When innocent blood is spilled, bad-boy biker John Blaze finds himself transformed into a skeletal fire demon thundering through the night on a mystical motorcycle of pure hellfire. As Ghost Rider, he avenges just souls tarnished by the touch of evil!

Real name: John "Johnny" Blaze / the demon Zarathos
Occupation: Drifter, former motorcycle stuntman / Spirit of Vengeance, Angel of Death
Group affiliation: None, formerly the Champions of Los Angeles
Base of operations: Mobile
First appearance: Marvel Spotlight (Vol. 1) #5 (1972)

Height: 5'2" as Blaze, 6' 2" as Ghost Rider
Weight: 180 lbs. as Blaze, unrevealed as Ghost Rider
Eye color: Blue as Blaze, flaming red as Ghost Rider
Hair color: Red-blond as Blaze, none as Ghost Rider

Powers: Besides possessing superhuman strength, speed and durability, Ghost Rider can force criminals to experience a level of emotional pain equivalent to that which they have caused in others as a result of their illegal or immoral actions.

Weapons: Dropping the hammer on a hog from Hell, Ghost Rider wields a length of heavy chain imbued with magical properties.

History: John Blaze was orphaned when his father, the star of Crash Simpson's Daredevil Cycle Show, died attempting to defy the laws of gravity and physics. Adopted by the carnival's proprietor, Crash Simpson, the youngster mastered the tricks of the motorcycle-stunt trade in short order. Years later, he learned that his foster father was dying of a rare blood disease. Acting on his longtime preoccupation with the occult, Blaze recreated an ancient ritual to summon the demon Mephisto and bartered his immortal soul for a miracle cure.

Blaze's sacrifice of self was for naught: A rejuvenated Crash plummeted to his death in the midst of the most ambitious motorcycle stunt of his storied career. Having deceived Blaze into forfeiting his soul under false pretenses, Mephisto materialized to claim his prize. But Crash's daughter, Roxxane, expelled the hellspawn from the mortal plane by reciting a banishment spell she had gleaned from one of Blaze's books. Although unable to take possession of his intended bounty, Mephisto grafted the essence of the demon Zarathos to Blaze's body. Thereafter, the melding of spirits would manifest itself every nightfall in the form of Ghost Rider, avenging Angel of Death.

For years, Blaze and Zarathos wrestled for control of Ghost Rider, alternately asserting authority over the Spirit of Vengeance. All the while, Blaze struggled valiantly to prevent the demon from wrecking havoc. Eventually exorcising Zarathos, Ghost Rider's human half bought out the stunt show he had called home as a youth and married Roxxane; they had two children.

Ghost Rider roared to life once again when teenager Dan Ketch and his sister, Barbara, chanced upon the illegal activities of the crime lord Deathwatch. The siblings attempted to escape, but Barbara Ketch was mortally wounded. Soaked in blood after dragging his sister's body into a trash heap, Dan Ketch came across a mysterious, mystical motorcycle. Touching its glowing gas cap, he stood transformed into the Spirit of Vengeance. Ghost Rider's return attracted the attention of Blaze, who believed him to be Zarathos. Blaze set out to exorcise the demon, thereby liberating its hapless host. But when Ghost Rider convinced his predecessor he was not Zarathos, the two became allies. Later, Blaze and Ketch learned they were long-lost brothers.

Having lost his wife and children, Blaze again finds himself possessed by the demon Zarathos. And so Ghost Rider -- blood-born Spirit of Vengeance, High Lord of Hell on Earth -- haunts America's highways, visiting his righteous wrath upon the souls of the wicked and the damned.