Johnny became convinced that Ketch was not Zarathos and aided him against Blackout.[35] Alongside the Ghost Rider and Spider-Man, Blaze then fought the Hobgoblin.[36] He also helped Ghost Rider and the X-Men battle the Brood Queen.[37]

He later teamed up with the new Ghost Rider to form the "Spirits of Vengeance". During this time Blaze would again ride a bike with wheels of fire and would sling a hellfire-spitting pump-gun. Their mentor Caretaker would later reveal that they were, in fact, brothers. In the team's first appearance, they battled Lilith and her Lilin.[38]

Blaze went back to leading his carnival. Despite it being staffed with many powerful entities, it was nearly destroyed in a demonic attack led by the creature Vengeance. The dead, friend and foe alike, were taken by government forces to be dissected. Blaze, with the help of friends, living and dead, breaks into the facility and destroys all the bodies.[volume & issue needed]

A later confrontation with the forces of evil would lead to Roxanne's death.[volume & issue needed] Blaze would later become a demon hunter, hunt down the demons responsible for her death and kill them all.[volume & issue needed] Roxanne was later discovered to have been resurrected as, or simply transformed into, the being named the Black Rose.[volume & issue needed] She was later returned to Johnny, despite memory loss, in the final issue of the Dan Ketch series of Ghost Rider.[volume & issue needed]

Starting over, Blaze eventually found a new job as an accountant and a new girlfriend, Chloe, in the 2001 Marvel Knights series "The Hammer Lane". Though at first it seemed he was free from the curse, Johnny would eventually transform back into Ghost Rider, since Zarathos had reconstituted himself in Johnny Blaze, despite being turned into a stone statue after his battle with the Midnight Sons.[39]

This Ghost Rider entity spoke only a singular line and was much more savage than Noble Kale.[volume & issue needed] At first, there was no indication as to who or what this creature was.[volume & issue needed] However, this entity would appear to be Zarathos, as it is stated in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Volume 4 (TPB).

Johnny Blaze soon found himself constantly pursued by the demons of Hell, intent on forcing him to make good on the demonic pact that he had made to Mephisto. It was all that the Ghost Rider could do to outrun the evil, but it was not enough. Eventually, Johnny was captured and taken to Hell.[volume & issue needed]

The "Road to Damnation" series, by Garth Ennis and Clayton Crain, finds Johnny Blaze trapped in an endless cycle of torture and escape in the Pit. It is here that the angel Malachi appears to the Ghost Rider, offering to free him from Hell with his soul intact, in exchange for hunting down the demon Kazann who has been unleashed upon the Earth.[volume & issue needed]

Malachi tells Blaze that the only way he will be freed from Hell permanently is to beat the Archangel Ruth to Kazann, in order to stave off the destruction that she will cause should she fight him. Along the way, Blaze meets a demon, Hoss, who is also in pursuit of Kazann, and offers to help the Ghost Rider since they share the same goal.[volume & issue needed]

Hoss and Blaze fight with Ruth and she steals his bike; they pursue her in Hoss' Cadillac. When they arrive to where Ruth is Kazann is already free, thanks to the efforts of a corrupt paraplegic business owner named Earl Gustav. Hoss and Ruth fight while Blaze battles Kazann, who lets Johnny know that he has been duped by Malachi. As this happens Gustav's secretary, Jemima Catmint, makes her boss recite an incantation that sends Kazaan back to Hell. Johnny thinks that he is free, but gets shot in the head by a dying priest (whom he had blasted with hellfire earlier) with a holy bullet and is sent back to Hell. He confronts Malachi, who reveals that he tricked Johnny. Johnny threatens to kill him, but is prevented from doing so by Ruth, who kills him herself. Hoss appears and reveals that Kazann and Malachi were actually brothers, who passed information to each other about Heaven and Hell. Once Kazann escaped from Hell, Malachi needed to find someone (the Ghost Rider) to get him back before Ruth, in order to prevent Kazann from spilling the beans about Malachi exchanging secrets of Heaven with him while he was being tortured by angels.[volume & issue needed]

In July, 2006, a new ongoing monthly series began with a story titled "Vicious Cycle", which was written by Daniel Way, with art by Mark Texeira and Javier Saltares (the same artistic team from the 1990s series). The storyline takes place after the Ennis miniseries and features Johnny Blaze finally escaping from Hell.[volume & issue needed]

Blaze's escape is a plot engineered by Lucifer himself, as when Johnny escapes from Hell the devil comes with him. During a battle at a gas station, Blaze defeats the corpse of a recently deceased father that has been animated by the devil. Detecting the magical disturbance caused by Ghost Rider's escape, Doctor Strange investigates the situation, but, believing Doctor Strange to be Lucifer in disguise, Blaze attacks him and for the first time he uses the Penance Stare, debilitating Doctor Strange. It is then that the celestial being Numecet appears and reveals the intent of Lucifer to Blaze.[volume & issue needed]

Having healed Doctor Strange, Numecet tells Johnny Blaze that he is stronger than he can comprehend and is a vital part of Lucifer's plans, as he intends for the Ghost Rider to kill each of the bodies that he has possessed. It is revealed that when Lucifer traveled to the mortal realm his essence shattered and spread to 666 recently deceased people, each one of them resurrected and imbued with a portion of the devil's strength. In order to reform his body each one of the human hosts has to die, but they cannot die from suicide as that is a sin and would send the devil back to hell, requiring them to provoke others into killing them. As each one falls the remaining will become even stronger and Ghost Rider must kill them because, although others can kill the bodies at first, eventually the remaining hosts will become so powerful that no other being could kill them. Numecet attempts to dissuade Blaze but to no avail, Blaze vowing that he will force the devil into a single corporeal form and then drag him back to Hell once and for all.[volume & issue needed]

During the "Civil War" storyline, Johnny ends up in Sleepy Hollow, Illinois where a serial killer is decapitating local children and soon learns his identity: the supervillain known as Jack O'Lantern. Killed by the Punisher, Stevie Levins' body is occupied by one of the several aspects of Lucifer. The local sheriff thinks Blaze is to blame but soon realizes the truth. Ghost Rider and the sheriff confront Levins/Lucifer at the door of a preacher's house, and after a short fight Ghost Rider tears out Levins/Lucifer's heart and smashes his head.[40]

During the "World War Hulk" storyline, Johnny Blaze angers the Ghost Rider when he tries to save several people and allows 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. The issue ends with Ghost Rider coming to a halt on his motorcycle in front of the Hulk.[41] After attempting to urge the Hulk to stop, Ghost Rider engages the Hulk. Their battle is monitored by Doctor Strange and Mister Fantastic. Doctor 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 Doctor Strange says in the end of the issue, Ghost Rider only protects the innocent, which none of the Illuminati are.[42]

Johnny eventually manages to defeat Lucifer by 'killing' one host by shoving a truck's gear-stick through its head and breaking its spine, leaving the host biologically alive but incapacitated. While the host is kept alive by Dixie, a trucker Johnny had encountered, Blaze tracks down what Lucifer believes is his final host and defeats it, exploiting the fact that Lucifer is only at half-strength. As soon as Johnny kills this host, Dixie and a group of local police are able to kill the brain-damaged Lucifer fragment – who now possesses the full soul of the devil but is in no condition to use that power – and send him back to Hell.[43]

Seven Riders show their flaming heads for the first time in this story arc by writer Jason Aaron and artist Tan Eng Huat. 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, one of which 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 a few 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.[44]

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 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.[45]

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 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 until 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.[46]

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 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.[47]

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 spider-sense 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.[48]

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 Skinbender. 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 that he transform into the Ghost Rider. When he does, she breaks down crying, claiming that he is the most beautiful thing she had ever seen and begs for him to speak. He simply responds 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 Skinbender, 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.[49]

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.[50]

During the "Shadowland" storyline, Kingpin and Lady Bullseye perform a ritual which brings back Ghost Rider in a plot to attack the Hand.[51] 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 a 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.[52]

During the "Fear Itself" storyline, 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 ambivalent to the man's gesture, thinking there was a catch to his offer, but Adam simply put 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. In Dayton, Ohio when Sin (in the form of Skadi) attacks the city, she fights a new female Ghost Rider. After the female Ghost Rider is defeated, Mephisto appears before Johnny Blaze stating that he has damned the human race and will help Johnny out.[53]

Explaining that 'Adam' was the original Adam, Mephisto reveals that the new Ghost Rider is a girl named Alejandra that Adam has raised in isolation for years, intending to use her to purge the world of sin, unconcerned about the fact that this will deprive humanity of free will.[54] Despite his distaste at working with Mephisto for anything – the devil's motives clarified as being to preserve his own existence – Blaze is able to convince Alejandra to abandon Adam's plan after she renders an entire town catatonic. However, although Johnny was initially willing to let her serve as the new Ghost Rider, when her attempt to regain the town's lost sin nearly sends the world to Hell – her efforts only being narrowly defeated by the new Venom, Red Hulk and X-23 – Blaze is finally convinced by Doctor Strange to take back the Ghost Rider mantle, following Alejandra into Hell as she attempts to kill Mephisto and regaining the full power of the Ghost Rider, although Alejandra retains a fragment of its power for herself.[55]

Much later, Ghost Rider joins Red Hulk's Thunderbolts to help take out Mercy, when she was unleashed.[2] During a mission in which General Ross is searching for his missing men in an ancient temple in the South American jungles, the Leader incites a spell that momentarily removes the flame from Johnny Blaze. In the brief moment where he has lost the Spirit of Vengeance, Blaze is brutally torn apart and killed by a swamp demon.[56]

General Ross is the only one to survive the mission and comes face to face with Mansuco, one of the men he was looking for that acquired divine powers. Mancuso gives Ross the option to either die on the spot or erase the mission from history. Ross chooses to erase the mission from the timestream returning Johnny Blaze to life.[57]

Following several other missions, the Punisher quit the Thunderbolts, only to find that his safehouse had been booby-trapped and destroyed.[volume & issue needed] Setting out for revenge on the Thunderbolts for the attack, Punisher attempted to slay the Ghost Rider with Mephisto's sword, which he got from Zadkiel. Ghost Rider thwarted this attempt, but ultimately Punisher was able to release Johnny from the Spirit of Vengeance by decapitating his flaming skull with his own chain.[volume & issue needed] The curse once again leaves Johnny, only to return to him by the series' end.[58]

In All New, All-Different Marvel, Johnny learns of the new Ghost Rider in East Los Angeles.[59] When confronting Reyes, Johnny realizes that this new Ghost Rider is a body indwelt by two human souls.[60] Once he finally learns the identities of these two souls—those being the soul of the serial killer Eli Morrow and his host, Robbie Reyes—Johnny decides to help Reyes learn how to be a true Ghost Rider by controlling his inner evil. Johnny helps Reyes fight Eli's former Russian mob allies and Mister Hyde. When Robbie finally gains control over Eli's soul, the Ghost Riders bid him farewell, Johnny telling the young new Ghost Rider if he has trouble again to call on his fellow Ghost Riders.[61]

During the "Damnation" storyline, Ghost Rider joins up with Wong's incarnation of the Midnight Sons when Mephisto and Hotel Inferno manifest in Las Vegas.[62] While the Midnight Sons and Scarlet Spider fight the demons, Ghost Rider rides his motorcycle to the top of Hotel Inferno to confront Mephisto. After Mephisto removes the Ghost Rider spell from Johnny Blaze, he throws Blaze from the roof.[63] After Johnny was thrown off the roof, he passes away. This is all part of Wong's plan. In Hell, Johnny Blaze finds the now-independent Spirit of Vengeance and persuades him to help reach Mephisto's throne. The two of them combine together and make their way through the circles of Hell until they reach Mephisto's throne.[64] Upon Doctor Strange defeating him, Mephisto fled back to his realm where he was defeated by Johnny Blaze and the different Ghost Riders from across the Multiverse. After Johnny Blaze sent Mephisto back to Earth, he was kept at the top of Hotel Inferno in countless restraints as Hotel Inferno remained on Earth.[65]

When Cosmic Ghost Rider arrives in Hell, he is welcomed by its current ruler Johnny Blaze.[66]

During the events of Absolute Carnage, Johnny (via an astral projection) asks Danny Ketch to find and help a former Ghost Rider, Alejandra Jones, who is being attacked by Carnage.[67]

When a group of Demons escape Hell through a portal, Johnny follows them in order to send them back. He encounters Danny Ketch fight kill one of the Demons he's hunting and the two talk about the Spirit of Vengeance, with Johnny disappointed that Danny doesn't embrace his role as Ghost Rider. He leaves after spotting a Demon in a human disguise and after failing to get the location of the other Demons, Johnny uses his Damnation Stare to kill it. His time in Hell has corrupted him, changing the Ghost Rider's skull to one with a horned and crown appearance. Johnny finds another Demon, who tells him of the location of a huge Demon gathering. Johnny kills it and proceeds to kill the others as well until Danny arrives to stop him, believing he's killing innocent people. The two fight and after a bike chase, Johnny strips the Spirit of Vengeance from Danny. Afterwards, Johnny ponders where the find the other Demons and how they could've escaped Hell, coming to the conclusion that there's only one who can help him: Mephisto. Riding to Vegas, Johnny kills two more Demons and arrives at the Hotel Inferno and is confronted by Wong. The two are attacked by more Demons and afterwards, Johnny and Wong fight one another, with the former winning after chaining and using the Penance Stare on Wong. Johnny frees Mephisto from his prison and drags him in chains behind him.[68

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Postmortem: Hell to Watch

Helstrom is unwatchable. I tried. It was f*cking boring. I’m not going to properly review this show because it was a chore just to get through but, suffice it to say, this one is a pass. I don’t think this is a thing that can be attributed to Marvel though, this definitely smacks of Fox incompetence, but, either way, it’s bad, man. I like some things about this show, mostly the chick who plays Satana, Sydney Lemmon. She’s very good in the role and uplifts the weak ass writing she’s forced to endure. The dude that plays Damon, though? Big yikes! This dude is kind of the worst. I thought he had potential with that opening scene, but that’s nowhere near who the character turned out to be. It doesn’t help that Tom Austin is a f*cking plank of wood the entire time. This show was such a disappointment and it didn’t have to be. I mean, the Helstrom kids are literally the antichrists. How do you make something boring out of that start? This Postmortem will diverge a little bit from y usual format because, I mean, the problems are way to numerous so this is just the things I would do differently.

Branding

Sh*t is mad whack because Marvel had an opportunity here. Daimon Hellstrom is a terrible character, definitely D-list Marvel all the way, but with a bit of retooling, this could have been intriguing. immediately, Daimon needs a retool. I’d change the spelling of his name to Damon Helstrom, the “I” is ridiculous. I understand why its there but it looks ridiculous. I would definitely call the show Hellstrom with the extra”L”. Hellstrom has more of an impact that Helstrom. It just hits different to the eye. That’s branding stuff but the character, itself, needs a once over. Marvel needs a John Constantine. Part of the reason why i think Hellstrom works is because of Constantine’s Hellblazer. This version of the character would effectively be the same type of character; Freelance demonologist with conflicting ties to the world he persecutes. The difference being, while Constantine is a fraud, Hellstrom is a literal Prince of Hell.

Characters

Constantine relies on his wit and guile to effectively outsmart the devils he hunts. Hellstrom would not. He would use the rituals and gadgets and pslams or whatever but, when push comes to shove, he’d just brute forces that sh*t. We need more Daimon from the first episode, short-tempered and a little bit of a dick, utilizing his abilities against formidable opponents. We definitely need less of the poorly scripted family drama that permeates this show. Daimon would have to hate who he is He knows he is the literal son of Satan, destined to lead the world to oblivion, but refuses to acknowledge that destiny, thus is demon-hunting. Daimon would absolutely have to be plagued by his power, taunted by the more powerful demons that make it out of hell, fighting against the more violent tendencies he feels whenever his power activates. Daimon has to be seen walking that edge between savior and destroyer because that’s what his character entails. Until you realize he has a sister.

Personally, i would have kept the bones of this shows, the whole investigative/X-Files thing going on, but you need a compelling, overarching plot. All of that family drama detracts from Daimon and his far more interesting demon hunting outings. That said, i would completely abandon all of it. That overarching plot? Yeah, that’s him chasing after Satana. The family connection would need to be substantially tighter for this plot to work because Daimon would be chasing his sister across the world. For this first season, i would start off by only eluding to Ana Hellstrom. It would only be hints, a introspective look at something which reminds him of his sister or something said in passing about a long lost sibling, all the while dreading the fact that this increase in demonic activity might really be Ana’s fault. I would establish that Satana is the twin, not the younger sibling, of Daimon and therefore has all of the rights to the same broken crown that was thrust upon Him. Ana is, in effect, a spare heir but, instead of the conflict that plagued Daimon, Ana embraced her demonic nature early on. She didn’t even fight it and has become somewhat of a Goblin Queen, commanding an army of Lesser Demons.

Power Visualization

I suppose this is spot is as good as any to establish the Hellstrom twins’ powers. So Daimon would literally be a powerhouse. As a Hell-Prince, he’s be able to wield Hellfire at will, conjuring it up from the Nether when ever he needs to battle a proper demon. The fact that he refuses to acknowledge this power means he never trained to properly utilize these powers, making it incredibly difficult for him to properly control and it leaves Daimon incredibly exhausted. To avert this fatigue in battle, he relies on his enhanced physical abilities, the pslams he learned as a church sanctioned exorcist, and a spear fashioned from a mystical allow he charges with hellfire called Phlegathon. This spear would probably be the primary form of combat as it would be cheap to produce and you can have some rather dope action choreography. Daimon is the force to subjugate made manifest.

Ana’s powers are nowhere near as direct. She doesn’t gave any fancy weapons or commands hellfire or anything like that. Satana is the manifestation of the authority of rule. She can conjure and subjugate any demon of a lower station. This is the nuclear option of her ability; An army of semi-powerful familiars. He brother inherited the physical prowess of their father but she was gifted his charisma. This manifest as passive ability which makes those of weak will bow to hers almost instantly. Ana has used this power, in conjunction with her summon abilities, to carve out a pretty decent life and a less than flattering reputation in certain circles. Obviously, she’d have a go-to Demon who’s possessed some poor meat sack. I’m thinking Xuthl, former Hell-Lord who was deposed by the angelic Lucifer after he was cast down, further humiliated by his daughter, Satana’s subjugation. Xuthl is the muscle for Ana, matching Daimon, and most demonic forces, in physical prowess.

Narrative

I think that initial plot would have to follow Hellstrom investigating an ever increasing series of violent possessions and demonic events, all the while seeing him question if his sister can actually be involved. her unique power and unrestricted use of it throughout her life, makes Ana the perfect suspect for this spike in demon activity. We’d see Daimon using Phlegathon maybe twice early on, culminating in an all-out brawl at the mid-season finale, or episode six, with Xuthl as Satana escaped. Daimon would lose this fight, eventually going berserk, unleashing his true Son of Satan form, rampaging all over Xuthl until Ana uses her powers to force Daimon back to consciousness. The next episode would have the twins reconciling as Xuthl heals. Ana would explain that the events aren’t tied to her, that she was investigating in her own way, but the true culprit was always one step ahead of her. The siblings would realize that it had to be another Hell-Prince and resolved to work together until the end of this case. The season would continue with a kind of buddy cop dynamic, SatAna taking on the more John Constantine mannerisms and Daimon staying his stoic and easily angered self. Xuthl would be caught in the middle. The penultimate episode would reveal that the main antagonist was Blackheart, Mephisto’s kid. He’d literally tear Xuthl  apart leading into the finale. This thing would be a spectacle of the Blackheart in his full demonic form and Daimon fully embracing his Son of Satan form, dooking it out while Satana used her abilities to open a portal to hell. Daimon sacrifices himself by falling into the portal holding Blackheart, leaving Satana all alone in the world as the only Hellstrom and a wide open narrative going into season two. I would have a post credit stinger of Johnny Blaze, introduced earlier in the season during one of the initial three or four episodes, waking up in a cold sweat, going to the bathroom to splash some water in his face, only to look up at he mirror and see Zarathos. Not Ghost Rider, that comes later, but the demon that powers it, Zarathos. Cut to black, first season over.

This is all hindsight because the show has already released but, i think I've built a far more compelling, far more engaging narrative than what we got. The tone and aesthetic was spot on, i freely admit that. but everything else was just mediocre. With my version, you get great, recognizable branding, a plot that has enough action to keep interests, drama that compels people to continue the binge, and a conclusion that leaves the door open for a second season without presuming it will get one. There is enough here to explore and enough lore introduced to build from but, at he same time, never overextending with the assumption of success. You get to see a ton of that aspect of Marvel that they kind of don’t deal in; Black Heart, Ghost Rider, Hell-Lords, demons, etc. There is a rich and unique spin on that type of stuff and this show, this pedestrian ass, bitterly restrained, budget take on what could have been a real ride.

[battlevann]

*makes u look at them*

silly little Zarathos and Johnny doodle

[council--board]

inbox check! roughly around 8 requests

my requests are currently closed

- Two from The Power Of Two

- Johnny Blaze x Zarathos from Ghost Rider

- Error Sans from Errortale

- AM from I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream

- Gourmand kid, rain world

- Fortuna from Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood

- Ferret [whoever requested this, thank you]

- Cherrybomb [artificer x hunter] from Rain World

[battlevann]

forcing myself to get back into writing with some johnny/zarathos stuff. its really short and definitely ooc, but im semi happy with it

[dailymarvelcharacter]

Ghost Rider

Johnathon ‘Johnny’ Blaze

Powers: Superhuman strength, stamina, durability, agility, healing, dimensional travel, healing and hellfire manipulation.

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. 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.

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.

Years later  after the death of his adopted father, 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 realised 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.

(x)

[sir-david-von-templo]

In the Earth-X comics, and their sequels, Universe-X and Paradise-X, this is exactly how mutation works. In the past, the Celestials experimented on humanity, implanting the X-gene in almost all of them. A mutant is a human in who the X-gene do not need a powerful catalyst like Gamma Radiation, Cosmic Rays, Terrigen Mist, magic, mad science experiments to manifest, but the simple stress of puberty and growing up is enough. But, the nature of the powers developed, without exception, is defined by the perception of the mutated own self and its surroundings. Reed Richards always prided of his flexible mind, so his body became flexible as well. Sue Storm was very insecure about herself when first dating Reed, so she developed invisibility powers. Ben Grimm felt stupid and ugly compared to his best friend, so he become The Thing. Peter Parker was bitten by a spider, so logically, he would develop spider-like abilities. Johnny Blaze felt survivor guilt over most of his loved ones dying in motorcycle accidents, so he became a flaming skeleton riding a motorcycle (no Zarathos in this version). I think we all get the idea.

If you think about who Telepaths are they’re usually white and middle class. Betsy, Emma, Charles and Jean etc

My headcanon is that mutations develop depending on what you need survive, hence why Magneto can control metal

So stemming from that headcanon, the reason telepathy is a white middle class trait predominantly because they already hold power so the telepathy is developed as a form of survival of keeping their station, manipulating the power systems

Ok so I know it makes no sense! Yes I know.

But all powers come from having the X gene but how do different powers develop from one gene etc?

NO IT ACTUALLY MAKES A LOT OF SENSE n it provides a nice explanation for why different powers develop from one gene i think. also i think it esp makes sense for mutants who have their powers manifest during feelings of fear/anger/anxiousness too

[battlevann]

where are the johnny/zarathos shippers??

[battlevann]

you guys don't understand the romance behind Zarathos and Johnny's bind