GHOST RIDER II (Johnny Blaze)- 1970s Version
Created By: Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich & Mike Ploog
First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight #5 (Aug. 1972)
Role: '70s Super-Hero
Group Affiliation: The Champions, The Midnight Sons, The Defenders, The Legion of Monsters, The Heroes For Hire
PL 9 (180)
STRENGTH 8
STAMINA --
AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10
DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3
AWARENESS 3
PRESENCE 3
Skills:
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Demonic Lore) 2 (+5)
Expertise (Stuntman) 8 (+10)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 5 (+8)
Perception 1 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Hellfire) 2 (+10)
Vehicles 10 (+15) -- Flaws: Limited to Ground Vehicles
Advantages:
Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Equipment 2 (Motorbike), Move-By Action, Ranged Attack 3, Skill Mastery (Vehicles), Ultimate Vehicles Skill, Startle
Powers:
Soulfire Blast 8 (Extras: Will Save) (24) -- [25]
- AE: Hellfire Blast 8 (Feats: Penetrating 4) (20)
Regeneration 4 (Feats: Regrow Limbs) [5]
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 8 [8]
"Frickin' Sweet Ride"
Speed 8 (500 mph) (Flaws: Requires Bike) [4]
Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling, Water-Walking) (Flaws: Requires Bike) [2]
"Ride Through Flames" Damage 8 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Shapeable +2) (Flaws: Limited to Movement Path, Requires Bike) [8]
Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Hellfire +10 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Soulfire +10 (+8 Ranged Will Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +5
Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +8, Fortitude --, Will +7
Complications:
Involuntary Transformation (Ghost Rider)- Johnny Blaze will transform into Ghost Rider any time he needs to punish the evil. Blaze's own stats are STR 2 & STA 4- the rest are the same.
Enemy (Zarathos)- Blaze hates the Demon Zarathos for possessing him for years.
Enemy (Mephisto)- Mephisto technically has ownership over Blaze's soul, but the power of Roxanne's love drives the demon away.
Relationship (Roxanne, Stepsister)- Johnny & Roxanne are step-siblings, but also desperately in love. They eventually marry and have two children.
Total: Abilities: 64 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 82 / Defenses: 9 (180)
-The first flaming-headed Ghost Rider was another supernatural 1970s hero, who lasted quite a while (81 issues). His creation is a bit tricky, as Roy Thomas & Gary Friedrich have both suggested they came up with the flaming skull motif (mainly because Friedrich keeps trying to sue over the movie rights). Johnny Blaze sold his soul to Mephisto (at the time, it was believed to be Satan himself) in order to cure his stepfather Crash Simpson's cancer, only for Crash to die in a stunt mere days later. Mephisto could not take Johnny's soul properly, since the purity of his stepsister Roxanne's love for him drove the Devil-Guy away, so he bonded Blaze to the Demon Zarathos instead, as Zarathos had been pissing him off lately.
-Johnny was thus cursed to be a demonic warrior much of the time- his head would light afire (similar to the Blazing Skull- an unsuccessful Golden Age hero for Marvel's predecessor, Timely Comics), and cursed to transform and fight evil any time it was near. He proved to be popular enough to get his own ongoing, despite a revolving door of writers. Tony Isabella controversially wrote a long arc which featured a guy named "The Friend", who was clearly meant to be Jesus Christ Himself, helping Blaze in his adventures. Isabella had planned to allow Blaze to accept Jesus into his life, giving him the strength to overcome Satan, but he claims that Jim Shooter (there's that name again) put the kibosh on that story, "ripped it to pieces" and had art redrawn. The Friend was revealed to be not Jesus, but a demon in disguise. "To this day, I consider what he did to my story one of the three most arrogant and wrongheaded actions I've ever seen from an editor", says Isabella. Now, I'm thinking that Shooter was concerned about prosletyzing in comic books, or was afraid of writers pushing their own religion on the books.
-Ghost Rider engaged in a handful of adventures, even joining the oddball team The Champions in the 1970s. He came to own the carnival where he was a stunt-rider, engaging in a few adventures that way. Blaze ended his career when Zarathos finally fled his body in 1983, the end of the series. He settled down with his girlfriend Roxanne, and disappeared until the modern incarnation of Ghost Rider in 1991.
-The '70s Ghost Rider is okay, but not really super-powerful- the 1970s was truly the era of STREET-LEVEL fighters, with Ghost Rider, Iron Fist, Luke Cage and others all effectively being PL 9 guys. Heck, Spider-Man & Daredevil had prime eras here as well, and were about the same (though Spidey probably made PL 10). Despite his lower PL, he's quite pricey given all the Undead/Blaster stuff on him.
-The Bike mechanics are a bit funny, but basically a Ghost Rider can touch any motorbike and turn it into the "Hellcycle" or whatever you wanna call it. He gains these powers (basically enhanced Speed, Movement and an Area Damage effect), but only if he has a bike with him to turn.
JOHNNY BLAZE
Created By: Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich & Mike Ploog
First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight #5 (Aug. 1972)
Role: '70s Super-Hero, Blaster, Gun Guy
Group Affiliation: The Champions, The Midnight Sons, The Defenders, The Legion of Monsters, The Heroes For Hire
PL 10 (136)
STRENGTH 2
STAMINA 4
AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10
DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3
AWARENESS 3
PRESENCE 3
Skills:
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Demonic Lore) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Streetwise) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Stuntman) 8 (+10)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Investigation 2 (+5)
Perception 3 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Guns) 2 (+12)
Vehicles 10 (+15) -- Flaws: Limited to Ground Vehicles
Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Equipment 3 (Motorbike), Improved Critical (Hellfire Gun), Improved Smash, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 5, Skill Mastery (Vehicles), Ultimate Vehicles Skill, Startle
Powers:
"Hellfire-Spitting Pump-Gun" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [15]
Soulfire Blast 8 (Extras: Will Save) (24) -- (25 points)
- AE: Hellfire Blast 8 (Feats: Penetrating 4) (20)
Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Hellfire Gun +12 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Soulfire +12 (+8 Ranged Will Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +5
Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +8
Complications:
Enemy (Zarathos)- Blaze hates the Demon Zarathos for possessing him for years.
Relationship (Danny Ketch)- Blaze and Ketch became great allies during their ride as "Spirts of Vengeance", and later discovered they were long-lost brothers.
Relationship (Roxanne, Stepsister)- Johnny & Roxanne are step-siblings, but also desperately in love. They eventually marry and have two children.
Total: Abilities: 70 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 19 / Powers: 15 / Defenses: 13 (136)
-After his retirement, Blaze was gone for almost the entirety of the 1980s, and only revealed himself anew when Ghost Rider was revived in the form of Danny Ketch in the 1990s. Blaze soon showed up as a sunglasses-wearing, stubble-having grim bad-ass with a longcoat and a motorbike (doing his best imitation of EVERY OTHER FREAKING CHARACTER IN 1990S COMICS!!!). He started out hunting GR (thinking he was Zarathos returned), but eventually aided the new hero against various enemies. Thus,
Ghost Rider became a Team Book of sorts, with the pair becoming the Spirits of Vengeance (even getting an ongoing under that title, making GR one of a tiny handful of Marvel heroes with more than one book).
-Time would reveal that Blaze & Ketch were in fact brothers, a silly Retcon that didn't need to be made- Johnny's mother had run off with Danny and his sister, leaving Johnny to be raised by a stepfamily. Roxanne would go the way of most comic book love interests (ie. she died), leading Blaze to enact bloody revenge on the demons responsible, but she was returned to life by the finale of Ketch's series. Despite that, the character was largely ignored, and subsequent stories basically didn't even mention her- it was only revealed much later that she was dead, along with their two children.
-The gritty human Johnny Blaze was basically a human-level Gunfighter (but with a REALLY powerful gun) who was a strong ally for Ghost Rider, though a bit under-PL on defense. Despite that, he's much more skilled and full of Advantages compared to his '70s self- the years made him a better, more knowledeable fighter.
uh-oh-- Sailor Venus better run.
GHOST RIDER II (Johnny Blaze)- Modern Version
Created By: Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich & Mike Ploog
First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight #5 (Aug. 1972)
Role: Mystical Super-Hero
Group Affiliation: The Champions, The Midnight Sons, The Defenders, The Legion of Monsters, The Heroes For Hire
PL 13 (243)
STRENGTH 8
STAMINA --
AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10
DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3
AWARENESS 3
PRESENCE 3
Skills:
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Demonic Lore) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Streetwise) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Stuntman) 8 (+10)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Investigation 2 (+5)
Perception 3 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+4)
Vehicles 10 (+15) -- Flaws: Limited to Ground Vehicles
Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Equipment 3 (Motorbike), Improved Critical (Hellfire), Improved Smash, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 5, Skill Mastery (Vehicles), Ultimate Vehicles Skill, Startle
Powers:
"The Penance Stare" Affliction 13 (Will; Dazed & Vulnerable/Stunned & Defenseless/Incapacitated) (Feats: Incurable) (Extras: Perception Range +2, Extra Condition) (Flaws: Visual Sense-Dependent) (Quirks: Limited to Amount of Pain Target Has Caused -1) Linked to Blast 8 (Feats: Incurable) (Extras: Perception Range, Will Save) (Flaws: Visual Sense-Dependent) (Quirks: Same as Affliction) (63) -- [68]
- AE: Soulfire Blast 13 (Extras: Will Save) (39)
- AE: Hellfire Blast 13 (Feats: Penetrating 8) (34)
- AE: "Chain" Blast 8 (Feats: Extended Reach, Accurate 2) (19)
- AE: "Moving Chain" Damage 8 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Shapeable +2) (24)
- AE: "Chain Snare" Snare 11 (Flaws: Limited to A Few Targets) (22)
Regeneration 4 (Feats: Regrow Limbs) [5]
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 9 [9]
"Frickin' Sweet Ride"
Speed 8 (500 mph) (Flaws: Requires Bike) [4]
Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling, Water-Walking) (Flaws: Requires Bike) [2]
"Ride Through Flames" Damage 9 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Shapeable +2) (Flaws: Limited to Movement Path, Requires Bike) [9]
Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Hellfire +10 (+13 Ranged Damage, DC 28)
Soulfire +10 (+13 Ranged Will Damage, DC 28)
Penance Stare -- (+13 Perception-Ranged Affliction & +8 Damage, DC 23 & 23)
Chain +14 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Moving Chain +8 Area (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Chain Snare +10 (+11 Ranged Affliction, DC 21)
Ride Through Flames +9 Area (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +5
Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +9, Fortitude --, Will +7
Complications:
Involuntary Transformation (Ghost Rider)- Johnny Blaze will transform into Ghost Rider any time he needs to punish the evil. Blaze's own stats are STR 2 & STA 4- the rest are the same.
Enemy (Zarathos)- Blaze hates the Demon Zarathos for possessing him for years.
Relationship (Danny Ketch)- Blaze and Ketch became great allies during their ride as "Spirts of Vengeance", and later discovered they were long-lost brothers.
Total: Abilities: 70 / Skills: 36--18 / Advantages: 19 / Powers: 127 / Defenses: 9 (243)
-Thanks to the character being used in a pair of Fox films in the mid-2000s, not only was the character revived, but Johnny himself was Back-To-Basics'd into becoming Ghost Rider once again. He is possessed by what is believed to be Zarathos and sent to Hell, rescued by Angels to fight other Demons, and gains a MASSIVE power-up that completely unbalances what was once a Street Level character. A new series comes about, with Lucifer as the bad guy (as opposed to Mephisto).
-I have the first handful of issues of one series, and it's not really GOOD, but has a funny concept- Blaze versus Satan, and Satan resurrected himself into 666 bodies that Ghost Rider must kill. His series is still ongoing, though I haven't cared to read it- I dislike mystical/hell stuff in general, and I never found the character very interesting. His Wikipedia article is HUGE, too- one of those ones where some fan has basically just reviewed and included every single issue in the synopsis. Eventually Lucifer is stopped and his final forms killed, and then Danny Ketch becomes the villain for a while. He eventually wins back his soul and ascends to Heaven, but God is soon all "nah, we actually need you back down on Earth once more", and he has to fight again. But then he passes on the curse to a new character (a female named Alejandra) as a result of the original Adam, who wants to purge humanity from sin, at the cost of free will. So Blaze & Mephisto team up to drive her from Adam's influence. Soon, Blaze regains the title, joins the Thunderbolts for a while, and then decides to train the NEWEST Ghost Rider, another Latino.
-Despite all this, the character was largely unsuccessful and forgotten. Really, as the concept's peak was in the 1990s (when Blaze wasn't even the title character!), it was bound to happen- these new comics were all there because of the movies. They also led to Gary Friedrich suing Marvel over the financial windfall the character had provided- however, as money = copywrite in your favor, Friedrich was absolutely SAVAGED by the results, as Marvel not only won money from him, but were able to prevent him from even ADVERTISING that he was Ghost Rider's creator. Now that's what I call having a crap lawyer.
-The
Ghost Rider series in modern times gave Johnny a LUDICROUS power-upgrade, turning a guy who could barely hold his own with Spider-Man into a guy strong enough to rip a skyscraper in half with his chain (just by driving around it on his bike) and fight Warbound/Green Scar Hulk for a while, with Doctor Strange implying that his power is limitless. This version of Blaze essentially rockets his Power Level up a few notches, and gives him all of Danny Ketch's old powers (because they wanted the original character, but all the cool powers of his later self). In any case, I think this covers most of it, but it might not- Blaze changes power-sets enough that Besty Freaking Braddock would go "woah, bloke- let's try some consistency, shall we?"