| "Ghost Rider" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ghost Rider | |
| Title: | "Ghost Rider" |
| Volume: | 1 |
| Number: | 1 |
| Cover price: | $5.99 |
| Cover date: | March, 2012 |
| Publisher: | Marvel Comics |
| Credits | |
| Chief: | Axel Alonso |
| Writers: | Gary Friedrich; Roy Thomas; Howard Mackie |
| Pencilers: | Mike Ploog; Javier Saltares |
| Inkers: | Mike Ploog; Mark Texeira |
| Cover artists: | Leinil Francis Yu |
| Cover inker: | Leinil Francis Yu |
| Cover colorist: | Morry Hollowell |
| Colorists: | Gregory Wright |
| Letterers: | Jon Costa; Michael Heisler |
| Original editors: | Stan Lee; Bobbie Chase |
| Editors: | Mark D. Beazley; Jennifer Grunwald |
| Group editor: | Jeff Youngquist |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | — |
| Next: | — |
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Synopsis[]
The demonic debuts of the original Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, and his grim successor, Dan Ketch! Johnny reclaims the power of his birthright - just in time to face down hell itself!
"Ghost Rider"[]
| "Ghost Rider" | |
|---|---|
| No image available | |
| Title: | "Ghost Rider" |
| Credits | |
| Writers: | Gary Friedrich |
| Pencilers: | Mike Ploog |
| Inkers: | Mike Ploog |
| Letterers: | Jon Costa |
| Editors: | Stan Lee |
The mysterious Ghost Rider rides his motorcycle through the rainy streets of New York. He witnesses two thugs murder a pedestrian and decides to exact vengeance upon them. The thugs take notice of him and decide to kill the only witness to their crime. The Ghost Rider leads them on a chase through the back alleys, luring them into a trap. Once he has them cornered, he creates a ring of Hellfire to keep them contained. As the morning approaches, the Ghost Rider knows that he will soon return to his human form and he rides back to his apartment where he transforms back into his true identity, Johnny Blaze. Johnny reflects upon the events that first turned him into the Ghost Rider.
Origin
- When Johnny was ten-years-old, his father Barton Blaze was a world famous motorcycle stunt rider. Unfortunately, those in that profession have notoriously short life spans and Blaze tragically died performing a stunt. Johnny went to live with the Simpson family, which consisted of fellow stunt rider Crash Simpson, his wife, and his daughter, Roxanne. Johnny took up the family's trade, and began practicing on a motorcycle. He practiced stunt riding for five years until one year, when he was fifteen, he was performing a stunt with Roxanne when his motorcycle caught fire. He pushed Roxanne to safety then angled the bike towards a tree. Roxanne's mother rushed over to save him, but the cycle exploded, gravely injuring her. On her deathbed, Mrs. Simpson made Johnny promise to never perform in the stunt show ever again. She passed away soon after.
- For the next five years, Johnny kept his promise, but never told Crash or Roxanne of the vow he had made. Both of them began to think that Johnny was a coward for not riding any longer. Crash took it particularly hard. Johnny re-evaluated the vow he made and while he had promised to never again perform in the show, he never promised that he wouldn't ride at all. He began practicing his stunts again, but in secret. When Roxanne found out, she was greatly relieved to see that Johnny was not a coward and the two began to fall in love.
- Their circuit became large enough that they were able to book a show at Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately, Crash Simpson discovered that he was dying of an incurable illness and had less than a month to live. Nothing could be done to save him, so Johnny turned towards the most unlikely resource of all – the occult. Having spent some time reading about Satanic rituals, he summoned forth Lucifer himself and bargained his own soul in order to cure Crash from the disease that was killing him.
- Crash, unaware that he had been cured, decided to go out in a blaze of glory by performing an over-the-top, high-risk motorcycle stunt – Jumping twenty-two cars. Johnny and Roxanne tried to talk him out of it, but Crash wouldn't hear of it. Johnny wasn't truly worried though as he believed the Devil would protect him. Crash performed the stunt and failed to jump all twenty-two cars. His cycle crashed and exploded and Crash died. Johnny was furious at this seeming betrayal on the part of the Devil. Lucifer came to collect Johnny's soul and reminded him that he only agreed to cure Crash of the disease. He made no guarantees that Crash wouldn’t die from some other means. Lucifer used his powers to place a curse on Johnny Blaze. At that moment, Roxanne appeared in Johnny’s trailer. She was schooled in the occult herself and knew that only someone with a pure heart could drive the Devil away. She spoke a hurried and incantation and forced Lucifer to disappear. The damage had already been done though. That night, Johnny Blaze became the Devil's servant of darkness, transforming into the Ghost Rider for the very first time.
Back in the present, night falls and Johnny once again turns into the Ghost Rider. He reads the newspaper and learns that the thugs he terrorized had given his description to the police. He decides that he can no longer stay in New York and rides off.
Featured characters
Supporting characters
Villains
Minor characters
Organizations
Races
Locations
Items
Vehicles
Miscellaneous
"Life's Blood"[]
| "Life's Blood" | |
|---|---|
| No image available | |
| Title: | "Life's Blood" |
| Credits | |
| Writers: | Howard Mackie |
| Pencilers: | Javier Saltares |
| Inkers: | Mark Texeira |
| Colorists: | Gregory Wright |
| Letterers: | Michael Heisler |
| Editors: | Bobbie Chase |
Danny Ketch and his older sister Barbara stroll through Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn on Halloween eve looking to find the grave of Harry Houdini. They come upon a low-level street gang known as the Cypress Pool Jokers who are dressed in masks and itching to start some trouble. They antagonize Dan and Barbara for a bit, forcing them to run off towards Gallagher's Junkyard. Moments later, they hear a gunshot and the cries of someone in pain. They peer over a pile of debris and see a masked criminal named Deathwatch squaring off against three armed combatants. The armed men are in possession of a silver briefcase that they recently liberated from Deathwatch and his cronies. Deathwatch snaps his fingers and his lieutenants appear from within the shadows and begin taking down the armed men. Barbara lets out a cry of shock and Deathwatch takes note of her. He orders his men to kill all witnesses and one of them fires a crossbow bolt that strikes Barbara in the chest. Fearful, Dan drags her down behind the junkyard debris for some cover. Deathwatch's men recover the stolen briefcase and converge on Dan and Barbara's position, hoping to ferret them out.
Dan pulls Barbara into a ditch and props her up against an abandoned motorcycle. As Barbara's blood spills upon the gas tank, Dan cries that he would do anything to save her. Suddenly, the motorcycle begins to glow and light begins bursting out of Danny Ketch's body. Within seconds he finds himself transformed into the Spirit of Vengeance known as the Ghost Rider. The Ghost Rider sits Barbara's prone body upon the cycle, which is now bathed in a halo of Hellfire and rides out into the open. Deathwatch's masked underlings confront him, but the Ghost Rider produces a length of chain and uses it to batter down his opponents. The police arrive, but the Ghost Rider will not be deterred. He leaves Barbara with the police then rides off. Several squad cars follow him through Queens, but the Ghost Rider easily outmaneuvers them. Once he reaches a safe distance, he dismounts the cycle and transforms back into Danny Ketch.
Later, Deathwatch's goons return to their master's Wall Street penthouse office. They tell their boss that they failed to recover the briefcase. Deathwatch uses his psychic powers on one of his underlings and sees visions of their fight against the Ghost Rider. He sees that the briefcase came into the possession of one of the female members of the Cypress Pool Jokers. Angered by their incompetence, he kills the one responsible for losing the case and instructs the others to find the girl and the case.
Meanwhile, the true owner of the briefcase and it's contents, Wilson Fisk, works out in his private dojo. Wilson Fisk is one of the most powerful underworld figures in New York and has earned himself the nickname of the Kingpin of Crime. One of his men interrupts his workout to tell him that the briefcase had been stolen from his courier by a group of masked men. In an uncharacteristic display of nervousness, Fisk stresses the importance of recovering that case at all costs.
As the evening wears on, the young woman who now possesses the case, Paulie, meets up with the other Cypress Pool Jokers at Salem Fields in Cypress Hills Cemetery. She shows the case to her friends, suspecting that it might be filled with money or drugs. When they open it however, all they find are three metal canisters.
The following day, Danny Ketch goes to St. John's Hospital to see his sister. Police detective Captain Arthur Dolan is present with his daughter Stacy. Danny's mother is present as well and they tell him that Barbara is in critical, but stable condition. He visits her room and solemnly blames himself for what has happened. He recalls becoming the Ghost Rider, but is scared and confused as to how and why it happened.
Elsewhere, the Kingpin's men track down Paulie and the other Cypress Pool Jokers. Deathwatch's men arrive on the scene as well and a firefight breaks out between the three gangs. One of Deathwatch's brood hurls a dagger that strikes the Joker known as Ralphie in the chest. Paulie rushes to his side and tries to help him.
From out of nowhere, the Ghost Rider roars up on his cycle and dives into the fray. He first attacks Deathwatch's brood, slinging his chain, which fires its own links as projectile weapons then mystically reconstitutes itself. The leader of Fisk's group produces a rocket launcher and fires it at Ghost Rider, but the demonic leather-clad figure emerges from the blast unscathed. The thug then gets the drop on Paulie and forces her at gunpoint to tell him where the canisters are. She reveals that the canisters were hidden in three separate locations in the cemetery, but she only knows the location of one of them. Ghost Rider approaches and knocks the goon out with his chain. He picks up the dying Ralphie and carries him to St. John's Hospital. Paulie elects to go with him. Nobody knows what to make of him as he lays the boy's body down on a gurney.
The following day, Captain Dolan reads the Daily Bugle report concerning last evening's incident. He brands the Ghost Rider as a vigilante and blames him for putting Barbara Ketch in the hospital. Danny tries to explain to Dolan that Ghost Rider was fighting to protect the innocent, but he is careful not to reveal how he knows so much about the mysterious skull-faced hero.
Independently, both the Kingpin and Deathwatch consolidate their efforts towards locating the elusive silver canisters.
Featured characters
Supporting characters
Villains
- Deathwatch
- Wilson Fisk
- Carl (Dies)
Minor characters
- Angel
- Johnny (Dies)
- Pauline Stratton
- Ralphie D'Amato
- Francis Ketch
- Jimmy
- Chapman
- Kenji
Organizations
Races
Locations
Items
Vehicles
Powers
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of Danny Ketch, the Ghost Rider, was created by writer Howard Mackie and artists Javier Saltares and Mark Texeira. He first appeared in Ghost Rider, Volume 3 #1 in May, 1990 in a story titled "Life's Blood". He was the main character from that series and also had a co-starring role in the companion title Ghost Rider & Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance.
- This issue reprints the first appearance of Johnny Blaze from Marvel Spotlight #5 and the first appearance of Danny Ketch from Ghost Rider, Volume 3 #1.
- The sub-title of this volume has a double meaning. "Cycle" refers to a span of time, but is also the shortened form for motorcycle. Got it?