Ghost Rider

Background

UMvC3

MvC:I

Ghost Rider
File:JohnnyBlaze.png
Ghost Rider
Name	Johnny Blaze
Gender	Male
Weapon/Power	Chain, Motorcycle, Fire Manipulation, Penance Stare
Affiliation	Anti-Hero/Superhero
First Appearance	Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011)
First Appearance in Comic	Marvel Spotlight #5 (Aug,1972)
Voiced By	Richard Greico (UMvC3) Fred Tatasciore (MvC:I)
Company	Marvel

Hell hath no fury like a flaming skeleton on a motorcycle.

Ghost Rider's victory quote in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

There are many souls in hell, Jedah. Allow me to introduce you.

Ghost Rider to Jedah in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.

Ghost Rider is one of Marvel Comics' most powerful and violent superheroes & anti-heroes and is introduced to the series in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and makes his return as a veteran in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.

Backstory

Johnny Blaze was once a motorcycle stuntman at a carnival. When his adopted father Crash Simpson revealed he had cancer, a desperate Blaze turned to the occult to find a solution. He struck a deal with the demon Mephisto for Crash to not die of cancer in return for Blaze's servitude. However, Crash died in a motorcycle stunt gone wrong soon after. Johnny Blaze was still Mephisto's slave and found himself transformed into a flaming, skeletal figure. Mephisto had merged his soul with that of the Spirit of Vengeance, Zarathos. Becoming the Ghost Rider, he battled many beings of pure evil after escaping Mephisto's clutches. Johnny occasionally struggled with controlling Zarathos' attempts to gain control in order to spread vengeance and bloodlust, but the Ghost Rider rode on. Saying he's not a superhero, Ghost Rider punishes the guilty for their sins and protects the innocent from such ungodly forces.

Appearance

In his Ghost Rider form, Johnny Blaze takes the shape of a skeletal demon with a perpetually burning skull. He wears classic biker gear; a leather jacket and leather pants with gloves and boots. Spikes run across his wrists, shoulders, and ankles. His penance chain is wrapped around his shoulder when not in use but in times of battle, he will unravel and place it around his hand.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

The Ghost Rider is one of the strongest and most powerful supernatural entities in the Marvel Universe. As the Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze has many demonic abilities at his disposal, though not all of them may appear in-game:

• Demonic Transformation: Johnny Blaze possesses the supernatural ability to transform into the Ghost Rider by will.
  • Superhuman Capabilities: Like any other supernatural being, Ghost Rider possesses several superhuman capabilities granting him an advantage towards his enemies.
    • Superhuman Strength: Johnny Blaze can lift object at the average rate of 25 tonnes. However, it is revealed he can exceed that rate to incalculable measurements.
    • Superhuman Durability: Ghost Rider is invulnerable to a lot of physical attacks such as gunshots and stab wounds and can also withstand great impacts such as explosions, extremely high pressure and temperatures, powerful energy blasts and falling from a high surface without sustaining injuries.
    • Superhuman Stamina: The mystical energies that empower the Ghost Rider enables him to have limitless superhuman stamina.
  • Regenerative Healing Factor: If in a situation where he is dismembered, the ethereal elements surrounding him can regenerate damaged limbs to the point where they are fully restored.
  • Hellfire Manipulation: One of Ghost Rider's prominent powers is to control, generate, project, channel and manipulate the ethereal element known as Hellfire, a supernatural energy that does physical and spiritual damage. He can project Hellfire in a number of ways like spewing it from his mouth, eyes, hands and chest; He can also create a large crater from the ground erupting Hellfire and perform a devastating maelstrom around his perimeter.
  • Penance Chain Projection: Ghost Rider wields a mystical chain that can grow in length, can be controlled through the mind, penetrate almost anything and transform into different weapons. He can also spew the chain out from his mouth and chest and channel his Hellfire attacks through it.
  • Penance Stare: A supernatural ability which makes his victims feel the pain of sins they have committed in the past. However, if this attack is used on someone who is blind (thus unable to witness the stare), drugged, bonded with a symbiote, or without a soul, the attack may backfire and knock Ghost Rider unconscious. It also has little effect on the mentally unstable, such as Deadpool and Carnage.

Abilities

• Demonic Motorcycle that can go extremely fast, emit fire, and ride up walls
• Knowledge on how to repair and ride motorcycles

Personality

Ghost Rider is not overly concerned with the struggles of traditional heroes and villains, focusing more on demonic threats to the universe. However, he will occasionally aid Earth's heroes if he feels the problem is important enough. Ghost Rider believes in righteousness and vengeance, punishing those who are guilty. Although he is serious, the Johnny Blaze portion of him shines through with the brief bits of humor, as shown in his quotes. Part of him wishes to be free of Zarathos, and return to being the regular Johnny Blaze.

Trivia

• Ghost Rider's alternative schemes are Ultimate Vengeance, Noble Kale, Danny Ketch, Phantom Rider, and his F4 costume from Mini Marvels. His DLC alt is Ghost Rider 2099.
• Ghost Rider appears in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, as a cameo in Apocalypse's stage, trapped in one of the tubes that appear at the high corners of the stage.
• Ghost Rider appears in the original Marvel vs. Capcom 3, as a cameo in Dante's ending, where the two of them are about to battle.
• Ghost Rider was revealed alongside Strider Hiryu, Firebrand, and Hawkeye.
• If character rivalries are still in question, Ghost Rider, as a half-demon who serves the forces of light, would be paired against Firebrand, a full demon who serves the forces of darkness.
• Another rivalry could very much be Dante as they are both half-demons and are demon fighters themselves.
• When asked about Ghost Rider during character speculation for the original Marvel vs. Capcom 3, there were two reasons given for his absence. The first was that Capcom could not get his motorcycle to work in combat, making many fans believe that Capcom thought Ghost Rider was permanently fused to his bike. The other reason was that he, as well as Black Panther and Iron Fist, were too "punchy." If these misconceptions were present, they have since been corrected as both he and Iron Fist are in the updated version while in MvCI, Ghost Rider appears as a playable character and Black Panther is a DLC character.
• In Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Ghost Rider is voiced by Richard Greico, who previously voiced the Daniel Ketch version in both the 1994 animated series of The Incredible Hulk and Fantastic Four.
• In Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite, Ghost Rider is voiced by Fred Tatascoire, who also did voice work for the Hulk in the game. Additionally, he voiced Ghost Rider before in the animated series Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.
• Ghost Rider's Hellfire move resembles Scorpion's fatality from Mortal Kombat as well as Dhalsim's Yoga Flame attack (Seth Killian has even compared Ghost Rider's playstyle to that of the latter).
• In addition, Ghost Rider's grappling moves involving chains, may mechanically reference Scorpion's Bloody Spear move. Coincidentally, Ed Boon (co-creator of Mortal Kombat) claimed that Ghost Rider was one of the main inspirations for Scorpion.
• Ghost Rider's moveset also resembles Omega Red's, such as the chain whipping and grabbing resembling the tentacles' functions, and his Hellfire Maelstrom Hyper Combo resembles Omega Red's own Omega Destroyer Hyper Combo.
• In his ending, Ghost Rider teams up with Dante and Trish in his ending and ventures to Hell, musing on the benefits of the two merged worlds. They manage to subdue Mephisto and threaten him to terminate Ghost Rider's contract, else his life is forfeit.